ã€ŠTesting My Luck in the New Worldã€‹


 Volume 1 - Prologue

    Should I even bother getting out of bed?

    The alluring tendrils of sleep repeated their routine of binding me to my pillow, daring me to return to the dreamlands I had already forgotten, as they did every morning. I stared blankly up at the ceiling where daylight was already threatening to rob me of this choice. Most days I was able to force myself to break free from their hold and get up and get ready for work, but for some reason, doing so today seemed utterly pointless.

    Just two days ago, I managed to complete a big project I knew my boss only shifted onto me because he thought I was sure to fail, likely so he could save his own ass by blaming me for not being able to complete it by the time specified, which was yesterday morning. I was supposed to be the fall guy when the customer came around and started yelling. It wasn¡¯t the first time my boss tried to screw me over like this, so I truly wasn¡¯t making any assumptions here.

    However, against his already basement-level expectations, and against my own will, I pulled an all-nighter, drank an entire pot of coffee all by myself and managed to finish it not only on time, but the customer seemed to absolutely love it and rained compliments down on both me and the company.

    Great. Yay me.

    Baffled and visually impressed beyond words, my boss thumped me on the back hard enough to knock some of the sleepiness out of my eyes and handed me a raise. He wiped the sweat from his brow after he did this and walked off without another word. Considering the raise as his attempt to bribe me into silence for his misconduct, I pocketed it with one of the forced smiles I had gotten used to dolling out whenever the need arose and said nothing.

    Again, yay me.

    I was well aware that I was acting like a complete downer as I was praised by the customer and then my boss, but I couldn¡¯t really help myself. That job, like everything else, was just too easy.

    Do not misunderstand, the all-nighter was rough. It was the work itself that was easy. It¡¯s been like this since high school. I get handed work, do the work and usually complete it well before the teacher expected me to, often finishing homework assignments before the class was even over, then I¡¯d get praised. Or in one instance, I ended up getting so far ahead in a computer science class that my teacher actually had to askmefor help on occasion.

    But the work was always so easy. No matter how high my education took me, from AP classes to college-level courses in high school to finally college itself, nothing ever really took me any effort.

    What was the point?

    Just showing up, participating as far as to listening to the teacher present their lesson plan for the day and doing my assignments was always enough for me to pull near perfect scores on my report card. All while watching as a fair few of my classmates struggled.

    I couldn¡¯t understand it. These people weren¡¯t stupid. This was the advanced class, right? And yet, my minimal effort somehow trounced their daily grind.

    This is not some boorish attempt at a bit of humble bragging. I truly hated it. I never deserved praise for any of this. Why praise what was easily accomplished? Why give me a gold star of approval for completing something on my half-assed efforts? Why praise me for doing what essentially came naturally? Each time smiles and applause came my way, the more I felt like I needed to avoid letting myself feel any sense of pride in my accomplishments.

    I just didn¡¯t get it. Nor do I now. I felt the tiniest spark of happiness each time, but it always faded as soon as I realized that I didn¡¯t do much to deserve it. And this was proven ten-fold when my lack of effort forced me to become the sort of lazy bum that took never trying to the peak of absurdity and realized all too late that this caused my life to stagnate and caused me to slowly lose most of the friendships that I cultivated in my school years.

    I was never the most popular kid in school, at least nobody outwardly hated me, but I had a good number of friends. Enough to show how sociable I actually was at the time. I was lying to myself when I said these relationships fractured due to us moving apart after graduation, us going to different schools or them just plain old moving on with their lives. It was supposed to be the same old story that happened to everyone once they graduated. You and your friends were just meant to drift apart. Only those truly close and loyal would bother to keep themselves around. And, in some ways, this was true.

    One by one, I watched from afar as my friends got married, had kids and showed off the new cars and homes they¡¯d just bought for themselves. Meanwhile, I buried myself behind a computer monitor, wasting away playing whatever game took my fancy, instead of working to progress the stand-still my life had reached or to maintain what few relationships I had left.

    Constant fatigue became a quick excuse to ignore the wants and wishes of my friends. Once I even missed out on their wedding because I was ¡°too tired,¡± though I was at least smart enough to throw together a much more plausible reason that got him to relent without actually hurting him. To having a friend tell me they no longer wanted anything to do with me anymore because I constantly turned down their attempts tobemy friend and be with me in favor of the computer screen or a good nap.

    My life wasted away and my relationships dwindled to nothing until the point where I ended up getting irrationally excited whenever the random notifications my cell provider sent me pinged my phone, ending the otherwise dreary silence of my one-bedroom apartment. Thinking it was someone trying to reach out to me to ask what happened to me, to give me that chance to vent and apologize for abandoning them, only for me to realize the ping was just to notify me my bill was due.

    Prospects of romance also died out fairly quickly. Not that I really had any to begin with. Odd as it may seem, I was fully aware of my utter lack of self-confidence and still managed to do nothing about it, despite the total number of self-help videos I watched taking up enough memory to fill my hard drive. Because of this lacking, I never pursued any of the women I fancied, only to then watch them get snatched up before I could find that one moment where the situation and setting were absurdly perfect. Where I could approach them while they were alone to prevent some of the public humiliation past attempts had riddled me with. The mood would be perfect, we¡¯d get left alone to chat for a while and the words I usually would keep bottled up with fall into the conversation as easy as thinking them and, the cherry on top would be that I¡¯d somehow already be aware of their feelings for me and make that easy confession. It¡¯d be easy, just like everything else. It¡¯d be a perfection I always knew deep down would never come to me, even if I tried to make it happen.

    So, why get up and go through more of the same? More of the same minimalistic effort somehow doing well for me, but doing nothing with it to improve my life.

    I had money to spare, but not really enough to warrant moving out of this failed attempt at a nice apartment that I found myself secluded in night after night. I had the means to make more money or to at least get a better job, but no longer had the willpower. But I also had the great want for more. This endless cycle forced me to understand why some people chose to see a shrink to deal with their anxiety. There had to be a way to break it. The thought was tempting, as tempting as turning over and pretending the sun didn¡¯t exist, but the anxiety and judgment I knew I¡¯d face was harsh.

    ¡°Meow¡­¡±

    With a thud that caused sleep¡¯s hold on me to weaken, Lucy, a black cat with one large hazel eye and another that seemed just a bit of a lazy green dove onto my chest from her resting place on my desk, which was the keyboard I forgot to put away last night. She stared lazily into my eyes, her casually swishing tail urging me to get up, not for work, but to feed her.

    Supposing that Ididat least have one reason to get up today, I drew in a breath, sighed hard enough to make Lucy¡¯s pointed ears twitch, and finally obeyed the endless call of my alarm clock to hurry up and start my day.

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    I swear, that cat purred the moment I sat up. Like she was satisfied with her hard work in doing so.

    I pulled myself out of bed, stretched and nearly fell right back into it before Lucy nuzzled her cheek against my hand. I patted her head and tended to her needs before grooming myself to at least look as presentable as I could, though I could do nothing for the bags under my eyes. They were likely a permanent fixture by now.

    Lucy sat on the dinner table, her face buried in her black and white spotted food bowl while I downed a quick breakfast. My choice for nourishment this morning was a protein bar, for no other reason than because I was fond of the flavor. My gym card was currently collecting dust somewhere in the inner recesses of my wallet, lost to time despite never being cancelled.

    I mindlessly pushed the bar into my mouth and chewed while I watched Lucy nibble away at her comparatively gourmet meal of what the labeled promised to be canned meat, but I had my doubts. Regardless, her tail flicked around approvingly as she ate.

    Most people probably would have found it strange to let your pet sit and eat on the same table as you, but she didn¡¯t give me much choice. Since the day I brought her home, this was her seat. Whenever I would try to put her food bowl on the floor, she would just stare at me with that lazy eye, her gaze telling me ¡°Yea, I don¡¯t think so, human. I am too refined a specimen to eat off the floor.¡± I didn¡¯t mind, though, and sipped at my cup of coffee, occasionally scratching her head before I finished and grabbed my bag by the door.

    Letting gravity handle the walk downstairs, I stepped out into my apartment complex¡¯s would-be garden, which consisted only of a field of grass, a set of playground equipment for the resident¡¯s children to harass and a couple of trees for shade. The place was usually fairly lively, enough so to cause the need to turn the volume up on whatever game I was playing. But it was always quiet this time of morning. No children on the toys, no mother¡¯s lounging about on the nearby benches watching their kids and nobody moving between the rooms, slamming doors hard enough for the sound to echo throughout the quad. The trees had long since wilted with the changing of the seasons.

    The only soles that seemed to be alive were me and the only one of my neighbors I was familiar with. Another typical aspect of my mornings. This neighbor was, if I could be overly simplistic due to lack of brainpower this early in the morning, very beautiful.

    As if on cue, she rounded the corner at the end of the street leading to a burger joint and jogged towards me the moment I stepped away from the apartments and onto the sidewalk. She wasn¡¯t coming for me, I knew, but she ran down this path almost every morning and the sight of her was every bit as awakening as the caffeine still lingering on my tongue.

    Slender, but noticeably athletic. The only real curves on her belonged to what she kept hidden beneath the sports bra that should have kept her barely-tanned skin riddled with goosebumps this far into autumn. And to her leggings. A dangerous concept, those leggings. They managed to keep her perfectly covered from her waist down to her ankles, safe, but at the same time they told a story that I had to force myself not to read as she ran by.

    Mid-step, she saw me looking at her and offered up a casual, wave and a slight smile, then turned back to whatever song or book she was listening to on her headphones as she continued right past me down the sidewalk.

    That was it. That was the culmination of our interactions.

    For over a year now since I started this job, I¡¯ve caught her making that effort to keep herself in peak form that I couldn¡¯t be bothered to. She captivated me time and time again and yet, I¡¯ve never once plucked up the courage to talk to her. Hell, I didn¡¯t even know her name despite the fact that I could tell you that she wore her hair differently based on what day it was. Today happened to be ponytail day, a favorite of mine.

    I noticed she had no ring on her finger long ago and that she was always alone, but being unable to tell if her morning smiles were simply customary or genuine happiness at seeing a familiar face kept me in my place. What place that was, I didn¡¯t know, but she wasn¡¯t there with me.

    Slightly hunched over, I stuffed my earbuds into my ears and randomly selected a song off my phone and followed her, all while trying not to look like a complete stalker. Her jogging route just happened to pass the one I took to work. I internally beat myself up for once more freezing at the chance to talk to her and followed.

    The alluring jiggle in the seat of her leggings was so daring that it bordered on obscene. An on the rare occasion where she stopped at a crosswalk, almost as if to let me catch up to look, she¡¯d do a few light stretches to jazz herself up to continue her run as she awaited the green signal to continue on. And in those moments, I realized what a true creep I must look like to the outsider, as I always found myself forced to tear my gaze away from her ass for fear of getting caught.

    I¡¯d seen it countless times before, a man openly ogles a woman, she notices and then either brushes him off with a scoff or berates him for it. This girl seemed like she¡¯d be the former, but that didn¡¯t mean I was willing to take that blow. There was always that small, lingering hope that I would eventually man up and tell her how I felt, but I couldn¡¯t let myself hear her reply, whatever it may be, start with ¡°oh yea, you¡¯re that guy that stared at my butt, huh?¡±

    For that reason alone, I kept my mouth shut. To be honest, I didn¡¯t know many women. Refer to my reasons before as to why that is. I could accept rejection if I ever did manage to ask and get turned down. That would be fine. Hard, but fine. But if she came at me with that, I might just have to shut myself up in my apartment for good.

    Thankfully, today wasn¡¯t one of those days. The light turned green as if waiting for her and I followed. Without the need to worry she might turn and see me during her stretches, I allowed myself the repeated glance at just how shapely her legs were, promising myself for the hundredth time that I would start actually making use of that gym membership I had.

    The light kept itself green, refusing to part us for the sake of the waiting traffic like a true friend. Urged by this small gesture of hope, I continued forward.

    As she did with me, she waved at another man as she passed him. Again, just a familiar face, I told myself. I¡¯d seen her greet him a thousand times before. Her smile was no brighter for him than it was with me, but for some reason, it still hurt to see. Smiling wasn¡¯t exactly a guarantee that someone was interested in you, proof of which lay in that she never stopped to talk to me either, so I always marked it off as a casual greeting and nothing more. She was just that sort of person. No harm done, assuming myself to even be in the position where I could be harmed by her politeness. But the thought that therecouldbe more to it than that had been a constant worry of mine during these walks and today it was no better. In fact, it was worse.

    I didn¡¯t want to see her ending up with him, or anyone but me.

    Now, now, calm down. I¡¯m not about to go full serial killer on her or anything. I wasn¡¯t going to give her the ultimatum of ¡°be with me or die.¡± I just didn¡¯t want to sit on the sidelines again as I saw her life move on and grow. Maybe somewhere down the line, I¡¯d taken to her lack of a ring as meaning she was the same as me. Alone.

    I was alone. But if she ceased being alone, then we¡¯d lose what little we had in common. A fair trade for her happiness, I suppose, but I couldn¡¯t stand for it. If she settled down, we might lose these morning nothings. I¡¯d lose the one smile that mattered to me. That one that came, not from unearned praise, but from¡­ well, whatever her reason was.

    I couldn¡¯t let that slide.

    For the first time in years, I felt that losing this chance for good would only end up hurting me more than outright rejection would. Even if I failed, I could at least move on. Stop hoping for something that would never come. Use that rejection as fuel for a bit of self-improvement for a ¡°maybe next time.¡±

    And if not, that small chance that she¡¯d say yes to a cup of coffee, even if she had to stop running for the morning to stop at the donut shop a little further down the road, even if I had to show up late to work so soon after getting a raise, it would be worth it.

    As foreign as the idea sounded, a bit of rejection might actually be just what I needed to get out of this slump. And if not, then I could at least prove to myself that my sense of courage was not as meager as I once thought.

    My heart pounded against my ribcage, momentarily making me think this light burst of exercise after years of a sedentary lifestyle had caused a heart attack, but it was actually just proof of an excitement that had been dead for years. Heart thumping and palms sweating profusely under the autumn chill in the air, I jumped into action and, mentally patting myself on my back for remembering to clean up properly this morning, I jogged after her. My chest burned, not from the effort it took to close the gap, but because of the anticipation. Regardless of what it was, I¡¯d have my answer.

    Maybe Lucy somehow managed to spike my morning coffee with a bit of alcohol. How else had I come to this conclusion after years of not finding the effort worth it? I laughed at the thought.

    I closed in on her. With her jogging speed easily doubling my normal walking speed, she made it a fair distance from me in the few short minutes since I started my trek to work. But I was getting closer.

    And as I passed through the traffic light that made the puddles from last night¡¯s rain glow bright green, the world went white.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 1

    One moment I was chasing the woman I''d hoped against hope I could at least talk to, the next I found myself in an eerily white room that seemed to expand far beyond what I should have been able to see. No color filled the sky and no shadows gave the world any depth. It was a void. There were no suns or moons hanging over me, and no arcing horizon far off in the distance hiding the lands outside the city limits I''d become accustomed to. The burning streets lights I remembered seeing only a moment ago were gone entirely. There were no sources of light anywhere I looked and yet, it was bright enough to almost blind me.

    "Where am I?"

    With no one there to answer me, I was left alone with my thoughts as I winced and tried to force my eyes back into working order so they might help me make sense of this.

    It almost felt like a dream. A particularly vivid one where I was aware I was sleeping and could interact with my dream world as I saw fit. Only I was never much of a lucid dreamer. In fact, not only had I failed to become one after learning how and trying it out for myself, but most nights I didn''t even dream to begin with. I just let my head hit the pillow, closed my eyes and let sleep take me as per usual.

    It wasn''t exactly hard to assume all that had just happened was just a dream. I was so detached from my own life that I genuinely couldn''t remember feeling much of anything. The feel of my pillow against my head. The softness of Lucy''s fur. The bitter taste of the coffee I chugged. Or the burning in my chest that finally spurred me on. I''d forgotten it, same as I always did on the nights where my brain managed to cook up something just entertaining enough to keep me satisfied for the duration of my slumber.

    Is this white room what it feels like to lucid dream in a dreamless world? If so, I''d wake up in no time and forget all about it. But the idea of that was almost as jarring as the thought that that girl might get snatched up by some other unseen man on her run.

    No. It didn''t matter. If that moment was a dream, I couldn''t let myself forget how it felt to actually try at something for once.

    I had to remember. I would remember, wake up and write it all down so I couldn''t forget. And when I saw her for real this time, I''d take the same steps I took then.

    Working my brain into overdrive, I pressed my eyes shut and recalled everything I could about that morning, that dream.

    I remembered getting up, feeding Lucy, eating a quick breakfast and leaving for work. I avoided actually speaking to the girl that stole my interest and she passed by on her morning jog. That girl, whose name I didn''t know, kept mostly to herself as she ran. Meanwhile, I stared at her ass wrapped up so tightly in her black leggings. Just faintly, in hindsight, I think I could see the outline of her panties.

    I shook my head. That''s not what I needed to remember. Think, damn you. If everything up until now was so easy, why should this be hard? What happened next?

    We always walked in the same direction, me to a job I hated, her just running her worries away and never once stopping to start up the conversation I longer for. Only, she did something that finally spurred me on to break that cycle. My chest pounded almost as hard as my feet against the cold cement of the sidewalk. I vaguely recall her turning around to look, probably at the sudden burst of noise that distracted her from the sounds coming from her earbuds.

    She was beautiful. Even with her skin lightly coated in a morning dew of sweat, she was too much for me. And yet, I managed to pull out some fight and I ran. Yes.

    She turned and her eyes spotted me. Maybe there was a brief glimpse of confusion, a twist to her brow that suggested confusion in the face of the man that never did more than walk behind her, but I had to hope against hope that I didn''t hallucinate the small smile that spread across her lips when she turned. Even if it was a casual one.

    Then she might have waved vigorously at me and forced her sports bra to work its hardest to keep her chest from moving too much. Her cleavage bounced into view as the string from her headphones got caught between them and¡­

    No! Damn it! Stop thinking about that! Remember the feeling. How did it feel to finally come to the conclusion that trying was better than wasting away?

    I clenched my fists, somehow hoping that the pain in my palms would let me remember more clearly, but the dream was fading. All I could think of was her beauty. That righteously plump ass and the pair of breasts that fit so well in her sports bra that it seemed a crime to hide their shape and¡­

    ¡­ I suppose I''m just a terrible person.

    "Good. You understand your faults."

    I jumped in surprise as a heavenly voice pierced the silence of the void. It sounded like it came from every direction all at once. On instinct, I turned on my heel to find a small table only a slightly different shade of white than the rest of the world. Although, this slight difference stood out almost as much as it would were it any other color. Hanging over it was an umbrella the same shade, ironically shading the table from nothing, but casting the slightest of shadows on it and on the beautiful woman seated there in a gilded throne fit for a queen.

    Our eyes met and she beckoned to me with an almost surreal curl of her finger.

    While I was sure there was no way she was there when I first arrived in this place, I''d scanned every direction imaginable for signs of differences within the void and found nothing, but there was no denying that she was there now. So, with nothing but emptiness at my back, I approached her. Albeit more than a bit apprehensively.

    The pain in my palms was still fresh, meaning this was likely no dream. And if she was the only other person here, then for all I knew, she brought me here. As to why she might have done so, I had no idea. All I knew was that, the closer I got to her, the more it felt like such worries were utterly pointless. The closer I got, the more beautiful she became.

    Hers was a radiance so brilliant that I instantly felt as though I needed glasses because a woman of such perfection should not be capable of existing.

    She was blinding. Enchanting. Her very presence exuded a warmth that massaged my soul into a comfort I''d never experienced before. Her rich, wavy blonde hair spilled over bare shoulders and down her back. The golden strands shone so brightly, it almost felt like she hid the sun itself in her curls despite the umbrella above supposedly shading her. Her long eyelashes almost fluttered as though alive when she closed her silvery pupils to enjoy a sip of tea.

    And most noticeably, the thin dress she wore was very nearly transparent. No, I think it was actually just that thin. As I closed the gap, the two pink tips accentuating her already massive breasts seemed to poke through the very fabric itself. I couldn''t tell, but from the way the sheer dress hugged her body so perfectly and how the long slit in it running down from her upper thigh showed no visible panty line, I guessed she wasn''t wearing anything at all beneath it. The only reason I couldn''t tell for sure was due to the table covering her lower extremities.

    She noticed where my gaze was pointed and to my surprise, went against the assumptions I made for how the jogging girl might have reacted to my libido''s actions and¡­ she giggled. She put her hand cutely to her lips and giggled before she gestured for me to take a seat across from her. The gesture, while simple, was so absurdly elegant that it made my heart flutter, almost as hard as it might if such a woman were to ask me for a date. Seeing no other option and needing answers, I chose to sit.

    "Would you like some tea?" the woman asked, pointing to the elegantly detailed pot atop the table I hadn''t even noticed.

    "U-Uh, sure."

    She nodded happily and slowly rose up out of her seat to fill the cup already set out in front of me. With her being so close as she bent over my cup, I couldn''t help but notice that the collar of her dress was nearly non-existent as it left the entirety of her cleavage exposed where it ran dangerously all the way down to her navel. This strapless, all-to-revealing dress seemed to defy physics, as it clung to her every curve effortlessly.

    Once more, she noticed me looking and this time I looked away, embarrassed.

    "S-Sorry."

    "Don''t be," she said, giggling as she sat back down. "I knew you would look the moment I saw you. And yet, I chose not to cover myself. How''s the tea?"

    This beautiful woman in front of me essentially told me she was letting me ogle her and all she is concerned about is the tea? Who is she?

    I wrapped a finger around the handle of the porcelain tea cup, only realizing how shaken I was by how violently it clattered against its saucer. Gulping, hoping she somehow didn''t notice as well, I took a sip and a rush flavor flooded my body. Before I realized the dangers of ingesting something a stranger gave me, I felt an unforgettable warmth fill my body as the tea mingled with this morning''s cup of coffee. Without realizing it until that moment, I had been freezing the entire time I wondered through the void.

    "It''s good."

    "I''m glad."

    She sat up straight. I thought her hair was naturally wavy or maybe styled to look so, but when she moved again, the dozens of golden locks all floating in the air unaided, almost as though she and only she was deep beneath an ocean of water that clearly wasn''t there. She folded her hands on her lap and gave me a gentle smile before she continued.

    "I''m sure you are wondering why you are here."

    "Well, yea. But also, where is here?"

    "This is heaven."

    She spoke with all the certainty of someone being asked what time it was while standing directly in front of the world''s largest clock. The lack of hesitation in her answer almost beggared believability.

    "¡­Heaven? What are you talking about? Am I being tricked?"

    She giggled again and took another sip from her porcelain cup. Not until she set it back down, and it clinked easily against its plate, did she say another word. And she started with a sigh.

    "Ah. Tea is my favorite mortal invention. To think, they would use plants to flavor their water into something so enjoyable and calming. So clever."

    "Are you messing with me? Why are we talking about tea? When can I go home?"

    With that question, this woman''s glossy lips pulled downwards into a frown. Strangely enough, that saddened expression did not mar her beauty in the slightest.

    "I''m sorry, Alex, but you can never go home. Like I said, this is heaven. And that means¡­"

    "Are you saying I am dead?" I finished for her and she nodded sympathetically.

    "I am afraid so. You''ve passed on. You''ve come to me to be reborn. That is why we are having this conversation."

    Her words were quick, succinct and so to the point that it almost hurt.

    Dead? I''m dead? How could that be? This place didn''t exactly look like the heaven I imagined, but the sheer emptiness of it meant it couldn''t possibly have been crafted by mortal hands. Were it, there should have been a seem somewhere or a light source to explain why I wasn''t blind right now and why I could see this beauty.

    Did I actually have that heart attack I joked about as I ran? I can''t say I could completely put it against myself. I wasn''t exactly in the best shape, after all. I was stuck mostly where I was when I left college, somewhere between thin for my build and fat, but leaner more on the fat side these days. So, a sedentary life mixed with poor eating habits may well have ended me as soon as my heart finally moved in the right direction.

    When I came to that conclusion, I looked down and saw that I was still my same pudgy self. And when I looked back up to her, this woman whose body shape would have made every model on Earth so green with envy that they''d never recover their formal skin tone after laying their eyes on her. I felt nothing but shame and she just smiled.

    "Wait, reborn?"

    If I dared let myself believe she was telling the truth and I really was dead, then what did that mean for Lucy? That cat was basically the only thing in this world that I actually worked hard to keep up with, assuming of course you didn''t count the endless hours put into the various video games I''ve played over the years, which even I say didn''t count.

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    "What, are you supposed to be God?"

    With just a bit of an incredulous sneering tempering my voice, I looked at the woman again. The meer idea of this insanely beautiful woman being God almost made me want to get down on my knees and praise her, but her claiming such a lofty title was just as absurd as her breast size. My faith in a greater good was more abundant than my lack of willpower.

    She smiled as she sipped her tea again.

    "I suppose you could call me that. Although, I don''t believe I really have a name."

    "What, you got amnesia or something?"

    "No, but you do. A person''s death is most often a very traumatic event, so their psyche sometimes tends to shut the bad memories away. You''ve noticed this in yourself, correct?"

    I grimaced. If she was sitting this close to me, she might have seen me clench up and try to remember, but to an outsider, it must have just looked like I was trying to prevent an accident on my way to the restroom.

    "But I don''t mind," she continued. "I like to speak with those willing to share my table with me until they remember."

    I felt a pain in my chest. It goes without saying that I did not outright believe her, but something in the back of my mind was tugging in her direction. Somehow, it felt as though this strange woman had the answers I needed to hear to the questions I didn''t even know I had.

    Whoever or whatever she was, she had a power beyond her looks that I couldn''t come close to placing.

    She set her cup back down and tilted her head before she gazed at me almost lovingly. I felt myself grow embarrassed, but I couldn''t look away. The feeling was on a whole other plane than how I imagined getting caught ogling women would have made me feel, but for the life of me, I could not look away. I wasn''t being my normal self.

    Wait¡­ Now that I think about it, I don''t even remember the last time I held a conversation this long. Just who is this woman?

    "You may call me God or Goddess if you like, if that''s easier for you" she said, as if she read my mind. "I know you have a hard time talking to people, but thanks to that tea, I have warmed your soul and eased your heart. Please. Drink some more."

    Apprehensively, I did as she asked and took another drink. After, I noticed the flavor of the tea in my cup had changed all on its own, without ever being swapped out. If I said the first taste was something like a sweet black tea, then the second sip tasted more like green tea. I wasn''t any sort of tea connoisseur, but the difference was undeniable.

    When I took another drink, this time it was orange tea with a bit of honey. Something I remembered my mom making for me when I was little and sick. I never understood how tea was supposed to help me get over a cold and tried to refuse her, saying tea was for girls, so she placated me by adding in the honey.

    The liquid slowly descended my esophagus and when it reached my stomach, I felt a sudden throbbing pain in my head. It was the worst headache I''d ever experienced, like someone taking a buzz saw directly to my grey matter. I squeezed my eyes shut and several images flashed through the forefront of my mind.

    My neighbor ahead of me. The parallel lines running across a crosswalk. The green light. A voice crying out for me. The sound of tires screeching. The sky turning over on itself. Blood pooling around my limp hand. Then nothing.

    "Wha¡­What was that."

    "Those were your last moments on Earth. In other words, the moment you died."

    She was right. Somehow, I knew. I remembered every detail of what happened right up until the world went black. Compared to that, this pure white space truly was heaven.

    As I reeled from the massive headache and the truth of what I saw, she spoke as casually as though she were telling me the sky was blue. But the sky wasn''t blue. I wasn''t even sure there was a sky to begin with. I looked into the reflection of the sky, or whatever it was, in the surface of the tea in my cup and pushed it away.

    "It''s okay Alex. Most people choose to avoid reaching understanding at first. The pain is just too much. But like them, I know you know that what you saw was true."

    "Oh, really. Then why don''t you just tell me what happened then? See if that lines up with my memory."

    She nodded gracefully at my prompting, as though expecting me to say that.

    "A front forward answer then. Alex, this morning when you chose to follow that woman while watching her behind, you were distracted by her so much that you accidentally walked into the street to follow her. The light was green and you should have had the freedom to chase her like you wanted, but you were hit by an oncoming truck and killed almost instantly. Thankfully, at least, you felt no pain whatsoever."

    My cheeks burned and I slammed my hand on the table. Thinking back now, maybe the reason why pervy thoughts kept coming back to me as I tried to recall what happened might have been because I was looking at that woman''s curves even as I tried to confess to her.

    "Are you telling me that I died because I was looking at a woman''s ass? Are you calling me a pervert?"

    "Essentially, yes."

    She shrugged, her voluptuous breasts swaying gently with the motion. The simple fact that I noticed such a thing kind of proved her point, so I quickly looked away.

    "It''s okay. The reason you''re here is not your fault alone. You see, I am also to blame for your death."

    "¡­What are you talking about?"

    Once more, she folded her hands onto her delicate thighs and explained.

    "The driver that hit you had been having a difficult time in his life regarding the distain that he perceived his daughter had for him and I mistakenly chose that moment to give him an epiphany on how he might solve his problems. This distracted him and give him a compelling reason to take his eyes off the road. I am sorry, but it is more my fault you died than your own."

    "What¡­"

    At the mention of the truck driver, an image of me laying horizontally on the ground, looking up at a man with a scruffy beard frantically calling out to me with tears in his eyes struck me cold and nearly made me cry myself. The image of the man I never even knew existed crying over my soon to be dead body broke down every wall from the truth, starting from the very back of my mind until it played again behind my closed eyelids. I knew it as the last thing I saw before I woke up here.

    "I have done you a great wrong that I can never repay," she said with what looked like genuine sadness.

    I died. I''m dead. What did that mean for Lucy? What would have happened if I actually managed to speak with that girl? Would she have said yes? No? Or would I have just stammered all over myself when I tried to open my mouth?

    "As for your cat," the woman said, reaching across the table to grasp my hand. Hers was comfortingly warm. "She will be taken care of. As it happens, the incident happened not far from your apartment. As soon as your landlord hears what happened, he will try to move your things out of the room. It will be thanks to his wife that Lucy is given to a shelter."

    No longer perturbed by the idea of her reading my mind, I pressed her with another question.

    "And if I talked to her? The girl."

    "¡­ I cannot say. I cannot read the future."

    "B-but you just¡­"

    "What I said was not fortune telling. It was a few degrees above simple logic. The news of your death was reported immediately after the incident, by the woman you lusted after no less. And your landlord is just as greedy as you remember him being, but his wife is an animal lover to a fault. She''d never let a cute cat like that end up anywhere where it wouldn''t be taken care of properly."

    Knowing this to be as oddly convincing as her recollection of my death before my memories kicked in, she let go of my hand just as the tension in my shoulders started to ease. She straightened herself again.

    "Because of my mistake, I wish to give you a say in how you are to be reincarnated."

    "Wait, what? I-I''ve only just realized that I''m dead. Now you want to tell me I have to go through that life all over again? Are you crazy?"

    Even though I knew how my own actions led to an unsavory life of loneliness, I couldn''t say it wouldn''t happen again. I was familiar with the concept of reincarnation. It meant I had to start over. But even if I started off with the handicap of moving to a new world I was entirely unknowing of, I was sure to have to undergo that same monotony of easy once I got up to speed. The thought of living that life all over again was too much.

    She nodded again, ever sympathetic to my thoughts, and stood up from her seat. When her dress soundlessly shifted with gravity, I flinched in my seat, suddenly fearing that, whoever this woman was, was offended by something I said.

    However, all she did was walk over to me, put a hand on my head and pulled my face into her cleavage. Somehow, despite how rigid my spine had become in my fear, I had no ability to resist her actions. Not that I could say for sure that I would if I could. Once I felt the softness of her breasts on my cheeks, I became overwhelmed with her warmth. And more importantly, her very heartbeat played at a steady rhythm that stripped away my worries.

    "I''m sorry, Alex. I know this is a bit much to take in right now, but you can''t stay here forever. Your soul needs to move on before it starts to rot."

    As she spoke, I felt the gentle vibrations of her voice against my hair and was calm. It felt like I wasn''t even capable of being upset anymore.

    "¡­ What''s going to happen to me?"

    "You''re going to be reborn. Usually, when a soul moves onto another life, they begin anew as a newly born infant in the arms of a new mother, in a world adjacent to the one they lived their previous life in. If they were good people, then they would go to a happy, loving family. And if not¡­" she shook her head, her golden locks tickling my nose as she dismissed the idea. "However, because your death was my mistake, one of my gifts to you is that I''m going to let you choose when and where you start your life."

    "When and where?"

    "Yes. You may start this new life as an infant and allow yourself to grow naturally, or you could start as a young man ready to tackle the world, if you like. Or anywhere in between. And beyond. I will also be letting you keep your memories of your past life regardless of your choice, a favor I don''t usually grant to others."

    She continued to speak, her voice a blissful boon to my soul. The softness of her chest as she cradled me started to make me feel tired.

    "As for the where, that is entirely up to you."

    "Where? You mean I could pick to be born into another country?"

    "Another country. Another time. Another world, even. You can go to a world where scientific advancements your old world wouldn''t reach for a hundred years are the norm. Or maybe one so far in the past, where you''d be seen as a genius for simply being able to read and do math. Or you could choose to go to a world similar to those you''ve seen in movies or read in a book and befriend the main character. Anywhere you can think of is a world I can make for you."

    I buried myself in her chest, wrapped my arms around her and thought.

    This woman, this Goddess, was telling me she would not only allow me to reincarnate somewhere else, but that she''d even create an impossible world for me to inhabit, all because she slipped up and got me killed.

    In a sense, that was amazing. But in another, it was exactly what I didn''t want. A world centered around me? People praising me for things I didn''t earn? The idea was oddly exciting, but was hard to imagine me finding this new world, any world created solely for my benefit, to be a happy one.

    But on the flip side, if what she was saying was true, then I could have an easy life if I chose correctly. The sci-fi world she mentioned sounded nice. It would likely be possible that any of the problems humanity had faced up until now had been fixed by someone or another, thanks to how advanced the society was. Wounds could be healed instantaneously and diseases could be a thing of the past, thought back on only when teaching students how rough we all had it way back then. Who knows, maybe they even have a pill that boosts your will to get off your ass.

    As I pondered this and the other options she gave me, I found the possibilities for each interesting, if not terrifying in their own way. Mid way through flipflopping between loving the idea and hating it, what caught my attention was the suggestion of a movie world.

    "If you could send me to a world created for a movie, what about one like a video game?"

    "If that is what you wish, I can do that."

    As I was never really a social person in life, more often than not, I spent my free time sitting at my computer playing video games. I could think of any number of them that would be interesting to live in. Some would be scary. Some would all but guarantee that I''d find myself dead soon after arriving there. But some would be incredibly peaceful. It all depended on which game I chose to model the world from.

    "Then¡­could you send me to a world that works the same way as an RPG game? One set in medieval times? With magic."

    "Are you sure? Living was rough in those times."

    "Are you kidding? Being able to live in an RPG would be amazing! Being able to level up and gain new abilities. Fight monsters and grow stronger. Who wouldn''t like that?"

    Somewhere along the conversation, I had given up the possibility that she wasn''t a God. Equally as much, I had all but forgotten the idea that this new world would be dangerous or that my life would just repeat. In a world where I could actually put a number to myself and show that I''d improved in some way through my efforts, I''d at least have evidence of progress and a constant nagging spurring me on if all I did was sit on my ass all day and the numbers never went up.

    Perhaps it was foolish of me, but I was already enthusiastically looking forward to that ideal fantasy life. For all I knew, she could have been lying to me. If I turned around that second, would there have been a camera pointing at my face and an audience on the other side of it laughing at my expense? Or would she just be snickering at me for actually taking anything she said seriously?

    I chose to ignore those intrusive thoughts. I''d had enough of those. If she was a snake oil salesman, then I''d prefer to find out once I bought and paid for the product, rather than assume the worst off the bat.

    "Any other conditions you would like for me to consider?"

    "Oh, uh¡­ I want to start as a young man again. Around eighteen years old. I feel I wasted the best years of my life by shutting myself away, so I want to try again."

    "That is admirable. I hope you use this chance to better yourself. I truly do. I will base your new world on your memories of the games you''ve played and the movies you''ve watched and the books you''ve read, so that I have all the details I need to tailor a world to your liking. But also, one that is different, so that you can learn."

    So, she played me a bit when she suggested I could enter a world of fiction and join hands with the main character? If so, I can''t say I mind. Doing so would likely make living ridiculously easy for me, assuming I remembered the story well enough to do what needed to be done when it needs to be done while avoiding all the pitfalls the characters were supposed to go through. And easy wasn''t really what I wanted.

    "Can you really do that?"

    "Of course," she said, her smile bright enough to say with certainty that I now knew where the stars in the sky came from. "Just let me access your memories."

    With that said, she took her soothingly gently hands and held my cheeks. She lifted my face up to meet her silvery eyes. I was sad to lose the feeling of her softness, but when I saw her face approaching mine, I became even more embarrassed than I did when she first embraced me.

    Then she kissed me.

    The lips she placed over mine were as gentle on my flesh as though she thought she might break me if she applied even the slightest bit of force. I could feel the heat of her breath as our lips moved and danced together.

    She tasted of chamomile tea.

    "There," she said, pulling away from me without so much as a hint of redness in her cheeks. "Your new world is ready for you now."

    I touched a finger to my lips before I realized what she said.

    "What? Already? Just like that?"

    She nodded.

    "Before you go, know that I will be giving you some special abilities that only you will have in this world. As penance for my mistake. I hope you use them well."

    "What abilities?"

    "Oh, don''t worry about it," she said, her smile turning with a wry cattiness. "You''ll like them."

    She took a step back from me and gestured for me to stand. With her sheer dress barely covering her voluptuous body, she was practically naked before me. And she was all the more stunning for it. The fact that I was right about the missing underwear was nothing more than a bonus.

    She giggled again when she caught me looking.

    "Are you ready?"

    "Y-Yes. What should I do now?"

    "Nothing at all. Just brace yourself."

    She reached out a dainty hand and held it in front of my face for a moment. My back stiffened, probably the opposite of bracing myself and she lightly tapped my forehead with her index finger. And everything went dark.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 2

    <div>

    When I woke, I felt relieved to see the blue sky returned to me. That woman''s, that Goddess'' warmth was gone, but it was replaced by the gentle embrace of the sunlight shining above me.

    I was immediately sure that everything up until now was just a dream, that I simply blacked out after being hit by that truck. But when my hands moved to my temples to soothe my throbbing headache, I felt blades of grass still wet with morning dew lap at my fingertips. I turned my hand over to confirm the dampness with my eyes and realized there had been some truth to the dream after all.

    I knew there had to be something to it. There was no grass anywhere near where I was hit.

    I sprang up into a sitting position and saw that I was in an unfamiliar forest, surrounded by trees and bushes similar enough to those from my home world to not feel out of place, but just different enough to notice. But that wasn''t what cemented the fact that I had moved on from my old life.

    A rustling that came from one of the nearby bushes stole my attention away from my thoughts. Scooting back a little, I waited with baited breath to see what it was. I was already hoping for something fantastical. Something that would not only confirm the Goddess'' truth, but that would allow me to accept my new fate.

    Before long, an animal I had never seen before popped out from between the leaves. A small ball of white fur trampled the grass with a couple half jumps into the sunlight. It looked mostly like a rabbit, but only mostly. The large antlers on its head pegged it as something that did not exist in my old world.

    It hopped around innocently, its nose twitching as it sniffed around for food, prodding the occasional leaf or fallen branch or patch of grass, likely smell-testing which would taste best, until it spotted me and froze. It just looked at me.

    When I focused on it, curious as to why a snow-white rabbit would be found in a lush, green forest, a small box that looked like a window prompt on a computer screen appeared above its head with the words "Jack Rabbit" in its center and a long red bar running across its bottom. I recognized it immediately as the name of the species and the red bar as a symbol of its current health.

    "Amazing..."

    The Goddess was telling the truth.

    While it could have been possible that I was in an exceedingly realistic virtual reality game, I had my doubts. The grass beneath me felt too much like how I knew it to feel. The cool, gentle breeze that swept through my hair also brought the refreshing scent of the forest to my nose. I could hear the almost relaxing sounds of the forest, birds chirping and flying away, the light strain of branches where the wind caught the leaves of one of the many tall trees and rustled them, a far cry from the autumn world I left, and of the rabbit''s rapid sniffing of the air. When it tilted its head curiously at me, the thick fur coating its body swayed in the wind.

    I had no knowledge of any sort of virtual reality game that could be this detailed. Not that I ever really tried any out. To me, they were just a bunch of sub-par games wrapped up in promises of a virtual world that alone would be worth your hard-earned money. They weren''t worth the time, so I had no experience with them that could truly allow me to compare to the sensations greeting me now.

    Unable to tell if this was a game, dream or reality, I pinched my cheek just to make sure and ¡­

    "Ouch!"

    The rabbit froze stiff at my cry and bolted back into the bush where it came from.

    "Amazing."

    I sat there in the forest, observing my new surroundings while I rubbed my cheek, I hadn''t meant to pinch so hard. A deep happiness that I couldn''t remember feeling before hit me, I laughed, like a truck.

    For everything I looked at, if I focused on it long enough, a window with a name appeared. Most of the trees and bushes had names that I was familiar with back from Earth and I assumed that the few that I didn''t were just ones I never knew about or were something all for this world alone.

    Before long, when I was starting to run out of new objects to inspect, a large window appeared in front of me.

    On it was something like that of a menu from a video game. However, all there was, was a start button and a settings button. I reached out to touch it, thinking it was some kind of wall, but my hand phased through it like nothing was there.

    "What the¡­ I can see it but not touch it?"

    Out of curiosity, instead of pushing through it, I tapped the "Settings" button with my finger and a new screen appeared. Instead of text appearing there instantly like with the rabbit and trees, words slowly started appearing following a blinking cursor, as if someone were typing them in real time.

    [Hello there. How are you liking your new world?]

    If everything up until that moment wasn''t enough, that simple line of text was all I needed. It didn''t come with a name attached, but somehow, I instantly felt that it belonged to that Goddess.

    Unsure of how to respond, since there didn''t seem to be a keyboard attached to the window, I spoke my answer.

    "I like it so far. I haven''t really done anything yet, but it''s beautiful here."

    New text appeared on the screen.

    [I''m glad.]

    A quick answer. There was a pause, but she continued.

    [I can''t speak with you for much longer. I can''t allow myself to interfere too much in the realms of mortals. So let me just say this: head east. Simply head in that direction and I am sure everything will be fine. Any questions?]

    "Um, yea. Thanks for doing all this, but what about those abilities you mentioned? What are they and how do I use them?"

    If she meant combat techniques or magic spells or something else, it was important for me to know how to make use of them while I had the chance. This forest may seem peaceful, but it was still a forest. There could be any number of wild animals that could attack me.

    [Just look in the settings window for an explanation on how things work. Anything else? I have to leave you now.]

    I tried to think of something fast and just started blurting things out as they came to mind.

    "Is there anything I should know about this world? Is there some big-name enemy that I am supposed to fight? Or a war between two kingdoms that I need to settle? Or¡­"

    Before I could rattle off any more questions, more text appeared on the screen.

    [I can''t tell you that. This world, this life, is for you to explore. The games in your past may have been your inspiration for it all, but you choose your path from here on out. There are no quest markers. You decide the path you shall take. Head east if you wish. Or don''t.]

    There was another pause before she continued. Her words came faster than before, almost like she was actually in a rush. I was curious to ask what sort of power could cause a literal Goddess to be so hasty, but I didn''t get my chance.

    [I''m sorry, but I must leave you now. Good luck and I hope we don''t meet again for a long, long time.]

    The second I finished reading that last sentence, all her previous lines of text disappeared along with the proof that I ever held a conversation with a god. I felt suddenly very alone and leaned back onto my palms.

    "¡­ I suppose an actual goddess must be busy."

    This situation could easily turn out to be several times worse than finding yourself stranded in the middle of nowhere back on Earth. At least there, you knew what planet you were on. Here, assuming this planet held a different name, I knew nothing. I could tell the names of the trees, but I had no way of knowing if their leaves were poisonous to the touch. Nor did I have any idea on which foods found here could be edible. Nor did I know how to avoid the dangerous wildlife potentially stalking through these trees. She said she didn''t have time to help me more, but I wish she told me something more than just "head east."

    "Well, I guess she can''t give me too much help, or I''d just have an excuse to grow lazy off the ease of it all¡­ Guess I''ll check the settings."

    After the goddesses'' text bar disappeared, the usual system setting screen you''d see in any game took its place. A short list of options showed up labeled "Stats", "Items", "System Settings" and "Help." I checked the settings page first. Changing the settings to fit my liking was always the first thing I did when starting up a new game. While I didn''t need to worry about if my computer could handle the level of graphics I was seeing, since this was my new life and because I had the option, I wanted to see what was available.

    "Wow, she even added the ability to change the display and sound. But wouldn''t that change the way the world itself looks?"

    I thought up several possibilities on how I could use these features to my benefit, but decided to leave them unchanged. Because the world was made for me, I thought I should experience it the way she meant me to. However, I did notice the option to display a HUD with my life bar and prepared equipment, so as to not obscure my view of my surroundings, I set it so that the HUD wouldn''t appear unless I looked for it directly.

    From there, the only other option currently available to me was the Help function. Typically, this was the option you would go to figure out the controls of the game, check your general directive, review objectives and all the world information you already learned, and more all depending on the game you were playing, of course. This was much the same, except that it didn''t show a typical control scheme for a mouse and keyboard or controller. Instead, it showed a single line of text.

    [To use spells or abilities, simply think or wish for them to happen.]

    "Well, that seems easy enough."

    Intrigued further, I took a quick peek at my character stats page. Well, I guess it''s just my stats page, isn''t it? I figured whatever abilities she gave me were listed there and they were along with all my other person info. I took a few minutes to familiarize myself with them.

    Job List:

    Adventurer lvl.1

    Swordsman lvl.1

    General Stats:

    Health ¨C 200

    Mana - 100

    Vigor - 10

    Strength ¨C 10

    Endurance ¨C 15

    Speed ¨C 10

    Magic ¨C 10

    Luck - 20

    Special Abilities:

    Lower Telekinesis

    Material Creation

    Material Destruction

    Memorization

    Special Traits:

    Bottomless Item Box

    Easy Class Gain

    Easy Spell Copy

    Increased Charisma

    Increased Confidence

    Increased EXP gain

    Increased Luck

    Increased Mana Recovery

    Increased Stamina Recovery

    Scaling Increased endurance

    Silent Casting

    "What the hell? What''s with all of this shit?!"

    She wouldn''t tell me about the world because she didn''t want to influence mortals too much, but she started me with what looked like a bunch of cheat codes.

    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Cheating in games by downloading overpowered abilities always ruined the fun of the game. They always started off fun, acting out your god-like whims by either becoming invincible or incredibly rich, but when you easily dispatched all enemies and instantly finished all puzzles and could buy anything you wanted, it quickly grew boring. There would be nothing left to strive for.

    But if this was my real life, I felt I should probably be grateful. Even at a cursory glance, I felt many of the traits alone would end up saving me in one way or another.

    After quickly reviewing my abilities, I could see why that goddess assumed I would like them. While my stats seemed well rounded for a beginner, the "Easy Abilities" and the "Increased Exp" traits basically sound like cheats meant to help me level up faster. I suppose that means my Adventurer and Swordsman classes were going to level up quickly.

    "But wait¡­ Doesn''t the Silent Casting trait and the existence of a magic stat imply that magic really does exist in this world?"

    Usually when I played RPG games, I almost always used magic simply because of how much fun it was. Swords, axes and bows were all fun in their own rights, but they were all things you could find and use in the real world if you wanted. Magic, however, was pure fantasy. At least, it was supposed to be. If it was real, then I''d really have to forgive that Goddess for ending that miserable existence for me.

    I checked around the menu and found another tab in my stats page labeled "Combat Abilities" and opened it. There a page popped up with two subsections labeled "Physical Abilities" and "Spells." The Physical Abilities section was empty, so I figured I''d have to learn some before they showed up there. However, in the Magic section there wasn''t a name of a spell, but an icon of what looked like a wrapped present.

    I reached out to touch it with my finger before I stopped and tried focusing on it like the Help page suggested. Its lid popped off and it spewed out a golden light so powerful that it was very nearly blinding. A chorus of beautiful voices sang an exciting and beautiful fanfare that I was only partially sure I wasn''t imagining, but there wasn''t exactly anyone else around to confirm this.

    When the lights and voices faded, I rubbed at my eyes before reading the contents on the window.

    Just what present did she leave me?

    Excited that this must be the real present the goddess said she''d give me, I waited with baited breath until eight square icons and a small box of text appeared on the screen. Each of the icons had a different symbol on them, each describing a typical elemental attribute. The first was a small flame, then a droplet of water, one of what looked to be a glacier, a miniature tornado, a lightning bolt, a basic image of a house, a shining black square and what looked like a ball with a few lines stretching out from it, likely symbolizing light. Beneath them, the text box read:

    [You may choose only one starting spell. Choose wisely.]

    Reading that, I chuckled to myself a bit.

    "Even her gift has typical video game limits. She didn''t even label them. Still, how am I supposed to know what these spells even do?"

    I couldn''t really complain. Just the idea of using real magic was exciting enough for me to want to pick one at random and let it loose to see if it really worked. Nearly endless thoughts and possibilities crossed my mind. Without a proper label for these attributes, the actual spell they provided me could literally be anything. If I chose the tornado, obviously the wind attribute, I might end up being able to create catastrophe-level winds to blow my foes away. Or, if I went with the glacier, or ice, as I normally did in games, I could freeze them solid with a burst of frigid ice shot straight out of my palm.

    But before I could let myself ponder all the various kinds of spells that were sure to exist here, I had to choose. Hyping them up too much might just end up with me disappointed if I chose the water spell and was only able to shoot a trickle of water from my fingertip like a broken squirt gun.

    Thinking carefully, I figured the flame, water, wind, ice, lightning spells were likely basic elemental attack magic you could expect to start a game with, or at least learn early on in a playthrough. I wasn''t sure what the black square represented off the bat, but I assumed it was meant for darker forms of magic such as necromancy or illusion magic. Until I knew more about the world, I decided it wasn''t safe to choose a type of magic that could get me in trouble, since most fantasy worlds view those types of magics to be more evil-inclined.

    I also had no idea what the house icon represented, but if it wasn''t going to give me the ability to instantly spawn a house or to teleport to my player home, then I wasn''t interested.

    That left the glowing ball. It was the only option I could see that could represent a lower-level healing spell. Being able to heal my wounds after or during a fight was definitely a great bonus. And since this was my real life we are talking about and not some fictional character, such an ability would be abundantly precious.

    Before deciding, I went back to the main menu and checked my Items page. This apparently allowed me to see a visual representation of that Bottomless Item Box I saw in Traits page. How it was that, that counted as a trait, I couldn''t be bothered to guess. In it showed the typical RPG menu showcasing both what I had equipped and what I had stored away. My equipment, which I hadn''t even noticed I had been changed into, was a very basic villager''s outfit, a long sword, a pair of leather gloves and boots. And, as expected, the inventory also held one bottle filled with a thick red liquid, labeled "Low-tier Healing Potion."

    "I think that settles it, then."

    While a healing spell was immediately the most eye catching, after some deep thought, I chose the fire spell. Healing would no doubt be useful, but that was only if I got hurt, which I didn''t plan to do. Typically, I tended to play these types of games as a silent assassin type. Taking down NPCs with swords, bows and magic all without ever even being seen. Things may not work out that easily in this world, but I wasn''t too sure yet if I should stick to what I know or just wing it. Only one of those options sounded safe, but I didn''t want to lock myself down to one playstyle. Er, lifestyle. This wasn''t a game I could just start over if I built myself wrong.

    I wasn''t sure if that was what I was going to do yet, but I didn''t want to set myself back by taking something I didn''t truly need. I thought this because the existence of the potion itself implied that, not only was there an alchemy system of some sort here, but also that wounds could be healed by simply taking a swig of potion. Meanwhile, I could use the fire spell to attack, light torches, make campfires and cook. As of now, this was only an assumption, but without the confines of a video game''s coding, the versatility of most magics was likely stunning.

    At least, I hoped that was the case as I tapped the fire icon.

    [New spell acquired: Fire Ball]

    Feeling almost reproachful of myself for being so quick to choose when the spell showed up in the magic section of my combat abilities page and the other options all faded away, I started to worry that I may not have made the right choice. I had only assumed I could light things on fire with magic simply because fire in my previous world could burn anything it touched. But if I were to shoot some fire at one of these trees, would the flame simply disperse after making contact or would it actually set the tree aflame?

    "Better test this out first."

    I got to my feet, reached for one of the low hanging branches above my head and plucked it off. Using the Holding the stick out in front of me, I pointed my free palm at it. Using the Help menu''s advice, I imagined a fire ball in my mind''s eye and soon, an orange glow emitted from the center of my palm before I could consider whether or not I was supposed to make a particular hand gesture to get something to happen. Then a baseball-sized orb of flames appeared before me, so close all I needed to do to touch it was close my fingers. Sparks spilled off of it and faded to nothingness at my feet and it''s vibrant heat warmed and dried my fingertips still wet with dew.

    "It really works!"

    Amazed to the point of jumping like an idiot that I was actually using magic, I almost forgot why I was testing the spell in the first place. So, I imagined the fire ball flying out of my hand at the stick and it happened almost immediately after the thought crossed with real intent in my mind.

    I laughed to myself, nearly giddy enough to start dancing on the spot, and let the fire fly at the stick. I would have been remised if I somehow manage to miss a pointblank shot, even if this was my first time trying, but it struck home. The fire hit the stick, passed right over it and burned it black. The smell of the smoke reminded me of when I went camping once as a kid and we toasted a few marshmallows over an open campfire, only back then it took several seconds of heat for the sticks we used to even start going black. Meaning that this smaller fire was somehow more intense. I laughed again.

    Just as I realized my little test was a success, the flame continued to fly through the air towards an empty plot of grass.

    "Oh shit¡­"

    If a branch could burn, then so could grass. And everything else inside the forest. Which I was currently standing in.

    Terrified that I might have just started a chain reaction that would lead to the forest around me being burned down, and that I''d be sent straight back to that Goddess out of sheer stupidity, I was fully ready to panic when another jack rabbit appeared.

    It burst out of a different bush this time, chasing some kind of smaller animal I didn''t have the time to read the name of. The rabbit jumped into the air, intending to pounce on the pray it finally closed in on, but it was struck mid-arc by the fire ball.

    There was a brief squeak of pain as the fire hit the jack rabbit and sent it flying backwards, as if hit by a heavy solid object. The fire fizzled out into nothing against its fur and thankfully didn''t spread from there. The small animal dropped to the ground and stopped moving. Its fur was burnt an ashy black. I waited a moment to see if it would get up and run away from me, this previously unknown threat that attacked it out of nowhere, but it was completely still where it laid in the grass. Its tiny chest didn''t even move to show it was breathing. It was dead. And I killed it.

    I narrowly avoided disaster, but I felt a slight sting of pain in my heart at seeing its motionless corpse. Back on Earth, I''d never gone hunting and never killed an animal. There were a few times where my father took me fishing, but as luck would have it, I never once caught anything. So, even though it was apparently just some kind of predator itself that fell prey to a larger foe, I felt a little bad.

    I took a cautious step towards it and as soon as I was close enough to touch it, its body burst into white light and it faded away. In its place was what looked like a small, jagged branch. Happy at least that the fire didn''t spread past that, I picked up the branch and focused on it.

    The name "Jack Rabbit Antler" appeared in front of me. Using my knowledge of gaming, I decided to put the antler in my storage to sell or use it later. But before I could even look to see how to actually access my item box, the area around the item turned dark. A purple miasma of sorts faded into existence and swallowed the antler whole, before disappearing itself.

    "What the hell?"

    I opened my menu and saw that the antler was tucked away neatly in a new "Ingredients" tab within my item box.

    "¡­ Guess all I have to do to store things is think about it. That''s good to know."

    With this in mind, I hesitantly held my hand up and imagined pulling the antler back out. As if reaching into an invisible bag that floated in the air, the miasma appeared again and slowly swallowed my fingers up to the wrist. I felt nothing, not cold, not heat, not pain, not even a breeze that could tell me I was reaching into some other dimension, another world with a climate. It was as if my hand merely stopped existing, but I could still feel the other items I started with when I thought of them. My fingertips prodded the leather sheath to a sword, then glided over the smooth glass of a potion bottle. I reached deeper and felt the rough antler touch my hand. I grabbed hold of it before yanking my hand away from the miasma.

    Just as I expected, the antler was now in my hand. After turning my hand over to check for damage, found nothing, I imagined the antler going back in my inventory and it once again phased through my hand and into my item box.

    "Hmm. I wonder if this is one of those abilities the goddess mentioned only I have."

    So far, at least, this world seemed to operate on the same kind of physics and logic of my old world. Considering how the fire was able to burn objects in the world itself, then it didn''t make sense that other people would be able to reach into nothingness and pull out an object. The laws of physics do state you can''t create matter out of nothing, after all. Well, except, maybe you could with magic. But the fire ball spell was the only spell I had and if such a spell existed, then I didn''t know. Considering that the Item Box didn''t show up under the Spells tab, I guessed not.

    Guess I''ll just have to keep it a secret from everyone else I meet until I''m sure whether or not they could do it. I imagined that if they couldn''t, they''d love to abuse this power and force me to haul things over long distances for them. I also imagined that might be a good way to make money if the need ever arose, though.

    I reopened my menu and checked the item box trait to see if a description explaining its limits existed, but found nothing. Just another thing I''ll have to figure out for myself.

    I shrugged and checked my basic stats page. My mana read as having lost twenty percent of its full value, meaning I could only use the fire ball spell five times. Which made sense. The world would be heavily unbalanced if that weren''t the case and a noob like me could start chucking fire balls non-stop.

    Next to my stats was an EXP gauge for both my Adventurer and a class that clearly wasn''t there a minute ago, labeled simply as "Mage." Apparently, killing the rabbit net me 50 EXP points. This put me about a tenth of the way to level two for each.

    "Looks like using magic increased both the new Mage class and the Adventurer class. Does that mean classes that weren''t directly meant for battle gained levels regardless of what is used to defeat enemies?"

    Using spells to level up the Mage class made sense the same way it made sense that killing the rabbit with a spell did nothing for the Swordsman class. However, the Adventurer class sounded more like a title, rather than a specific weapon group or combat style.

    "Does that mean it will level up no matter what I choose to fight with? Easy enough. But to get that much experience from just one rabbit¡­ That Increased EXP trait is going to really come in handy."

    Usually, killing small woodland critters in games was more for the sake of collecting their meat for healing or survival purposes, rather than actually gaining experience, because they barely offered any to begin with. But if I got that much of a boost from the trait, maybe going on a little rampage here in the forest would be warranted.

    I shook my head. I was a little surprised at myself for even considering such a thing after killing the jack rabbit caused me discomfort.

    Then again, this was my life now, right? Leveling up should be an important aspect of whatever daily grind I set up for myself here. Feelings aside, I''d rather kill the rabbits than let myself remain as weak as a level one character forever.

    I shook my head again when I considered the mana cost. That kill was pure luck. I had no confidence yet that I would be able to hit a moving target on purpose. And I didn''t want to find out if there were any drawbacks to burning through your supply of mana. For all I knew, it could just leave me mentally fatigued or outright kill me if I let it hit zero.

    After deciding that was the case, I moved to put my hands on my hips and take in a deep breath to ready myself to take on the world, but what I felt was something harder than flesh smack against my palm.

    "What''s¡­ Oh."

    Apparently, a stray thought while I was rummaging through my item box caused the sword inside it to appear on my hip. I ran my fingers over the leather strap making up the grip and felt a smile spread across my lips.

    Like magic, swords were a staple of fantasy stories. Perhaps against my better judgement, I did buy a couple cheap ones online back on Earth, but I doubted they''d really be of any use in a fight. They''d probably break under the slightest tension. But this one''s weight felt very, very real.

    I slid the blade out of its sheath and held it up in front of my face to inspect it. The name "Bronze Long Sword" appeared in front of me. It was a basic starting sword, made of what might be this world''s cheapest metal work, meaning there was nothing special about it, but it did leave me wondering it blades made of other metals would be more powerful like they were in games or if the metal only affected durability, sharpness and overall weight of the weapon. At least, the differences in metal stacking up higher damage number really never made sense to me, but I went with it just like everyone else.

    Feeling excited all the more about the world built for me, I shoved the sword back into its sheath, enjoying the crisp, metallic shunk it made as I did enough to pull it out and slid it right back in. Finished with my testing for now, I focused on my HUD and turned towards the east as it appeared on the compass above my head.

    The goddess suggested going this way and so far, she''s been nothing but nice to me. Might as well try out her advice.

    This time, I''d do better. Starting in this new world was going to rob me of my ability to just wing it when it came to life. Laziness wasn''t going to be an option, literally. There was no computer screen to hide behind and likely no modern comforts to keep me comfortable. My life was likely going to depend on me putting myself out there. The same way it was probably supposed to be back on Earth.

    It felt odd to think that I needed to be reincarnated to understand all of this, but now there was no choice for me but to do better.

    Offering up one last prayer to this goddess in hopes that Lucy really would find a new, loving owner, I took my first step towards a new life.

    <div>

 Volume 1 - Chapter 3

    The eastern path the goddess'' advised me to take brought me deeper into the forest. The deeper I went, the more I passed various plants and animals I''d never seen or heard of back on Earth. I did consider hunting them, but figured it was best to get my bearings before I really started training.

    Soon, the trees themselves grew bigger, thicker, their leaves blocking out more and more of the sunlight above. Figuring that this would be the perfect time to be ambushed by a hungry predator, I kept my hand on the hilt of my sword and left the sword itself partially drawn to make it easier to fight. While my miniscule sword collection back on Earth might have suggested something more, I had no knowledge of how to actually fight with one of these things, so I tried to keep in mind that if things got rough, I could just throw a bit of fire at anything that stood in my way.

    I did this, but all the animals I passed scurried away before I got close enough to do anything to them in the first place. If I were to think of this area as just the starting spot for a game, then it made sense. Everything here was low level and so was I, but anything outside of the animals'' own species must have caused their fight or flight instinct to kick and, naturally, they chose flight.

    Once more, after the third deer-like creature ran off through the trees, I considered hunting them down and power leveling a bit, but what they lacked in power, they more than made up for with speed. Combine that with their greater knowledge of the forest and my lacking ability as a hunter, I didn''t stand a chance at even finding them again.

    I quickly gave this up and checked my compass for the umpteenth time to make sure I was still headed in the right direction.

    All things considered, I seemed to have accepted my death and this new world fairly easily. The thought of me already having died should have been depressing enough to leave me bedridden for weeks. But it wasn''t. Maybe the Goddess'' embrace had something to do with it. Or maybe that was just her way of calming me down before sending me off into this new world. She did mention that most people found death to be incredibly traumatic. Then there was that tea. She probably just wanted me calm if she planned on dropping me in the middle of nowhere so I wouldn''t freak out and get myself killed again.

    "Still¡­ I can''t believe a woman that crazy beautiful was dressed so scandalously."

    Imagining that beautiful woman and her dangerously curvy body wrapped in that sheer dress, I let myself get distracted and wondered into a clearing within the forest. A wide open plain of grass bordered by trees and shrubbery not too dissimilar to the one I started in spread out before me. I opened the HUD again to check that I was still headed east and that I didn''t somehow double-back on myself and saw that I was still facing the correct direction.

    The moment I closed the HUD and let slip a sigh, I heard a bellowing howl and two large wolves jumped out from the bushes in front of me. After carefully walking past so many cute critters that usually chose to run away from me like a tourist walking through a museum or aquarium, only to end up in front of these beasts, it took my brain a moment to kick in and realize the threat they posed. They looked much like the wolves in my old world, but their bodies were noticeably bigger and their claws much sharper.

    "Grrr."

    The one on the left watched me like a hawk while the other growled, hungry drool pooling in its mouth before dripping down to the grass. It almost felt like its growl was meant to tell me to stay still and to just let this happen, that it would be easier for everyone if I didn''t fight back.

    Overcome with the fear of dying once more, I scrambled to pull out my sword as fast as I could. That goddess may have sent me to another world, but that didn''t mean I was immortal. The fact that she gave me a health potion at the start meant it was very likely that if my health bar dropped to zero, I would actually die again. A death game, of sorts. I highly doubted she''d give me another chance if I messed this up so soon after she helped me.

    The wolves just stood there, growling, eyeing me, as if judging how best to take down their next meal. I grit my teeth, fixed my posture to make me look bigger and met their gaze.

    When I focused on them, a name appeared above both of them labeling them as "White Wolf" and "Grey Wolf." Both were apparently level one. Since these two were the only ones that bothered to reveal themselves, I felt it relatively safe to assume that they were all alone and steeled myself to fight. I doubted that wild animals would give me the chance to run without giving chase and I wasn''t about to fall into that horror movie clich¨¦ of tripping on a root in the middle of the forest while my soon-to-be killer stalked behind me. I should probably just be thankful they didn''t come at me with their entire pack.

    I readied my once sluggish body to fight, feeling a little in awe of myself at how easy it felt to face off against a real threat, but the white wolf was the first to make a move. It lunged straight for me while the grey one circled around. Seeing as how the grey one tried to walk a wide arc to get to my side, I decided the best option was to lunge at the white one since we would collide first anyway. Letting them come at me at the same time would only insure disaster. If I could handle it quickly, I would still have time to turn and face the grey one.

    With a hefty grunt I might have made at the gym lifting weights if I ever went, I ran towards the white wolf. It seemed slightly taken aback by this choice. In its surprise it jumped at me sooner than it must have meant to, because there wasn''t all that much power in it. Curiously, I smirked when I saw this.

    It was a simple mistake I saw happen all the time in games and movies. The enemy jumps at the hero to try and deliver the finishing blow. But they, just like this wolf, ruined their chances for success. Now that it was up in the air, it had no way to change the direction it moved.

    Taking into consideration the length of its legs and claws, I waited until the last second to keep it steady and confident before stepping aside to let its claws rend nothing but air. I hit it with a downward slash of my sword the moment its form crossed in front of me. I felt a slight resistance as blade hit fur, but the blade cut through just fine. Almost like chopping a bit of meat for dinner, only there was more of it. My sword stopped when it hit something hard inside its body, likely bone, and ripped the blade back out. Blood splattered the forest floor and the white wolf fell and stopped moving. That left only the grey one, but I had no time to pat myself on the back.

    The grey one came at me exactly as predicted. The savage beast did not stop to mourn the loss of its friend and focused only on attack. However, as if it learned from the white wolf''s mistake, it did not jump at me. Instead, it ran full speed, paws kicking up tufts of grass and soil, and bared its fangs for a vicious bite. It was ready to bite into any part of me it could get a hold of, but I guessed a creature this large had to have some experience hunting prey, so it likely knew where to attack to end the fight quickly.

    Somehow, this didn''t worry me as much as it did when I was first faced with my possible death at the claws and fangs of these animals. The thought of actually being eaten by this thing still shook me, but having cleared the first hurdle with such ease, I felt some of the tension in my shoulders lessen. Better to fight this way, I guessed.

    Following the wolf''s slight zig-zagging, I was able to clearly read where it was going to be, and despite having no previous experience with a sword, struck it with the pommel the moment I could reach it. The bronze sphere at the end of the hilt hit the wolf square in the jaw.

    The blow felt heavy, the grip of my sword vibrated harshly in my palm, but the power of the strike and its own momentum knocked the wolf to the ground. I chased its falling body and, aiming for center mass, stabbed into it with the tip of my sword before it could stand again. Unlike the white wolf, this one yelped in pain for a moment before growing steadily still as its life bar drained away along with the crimson blood staining the grass it laid on. Unlike with the jack rabbit, I felt no guilt.

    Once more, before congratulating myself on not dying, I checked my surroundings to make sure I was alone. Thankfully, I was. So, I sheathed my sword and, out of habit born from slaying hundreds of these beasts in games, checked on the wolves'' bodies for valuables. The grey one was still in the middle of bursting into light like the rabbit had, but the white one was already long gone. When the lights faded, where the wolves had died now laid two discarded strips of fur labeled as "White" and "Grey" wolf pelts respectively.

    With a sigh, I let the rest of the tension ease out of my shoulders and put the pelts in my item box, wondering all the while why I only got their fur as a trophy and no meat or other drops. Was RNG a thing here?

    Still, there was a much more pressing question I needed to ask myself before I started wondering about the intricacies of this world.

    "Did that Goddess really lead me into a pair of wolves before teaching me how to fight?"

    Sure, I managed just fine, but that was mainly because I managed to out think a couple wild animals. I was sure that if there was a professional sword fighter of any level watching me duel the beasts, they''d be shaking their heads in disappointment in my performance.

    Complaining to myself, I checked the compass and started east again.

    Regardless of what I found, I was still in the middle of the forest. It was probably just luck that I''d only run into passive animals thus far. For all I knew, something worse could be waiting for me to relax just a little too much before pouncing.

    The thought caused a shudder to run up and down my spine several times before my feet kicked into action again.

    As I headed deeper into the forest, I checked my stats page. The rabbit from earlier gave me 50 EXP, but the wolves each gave me 100. With just three wins under my belt, I was already half way to leveling up my Adventure class and I put a significant dent in the first level of my Swordsman class. The Mage class, of course, didn''t move an inch.

    "Still," I said, muttering to myself. "I never had any sword training in the old world. Why was I so sure about my abilities to swing a blade in that fight?... Ah, right."

    I flicked back to the Abilities page and nodded to myself at what I saw there. That sureness I felt must have come from my Increased Confidence trait.

    "The goddess must have given it to me so that I didn''t die to the first thing that scared me. I definitely can''t imagine my old self facing down two wolves like it was nothing."

    Satisfied and grateful, I quickened my pace through the trees.

    I wasn''t particularly looking for another fight, I just wanted to remove myself from this forest before I got attacked again. But even if I was looking to duke it out with the forest''s worst, I never managed to find myself in another battle.

    When I reached the edge of the forest and found a long wooden fence blocking my way, I breathed a sigh of relief. Only tall enough to reach my navel, the log fence stretched as far as I could see in either direction down the dirt path on its other side.

    Oh, fence. Proof of civilization at last. How I thank you for your unending watch over this road and for keeping the beasts within the forest at bay.

    Checking that nobody was watching me, I had no idea if the forest or the fence belonged to anybody in particular, I climbed up on top of it to finally rid myself of the forest''s confinement and a mixture of awe and glee at the sight before my eyes took hold of my body.

    Just over the sweeping, grassy hills in front of me and past the heavily toiled farmland, I found the sturdy stone walls of what looked like a massive castle that seemed to stretch all the way up to the clouds just on the horizon. For the first time, it dawned on me that I was in a medieval setting. Swords and magic aside, this was the best example of what anybody would expect to see in such a world.

    With thoughts of intrigue and exploration exciting my mind, I hopped off the fence and jogged down the dirt road towards the wall.

    The closer I got to the main road leading to the large gate blocking the entrance, the more people I saw. Immediately, I found myself wondering if they were all just simple NPC''s programmed to walk this path every day or if they were real people with thoughts and feelings sharing life with me in this world.

    Feeling it majorly important to figure this question out before I spoke to anyone, I observed them from afar. I wanted to get a general idea of what I was looking at. In video games, NPCs, unless killed, moved along repetitive routes as they went about their daily actions. The player could interrupt them by getting in their way or speaking with them, but after that delay was finished, their artificial intelligence would walk them right back onto their proper pathing. Testing these people''s status as NPCs wouldn''t be as simple as standing in front of them to see if they stopped or went around me. Any real person could do that too, obviously. So, I tried to think of some other way while observing them.

    A rather sturdy-looking woman carrying a wicker basket filled to the brim with what looked like potatoes accidentally dropped one of the spuds after adjusting her grip. But before she could stop to pick it up, some dirty, frail man in tattered clothes ran up to her at full speed, grabbed the potato and ran away before she could so much as utter a protest. As the man ran away, I saw him stuff the potato straight into his mouth, without care for the dirt it grew in still coating it now mixing with the dirt found on the road.

    "Well, I guess that means hunger is going to be a thing here."

    I didn''t get my answer exactly, but I decided my top priority should be to find some food. For all I knew, chasing that man down might start up some unseen quest with a reward at the end waiting for me, but my basic survival instincts, which I learned through movies, told me the first things I needed to do was procure food and water and a place to sleep. But all that meant I needed to get past this wall.

    I already killed a couple of wolves and neither of them dropped any meat, so even if I used my new magic to start a fire, I had nothing to cook over it. And I had no idea which plants in the forest were edible and I really didn''t want to test that out without a proper guide, lest I succumb to poisoning or end up in a situation where I could only wish for a proper toilet.

    But inside, just on the other side of this great stone wall that looked like it could take a shelling from a modern-day tank and shrug it off, there was sure to be food stalls, or a restaurant, or even a bar where I could sit down and get something to eat. I''d think of it as a welcome to this world one-man party and splurge a little.

    Most of the people entering the gate were either carrying large baskets, like the potato woman, or sacks likely filled with whatever foods they were growing in the fields nearby. A few looked to be traveling merchants, riding in on horse-drawn carts and carriages with varying amounts of cargo in the bed behind them.

    Each and every one of these people stopped in front of the heavily armored guards at the gate''s entrance. Each person took out what looked like a coin from their pocket, bag or, for some of the merchants, a lock box they carried in the backs of their wagons and handed them to the guard before they were let through the gate.

    "Great. There''s an entrance tax. This isn''t good."

    My item box said that that Goddess started me with only had 100 gold pieces to my name right now and I neither had an idea of what the entrance tax was nor if this world''s money system regulated everything down to gold coins, as some games did. There could be other denominations of coin such as silver and copper or maybe those made of some other rare metal new to this world, none of which I had. Just a plain leather purse filled with gold.

    It was a pleasant thought, seeing and knowing I had that much gold on my person, actual, real gold, or so my item box said, but until I knew if I was sitting on a mountain of wealth here or if I was just barely scraping by, I needed to be frugal.

    The amount I carried sounded comparable to the amount of gold game developers often let you start with, which is probably why the Goddess gave these coins to me. She drew upon this knowledge when she looked into my memories¡­ By kissing me.

    A pleasant shudder climbed up my back and prickled my hair at the memory. It wasn''t my first kiss, but it had been so long that, now that I had a chance to calm down after my death, I wished I had managed to hold onto the sensation of her lips for just a bit longer.

    I shook these thoughts from my mind to focus on the task at hand. The traffic into and out of the gate seemed to never end, which meant the guards were also on constant vigil.

    "Shit¡­ How am I going to get in then?"

    For a while, I watched the train of people travel up the road, stop by the guards, have a short conversation with them, offer up the tax and move on one after another. It was almost like clockwork how brief their stops were, but I guessed that the guards just didn''t want to hold up the line by stopping to chat earnestly. After a few minutes of studying the crowd, I noticed the guards never bothered to check the contents of the carts they let into the city. An incredible oversight on their part, but a possible solution to my problem.

    I jogged down to and stooped behind the chest-high stone wall that led towards the gate. I became concerned that I might look like a suspicious person, which I arguably was, when a few of those walking up the road quickly made to look away from me. Weary of one of them calling me out as a bandit or some such nonsense, I put my sword away into my item box, making sure none of them saw me do so, to both ease their minds and keep my item box a secret. The people and wagons carrying goods proved it at least wasn''t a common ability. I didn''t want to make it look like I was there for a fight.

    I bided my time as people and carts passed me by, waiting for my chance to strike. The never-ending stream all but insured I could take my time waiting for the right moment to make a move. So, patience was the name of the game.

    Not before long, a wagon with a thin white sheet covering its bed caught my eye. Its driver, a man of maybe fifty years old judging by the amount of grey in his beard, noticed me, gave a brief nod and a smile and continued on. It seemed to be a smile of convenience, but it felt wholly more convincing than whenever I put up one of my own. I had to wonder how he managed it so easily as I chased after his cart while trying to look as inauspicious as possible.

    Thankfully, the wagon had to move somewhat slowly out of consideration for those in front of it. So, I was able to sneak up and lift the sheet covering its cargo and found a bunch of barrels hidden beneath it. Just a bunch of barrels. Thanks again, maybe to my increased luck stat, there was room enough between the barrels for me to squeeze inside. Along with this wagon, there was a lull in the amount of people headed to the gate, so I was sure nobody saw me slip inside under the sheet while praising my confidence boost for helping me make this move.

    I did my best not to make any noise and to not shake the wagon too much, so the driver didn''t feel me climb aboard. I didn''t know if the entrance tax was based on how many people were traveling in a group or not and didn''t want this man to reject me based on if it was.

    If anyone happened to have seen me stow myself away, they thankfully said nothing of it. So, there I waited. The sheet let in enough sunlight for me to not be completely left in the dark, but I wasn''t able to enjoy watching the clouds float on by while I laid there curled up into a ball, hoping I wasn''t caught.

    We hit some kind of a ditch and a handful of what felt like dirt fell on my head. It quickly proved to be anything but dirt, when its scent burned my nostrils. I dusted it out of my hair and noticed that it was a deep red color. I had no idea what it was, but I guessed it was some sort of spice and that the old man was a spice trader.

    The stuff burned my nose hairs and brought tears to my eyes, but with the need to maintain a minimal presence, held my complaints on my tongue, forced my tears to stay put and waited for the cart to reach the gate.

    The waiting and anticipation of being caught was more rough than I had anticipated, as I was the sort that was too skittish to break any sort of law even when I knew no one was looking, but I think my confidence boost seemed to help keep my mind in check and kept my worries from causing me to give up and jump out before I was caught.

    After about three minutes of slow, uneven traveling that caused more of the red spice to drop onto my head, the cart finally stopped. The horses leading the way snorted in thanks for the brief respite from work. I perked my ears to listen in on what happened next.

    "What''s yer reason for visiting The Great City of Amoranth?"

    The gruff voice I heard must have come from the guard. His question cleared up a small misunderstanding I had earlier. This wasn''t the wall of a castle; it was just a large city. What sort of city would require a wall this big was not something I could imagine, but what I could imagine now that getting caught here would be very bad indeed.

    "Just here to peddle spices, sir knight."

    The driver''s voice and polite speech sounded like that of the kind old man I imagined him to be and it made me feel terrible for stowing away in his cart. If I were to get caught, the guards would only assume he was trying to smuggle me in and, through no fault of his own, we would likely both be arrested on the spot.

    "Yea? Then why you got it covered with that sheet?"

    Oh shit¡­

    Despite my growing fear of being caught and worried that I might have made the wrong choice jumping into the back of this wagon instead of just paying my way, the old man answered the question easily. More importantly, his words sounded practiced, easy.

    "Sir, what I have behind me are spices that have already been ground down into a fine powder. If I do not cover them, the wind will blow them all away, along with all my profits."

    Nice save, old man!

    The guard snorted in understanding.

    "Fine then. The entrance tax is 1 silver piece."

    "Of course, sir. Glad to see the price hasn''t changed since the last time I was here."

    I listened as the old man dug a coin out of his purse, but missed any sound of him handing it to the guard. Relief washed over me as well as praise for the old man. That he was able to convince the guard there was no need to check may well have saved my life. It wasn''t until then that I noticed each of the barrels next to me were emitting various odors thanks to the spices piled inside of them. Not one of them were covered properly.

    Does this old man not know what a lid is? I was no spice expert or the sort of expert chef capable of naming them based on smell alone, but wouldn''t they lose some of their flavoring if not properly contained?

    "Alright, move along."

    The guard seemed to have been satisfied with the old man''s coin, but we didn''t move.

    "Wait¡­"

    I watched as a human-shaped shadow appeared behind the sheet at the tail end of the wagon.

    I thought he wasn''t going to check?!

    Now nearly panicked, I started to sweat. I had no real idea what a real medieval prison looked like, since the games always just forced a time skip to let you quickly serve out your sentence after committing a crime, but I was sure I didn''t want to know.

    "I thought so. Oi, old man," the guard''s fingers grabbed the edge of the sheet right before my feet. Even though I was wearing boots, I curled my toes back, anything to hide myself. "Next time tuck this thing properly. Bandits have been seen around these parts recently, and it''s best not to show them what you have so they don''t want to take it. Ya hear?"

    "Oh, yes, sir. Thank you very much for the warning."

    With that, I stared blankly at the guard''s shadow and the gauntleted hand he slipped beneath the sheet as he tucked it under one of the barrels. All that worrying for nothing. Thank you, Luck stat¡­ I guess.

    Now free from the guard, there was nothing stopping us from entering the city proper. Once the wagon started rocking again, I let out a small sigh of relief.

    After leaving the road, when I noticed the large overhanging shadow of the thick stone wall above blotting out the sun, likely because we''d made it under the city wall, I heard the thudding of the horses'' hooves against the ground become more of a clopping sound and the ride became much smoother. I guess that the city streets were paved with some kind of stone, rather than dirt.

    It was a shame my first experience in this city, the first I''d visited in this world, had been beneath a sheet that almost completely blocked my line of sight, but I could hear the hustle and bustle of the place just fine. It sounded about as populated as the city I used to live in back on Earth, but the distinct lack of running engines, people yelling at cell phones and police sirens that seemed to never end made everything else sound so much clearer.

    Store owners hollered the greatness of their wares, making them seem oddly interesting without even knowing what they were. Smells of freshly cooked meats and breads whose succulent aromas were just strong enough to make it to my nostrils beneath the spices'' prickled odors to tickle at my stomach. A singular hammer pounded away on an anvil somewhere in the distance, but not so far that I couldn''t tell it belonged to a blacksmith. A multitude of conversations muddled my attempts to learn anything of the city. And children running around playing, their open laughter as they chased one another suggesting they were without any nagging parental supervision, something I would have loved to have as a kid.

    I wanted to jump out then and there, but I knew we were still too close to the gate. A gate which was likely heavily guarded on both sides. So, I kept to myself and waited for us to make some good distance so I wasn''t seen slipping away.

    We traveled the city for quite a way before finally coming to a stop. Putting my all into being patient, I listened to the old man grumble about his backside hurting after his long trip and when grunted with the effort to throw his legs off the driver''s perch and his feet finally hit the ground, I made my move.

    Untucking the sheet from where the guard left it under the barrel, I lifted it slightly to peer under and checked the area behind the wagon to make sure I wasn''t going to be seen. I slipped off the wagon in the opposite direction of the old man, so I didn''t end up colliding with him.

    First mission: Get into the city, completed.

    Now I needed to figure out where to sell the items I found, so that I can make some change and get some good food and a good bed. I was sure there would be no fast food equivalent here, but all the scent my nose caught wind of earlier were so intriguing that I didn''t mind waiting for a good meal. At the thought of all those new plants I saw in the forest, just thinking of all the new foods I''d get to try here left me excited.

    Once I set foot on the ground and was no longer hidden, I got a notification. Or at least, it felt like something that would have made your phone buzz like the sort of annoying adds you could never truly escape no matter how many times you told your apps to stop sending you notifications, but all this did was give me a tingling sensation in the back of my head and somehow, I knew to open my menu. When I did and the window opened up, I received a message indicating I acquired a new ability.

    [Ability: Sneak, obtained.]

    Great. Excellent. Hopefully that one can become absurdly overpowered like in the games. Having the ability to fade from existence by merely crouching right in front of someone, with them somehow being unable to see you despite the light of day fully illuminating you would make any combat in my future so much easier to deal with.

    That stealth assassin build was starting to sound more interesting by the second.

    After I brushed what I knew now to be some kind of spice out of my hair by raking my fingers through it, sprinkling the cobblestone road with the red dust, I put my new ability aside and rounded the cart to greet the old man as if I were just walking by to get on with my next objective.

    When I found him, he was still stretching, his hands pressing firmly on his lower back like he was trying to pop something back into place. Since he didn''t yet notice me, I thought up a quick, but polite greeting and how I might traverse the conversation into obtaining some information. The man mentioned to the guard how the price hadn''t changed since his last visit, so he had to know something about this place.

    However, the moment I opened my mouth to speak, the words I had in mind somehow forgot how to pass through my lips. Wondering where my confidence boost was, I nearly started to panic all over again when the old man finally noticed me. Looking me over out of the corner of his eye, he turned to me with an easy, but cautious smile.

    I need to change. I need to do better.

    Chanting these words to myself, I forced a few words out as my empty stomach churned with the force it took.

    "E-Excuse me. I am, uh, new to this city and I was wondering if you could tell me where I could sell the items I''ve collected by defeating animals during my journey."

    The old gave a brief, slight chuckle and stretched his tired back again. When he didn''t respond immediately, I started to worry if I was the only one able to collect random items from fallen animals. It''s not like their bodies stayed around to take anything else, right? Hopefully, he didn''t think I was insane, or an idiot.

    "If you mean the general store, it''s down that way," he said and pointed down the direction his horses were facing.

    "T-Thank you."

    I turned to leave, but his voice stopped me on the spot.

    "How did you like the ride?"

    My heart thudded, stopped and started again several times in rapid succession.

    "Er, uh¡­ What do you mean?"

    "Relax kid. I know you stowed away in my cart. You don''t travel for as many years as I have without being able to notice when your horses start moving slower than usual. And they haven''t been walking long enough today to get that tired yet. Plus, I did see you before I got in the city myself. So, there''s no way you beat me inside on foot."

    His quick analysis of the situation left me even more dumbstruck than my basement-level confidence did when I first tried to talk to him.

    Guess I was caught the second I tried to be sneaky. Thinking back on it now, the old man was clearly a merchant. He said as much, at least. He must have more brains than the average person around. Of course he would notice such a stupid stunt.

    "¡­ T-Then why didn''t you tell the guard? If I was caught, wouldn''t you have gotten in trouble?"

    The old man nodded with an easy smile.

    "Because when I got a good look at you, I knew you weren''t up to anything bad. You didn''t have the look of a trouble maker. If you did, I would have said something to the guards the moment I spotted you hiding behind that wall. I figured you just didn''t have enough money to get into the city."

    "W-Well, thank you for that. I didn''t."

    While it was a bit of a white lie, probably, I still wasn''t sure if the guard would have been able to give change for a gold piece. Or if he would have swindled me the moment he noticed I didn''t know what I was giving him by returning to me the incorrect amount of change. Once I get to the general store, I''ll need to make sure I figure out how the money conversion system works here.

    "Don''t worry about it."

    "Well, as thanks, h-how about I help you unload your spices?"

    "Thanks, but there''s no need for that. I''m here to sell, so the owner here will have one of his people come and take them¡­ If they are willing to buy, that is."

    "I see. Then, uh, good luck with that."

    "And good luck to you too."

    Wondering how I managed to not only run into such a nice old man and why he didn''t report my crime, I came to the only conclusion that I could. My increased luck stat must have worked on swaying the old man''s interpretation of my intentions, rather than on my success at sneaking into his cart. Curious. I''ll have to be more careful from now on, since I don''t know how or when my luck stat might kick in and affect what happens to me. Assuming it even did anything to begin with. I''d played my fair share of games where, aside from a few weapon and armor sets that scaled in power based on the user''s luck stat, luck was usually mostly useless.

    Still, why did I get the Sneak skill if I actually failed at sneaking? Or was the skill just required to be successful in the first place? Questions for later, I guess.

    I forced myself to wave goodbye to the old man, feeling it weirdly awkward to do so, and walked off down the street before anything could prompt the conversation to start up again. My heart was still pounding from the first one and I didn''t want to usher in a heart attack before I even spoke to anyone else.

    This was going to be tough, but it was for the best. Or so I told myself.

    Now that I had the chance to actually look around, I noticed all kinds of people walking the streets. Many of them seemed to be regular medieval-type city folk just going about their days, collecting groceries from the local fruit and vegetable stands, the butchers or the bakers. Others looked to be warriors of some sort, the weapons and armor they carried all looked well-worn.

    Others were like those I saw trying to enter the city and were carrying varying amounts of cargo by hand, sweating in the cool spring air as they delivered their goods to the local shops or, and I''m just guessing on this one, brought them straight home to their families.

    The city itself seemed to be a happy, sprawling place. The buildings, made mostly of what looked to be machine-carved stone and wood, looked to be almost entirely shops hawking various goods and foods. It was like I stepped into some great mall, rather than a city. The merchant''s district, or so I called it, seemed to stretch for miles, but no matter which direction I looked, I could still see the great stone wall looming in the distance.

    With this many shops and the wall and knights to protect them, and its gaudy name, I guessed that this place was of some significance to the country. Whichever country this was supposed to be.

    The streets were crowded, but not so much that a carriage couldn''t pass through the throng of people. Everyone looked to be more than happy to go about their day, walking here and there, only to quietly step aside whenever a carriage or large cart needed through, only to then retake to the streets as soon as they passed. At first, I thought of this as the people just being polite to those trying to make their way through, but when I caught a few sneering at one of the fancier carriages, I guessed it was more likely the local nobility would punish them in some way if they weren''t quick to get out of the way. That, or they''d just get run over.

    My body stiffened and forced me to walk at an awkward gate when I passed by a group of ten men dressed in full armor. At first, I thought they were guards here to arrest anyone looking suspicious, but I was too quick to realize that none of their amor matched. I never got a good look at the guards by the gate, but I would assume anyone hired by the city would have been given a uniformed suit of armor, so people knew who they were and what they did for a living. After all, they were sort of like the police of this world, right? I hoped so, at least. If I had just walked into a completely lawless city, it might be best for me to leave as soon as possible.

    Feeling as though I narrowly avoided capture yet again when the armored men disappeared into the crowd, I found the general store when I came up upon the first and possibly only shop whose window displayed a wide range of different items, instead of specializing in any one thing.

    Ready to complete the next mission I set for myself, I hurried inside and started looking around out of curiosity. Aside from it being a medieval store, I was curious what kinds of fantasy-like items I would find there.

    In short, I didn''t find much of anything worth mentioning. There were a few daily necessities I knew of from my old world, though more primitive versions of them. There were also a few food stuffs lying about in bins, probably the spares the actual food vendors couldn''t carry themselves. There were even a few potions lining the shelves that I made a mental note of, even though none of them seemed all that useful when I focused and learned their names. Apparently, there was a potion to fix stinky feet. Though, why it was you needed to drink a potion for that instead of soap was beyond me.

    Finally, there were a few things that looked alien to me, but I couldn''t say what their function was. I picked one of them up and turned it over, looking for answers but found none.

    If this world was based on my memories, shouldn''t I know what these things are? Or did the goddess include actual knowledge from the medieval ages back on Earth that was beyond the scope of what I knew? It''d make sense if she did, anyways. I certainly didn''t have enough knowledge trapped in my head to build an entire world with a flick of the wrist the way she did.

    "Hello there, dear customer. How may I help you?"

    While I continued looking around, I was greeted by a heavy-set man with a shining bald head and a thick mustache on his lip. He''d sat himself behind the counter in the back of the shop to face the door, so he must have noticed me instantly. He nodded along with his greeting and gave me a piercing smile, as though he thought I had already found something I wasn''t sure I wanted to buy just yet and was intent on selling it to me.

    "G-Good afternoon. I was looking to sell these."

    I reached around my back to pretend to pull something out of a satchel or something that wasn''t there, took out the antler and pelts out of my item box. I set them on the counter. If the man was upset that I was only there to sell, he carefully didn''t show it.

    "How much¡­ How much could I get for all this?"

    Ignoring my stuttering, he picked up the first wolf pelt and looked closely at it, as if examining its quality under an invisible microscope, something I had no control over since it just appeared when the wolf died and because my lacking ability in skinning an animal should have had no bearing on its quality. But he soon straightened back up and put a hand over it.

    "Appraise Item."

    He spoke and without so much as a burst of light, he smiled and nodded, as though he now fully understood what he was holding. He followed this pattern with the next item.

    That skill definitely sounded useful. But more importantly, that means the other people here can also use abilities. That definitely takes me down a peg in terms of strength since I thought I''d be the only one. I don''t know how I feel about that on paper, but I had to smile to myself when I thought that everyone having such abilities made me less special.

    The merchant examined each item in turn and when finished, he looked back to me.

    "I see. That will be 3 coppers for the antler, 2 silvers for the grey wolf pelt and 5 for the white one, since it''s a bit on the rare. Nice find there, kid."

    "Thank you. May I ask, how did you obtain the Appraise Item skill?"

    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    "Oh, no, kid. That''s not a skill," he said, shaking his head like he was lecturing a child. "That''s an ability. Big difference. At your age you ought to know the difference by now. Skills are something anyone can pick up if they work hard enough, but abilities are tied to your class. I have the appraisal skill because I am of the Merchant class, you see?"

    "Ah, yes. Thank you."

    I nodded along, but was still confused. The words "skill" and "ability" seemed interchangeable on paper, but were clearly considered different in this world. That, or he was just messing with me. And I honestly couldn''t tell. Part of me wanted to assume he wouldn''t risk losing a customer by screwing with him five seconds after meeting him, but I did only come here to sell, so he wasn''t making money on me just yet.

    But thinking back on what showed in my menu and how there was an abilities page, but a skills page, maybe they were just dependent on what they did. Such as Fire Ball being an activatable ability, or spell. And conversely, all my Traits seemed to have passive effects, meaning I couldn''t turn them off or back on. But even with that in mind, what was a skill considered?

    "Then what do I need to do to become a Merchant?"

    "Eh, sorry but you probably can''t," he said, his smile cracking just a bit. Almost like it went against his personal convictions to disappoint a customer. "Once you reach adulthood, your class is chosen for you. It''s based on what your parents'' classes were, or perhaps a hobby they excelled at. It''s chosen at random based on what they were both capable of."

    "Well, that''s a shame."

    Having the ability to appraise items would keep me from being ripped off in the future. If the society these people lived in didn''t have some way to level the playing field, there was likely nothing stopping the merchants from gouging prices on otherwise unawares customers. Except for, maybe their own honor, or if the customer comes in frequently enough and they wanted their business to continue. So, not being able to get the skill really sucks.

    "That''s life, kid," the merchant said with a shrug, unperturbed by why I didn''t know this seemingly basic world knowledge. "You can look around while I fetch your coin. If you find anything you like, let me know."

    The large man hefted himself off his stool and left through the back door behind the counter to fetch the money, while I wondered why he didn''t just keep it at the counter. Then again, I figured that would just make it easier for thieves to steal, since there didn''t appear to be anything like a register here. Not that I was expecting to see one in this time period, though. I chose to ignore it, chalk it up to this just being how he chose to run his shop and looked around again.

    There were several things that looked interesting, but nothing really caught my eye except for a small, box-like pouch that looked like it could be strapped to your belt. After thinking about it for a second or two, I decided to get it. It''d be better if I can reach into a bag to access item box, rather than pull things out of thin air in front of people like I did a moment ago. In hindsight, I actually forgot to check if anyone was behind me before I did that. Plus, if it followed video game logic, equipping it might increase my equip weight or something. Not that I could check if such a stat was a thing, since I was wearing only basic gear and my stats page didn''t show any such value.

    When the merchant came back, he was carrying a fancily-designed silver tray topped with a couple small towers of copper and silver coins. He set it down and I quickly moved back to the counter before anyone else could make a grab for it. He smiled politely and gestured for me to wait a second as he propped the back door open.

    "Find anything you like?" he said.

    "Yes. Could you tell me how much this bag is?"

    I handed him the pouch and unlike with the pelts, he glanced at it for only a second, this time without using appraisal.

    "That is a small leather belt pouch, so 10 coppers. Would you like to purchase it?"

    Wait, isn''t this the perfect chance to see how the money in this world works? With only the 3 coppers he was about to give me, he would have to instead take the silver and give me back some change. With that, I should be able to work out how many coppers make a silver piece.

    With that in mind more than the need for the pouch, since I had my item box to hold whatever I needed, and the thought that 9 coppers didn''t really sound all that pricey considering this pouch looked handmade, I nodded.

    "Yes please."

    "Aright then. That brings what I owe you to 1 silver and 4 coppers."

    Hmm¡­ So, the silver is just worth 10 coppers then? That makes this relatively simple, assuming he wasn''t cheating me. On top of this, learning how many silvers made a gold piece might require me to play dumb, which would just open up more chances to get swindled.

    "Thank you."

    He removed a few coins from the tray, letting me watch as he did, then pushed it towards me. I picked the piles off the tray and instead of putting the coins in my item box, I let fall into the pouch first, so he could hear them jingle at the bottom.

    "There anything else I can do for you, kid?"

    I wasn''t too sure how I liked being called "kid", even if I asked for my age to be decreased to that of a teenager, but I still had some questions. So, I kept my complaints to myself. I hadn''t seen my face yet, so I had no idea if I looked the same as I used to or if I had a new face that just looked younger than I actually was. I could feel that I was more fit from how much energy I still had after my jaunt through the forest, but that was it. Guess I got a little ahead of myself and forgot to look myself over.

    "Yes. Um, could you tell me how many silvers I could get if I traded you a gold piece?"

    Without wasting money and buying something pricier, I had no way to know but to ask. Maybe him seeing me as a kid would lessen the impact of the stupid question.

    However, instead of happily answering my questions like before, he suddenly looked as though I was beginning to annoy him. What, did his hospitality stop once I finished my transaction?

    "Kid¡­ How were you expecting to become a Merchant if you don''t even know that much? Are you insulting me?"

    "N-No. I''m sorry, it just that¡­I''m not from around here, so I didn''t know."

    "Not from around here, are ya? Say¡­ You''re not from the Dragma Kingdom, are you?"

    There was a glint of anger in his tone when he asked and he leaned over the counter, his gut pushing the silver tray all the way to the edge. He looked me dead in the eye, intent to catch even a the feintest trace of a lie. So, I thought it best to say no, even though I had no idea what kingdom he was talking about.

    I had no idea what the name of this country was either or why the prospects of me being from Dragma pissed him off so much, so I went for the neutral approach.

    "N-No sir. I''m just a traveler. I don''t really have a place to call home."

    He continued to eye me up and down after I said this, almost like he was trying to spot some sort of patch on my clothes that said "Hi, I''m from Dragma." Seemingly satisfied with what he didn''t find, he closed his eyes and coughed into his fist before apologizing.

    "Sorry, kid. But you can never be too careful. Anyway," he cleared his throat to lower the tension in the room. "Since you asked, 1 gold coin is worth 100 silvers. Regardless of whether or not you are from here, you should know at least that much if you plan on staying in this country for any length of time."

    I thanked the man and elected not to ask for the name of country, lest he start to suspect me again.

    I was about to leave to avoid being questioned again about something else I didn''t know, when the reason why he left the back door open became apparent.

    From the back of the building came a cute woman, maybe a year or two older than me, carrying a large box in her hands. However, aside from her general good looks, what struck me the most was not her face, her shapely body and explosively rounded hips and ass, but the rabbit ears standing tall on the top of her head. I hadn''t seen anyone that wasn''t a human yet, so I couldn''t help but stare at her.

    She seemed to not notice my awkward stare as she carried the box to the far side of the room. There, she looked at the top shelf up high above her, to the empty spot waiting to be filled. It was much to high for her, or even for me for that matter. Seeing her pause, I thought she might set the box down and go grab a latter or maybe someone taller, but she didn''t. Instead, she just gave a slight squat that made the seams of the tight half-pants she wore bulge with the effort it took to contain her thighs. She wiggled the fluffy little white ball of a tail just above her bottom and jumped high up into the air where she pushed the box into its rightful place and the shelf creaked under its weight, all before gravity reclaimed her.

    When she landed back on her feet, her long ears flopped over her face before she pushed them back as if running a hand through the long, lilac hair surrounding them. After that, she clapped the dust off of her hands and started back into the backroom to finish her work, ignoring me all the while. I couldn''t help but stare at her ears and, when she turned her back to me, her tail.

    "She catch your eye or something, kid?"

    The merchant''s voice pulled me back to reality and I shook my head on instinct.

    "Er, uh¡­ Is she a, uh, beast-kin?"

    "Oh, yea. She''s a rabbit-kin. I bought her to help out with the heavy lifting since I''m getting old and can''t do it myself anymore. You know, because beast-kin are so strong. Moving boxes and whatnot is as easy for her as it would be hard on my back. Oh, and don''t worry, she won''t bite."

    Too old? What, are all merchants in this world old men or something? Now that I look at him, I do see a few wrinkles near his eyes, but he looked to be at most in his mid to late forties. Though, I suppose in this time period, that might actually be considered old.

    Wait, wait, wait¡­ Something he just said didn''t add up.

    "You said you bought her, right? Not hired her?"

    The merchant nodded easily at this and turned back to watch her go, surely thinking nothing of the sting I meant for my question to have. It was then that I notice the black collar the bunny girl wore around her neck.

    "That''s right kid. There''s a slave house in the east quarter of Amoranth. If you''re interested, I can give you directions."

    "Wait, is slavery is legal here?"

    The merchant shrugged as though that were obvious.

    "Of course. Always has been. And probably always will be. Is it not allowed where you''re from?"

    "But doesn''t that mean she was kidnapped before you bought her?"

    "Eh, not necessarily," he said with a shrug, apparently unimpressed that I didn''t answer his question. "Most slaves are people who were caught committing a crime and slavery is their punishment. Others were sold into slavery, likely because they or their families were unable to pay off their debts or their taxes."

    Being unable to pay your taxes can get you put into slavery? Doesn''t that mean the government essentially takes a cut of your servitude? I had no way to ask that without sounding like I had a problem with that, so I kept my mouth shut. Instead, I asked about something else he mentioned.

    "Did you say that the beast-kin were stronger? What did you mean?"

    "Oh yea. Usually, at least. That''s why they make good slaves. The manual labor isn''t too hard on them."

    "I see. But if they are so strong, couldn''t they just fight back and avoid being enslaved."

    The merchant shook his head and his chins jiggled.

    "Not at all. You see, beast-kin are physically stronger than humans, but they can''t use magic. Therefore, they are weak to it. The slave contract they are forced into is actually a magic spell that binds their very soul to a life of servitude. Of course, the spell works on humans as well."

    As he spoke, he gave me a knowing look that practically screamed, "so you better not steal from me."

    While I thought about that, the cute bunny girl came back out with another box in her hands. Now that I let myself look at her, other than her ears and tail, she looked just like any other woman her age. Included in that was her rather slender arms. Although, she had the thighs to back up that jumping ability of hers, her arms seemed far too weak to lift such a heavy-looking box.

    He must have meant that beast-kin are naturally stronger than humans.

    Watching her walk so easily through the room, seeing how she didn''t actually seem bothered by her lot in life as I noticed the smile on her lips, I wondered what she did to get herself enslaved and how this merchant came to buy her. That naturally led to me imagining myself with someone like her. The animal-ear fetish was alive and well in my computer''s browser history, but I wasn''t too sure about actually owning a slave myself. Where I came from, slavery was something long since despised.

    At least meeting a cute beast-kin like her would be nice. Maybe I could make up for my failings with my old jogging neighbor by mustering up that same courage for someone like this girl.

    "You''re looking a little apprehensive there, kid," the merchant said, slapping me on the shoulder. "Don''t let the idea of owning another person get you too down. On the outside, it can seem like a bad thing, but you gotta keep in mind that most of the slaves, if not all of them, would have been executed for their crimes or for failing to pay their dues. In a way, you''re doing them a favor by giving them a good home."

    That much was understandable, even if I didn''t completely agree. If that''s the case, wouldn''t that have meant if I got caught sneaking into the city earlier, the only options waiting for me would have been execution or enslavement? To keep my mind off of and far away from that unfortunate line of thinking, I asked something else.

    "What, uh, are the requirements to buy a slave? Do you have to be a noble or something?"

    "Ha. No. I''m no noble, kid. All you need is the money to buy or rent them, food to feed them and whatever clothes you''re willing to dress them in. Although, you should be able to house them as well. No point in buying them just to leave them outside to get sick and die, ya know?"

    "Right¡­ What can they do for you? If you buy one, I mean."

    It still felt incredibly weird talking about buying a person, especially when one such person was on the other side of the room and, going by her foot-long ears, very much able to hear us, but I needed to learn as much as I can about this world while I had the chance and while he was willing to talk.

    "Anything you ask, really. You''re an Adventurer, right? That''s why you were off fighting wolves? Someone like yourself might like a slave to carry your things for you or keep watch for beasts when you are sleeping in the wild or to even fight besides you on a quest. Or¡­ if you were so inclined, you know¡­"

    When the bunny girl walked behind the counter again, he leaned back and smacked her on the ass hard enough for it to make a sound. The bunny girl blushed, but did not look all that displeased and continued into the backroom as if nothing had happened. Seeing that she didn''t stop to say anything, he must have done those sorts of things pretty regularly.

    I couldn''t help but feel myself get a little heated at the thought of being able to do that myself. Not necessarily to a slave, but any girl, really. That glorious bottom I chased day after day and that led to my death looked so soft to the touch that I very much wanted to do more than that.

    "Easy kid, she''s off limits."

    Sensing my thoughts, the merchant chided me with a laugh. I coughed into my hand, mimicking him from when he did it, and calmed myself.

    "A-Anyway, since I''m new to Amoranth could you recommend an inn for me?"

    "Oh, yea sure," he said, pointing straight out his store-front window. "There''s one straight down the road from here. Called the Lazy Cat Inn. Foods not very good, but it''s cheap. The hostess is an old friend, so if you stop by, tell her Albert sent you."

    "Right. Thanks, uh, Albert. Then I''ll be leaving."

    Thinking over all the things I just learned and the fact that I didn''t learn the man''s name until the conversation was over, I fixed my new pouch to my belt and headed out for the inn to secure a meal and a bed. Next time, I need to be more careful. Regardless of how I feel about the man, I should have been more respectful, since I might be selling to him for the time being.

    I had a terrible habit of not paying attention to people''s names. I don''t know why, but remembering them was always absurdly difficult for me. After a whole year into working the job I had before I died, there were still several people I met every day whose names I still did not know. Thankfully, if I had the right to be thankful for it, I always managed to work around not using their names, so it never blew up in my face, but whenever I imagined asking someone I''d known for months, if not years, what their name was, I felt a crippling anxiety well up in me, primarily because I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later when I needed their help.

    Though, I guess I at least don''t have to worry about those specific people anymore. Still, I should probably make more of a concerted effort to use peoples'' names when speaking to them.

    Deciding this for myself, I got another notification the second I stepped out of the general store. Absentmindedly, I opened it without consideration for where I was.

    [Merchant class acquired.]

    Wait, what? Albert said you had to be born into it, didn''t he? I looked back, almost like I was expecting to find him laughing at me for falling for his games, even though it didn''t look like anyone else around me could see the large window that appeared right in front of my face, so it''s not like he knew what just happened. However, he was just waving happily to me, as if hoping for my patronage again in the future. Or, no, he was waving in another customer.

    I shook my head, ignored him and headed for the Lazy Cat Inn.

    Knowing now that nobody else could see it, I went ahead and checked the menu as I walked, I saw that the Merchant class I just got actually gave me the Appraisal ability I was hoping for. Must have been a guaranteed ability everyone gets from acquiring the job. Then again, why didn''t the Swordsman or adventurer classes have any special skill attached to them? Maybe each class was just different. Or maybe combat oriented classes required different means to earn their abilities like, crazy as it may sound, fighting. Just like with the Mage class. Maybe this just has something to do with that Easy Class Gain trait I have. Hard to believe, that one, but why not?

    Pondering this, I stopped in front of the inn once I spotted the large wooden sign hanging from a street post with the name "The Lazy Cat." My eyes flitted from the sign to the thin bar holding it aloft which then led to the rest of the building and was completely taken aback.

    The building''s architecture made no sense whatsoever. While it looked to be about four stories tall, its stone walls were uneven, misshapen and jutted out further than should be possible for its foundation to support properly. What looked like the balcony stretched over the sidewalk to almost halfway across the street with not a single structural support beneath it.

    I was no architect, but the place looked ready to fall over at any moment. Was it held up by magic somehow?

    Concerned for my safety, I chose to enter the inn anyways once I saw a few people leaving it without issue. There I found a woman maybe ten of fifteen years older than me waiting behind the counter. Her age clearly defined itself in the lines on her face, but she was still pretty good looking, especially considering that she wore a dress that left the cleavage of her giant breasts completely exposed.

    Unlike the goddess, though, she did not take too kindly to my lecherous staring and coughed rather loudly. It didn''t take long to see that I had angered her almost instantly.

    "You need a room," she asked briskly.

    "Yes. Uh, Albert suggested I stay at your inn."

    With the mention of the merchant''s name, her mood instantly lightened, not that her brows raised enough out of their furrow for her to change her tone.

    "Oh, Albert did, did he? That''s kind of him. How long would you like to stay?"

    Considering what the prices of the things I sold just now were, I figured my gold alone was enough to let me stay here for quite a while. I needed time to figure things out, but I decided to be safe.

    "Just one night. And dinner, please."

    "Alright, one room and a meal is 2 silver pieces."

    Oops.

    "Um, I''m sorry ma''am, but could you make change for a gold piece? I only have 1 silver right now."

    She lowered her chin at me, as if looking at in insect. Her eyelids hung half open over her empty pupil and that annoyed expression from a minute ago reappeared. Apparently even in this world, it was taboo to ask for a store clerk to break a large amount of money into something much smaller.

    However, she just slumped her shoulders, sighed and prodded the silver tray she left out on the counter. Briefly thinking back to how Albert handed me what he owed, I put a single gold coin on it.

    "I supposed I can do that. One moment please."

    Begrudgingly, she snatched the tray, not the coin, off the counter and left through the door enclosed behind the counter. I guessed if I ever needed to resort to stealing, I knew to look in the backrooms for their safes. After a couple of minutes, a few more than I felt she needed, she came back, still holding the silver tray, but it was now beset with several towers of silver coins. Seemingly displeased with the weight of it, she then let it slam down on the counter, staring at me the whole while.

    "Here is your change, mister. 98 silver coins."

    Because the towers of coin all fell thanks to her slamming the tray down, leaving behind a mess of silver, I had no idea how to tell how much was actually there. So, I had to risk angering her further to check. And sure enough, when I stuck out my finger to start pulling single coins away from the pile to count them¡­

    "I''m sorry, mister. Do you not trust my ability to do basic math? I''m no noble, but this much is nothing."

    "N-Not at all. Sorry."

    Immediately backing down from her angry glare, but unwilling to take a loss with what little coin I had, I instead decided to try something else. Using my silent casting ability, I mimed reaching for the coins with my hand and cast my new Appraisal skill. I had no idea if it would work, but it was best to at least try and make sure I wasn''t being intimidated by this woman into letting myself get robbed.

    A window appeared above my hand and displayed, much to my surprise, not only the number of coins present, but also where they came from. Apparently, the coins here were minted for the Vierre Kingdom. I wondered if Vierre silver was worth more or less than silver of another country, but since the right amount of coin was there, I thought it best I didn''t waste more of her time.

    So, I took what I learned and decided to go with this country''s name being Vierre.

    "Thank you," I said, stuffing the coins into my new pouch until it overflowed and stuffed the rest into my pockets while she sneered. Surely, she must have thought I was setting myself up to be robbed by holding so much coin this way, but I planned on stuffing it all into my item box as soon as I could.

    "Good. I will show you to your room. Follow me."

    Her voice sounding more demanding than helpful, she left her spot behind the counter and led me upstairs. Now that the transaction part of my coming here was over, she seemed to have mellowed out a bit. Just a little.

    While we walked, she shared with me various details about the inn. Included in her explanation was that if other guests are causing me problems or if I think they stole anything, to come get her first before doing anything myself and that''d she''d handle any trouble makers herself. She also brought up that the walls of each room were lined with sound-muffling magic, so there is no need to worry about how much noise I might make. Since the establishment values guest privacy, after all.

    I guessed that the same magic that silenced the rooms was the same sort of magic running through the walls and allowing this mess of a building to continue standing. At least, if the building''s condition were really as bad as it looked, this place likely would have been condemned.

    That said, the floorboards didn''t creak at all as we walked, so it didn''t seem too bad. But as for her acting as security for the place¡­

    I focused on the back of her head while she walked in front of me and a window popped up displaying her name, age, level and occupation. Apparently, she was a level 30 Mage. So, she was likely more than capable of defending this place should the need arise. She might have even been the one to cast the magic in the building.

    "Oh, and if a man claiming to sell magic scrolls knocks on your door, please do slam it in his face," she said, sounding as though she was sneering at the thought. "I don''t know how he keeps getting in here, but he slips in from time to time and bothers my guests."

    "What, does he over charge for them?"

    She let out a very dry, very fake laugh.

    "Ha. No. They''re just paper. Because scrolls are kept sealed until used, nobody but a merchant with the Appraisal ability or a mage can tell the difference, so fooling fools is easy for him¡­ Here is your room."

    After what felt like an hour of walking with this woman, we stopped on the second floor in front of a room about half way down the hall. A golden number twenty-five was nailed to the door''s face. She breathed a sigh and took a key out of her apron pocket and used it to open the door for me. She let me in first, but was right on my tail.

    The room was about as simple as I could expect from an inn working in this time period. Pretty much all there was to it was a medium-sized bed with a thin blanket and a single pillow. A nightstand stood by next to it with only a single candle to light the room. There was a wardrobe taller than me in the corner of the room, but since I had no extra clothes, it was pointless. Along with all of this, was a large treasure-chest-looking box at the foot of the bed with a key sticking out of its keyhole. Other than that, the room was completely blank.

    "Is the room to your liking?" she asked, her tone almost daring me to say otherwise.

    "Y-Yes, this is just fine."

    Not much I could do for accommodations considering. I''d either have to pay extra for more furniture I wasn''t even going to use since I had the item box, or wait here for several hundred years until they figured out how gas worked and installed some kind of in-room kitchen. But I certainly wouldn''t wait around that long even if I could.

    "Good. You may use the chest to protect your valuables if you wish, but please make sure to return the key before you leave. If that is all, check out time is midday tomorrow."

    She left the key on the nightstand, as opposed to handing it to me directly, and headed back out of the room without waiting to see if I had any more questions. At least, I could say with a sigh of relief, she didn''t slam the door in my face.

    After the door was closed behind her, the true silence of the sound canceling room hit me and all other sounds from the outside were cut off as well. Or so it seemed. If the other rooms were blocked with the same magic, then the lack of sound was likely due to being unable to hear them. Someone or multiple someones could be throwing a huge party right next door to my room and I wouldn''t even know it. Thinking about it that way, the silence didn''t seem so bad.

    For the first time since I arrived in Amoranth, I was completely wrapped in silence. Free of the sounds of the forest. Free the hustle of the city. Free of even the wonders of this new world. And the only thing I could think of was that I wished I had my phone so that I could listen to music.

    Back home, whenever I was out of the house, I was never without my headphones. Not that it makes any sense, but there was just something about all the sounds of the city coming together and becoming like a mind-numbing deafness that bothered me to no end. So much noise that it became impossible to distinguish individual tones and sounds that were very clearly there, but were un-hearable. Thus deafness. I was always incredibly uncomfortable without music or an audio-book to listen to. It just never felt right and would always prove to ruin my day if I had nothing to distract myself.

    But more than anything, I was regretting the lack of being able to plop down in my gaming chair and screw around on my computer to waste away the hours. I knew it was the source of several of my problems, but being forced to give it up cold turkey wasn''t exactly easy to do.

    "But I guess I won''t be seeing anything like that in this world for the rest of my life, huh?"

    I threw myself onto the bed. While it looked just as rickety and prone to collapsing as did the building''s exterior, it like the floorboards did not groan when I put my full weight on it. It was also surprisingly soft, considering how thin the mattress was.

    Based on how much it cost to stay just one night, I figured one of my next goals needed to be securing enough money to buy myself a house with a proper bed somewhere. If that''s even possible. Staying here forever might be an unsustainable dream. Not that I wanted to keep around that woman for long.

    From what I knew of this time period, which consisted mainly of knowledge I gleaned from fictional sources, people that owned houses in cities had to pay extra taxes because of the added safety the city walls and guards provided. On the other hand, if I bought a house outside of a city, I would have to worry about it being robbed whenever I was gone. Or worse, when I was there. And I still had no idea how to get a income large enough to secure a living in this place.

    Albert said you were born into your class, which should mean that you were essentially born into your job, right? That was extremely limiting. I had the Adventurer class, meaning that could be my best bet for earning an income, but it was most likely dangerous.

    I wonder if finding a job outside of your class was difficult. Albert did also mention a parent''s hobbies could affect what class their kid gets, so maybe you aren''t actually tied down to any one thing? Hopefully not. For purely logistical reasons, if familial breeding went even slightly askew, it could lead to any one city to have thousands of farmers, but no merchants, bakers, cooks, craftsmen, guards and so on. That definitely didn''t sound sustainable.

    Why did the Goddess design the world this way?

    With a heavy sigh, I rolled onto my back and closed my eyes. I started running through all the information in I had taken in today and trying to work it out into something useful. Thankfully, the Help tab in my menu apparently took notes for me and automatically jotted down the basics of all the conversations I''d had and things I''d seen. So, I was able to quickly skim them once I checked.

    Out of everything, what still stood out to me the most was the concept of owning a slave being legal. If anything good were to come from owning a person, I could use my authority over them to ask any questions I had about the world, while ordering their complete silence so they couldn''t tell anyone else where I was from or why I needed to be taught such basic information as an adult. That way, I wouldn''t have to deal with people getting mad over my questioning like Albert did, or thinking I was stupid, since that could hurt my image around here.

    I wasn''t so vain that that alone would bother me, but I wasn''t interested in the idea of ending up a pariah. If I was going to live here, or anywhere in this world, I didn''t want to start at the very bottom of society.

    "¡­ Not to mention that bunny girl was really cute."

    I shook my head.

    I needed to be more practical. What should come first is coming up with a way to sustain my current lifestyle, if not improve it.

    While pondering what types of jobs I would be able to do here, after realizing my old desk job did not prepare me for most anything available to me here, I scratched my head and some more of that red dust fell onto my face. A twinge of pain in my nose, caused me to sneeze.

    Apparently, I still had a noticeable amount of that spice in my hair.

    "Maybe what I should do first is take a bath. Nobody is going to hire me if I stink, right? But how exactly do I do that¡­?"

    I sat up, remembered that there was no bathroom in this room and lamented that that either meant chamber pots were a thing in this world, or, hopefully, there was an actual bathroom somewhere down the hall.

    For the time being, I reluctantly headed back downstairs and went to ask the innkeeper what my options were. I suppose getting used to talking to people also means talking to those who don''t want to talk to you. I guess I might just have to endure her abuse and tell her I''m form some rural village somewhere and that I don''t know how city-living works.

    When I reached the ground floor, I found her with her elbow on the counter and her chin in her palm, glaring a hole into the front door as if she were trying to will customers into her abode with just her eyes. My foot hit the last step and her eyes darted to me before her features scrunched up with reproach.

    "¡­ Is there something wrong with your room, mister?"

    "No, it''s fine. I-I just wanted to ask where I can take a bath."

    She snorted.

    "Mister, I don''t know if you are kidding around, but if it''s a bath you are wanting, you''re going to have to go ask the nearest nobleman to borrow theirs."

    I screamed inwardly, trying not to let it show on my face. Talking to people was going to take getting used to, but how am I supposed to handle this shit?!

    Still¡­ Great. It''s the type of world where only nobles can afford to make enough hot water to take a bath. Or was it just that owning a bathtub was too expensive?

    "However," she continued. "If you wish to wash up, there''s a well outback and some buckets. That''s where everyone else that stays here does it. I can get you a rag to wipe yourself down and a towel, if you like."

    Without thinking, I nodded and thanked her to end the conversation. Baby steps, right? I just had to hope I wasn''t going to be charged for the extra services.

    "Good. Come with me, then. Thank the gods. And here I thought you were going to stain my bed with the scent of spiced berryweed. Did you think it was a hat or something?"

    "N-No. Sorry if my smell offends you. I just¡­ tripped and spilled it on myself in the market earlier."

    Given that she already didn''t seem to like me, there was no way I was going to tell her the truth. Didn''t want her sicking the guards on me.

    She rolled her eyes in a huff and led me away from the front counter again. At least I learned what the spice clinging to me was. But spiced berryweed? Are berries spicy in this world?

    Unlike before, the innkeeper led me down a hallway beneath the stairs that started right beside the front counter. We walked past what looked and smelled like a kitchen and I got the distinct impression by how she looked at me over her shoulder as we passed it, that she might have wanted to cook me alive since I was already spiced up and I hurried on behind her. So much for hospitality here.

    Without further ado, she opened a door to a garden behind the building that wasn''t visible from the front. It was a small, walled off area with an old-fashioned water well, (or rather, current fashion?) in one corner of the yard, as she promised. Various kinds of colorful flowers hugged the wooden walls and gave the garden a pleasant scent, possibly to mask the smell of whatever customers needed to wash off their bodies. At the center of the garden was a slender tree with long, hanging branches that shaded most of the area. Circling around its base like a scarf was a tall, deep green bush and in front of that was a wooden bench with several small buckets stacked atop it.

    And that was it.

    I found the source of water, but there were no bars of soap and worst of all, no curtains or collapsible partitions available. Which meant that if I wanted to bathe, I had to do so standing outside, naked. What happened to valuing your customer''s privacy?!

    "Here''s your towel and rag. When you''re done with them, just leave them on the bench and I will collect them later."

    "W-Wait."

    When she turned to leave, I called out to her, meaning to complain, but once more her annoyed expression was the version of her that faced me.

    "What? Don''t tell me you don''t know how to wash yourself and want my help. I''m not falling for that again."

    "Again?... N-No, it''s just¡­ Never mind. Thank you for letting me stay here."

    She scoffed when I buckled under the weight of her gaze and trod off back inside before I could muster up another attempt to stop her. Not that I would have. I could tell a losing battle when I saw one.

    I guess I should have expected this. In times like this, from what I knew, it seemed that people were relatively used to being naked in public since most villagers and city folk didn''t have baths of their own. Washing in the yard may well have been somewhat commonplace, but I had to wonder if she''d just let me take some of the water up to my room. Nah, probably not. She''d no doubt just bitch and moan about the risk of me spilling water everywhere.

    I sighed to myself, something I figured I''d be doing a lot of now, and took one of the provided buckets over to the well.

    At the very least, the hand-crank on the well made extracting the water easy. I did, at least, managed to enjoy the spectacle of actually using a well to collect water. Doing something so mundane as this was oddly exciting in its own way after a lifetime of living with proper plumbing and running water at the twist of a knob. Actually working for my water was¡­ oddly satisfying.

    When the attached bucket came back up filled with water, I transferred it into mine and looked around the yard. There was nobody but myself and my wavering reflection in the water settling in the bucket and, more importantly, nowhere private to go and hide as I washed myself.

    Seeing as how washing the spice out of my hair might make the water in the well dirty, which they probably used for drinking and cooking, I moved my bucket back over to the bench to wash myself. On the way, I thought of trying to just take half of my clothes off at a time, such as taking my shirt off and washing my torso, drying, then putting it back on and repeating the process with my lower half. But doing that would likely just leave me with damp, uncomfortable clothes. Had I stopped to buy another set first, I could have risked that.

    Sensing no route for escape, since the innkeeper would likely notice me immediately if I tried to use my low-level sneak ability to get past her to bring my bucket upstairs, I had to give in and undress where I was.

    Sucking in a deep breath, I stripped off all the clothes I had, save for the pair of loose, patched-up shorts that acted as my underwear. I draped everything over a low-hanging branch, wishing at the same time that my clothes were long enough or that the branches were low enough to act as a curtain. When I looked back to the bucket and rag, I was immediately at an impasse.

    The clothes I had on me were literally all I had. There was no other set waiting for me in my room and nothing in my item box. If I tried to wash myself while keeping on my underwear, they would inevitably get wet and I would either have to go without or just bear with their uncomfortable wetness until they dried on their own. Neither option sounded good. I was a slave to my comfort zone.

    But then again, wasn''t I supposed to be breaking free of that?

    I did briefly consider the option of drying them with Fire Ball, but when I remembered what happened to the branch I tested it on, I abandoned the idea instantly.

    I gulped down my fears and checked around me one more time to make sure I was alone. If this was how things were here, then this probably wasn''t going to be my last time bathing like this. And next time I might not be alone. So, I quickly yanked my shorts down and something weighty suddenly hit my wrist and then slapped against my thigh. Confused, I looked down between my legs and saw¡­.

    "Holy shit. That thing''s huge! Was that there this whole time? How did I not feel it?!"

    Just to make sure it was real, I touched the sleeping flag pole that reached about half-way down my thigh to stare at the grass. Both unremarkably and remarkably, I felt the delicate sensation of flesh-on-flesh contact. Then, again, just to be sure, I shook my hips and watched the thing flop back and forth.

    "My god¡­ No, thank you, Goddess!"

    Emboldened by her gracious, surprising gift, I sat on the bench in a much better mood. I mean, I wasn''t really a slouch before, but this thing had to be at least twice as long of my old one! Not to mention it was definitely thicker. Maybe it just looked bigger because, now that I look at it, the rest of my body is almost entirely free of fat.

    My arms were thick, my chest and shoulders broad and my leg strong. And for the first time in my, I had a set of wonderfully sculpted six-pack abs, all completely free of charge. I had absolutely nothing to complain about! Was this a gesture of good will from my Goddess to help me gain some confidence?

    Feeling wholly content with myself, I scooped some of the water out of the bucket with my hands and splashed my face before pouring more over my head. The pleasant sting of the cold water was refreshing, but not what I was expecting to use for a bath. Then again, none of this was. I considered shooting a Fire Ball into the water to heat it up, but thought better of it.

    I dipped the rag in the bucket and used it to wash my hair to the best of my ability. Although, without soap, I wasn''t sure how much of the spice I would be able to get out. While doing so, I whistled the tune of a song I had been listening to a lot before I died to pass the time and drain away some of the silence. If I couldn''t listen to music, then I could at least do my best to play it for myself.

    After a few minutes of scrubbing and a second trip to the well for more water, my hair was starting to feel like it was about as clean as I could make it without shampoo. So, I lifted the bucket over my head and dumped about half its remaining contents over myself, turning more and more of the grass and soil beneath my feet wet and squishy. Smoothing my hair back, I splashed my body and scrubbed the rug over my new musculature as I whistled.

    "What song is that?"

    I was rocketed out of my happy place and right back to the point of remembering my embarrassing state of undress when I heard the soft, almost sultry voice of a woman. I stopped scrubbing and looked at her, dumbstruck.

    It wasn''t because the woman before me was beautiful as she stood there dressed in what looked like the same type of commoner''s dress that I saw most other city girls wearing. Nor was it because the fluffy, droopy dog ears draped over her flaxen hair and her thick, bushy tail dusting the air behind her were entirely impossible to miss, but because she was standing about six feet away, smiling at me. Surely, she could see everything. Everything. Especially the new attachment dangling between my thighs.

    "It''s an interesting song," she continued casually. "What''s it called?"

    "Uh-uh¡­. It''s¡­"

    I managed to squeak out its name and, naturally, she had no idea what it was. Most people back on Earth probably wouldn''t, either. Not that I was one to listen to the sort of underground music most people never heard of, but it was a song from a not-to-well known band and from a genre most people didn''t like.

    "Strange. I''ve never heard that one before. Oh well. You may keep whistling, if you like. I don''t mind."

    "O-Okay¡­"

    I did as she said, trying to cover as much of my manhood as I could with my rag. Only now did I notice how small the damn cloth was.

    Merely for the sake of saving face did I keep whistling. Unfortunately, my whistles came out as weak, stunted versions of what they were a moment ago, unable to carry a proper tune as my embarrassment swelled until I was unable to remember the rest of the song clearly. Then, as if to make it worse, the beautiful dog-eared woman started undressing right where she stood.

    My jaw almost literally hit the floor when she unfastened the string holding the front of her dress in place and the large mounds hidden beneath it settled into a more comfortable, more natural position. She then pulled another string and the hole cut out for her cleavage expanded to twice its original size as it loosened its hold on her.

    What''s worse, or dare I say better, was that when she finished untying all the knots holding her tight dress against her body, she reached down to her ankles and grabbed it by the hem. And in one smooth motion, she lifted the dress up over her head and her large, bare breasts bounced to expose themselves to the sunlight. The two pink tips at their center looked to have gone a little rigid after being exposed to the cool air. And seemingly without a single care in the world, she then mimicked me by draping the dress over a branch.

    Thankfully, for the sake of my sanity, her long fluffy tail rested just above a pair of plain white panties.

    Wait, what?

    Why was she wearing panties in a world where they shouldn''t exist? Based on my admittedly limited knowledge of medieval clothing, she should be wearing some kind of second, smaller dress beneath that one or at least a pair of shorts like mine. Yet there she was, wearing a pair of plain white panties that hugged her most sensitive places just as tightly as you would expect from a modern-day pair. In fact, they looked like the sort you''d be able to buy cheaply at a discount store.

    As I pondered the strange appearance of some unexpected modernity, she slipped her fingers beneath the waist band of her panties and started to push them down. I immediately stood up.

    "I-I-I''m sorry! I didn''t mean to peek. I-I''ll just go."

    I scrambled to gather up my things and, in the process, forgot to cover my lower half and frantically tried to do so since this naked beauty was looking right at me due to my sudden outburst. This time her smile looked oddly sympathetic.

    "It''s okay," she said, her voice almost breaking into a giggle. "You can stay and finish washing up. I don''t mind. Really, I don''t."

    With that said, and as if to prove a point, she immediately went back to pulling down her panties. In one fell swoop, they slid across her plump thighs, over her shapely calves and down to her feet. She stepped out of them and set them with her dress on the branch. She then turned to face me fully with a now completely naked body.

    There was a small tuft of hair between her upper thighs that didn''t quite cover the most alluring part of her nudity. She clapped her hands together with a "there you have it" sort of smile on her lips.

    "See? I don''t mind. Go ahead and wash up so you don''t waste the water you drew."

    "R-Right."

    The nameless dog-girl that was so okay with my seeing her naked form walked over to the well to collect her own water with the painted bucket she apparently brought herself. I got the distinct impression that her having her own bucket suggested that she really was just so used to washing herself in public that it no longer bothered her. Assuming it ever did in the first place. Why else would she come prepared?

    I listened to the well wheel squeak as she drew water, then to the sounds of her footsteps across the grass as she came back to the bench. Naturally I wasn''t watching her, but when she sat down so nonchalantly and without a single care to cover herself, it was so mind boggling that curiosity force me to look.

    Needless to say, there was a certain reaction going on down below my belt-line that a simple rag couldn''t hope to hide. So, I quickly sat down. Trying not to make her uncomfortable, I pinned the dastardly thing between my thighs so that it couldn''t spring up on its own.

    Thankfully, she didn''t seem to notice this effort of mine and continued about her business.

    "So, you''re not from around here, are you?"

    As her seductive lips formed those words, she paid me no mind when she raised her arms over her head to tie her hair into a knot, probably because she didn''t intend to wash it and wanted to keep it from getting wet. Her perky breasts were lifted up with that gentle motion and almost seemed to glisten in the afternoon sun, completely free of even a spec of fiber that should have been there to cover herself. I couldn''t help but notice that her nipples really had hardened in the breeze.

    Remembering she''d asked a question, I shook my head and answered.

    "No¡­ No, I''m not. Is it that obvious?"

    She giggled and lifted up her bucket to dump water over her chest. The slick liquid slid down her collar bone and down the pale white breasts that so captivated me, only to then shoot off the pink tips and onto the ground beneath us. Then she looked at me, a smile still on her face.

    "Because you don''t seem comfortable around beast-kin like me. I know there are places where my kind aren''t common."

    "Y-Yea¡­"

    That''s certainly one way to put it.

    "Well don''t be," she said, rubbing her personal rag, a pink embroidered swatch of cloth, over her shoulders. She looked about as satisfied as if she were massaging herself after a long day of work. "We beast-kin aren''t as scary as the rumors say."

    "Rumors?"

    "Haven''t you heard? Apparently, people from neighboring kingdoms seem to think we are a bunch of vicious monsters that will kill and eat you as soon as look at you. But that is simply not true. Can''t you tell?"

    With the naked spectacle of this woman choosing to freely show me her body without any sort of restraint or contempt for my gaze as she naturally moved the rag lower to wipe her breasts, I didn''t understand how such a rumor could have ever been started. I did sense a certain wildness from her, but not the sort that one should be scared of. Instead, she somehow seemed attuned with nature. As if she belonged more out here than inside like I did. A serene beauty that belonged in the forests, frolicking with her own kind among the trees.

    "See? I''m not going to hurt you, you know."

    She stopped and suddenly raised a puzzled brow, a faint pink tint to her cheeks. She looked away to continue washing her body.

    "You know, you don''t have to try so hard to hide your erection. I know men can''t help themselves sometimes."

    Shit!!!

    Without even noticing it, I had stopped washing myself and a certain part of me that most wanted to show that my interest was not in her conversation was already showing its newfound strength and was trying to show itself. She giggled when my hands snapped over my rising manhood.

    "S-Sorry."

    "Don''t be. Like I said, I understand. Although, I do have to warn you that my master has ordered that only he is allowed to touch me. If you try anything funny, we will both get punished. And you don''t want to anger a level 47 Axe Warrior, would you? He''s upstairs waiting for me to wash up."

    She giggled again when I felt the color drain from my face. Naturally, my not-so little friend also retreated to fight another day after hearing that. Even with my cheat abilities, there was no way in hell I was going to fight someone more than forty times my level on my first day in this world.

    I gulped at the thought. She giggled. Then a thought appeared in my mind and on my lips before I could really think it through.

    "Wait, your master touches you? You-You wouldn''t happen to mean sexually¡­ right?"

    I asked, thinking that as a slave, she might have been forced into something she disagreed with, but she just nodded at my question, her slight smile unwavering.

    "Uh-huh. That''s what he bought me for."

    "B-But how does that work? Aren''t you a member of the dog-kin species?"

    I only guessed at the actual name of her people based on the naming scheme of the bunny girl from earlier, but she didn''t correct me. Instead, for some reason, her expression turned increasingly sympathetic. I couldn''t pin a reason on why, but she looked genuinely sad. Even her tail drooped a bit to show the change in her emotional state.

    Did I offend her by bringing up her race after she tried to tell me she wasn''t a bad person?

    "Oh, you poor boy. How long have you been on your own? Didn''t your parents tell¡­ Don''t you know how it works? Here, let me show you."

    While my fantasies for free-bird women were all screaming at me to focus, this beautiful dog-kin girl lifted her foot onto the bench and turned her body to face me directly. Now not even that small tuft of hair could contain what normally should have been hiding there between her bare thighs.

    Smoothly, naturally, as if it was the most understandable thing to do in this situation, her hand moved over her leg and towards her crotch. She then spread herself with her index and middle fingers as casually as if she were only showing me directions to the convenience store. Now not even the pink inside was hidden.

    "You see, you put your cock in this hole here, same as you would with any human woman. Then you¡­"

    "I-I know that part!"

    I stopped her so that my heart wouldn''t explode from such a sexy woman giving me a visual example of the birds and the bees.

    Seriously! Being free is one thing, but to show someone you just met a full visual of your privates like it was nothing is something else entirely!

    "Oh, then what''s the problem?"

    After she questioned me, she set her foot back down on the ground. Not, apparently, out of embarrassment over her misunderstanding, but because it seemed more comfortable.

    "I-I just didn''t know beast-kin and humans could¡­ have sex. That''s all."

    She giggled again, this time louder, almost approaching a full-on laugh. I felt my cheeks burn. As an after-thought, I only just realized that the beast-kin are probably only as different from humans as the people from my world were different in regards to skin color. That didn''t mean the actual anatomy was all that different!

    I''m such an idiot!

    The dog-kin girl quickly calmed herself when she saw me looking all the more embarrassed and apologized.

    "I''m sorry. I''m sorry. I didn''t mean to laugh. It''s just that, that seemed like something you should know at your age."

    "No¡­ It''s my fault for not being clear with what I meant. I''m sorry to have taken advantage of your kindness by seeing something I shouldn''t have."

    "Like I said, I don''t mind. You can look all you want. You just can''t touch¡­ Oh my... That''s really big."

    I looked at her, confused by what she meant, and found her taking full advantage of the free-to-look pass she just offered me as she was staring with great interest at my now fully erect member. After such an offer, how else could I respond!

    "S-S-Sorry, but I think I should go."

    I jumped up, now no longer able to cover myself, and gathered my things. She continued looking, but her expression reeled right back to sympathetic.

    "If my looking bothers you, I can just go over to the other side of the bench. You don''t have to end your wash early."

    "No¡­ No. It''s fine. I think¡­ No, yea. I''m done. Please, enjoy the rest of your bath, miss!"

    I threw on my clothes and boots as fast as I could without stopping to dry myself and ran for the door.

    "Wait," the woman called out again. "I''m sorry if that was too much for you!"

    Embarrassed by her further misunderstanding, I raced back upstairs to my room.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 4

    I will forever keep that image of that dog-girl burned into the back of my mind.

    I locked myself up in my room for a couple of hours to calm down and forced myself to get back to thinking about what I should do. However, my inner manhood simply could not allow the image of that woman¡¯s pussy to leave my mind.

    She probably finished washing by now, but thinking back on how little I knew about her, it was easy to imagine her still out there, snickering to herself at my expense ever since the moment I shut the door between us. She no doubt must have taken my easy embarrassment as proof that I had no experience with women, experience she clearly found with her master, and may well be laughing at me for it.

    No. No. Calm down, me. You said we were going to do better, right? Making stupid assumptions like this and using that to wallow in self-pity is not progress.

    ¡°Shit¡­ Thank you Luck stat, but why was she so hot?!¡±

    I ran not just because of the embarrassment, but because of the subtle threat she laid out about her master. Continuing to sit there and watch her would have made keeping myself under control all the harder as the time passed. Not to mention that, despite her good will, she definitely would have said something once I¡¯d overstayed my welcome. Then her master would have showed up to collect her. And he might have brought his axe with him out of habit, or maybe out of worry for her.

    Thinking about it, the most likely reason why she was bathing, even though I didn¡¯t see a speck of dirt anywhere on her body, was likely because her master wanted her clean before bedding her. And with the magic within the walls of this inn canceling out all noise from the other rooms, I wouldn¡¯t even know it if their room was right next to mine. By now, they might have already gone at it, finished and were relaxing like I was trying and failing to.

    That, at least, would be fine. It¡¯s not like I would have wanted to listen in on someone else enjoying life, but feeling trapped inside this room because I wanted to avoid hearing them would be counter productive to my goals. Goals which were starting to stagnate the longer I kept myself shut off from society.

    Frustrated beyond reason at how something so visually pleasant could have led to me collapsing back in on myself, I sat up and thought back on what the Merchant Albert said about the slave house in the eastern-quarter of the city and bit my lip.

    Just the sight of that dog-girl was making me want to commit the irreversible sin of going over there. Her body was just so tempting that it was maddening. And if that was where her master bought her then, surely, I could¡­.

    ¡°But isn¡¯t that wrong?¡±

    I tried to tell myself that it was, but that dog girl and even the bunny girl from earlier didn¡¯t seem at all upset with their lot in life. If anything, they almost seemed proud to be wanted by their masters. As if they were in an honest relationship, rather than one where they were forced into subservience.

    ¡°But isn¡¯t that just wishful thinking?¡±

    The dog-girl didn¡¯t show any sort of malice towards her master and even warned me to keep away from her, not because she seemed disgusted with me, but because he could end up hurting me if I tried anything. Although, maybe the warning was less out of respect for her master and more because she was actually worried about me? I doubt it.

    I fell back down onto my pillow and draped my arm over my eyes.

    ¡°¡­. Then again, if I had someone like her with me, I wouldn¡¯t have to be alone like I was on Earth.¡±

    The loneliness bread from inaction had silently taken its toll on me over the years. To anyone else that asked, I would have claimed I was doing fine, but in those secluded moments locked up in my apartment, after I shut off the computer for the day and had nothing else to distract me from my thoughts as I laid in bed much like this, I knew how much I hated it.

    But buying a person to fill that void? It almost feels like the sort of backwards, half-assed approach to the problem of loneliness that a cliched, but sympathetic movie villain would make.

    Then again¡­ If I had someone like her, I could practice talking as much as I wanted and work to rid myself of this shyness. And if I¡¯m lucky, after sitting down with this hypothetical person for a while, we could even grow to like each other and things could result in a real relationship.

    The thought of buying a slave in hopes they¡¯d become my girlfriend was almost laughable, cringeably so, but the argument for that and using them as a source of therapy for my shyness was all too convincing.

    I continued to argue with myself for a while before deciding to just head over to the eastern-quarter and see what was going on. Surely, I didn¡¯t even have enough money to buy a person in the first place. I knew the value of gold compared to silvers and coppers now, but I had no idea how their value compared to a person. Maybe once I was shut down, laughed off for my wallet not being fat enough, I could put the thought to rest.

    Back on Earth, I¡¯d been on a diet for a while and was making pretty good progress thanks to all the disappointing reflections the mirror showed me each time I stepped into the bathroom. Seeing the disgust and hatred in my own face eventually prompted me to at least start improving my physical appearance, if not the social abilities I ruined alongside it. And as things go, I inevitably slipped up and ate some junk food from time to time, if say, a co-worker brought donuts to the office and I didn¡¯t want to rudely reject their kindness. After these slip ups, I would allow myself to binge and just eat whatever I felt like, all to get the want out of my system so I could continue the diet proper the next day. It slowed any and all progress I made to a halt, but it helped. Quitting cold turkey wasn¡¯t something I could see myself doing.

    Maybe that¡¯s what I needed now. I was shown something deliciously tempting, now I needed to work it out of my system to set myself back on the right track. I just had to keep imagining how it felt to have finally mustered up the courage to confess to that jogging girl and move forward.

    Hinging on my lacking knowledge regarding the monetary system destroying my desire to go down that unforgivable road, I got out of bed.

    After checking the direction on my compass out in front of the inn, I headed East once more. I had no idea if this is what the goddess meant by ¡°head East,¡± but for the sake of moral righteousness, I had to hope it wasn¡¯t. Especially after the un-asked for upgrade she gave to my nether regions. I didn¡¯t want to think this thing was controlling my mind.

    Doing what I could to look like a troublemaker, I attempted to stealth my way over to the eastern quarter, simply so nobody would ask me what I was doing or where I was going. I got several strange looks along the way, but I think because of that, nobody bothered me as I pushed through the crowd. So, in a way, I suppose my attempt at sneaking both failed and succeeded at the same time. After maybe ten minutes of this, I stopped trying all together.

    Once I entered the East-quarter of the city, which I could only assume was truly the eastern quarter because of how close I suddenly was to the massive wall bordering the city and because my compass was pointing in my desired direction, I wasn¡¯t all that as impressed as I was upon first entering the city proper. The surroundings didn¡¯t seem to change all that much. The only real difference from the center, the Merchant¡¯s District, was that there were far less people wondering about. Where the main street was packed tight with people working and playing, this section seemed comparably devoid of life. Although, that could just be because it was getting late in the afternoon.

    Various thug-types lined the streets, leaning on walls, sitting in gutters or were huddled together, either talking about something nefarious. More were gambling by tossing a pair of dice against the alley walls of buildings, clapping each other on the back when they won or complaining in obviously threatening tones when they didn¡¯t. Many of these sorts watched me as I tried to keep up a brisk, barely noticeable pace. Being the newest face in town amongst a bunch who likely lived here their whole life made me stand out way more than I would have liked, given where I was going.

    I almost had the urge to re-equip my sword, but thought better of it since they might think I was the one trying to start something and I didn¡¯t want to give them an excuse to confront me. So, instead, I ignored them. I was not unused to people staring at me anyways.

    ¡°Am I really doing this?¡± I whispered to myself when I found what I was looking for.

    I found the building I was searching for not too long after entering the eastern quarter. The name ¡°De Grave Imports¡± was carved neatly into a sign hanging from a pole jutting out from the building itself. It was located in the furthest district of the eastern quarter, backed almost into a corner where it likely belonged. Right where Albert said it would be after I stopped by his shop again to get directions. Having to stop and ask for directions to a slave house nearly ripped the soul from my body, it was so difficult, but he brushed off my stuttering like it was nothing and told me in exact detail where to go and in a moment of focus so intense that I wasn¡¯t used to back on Earth, I unfortunately remembered the directions exceedingly clearly.

    I was expecting the city slums to be where the slave house was hidden, but that wasn¡¯t the case at all. While there were more than a few thuggish people about, there was an equal number of regular, everyday people amongst the dwindling crowds in the streets, children included, if not more. None looked like the sort of destitute gutter rat that would sooner beg for scraps than work an honest job and there were no dilapidated shacks or torn up trash tents acting as shelters. It was just another part of the city.

    For some reason, the De Grave building itself looked even more respectable than the Lazy Cat Inn. Its carved stone walls were neat and straight and looked almost like something I would have expected to see back on one of Earth¡¯s metropolitan many cities. It was, to my shock, a very respectable-looking place. The only exception being the men loitering about the entrance, each with swords attached to their hips. They were probably meant to appear as hired security, but when I focused on them, their info boxes clearly read ¡°Hired Thug¡± under their names. Hired thugs and guards could be considered the same thing by certain types of people, but with them here in front of this building, I felt that only one title suited them.

    I swallowed my pride and my fear and stepped up to them while they were mid-conversation. The one on the right, the balding man that looked like he worked himself to the bone to build up his muscles specifically to make up for his lack of hair, scowled at me while the other, a lanky man wearing a scarf that hid half of his expression just rolled his eyes for being interrupted in whatever he was saying.

    The bald one took a step down the stairs and leaned into me.

    ¡°Ya, and what do you want? Why you just standing there? Got something to say?¡±

    The thug¡¯s paltry greeting left me wanting and left me retching from the foul stench coming from his mouth. I didn¡¯t know if they invented toothpaste yet in this world, but if they did, this man clearly hadn¡¯t heard about it.

    ¡°Well?¡±

    ¡°I-I want to¡­¡±

    ¡°Come on. Out with it. I ain¡¯t got all day.¡±

    ¡°I-I would like to see what slaves you have available!¡±

    I blurted out my reason at his pressuring and quickly covered my mouth to try and undo what I¡¯d said. I¡¯d only just barely thought that I could have the wrong place, that Albert had lied to me as a joke or maybe even that, if this was indeed the right place, that blurting something like that out could have the police, the knights, running straight over to arrest us all for our obvious crimes against humanity.

    But instead of looking bothered, the man just grunted at me.

    ¡°Geez. If that¡¯s all ye wanted, just say so next time. Wait here.¡±

    The man shoved the door open and went inside while his companion leaned against the railing, his beady eyes lingering on me long enough to shake my already barely existent composure. It was almost like he was expecting me to pull out a knife and attack him. The thought was laughable, but it was the same sort of cautious stare security guards always had. Constant vigilance in the face of potential dangers. The sort that made you feel as though you were speaking to a brick wall. Appearances aside, at least he was taking his job seriously.

    Once more, in hindsight, after these men, Albert, the innkeeper and the dog-girl, I realized that my confidence-boosting trait must not work against those of a higher level than mine. The thugs surely were, even though they were only around level 10. I wasn¡¯t sure about the dog-girl, since her info box wasn¡¯t exactly the part of her I had been looking at, but I did remember seeing a number that was bigger than mine. But whether it was her age or her level, I did not know. Then there was Albert and the innkeeper to consider. The innkeeper was a high-level Mage and Albert a seasoned Merchant. And I found speaking with both difficult.

    This needed to change. If my boost was contingent on my level and that of the person I was speaking to, then I had to level up and test to see if my hunch was correct. I didn¡¯t want to continue walking around like the timid asshole I was back on Earth.

    A few silent minutes after deciding this for myself, the thug came back, this time with a well-dressed man in tow.

    His body was stout, lean and likely muscled under his well-tailored suit. The slickly smoothed back hair atop his head was mostly a fine jet black and while the sides were starting to grey, he wore it proudly. When our eyes met, he didn¡¯t share the same happy customer service smile Albert did, but neither did he show visible distain for my existence like the Innkeeper did. His face was placid. Almost like he was waiting to decide how to shape his emotions until after we greeted one another.

    The bald thug gave a quick, contemporary bow to this man before he mirrored his lanky friend and leaned against the opposite railing. His part in the introduction done with, he easily started to ignore my existence while the new man put his hand over his heart and gave me a slight bow.

    Scanning this person¡¯s info box, I noticed that he too was a much higher level than me, a level 50 Merchant. Beneath this comparably shocking number, he also had the Slave Master class, as one might expect. Both of these classes conflicted with his well-mannered appearance and shows of humbleness in front of someone dressed only slightly better than a stereotypical peasant, like myself. I decided his demeanor as something acquired with age since the info box said he was in his upper fifties.

    ¡°Welcome to De Grave Imports, dear customer,¡± he said. ¡°My name is Alphonse De Grave. How may I help you?¡±

    I got this far. Might as well go all the way and see what the place had to offer. I sucked in a deep, discrete breath and answered.

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I mean, I would like to see what girls you have. Please.¡±

    The man¡¯s features creaked into a smile as he nodded.

    ¡°Then by all means. I can assure you that De Grave Imports will always have the sort of merchandise you are looking for. You may even find yourself distraught with the sheer number of possibilities to choose from. However, should such indecision come to pass, I would be honored if you¡¯d allow me to offer my opinion.¡±

    ¡°S-Sure¡­¡±

    With that declaration, he stood out of the way and held the door for me. Operating so smoothly like this, the man looked more like a butler than how I thought a slave master would look. Not that I knew how one should look.

    I stepped up the short staircase to this den of evil karma and into the doorway, all the while feeling as though I needed to worry about the thugs slapping a collar on me the moment I passed the threshold thanks to their uncomfortable glaring. I hurried to weasel past them since they were blocking half the staircase. Alphonse politely cut us off from them and the outside world by shutting the door. He gestured down the hall and we walked.

    The hall he took me through was lined with sconces lit burning candles, allowing not a shred of shadow to eek across the long, expensive red carpet we walked on, as if somehow owning such a thing was meant to be a show of status that needed to be seen, rather than something to both protect the smoothly polished floor board while looking pleasant to the eye. It was, at least, a feature the Lazy Cat most definitely didn¡¯t offer. Unlike that dusty, broken building, it looked like he had it and the floor cleaned every day, there was not a spec of dust on it.

    Judging by what he sold here, he certainly didn¡¯t have a lack of man-power to actually do just that. Once more, my mental impression of what I was expecting to find here had been turned on its head.

    Alphonse eyed me over his shoulder and faced forward before speaking, his arms folded neatly behind his back as though wanting to show he had no dagger there to ease my mind.

    ¡°Excuse me, dear customer, but if you don¡¯t mind my asking, is this your first time in a shop such as this?¡±

    Coming to stop, he gestured to a room with an open door. All I could see inside was a couple of couches and a coffee table.

    ¡°Y-yes. I only recently heard slavery was legal in this country.¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s legal everywhere. Please, step this way. We need to speak on the requirements to buy a slave before I can let you see what I have in stock.¡±

    ¡°I thought the only requirement was the coin.¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir. But, and I don¡¯t mean to be disrespectful towards a customer, but you don¡¯t necessarily look like you can afford any of our merchandise. Frankly, I don¡¯t see the point in showing you what I have if you can¡¯t afford it in the first place. However, in honor of future business, I would love to hear any inquiries you have regarding this establishment.¡±

    He chose his words carefully, as if sensing my continued dissent over what I was doing. Nevertheless, I had to persevere.

    He must have been referring to the conditions Albert mentioned about being able to feed and house whoever you bought. I looked down at my clothes. The cheap, basic starting gear I was given naturally couldn¡¯t compare to his finely tailored suit, but it wasn¡¯t exactly patched up or full of holes. It even looked mostly clean, save for a few specks of what I just realized was more of the spiced berryweed powder that I hadn¡¯t thought to clean off.

    But if he felt I couldn¡¯t support this need, why let me inside in the first place?

    ¡°I see. If that¡¯s what you meant, then I don¡¯t mind. I have some questions of my own anyway.¡±

    He put up a small smile at that and I almost got the feeling that he was happy I didn¡¯t complain.

    The room we entered looked a lot like what I expected a tea room would look like in a noble¡¯s mansion. A pair of elegantly designed couches on either side of a coffee table. A few bookshelves packed with various volumes of differing sizes and thicknesses whose titles escaped me. A curtained window drawn to show off the sun settling over the city, just hours before it was set to start sinking behind the horizon. There were even a few well-kept plants lounging about nearby, whose potted soil looked freshly watered.

    He closed the door behind himself and gestured for me to sat on one of the couches. I did so, cautious to make sure I didn¡¯t somehow tear or dirty the thing. I guessed that without a factory to produce furniture like this, that it had been handcrafted and therefore was exceedingly expensive.

    Alphonse took to the opposite side of the table and sat. He eyed me for what felt like dozens of minutes without a word. Purely holding onto the desire to get this want for companionship out of my head, I held myself as firm as I could. Him throwing me out now felt like it might save my soul for even considering whatever he had on offer, but I didn¡¯t think the want would dissipate until I knew that I truly couldn¡¯t have any of what, whom, he called merchandise.

    ¡°First, may I ask, what it is you wish to know about what we do here?¡±

    ¡°W-Well,¡± I thought hard, but my impatient foolishness made me come inside without an actual game plan. ¡°I was told that there are only three requirements to own a slave.¡±

    I allowed a bit of re-iterated word vomit to answer for me and he nodded.

    ¡°Money, food and housing. Yes. Go on.¡±

    ¡°Well, is that really all there is? My question is, couldn¡¯t the slave just kill their master or ruin them some other way, like maybe burn all their money so they can¡¯t afford to keep them, in order to break free of their master? I mean, beast-kin are stronger than the average human, aren¡¯t they?¡±

    ¡°I see. So, you are interested in purchasing a beast-kin slave.¡±

    Shit. He caught onto something I didn¡¯t even say out loud the second I answered. My love for animal-eared cuties was sniffed out too easily. High level merchants are scary. I really needed to be more careful.

    Alphonse continued.

    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    ¡°To answer your question, no that is not possible. While the beast-kin are indeed physically stronger than humans, they are also entirely incapable of using magic. Meaning, that they are also weak to magic. That is a human¡¯s best bet to beat them in a fight. You see, the slave contract that the slaves are bound to, isn¡¯t a physical piece of parchment like you would get for, say, buying a house. It¡¯s more of a magic spell that is written on the very soul of the subject, binding them for life to their master.¡±

    ¡°And that stops them from killing their masters?¡±

    ¡°No, sir. It does not,¡± he said with a small shake of his head. ¡°Not the contract itself, anyways. What it does is cause them a great amount of pain if they so much as give actual, real tangible thought to doing harm to their master. In anyway. That includes intentionally bringing about their financial ruin, since you asked.¡±

    So, they are forced into subservience not by overwhelming force and ignorance like in old times back on Earth, but because the magic binding them forces them to bend the knee. Despite my beloved magic being involved, that sounded somehow almost more barbaric.

    ¡°It causes pain? What happens to them, exactly?¡±

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry. You have my word the spell won¡¯t leave any marks on their body. It just strangles them until they either give up their wicked thoughts, their master forgives them or they die. However, this rarely happens since the magic is triggered by thought alone, so they are always quick to correct themselves before it comes to that.¡±

    ¡°But what if they manage to kill me before they themselves die?¡±

    ¡°Unlikely, but to be honest, it has happened before. They would have to truly despise their master to be willing to go that far, because the slave contract will immediately execute the slave for the crime of murder thereafter. Even if the master¡¯s death was an accident.¡±

    That¡¯s dark¡­

    What if their master is a drunken idiot that staggers over to them while they are chopping wood for the fire like they were told to do and the master trips over himself and lands under the path of the axe mid-swing? In that case, it¡¯d be the master¡¯s fault, right? Would the slave still be punished? As unfortunate as it sounded, the answer was probably yes. The spell and anyone else would probably look at the slave¡¯s status and the victim assume they killed their master on purpose. And if it were the spell itself that decides guilt and not whatever the detective equivalent in this world is, then maybe all that matters is that the master died and died by the slave¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Then what if the master dies or loses their job and can no longer afford to keep them? What happens to them then?¡±

    ¡°If their master is found to be unable to keep up with the conditions required of them, they are seen as unfit by the binding spell and the slave is released. However, if you were to unfortunately fall down that path, you would be smart to see your slave back to us or another similar establishment before things get that far. That way, you can at least get some of your money back and work to get back on your feet.¡±

    I felt he intentionally left out explaining what happens were I to die while owning a slave out of the sake of sympathy for my obvious unease, but it didn¡¯t exactly show on his face. Even if he didn¡¯t think I could buy now, he wanted me as a potential customer later. My coming here was already proof of interest, after all. Even if I didn¡¯t want to admit it.

    It was easy enough to understand what happened to the slaves based on the condition of the master losing their wealth. So, in the event the master died and the slave was entirely innocent, such as dying from old age, they would likely be set free.

    ¡°I see,¡± I said. ¡°Then, um¡­ how much does a slave typically cost?¡±

    After finally managing to bring up the subject of costs, I shifted in my seat slightly, only just now realizing how uncomfortable the stiff leather was on my backside and I regretted it. Alphonse was quick to notice this misstep. I had to keep in mind that I was under the watchful eyes of a seasoned merchant.

    He nodded, gathering something from my discomfort that even I wasn¡¯t aware of, and explained.

    ¡°The lowest quality slaves go for around 100 gold pieces.¡±

    For a reason I didn¡¯t quite understand, I felt heartbroken. That is the exact amount I started with and almost all I had left, but I blew some of it on a bag entirely on a whim to hide accessing my item box, when I could have played it off as a party trick if I was ever caught using it. If I spent it all here right now, I might end up ruining myself the same day I reincarnated.

    Alphonse continued despite my obviously worried state. There was a curious arch to his brow and what looked like the beginning of a smile to his thin, drawn-out lips.

    ¡°The higher-quality slaves typically range from 10,000 to 50,000 gold pieces. On rare occasions, based on the product, that price can go even higher.¡±

    While I didn¡¯t have a concrete sense of the value of the money in this world yet, that number would have been unimaginable for me to just throw away if converted simply from gold to the currency of my homeland. Even if you completely omitted the value of gold and just converted it to simple numbers, those prices were still staggering. But taking into mind the fact that we were talking about gold was mind boggling.

    Earning that much money in a game wasn¡¯t usually all that hard, but it took time to get that much without some kind of exploit. Considering how much I got from just the three items I sold earlier, I didn¡¯t see how I had a chance.

    A fine fur like the one belonging to the white wolf would have gotten me a good amount of money back on earth, since it would no doubt be used to make some sort of fashionable piece of clothing that would sit in a storefront window until it was bought by some rich snob that only wore the best of the best clothing lines, but I only got a couple silvers for it. For risking my life to earn it.

    Since the coins were made of rare metals, the value of the money here must be several times higher than back on Earth. Scarcity breeds value. Sort of the opposite of inflation.

    ¡°I see¡­ What would be the best way for an Adventurer to make money, er, coin, then?¡±

    I asked the question I had been stewing over purely out of curiosity, but he happily obliged me by answering. And I realized I messed up again.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re an Adventurer. I see, then you must be wanting one of our battle-slaves to help you clear the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Dungeon?¡±

    Upon hearing that word, the first image that came to mind was a bunch of prison cells locked away in the bowels of a castle, but it apparently meant something different here. Most likely he was referring to something like that of a labyrinth filled with monsters and traps. A staple of fantasy worlds from fiction the world over. My mind then turned right to the thought of a random cave hidden away on the side of a mountain somewhere, waiting for me to trounce up and beat to death whatever creatures lived inside with my sword.

    ¡°Yes,¡± he answered. ¡°That is how Adventurers like yourself typically make their living. They venture down into local dungeons and wipe out the monsters that live there. They bring back whatever their kills drop and sell it for profit. The objects found inside the dungeons are worth much more than those found from killing simple wildlife, so it can be quite profitable if the Adventurer is skilled enough.¡±

    I perked up at that and asked, ¡°Because the monsters inside are stronger?¡±

    ¡°Indeed. Much stronger. Sometimes they even drop rarer items that go for more coin than the usual drops. Though, I wouldn¡¯t stake my purse on finding such drops. Also, if you are lucky, you might even find a treasure chest with something even more valuable inside. It¡¯s searching for these possibilities that give Adventurers life.¡±

    That definitely sounded interesting, but there was a flaw with what he said.

    ¡°How can adventurers make money that way if the monsters disappear after being killed? Won¡¯t the dungeon be cleared in no time like that?¡±

    Thinking back to how the wolves and rabbit completely disappeared after death made the concept of someone routinely clearing the dungeons to be impossible. Once they were cleared out and the local monster population was extinct, wouldn¡¯t there be nothing left for them to farm? However, Alphonse nodded knowingly, as if he knew I lacked a basic understanding of not just the dungeons, but of this world.

    ¡°That is because the monsters in the dungeons are created from the very same magic that created the dungeons themselves. The monsters are created again and again each day without end. So, there is no need for an Adventurer to worry about running out of prey the way an overzealous Hunter might if they cleared an entire forest of its inhabitants. In fact,¡± he continued, raising a finger. ¡°If they are left alone too long, they will break free of the dungeon and go on a rampage in the city, slaughtering humans by the thousands. It is for this reason we are all very grateful to the Adventurers inhabiting this city. Because it is their duty to ensure this outcome never come to pass.¡±

    I had to admit, that made sense. If the monsters were spawned infinitely, the world would be overrun in a matter of months. Must be similar to how killing a bunch of enemies in a video game, be it animal or humanoid, and leaving the area for a few in game days causes them to respawn. But in the games, the developers put a stopper on how many enemies can spawn in any given area, so the player doesn¡¯t get bogged down in a fight they couldn¡¯t possibly win, therefore halting their progress in the game. Although, since there would be ways around such a thing, it was always likely more so the player¡¯s hardware doesn¡¯t burn itself alive trying to process so many NPC¡¯s at the same time.

    In the real world, this world, however, such limitations wouldn¡¯t be necessary.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t there a way to stop them from spawning?¡±

    ¡°I am afraid that I don¡¯t know. Nobody does, really. There are legends suggesting that dungeons and all their inhabitants disappear once the boss on the deepest level is beaten. But there has never been any evidence of that ever happening in all of recorded history.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­¡±

    That too made sense. Thinking alongside that logic, the final boss may be the one supplying the magic generating the monsters in the first place. Take him out, and there is nothing left to spawn them. Simple. However, if that were true, I felt that actually clearing a dungeon would throw the economy of the nearest city out of whack.

    Assuming that the prices of the items dropped in dungeons are worth more because they are highly sought after and hard to get, as opposed to people just being grateful to what is essentially their protectors and offering more for their hard work, then the loss of the dungeon would also mean a major loss of revenue for the city. And if the people are actively buying these drops from Adventurers, then the items themselves were needed.

    Not only this, but the Adventurers themselves would have to leave the city because of the class they were born with would then become useless there. Which would then lead to the city losing some of its protection from other enemies as well.

    Making money was fine, but if I push too hard, I might end up ruining the city.

    Then again, if no one else managed it so far, I might not need to worry that I might.

    ¡°How are the dungeons even formed?¡±

    ¡°Nobody knows for sure,¡± Alphonse said. ¡°There is speculation that it is somehow part of a plot conceived by the demon king and that he means to use the dungeons to expand his armies all over the world.¡±

    ¡°¡­ There would be a demon king.¡±

    I nearly sighed. As much as I was enjoying this world so far, the goddess sure cheaped out with the final boss.

    A demon king being the end-all evil that nobody but the protagonist could kill was such an overly used trope in fantasy media that it had become horribly cliched. It had been around for longer than I even knew. It was overdone, over saturated and at this point, I was over it. I mean, really? Why not make something else up? I¡¯d settle for a giant dragon at this point. They¡¯d kind of fallen out of fashion, at least.

    Not that I would put myself willingly up against either of those options. This was the real world. There is no such thing as a protagonist and I wasn¡¯t about to assume I was wearing plot armor under this tunic.

    Well, I suppose the Goddess did base this world on my knowledge, so maybe she was limited only to what I knew. And I suppose I did invoke a clich¨¦ by getting reincarnated after getting hit by a truck anyways. So, I can¡¯t really complain.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± Alphonse asked, eyebrow raised at my boring response to learning about the final boss.

    ¡°Sorry. It¡¯s nothing. Please continue.¡±

    ¡°Ahem, well. If you are looking to make some money, I would also recommend you join the Adventurer¡¯s Guild here in the city. You may always explore the dungeon as you wish, but as a member of the guild, you may take on quests to earn some extra coin. Some quests of which may even be to collect a certain number of items from the dungeons. Although, you must be an Adventurer of at least level 10 before they will accept you into their ranks. Can¡¯t have you ruining their reputation by being too weak, can they?¡±

    Level 10? Does that mean they have some way to tell my level? Nobody else so far has said anything about it and just treated me as if I weren¡¯t the novice I really was. Or were they? I wasn¡¯t the best at guessing people¡¯s intentions regarding me. A life of assuming the worst may have blinded me to the truth.

    I was curious, but I kept quiet about it for now so I didn¡¯t lay all my cards on the table. If they were able to tell my level with some sort of item rather than my menu¡¯s ability to analyze people and things, I would only out myself by bringing it up here now.

    I wasn¡¯t all that sure it would matter if I were found out, but I didn¡¯t care to learn what they might do to me if they found I had abilities nobody else in the world did. I¡¯d rather not end up as a side attraction in a roaming freakshow.

    ¡°Thanks. I will keep that in mind for later.¡±

    ¡°You are welcome. Now, back to business. If you still wish to purchase from us, I recommend that you buy one of the cheapest slaves at 100 gold coins. This way, you can bring them into the dungeon with you and you can earn back that money twice as fast than you normally would alone. Then, if it pleases you, you could then save up your coin, sell that slave back to us for a discount and purchase one of a  higher quality.¡±

    I mulled over his logic and found it to be pretty sturdy on its own. He¡¯d already decided that I was broke, not that it mattered. He was probably right. The only pitfall with it was that there were most likely several other Adventurers taking to the dungeons every day. Who knows how many I¡¯d have to compete with if I went? And more importantly, who is to say that there will even be any monsters or loot left for me by the time I get there? Furthermore, as if those concerns weren¡¯t enough, do the treasure chests he mentioned even spawn again after being looted? Does the dungeon make coins and gear as well as monsters? Surely the hope of finding the chests was a bigger draw than the monsters¡¯ loot, right?

    Needless to say, it¡¯s still a risk no matter how good it sounds.

    ¡°Well, sir, would you like to see what slaves we have for your price range? Since you are interested in beast-kin women, may I also remind you that their extra strength will be a big help in the dungeons? On top of that, a fine gentleman such as yourself might like to know that it is entirely impossible for a beast-kin woman to give birth to a human¡¯s child. Meaning, you can do with your slave however you please, whenever you please.¡±

    No. No. I was here to rid myself of evil thoughts. I will not be tempted by your honeyed words, sir. I cannot let myself fall into such a wicked taboo, just for the sake of my own pleasure. I was given this new life to better myself. Not to fall into such trappings.

    I am not strong yet, but I will be soon. So, with that in mind, my answer is¡­

    ¡°Please, let me see them. I want a cute one.¡±

    Dammit¡­

    My deepest male desires gave in and I answered instantly. Not only were the reasons behind why he insisted on telling me that last fact likely just a sales ploy to get me interested in buying, but because that meant I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about contraceptives. Which I am only just now questioning the existence of.

    So much for the path of righteousness. All jokes aside, I was just as much a slave to my desires as I was my comforts.

    There was still the lingering hope that something would prevent me from taking this crucial step to the dark side, that I would be turned away, sent back to the inn and given time to cool off, but such thoughts were fleeting compared to those of the dog-girl I met in the inn¡¯s backyard.

    ¡°Gladly, sir. If you please, I will bring out a few for you to look at. If none are to your liking, I will send for more and we can¡­¡±

    Just as he stood and was about to reach for the door, the sound of something huge crashing resounded throughout the entire building. The blow was hard enough to make it feel as though the building itself might collapse were it to happen a second time. I guessed from the sudden concerned look on Alphonse¡¯s face that this wasn¡¯t a common happening here.

    ¡°What was that?¡±

    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry sir, but I do not know. Please, let me check. I¡¯ll be right back. Just wait right there.¡±

    Alphonse opened the door and I heard the clinking sounds of around a dozen men in metal armor stampeding through the building to find out what the problem was. Alphonse made a sour face at their appearance and rushed out of the room, slamming the door behind himself again.

    The sounds of destruction continued to shake the building, despite the presence of such heavily armored guards being a welcomed surprise, at least when compared to the bald and lanky ones waiting outside who were likely going to be of no help, I grew concerned.

    There weren¡¯t many things I could think of that could cause such a commotion, but I very suddenly felt unsafe in this place.

    ¡°That¡¯s not the demon king he was talking about, right?¡±

    The chances of such a being showing up right after just mentioning its name were slim to none, but the power behind the continued bashing and pained cries of men I didn¡¯t know was making it easily believable.

    I tried to sit still like he suggested, but a nagging voice in the back of my mind kept telling me to get up and go see what was happening for myself. Maybe it was the part of me wishing to take a more active role in my own life. Maybe not. Call it curiosity, or whatever you wish, all I know is that I had the sudden unbearable urge to leave the room. So, I did. If it proved to be too much trouble for what it was worth, then I could just run away and use my cowardice as an excuse to prevent my buying a slave.

    Ain¡¯t no chance of me fighting a demon king at level 1.

    The sound of wood smashing against the stone walls continued non-stop. Men groaned and grunted and yelled as they fought off an unseen enemy. The vibrations of battle continued to give the impression of the building shaking, making my footsteps unsteady. At least, that¡¯s the explanation I chose to believe as the cause for my unsteady gait.

    The call of my curiosity continued, so I equipped my sword and followed the sound of battle.

    I headed further into the building through the same hall I entered from to follow the sounds of fighting and rounded a corner, putting more distance between myself and the exit. Up one flight of stairs later, I found several more men labeled as Thugs standing out in the hall.

    All of them between level 1 and 3. All of them faced a single door in the middle of the hall. Each of them held their weapons, swords, axes, clubs, at the ready. Some of their bodies were covered in fresh, bleeding gashes that cut straight through their leather armor in several places, the cuts expertly placed between the metal sections that covered their vitals, but many more were clearly beaten and bruised to the point of their swelling injuries almost completely obscuring their facial features.

    ¡°Iron Fist!¡±

    At the sound of this growl, there was another heavy crash, a pained, wheezing grunt and many of the men lining the hall started shaking in their boots, clutching their weapons to their chests.

    One of them noticed me.

    ¡°Oi, you. Get out of here!¡±

    Just then, the body of another man flew through the open doorway and slammed into the one that called out to me. Both of them collapsed to the floor and remained motionless. I focused on them and their info boxes showed that they were simply unconscious. Not that that fact eased any of the tension among any of us here.

    To replace the man that was launched into the hall, two more of the thugs not busy wetting themselves rushed inside and the sounds of fighting resumed.

    I took a few cautious steps over to where the men stood and they didn¡¯t seem to mind. Didn¡¯t¡¯ even seem to notice me. Since I had my sword drawn, they might have even been grateful for the help.

    Finally, I managed to peek inside the room and saw the men that just rushed in flung like a couple sacks of potatoes into the wall, shattering the frame of an expensive-looking painting in the process. They immediately staggered back to their feet, shook off their dazed states and ran back at their attacker.

    Where was Alphonse in all of this? Didn¡¯t he leave to come settle this issue? Someone of his level, even if he has a non-combat job, must be able to put up a better fight than these guys.

    As I was thinking this, the men inside were pushed back once more, only this time their attacker lunged at them before they could come back at her.

    A ferocious, yet undeniably beautiful girl with long, chestnut-colored hair draped messily over her shoulders came into view just as she sent her fist flying into one of the thug¡¯s chests, throwing him violently back into the wall. Though she grunted violently as she fought, she did so with glossy lips that looked as though they tasted of peaches.

    She wore a pair of exceedingly tight leather pants that reached all the way until they stopped just above her ankles and that seemed to only be holding themselves in place due to their sheer tightness as there was no button or tie or belt binding them around her shapely hips. The leather they were made of was only a few shades darker than the rest of her smooth skin. That fact coupled with how the feet she used to kick at the second man¡¯s head weren¡¯t covered with shoes, boots, nor anything resembling socks, made it look almost like there was nothing covering her lower half at all.

    The top she wore looked a lot like the hand-me-down version of a commoner¡¯s dress that all the other city girls might wear on a daily basis, but hers was cut down short enough to leave her navel exposed as she fought. The hastily thrown together shirt seemed to be missing a few buttons, as it was held together by a couple leather strings located both above and below her sizable breasts where the fabric was stretched to its limits and begged to breathe as it displayed just a small portion of her seemingly ample cleavage.

    Most notable of all, well above the rest, was the pair of small, triangular ears standing at attention on top of her head and the long tail the same color as her hair that stretched out from a hole sewn into the back of her pants.

    ¡°A cat-kin?¡± I guessed.

    A cat-girl. And a gorgeous one at that.

    Mid-punch, as if hearing my inner appraisal of her beauty, she suddenly turned her attention to me. Her face scrunched up in anger as if she thought I was her next opponent, but when our eyes met and she made a motion that looked like she sniffed the air, that anger faded away almost instantaneously. The glistening emerald eyes that stared back at me, what made up the fantastical center piece of her already stunning face, seemed to almost grow calm.

    She paused there, still mid-punch, her fist hanging in the air, and we stared at each other, neither of us making a move for several seconds.

    We just stared. And all other sounds in the building faded into obscurity. It was as if the universe had stopped spinning just to give us enough time to fully notice each other¡¯s existence. If I hadn¡¯t seen the destruction this woman caused right in front of me, I would have called my own eyes a pair of rueful liars if they so much as suggested her existence was even possible.

    Finally, she withdrew her arm, tilted her head curiously at me and then¡­

    ¡°Now¡¯s your chance! Gang up and hold her down!¡±

    Alphonse¡¯s voice appeared, boomed from somewhere inside the room, shaking me and the girl out of our collective stupors, and all the thugs rushed at her.

    They grabbed hold of the distracted girl¡¯s arms, legs and dove to grab hold of even her slender waist. In their frantic rush to pin her to the floor, I was genuinely surprised that nobody tried to cop a feel of such a beauty¡¯s softest parts. But nothing surprised me more than the fact that she just continued looking straight into my eyes when the men latched onto her. Not once, not even when they finally managed to lock all her limbs in place, did she look away. Those emeralds just continued to gaze right into me, maybe not to judge like the rest of the world would, but for some other, indiscernible reason that baffled even her.

    Once she was good and secure, Alphonse stepped up, looking a little worse for wear himself, though he did appear to be uninjured. He wiped the sweat from his brow and placed a hand on the girl¡¯s chestnut hair, right between her cat-like ears, and began chanting a spell. For some reason, I was drawn immediately to his words, even though I had no idea what they meant. Not because they were in another language, but because I could do nothing but watch.

    ¡°Forced Sleep.¡±

    As soon as the short incantation was finished, the cat-girl¡¯s eyelids drooped. She tried to keep them open. Oh, how she tried. But before long the beautiful emeralds lighting up the room were hidden by sleep. Her body grew limp and only after making sure she was down for the count, did the thugs slowly ease up.

    I wasn¡¯t overly shocked by the use of the spell. Nor did the short incantation for it surprise me after considering how many fantasy worlds required incantations spanning entire sentences just to cast a single spell. After learning it from the Goddess¡¯ gift box, I knew my own Fire Ball spell typically needed an incantation to activate it as well and it was only as short as saying its name. Unlike with Alphonse, my silent spell casting trait just relieved me of the need to actually speak it.

    [New Spell Learned: Forced Sleep.]

    What got to me was right after the effect of the spell kicked in, I got a notification indicating that I learned the spell I¡¯d just seen used.

    ¡°What the hell?¡±

    After the spell was cast, the fight was over and the thugs holding her fell to the floor, exhausted and happy to have survived the fight. This left the girl in a state of freefall for a moment when her legs gave out beneath her, but before her head could hit the floor, Alphonse swooped in behind her and caught her by the shoulders. With one arm under the small of her back and another under her knees, he lifted her up into his arms as easily as if she were only as heavy as a thick pillow.

    Then he saw me standing in the doorway. I don¡¯t know when I moved that close to the room, but there was no denying that I did. I felt his eyes on me, but mine were affixed entirely to the girl in his arms as the once rampaging beast now slumbered with an almost peaceful expression that seemed to fit her leagues more than the ferociousness I¡¯d just seen.

    ¡°My apologies, sir,¡± he said after a pause. ¡°The commotion is under control now. If you please, wait for me back in the room I brought you to and I will be right with you after I take care of her.¡±

    He gestured down at the girl in his arms with his chin and walked towards me. Towards the door.

    I quietly stepped out of the way. I didn¡¯t know what he was going to do with her, maybe have her thrown in prison for assaulting his men and breaking his thing or maybe something much worse, but I knew in that instant that I didn¡¯t want her to be taken away from me. But judging by his level and the strength he showed with the ease in which he held her, there was nothing I could do to stop him. Never mind the thugs panting on the ground next to us. I just didn¡¯t want to see her leave and I had no idea why.

    I felt week. I felt lesser. And I watched as he carried her into a nearby room, followed closely inside by a couple of other women dressed as maids. They must have been hiding somewhere nearby to have responded so quickly. None of them came back out.

    For all my curiosity was worth, I decided it was best to just head back like Alphonse suggested and wait for him to explain what the hell just happened.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 5

    ¡°I must offer my apologies again, sir,¡± Alphonse sighed and pushed his hair back. ¡°What a terrible first impression our establishment must have made for you.¡±

    ¡°What was that all about? Who was that girl?¡±

    I asked while he poured us some of the tea the maid that came in with him brought with her. Apparently, because he decided to pour it himself, the maid bowed and left the room since she apparently had no more use in being there with us. She hadn¡¯t said a word the whole time and, if I weren¡¯t mistaken, looked happy to be allowed to leave.

    I accepted the cup he offered me happily, only just now realizing I hadn¡¯t had anything to eat or drink at all since I woke up in this world. It tasted of unsweetened black tea, but my once spoiled tongue didn¡¯t mind the bitterness at all.

    Alphonse straightened his back and took a sip himself before looking me in the eye.

    ¡°That girl is one of ours. She¡¯s passed all of our education requirements to become a proper slave, but we just can¡¯t seem to educate that pesky ferociousness out of her. Really, it¡¯s quite sad.¡±

    So, she was a slave? Then her violence must have been somehow related to that. Probably just her trying to break free from her bindings.

    That must also be why Alphonse was able to stay in that room during her brutal rampage and come out entirely uninjured. High level or not, if she was a slave in this establishment, he had to have been her master. She had to have known on some level that hurting him specifically would only cause her pain.

    However, the slave spell apparently didn¡¯t take into consideration the destruction of property or the maiming of his thugs. I felt a modicum of sympathy as the thugs she brutalized were hauled away for treatment, but not anymore. Not after knowing this. Though my presence here didn¡¯t make me any better than them, I guess.

    ¡°Sad how?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Well, to put it simply, the prices of slaves are based not only on their physical strength, but their gender, their age as well as their looks and the overall condition of their body. Primarily, when Adventurers come looking to buy, they focus more on strength and looks and I¡¯m sure someone such as yourself must have noticed already, but she is well equipped in both those fields.¡±

    ¡°Yea,¡± I agreed, nodding along with his flattery. ¡°But what¡¯s that got to do with¡­¡±

    ¡°Because she¡¯s proven not to be worth our investment in her,¡± he interrupted, his brow furrowing as the strong grip on his tea cup caused it to squeal against the saucer he held it against. ¡°We bought her, educated her, trained her and despite all of this, because of her attitude, she is unsellable. She could have been worth a large some of gold, but she starts a fight every time a new buyer comes to our establishment. A beast-kin¡¯s ears are no joke, you see? As soon as she realizes someone with a penchant for her kind showed up to buy, she causes problems.¡±

    My cheeks steamed at the reminder of having been caught out as an animal-eared cutie enthusiast, but I could see why that would upset him. If their prices really ranged as far as he suggested earlier, then she was becoming quite the substantial loss for them.

    However, I cared not for his business. Regardless of legality, and my hypocritical feelings for this trade, it dawned on me that this might actually be good news for me. This was his mess, but as he fumed over his tea, I thought of a way we could both benefit from me cleaning it up.

    ¡°Wait,¡± I said, setting my tea cup down. ¡°I thought you said slaves couldn¡¯t hurt their masters. Then how does she keep causing all these problems?¡±

    To keep the conversation flowing in as natural a direction as possible, I asked a question I had already figured out for myself.

    ¡°They can¡¯t hurt their masters,¡± he answered. ¡°Guards hired by her current master, myself, are not affected by the slavery spell as I do not make money from them directly. However, if I were to step in while she¡¯s on a rampage, then I might end up risking her life if she accidentally hurts me.¡±

    I gulped.

    ¡°So, a slave will be punished for accidentally hurting their master as well?¡±

    He mentioned as much in terms of accidentally killing their master, but this made some sense as well and it explained away his earlier inaction.

    ¡°That is correct. However, it depends on the severity of the injury afflicted. If it were something as insignificant as, say, accidentally pricking their master with a sewing needle as they patched up a tear in their trousers, then all that happens is that they get a headache. Aside from that, it is more or less up to the master to decide whether they deserve further punishment. If the injury inflicted is severe enough to need a healer or a potion, or if the master happens to be of a particularly ill-tempered sort, then the slave is treated as though they meant to do it and the spell punishes them accordingly.¡±

    He looked into his cup and sighed deeply. It was a sight of weakness I had not seen from him yet, so I was on guard for more of his clever merchant tricks to sneak more information out of me. I took another drink myself to cover up the sour taste growing in my mouth for where I was wanting this conversation to go, before asking for more information myself.

    ¡°I can understand that much. But because she won¡¯t sell and keeps causing fights to break out, what¡¯s going to happen to her?¡±

    Alphonse nodded as if he expected the question. It seemed natural, given how I have already shown him I know little to nothing of slavery in this world. So, that seemed like the next logical question. And he answered with what must have seemed like a logical answer to him.

    ¡°To be honest. She¡¯ll have to be put down.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    Outraged at the thought alone, it angered me even more than his choice of words rendering her being to sound like nothing more important than some street cat being taken to a vet to be put down to end its suffering. To end his suffering.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry if the idea of her death bothers you, sir, but I¡¯ve made an investment on her. So far, she has done nothing but burn away my coin with her intolerable attitude.¡±

    No. No way. No damn way. There was no way I could let her die here. I knew nothing about her or her true personality. I didn¡¯t even manage to get her name after staring at her for so long. But something deep down told me I¡¯d regret it for the rest of my life if I let hers end here.

    It could be lamenting the loss of life, any life. Could be the failure as me, a man, to protect that girl. Maybe it would just be me regretting losing that chance, small as it may be, that I could have something with her. Regardless, it was unacceptable. I had to put my foot down and change his mind anyway I could.

    My mind was a flurry of possible ways to do this, but the one I settled on made bile rise up my throat before I pushed it back down with another, generous glug of tea. If I was expecting composure from myself here, that pretty much ended the thought.

    ¡°Th-Then¡­ Then sell her to me. Sell her to me for 100¡­ No, 99 gold.¡±

    I demanded and he looked genuinely taken aback by both the demand and the hopefully stern tone I delivered it with. I had to hope my knocking the price down seconds after putting it up didn¡¯t make him laugh at me.

    Why did I go and ask to make change with the innkeeper again? The way she reacted to it didn¡¯t exactly leave a good taste in my mouth either. I could have had that one extra gold to barter with.

    Alphonse had been mid-sip himself when I said this and, expertly, paused for a second, letting his cup hide the contours of his lips, as he pondered this over. When he came to some silent conclusion, he set the cup down on the table. The resounding noise it made sounded much like a judge banging his gavel upon dismissing a case that lacked standing.

    ¡°Sir, surely you jest,¡± he said, his brow arched wildly above his cold, black eyes. ¡°You were asking not long ago about the cheapest slaves we had. My apologies for saying so, but I doubt you can afford her.¡±

    This was my chance to turn his little merchant game on him. I don¡¯t know if my Merchant class might suddenly kick in and help me, but I wouldn¡¯t doubt it at this point after how the Swordsman class seemed to help out against the wolves. In the heat of the moment, I came upon the realization that I seemed to understand just a bit more of how money worked in general ever since I claimed this class. And I needed it now more than ever.

    ¡°N-Normally, no, I wouldn¡¯t be able to. However, you said yourself that she¡¯s losing you money on the investment made on her, right?¡±

    ¡°Well, yes, but¡­¡±

    ¡°To top it off, not only has she been unsellable so far, but I assume you must be paying your guards extra every time she roughs them up to keep them happy and, more importantly, to keep them quiet to protect the name of your business. Correct? That¡¯s even more coin gone every time you meet a prospective customer. Not to mention the sour taste this place must leave in their mouth after the fact.¡±

    A strand from Alphonse¡¯s slicked back hair fell over his forehead. He rolled his jaw, mulling over what I said, but I knew he must have already long since considered all of this.

    Because his men were not slaves themselves, that means he pays their wages. So, in order for his men to keep quiet about their injuries and to keep them coming back to work, he would have to appease them by paying not only for their recovery potions or a trip to whatever kind of healer or doctor might exist in this world, but he would have to pay them hush money to keep them from spreading word about the violent slaves he was trying to sell. And they certainly seemed like the lot that would do such a thing to swindle more money out of him.

    Then add in the fact that he likely covers the cost of any weapons and armors damaged in the attack and that if he didn¡¯t, his staff would abandon him for leaving them ill-equipped to handle the more violent slaves or thieves they were likely hired to deal with.

    I felt a little smirk start across my lips and suppressed it immediately. I was on a roll and I couldn¡¯t let this chance slip away by letting him notice what I was doing.

    ¡°Sell her to me for 99 gold pieces,¡± I said. ¡°Not only will you make a bit of your money back tonight, but I will take her out of your hair so you don¡¯t have to deal with her anymore. You get paid and get rid of a troublemaker and your men get to feel relieved they won¡¯t have to fight her anymore.¡±

    ¡°But, sir! You wouldn¡¯t be able to control her any more than I could!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s my problem. As long as I have the slave contract binding her to me, I don¡¯t have to worry about her causing me any harm, right? You¡¯d lose everything you¡¯ve spent on her so far by just killing her. This way, you can at least claim some profit from her.¡±

    ¡°Erk!¡±

    He grunted and squeezed the handle of his tea cup a bit too much. A crack appeared in its once smooth surface.

    Since my confidence boosting skill didn¡¯t work against him earlier, I had no idea where all this was coming from. Maybe with the Merchant class being related to trade and because we were talking business, it kicked in to help me out. But it didn¡¯t make sense for it to only kick in now and not earlier when he was casually belittling the size of my wallet. I feel like that should have been something worthy of riling up my inner Merchant.

    Confused, but amped, I tried to hide a trembling lip behind my tea cup, though its contents had long since gone dry.

    Even if I won her contract, the cost of it alone would almost ruin me. I couldn¡¯t forget that. He gave me options on potential employment in this city, but that didn¡¯t mean I had a job just yet. This was going to be a risk for both of us.

    Alphonse seemed to think over everything I just said while staring at me, surely searching for a chink in my nearly non-existent armor. When he lifted his head and slicked his hair back, I feared he may have found one.

    ¡°Sir. What you are asking for is absurd. Not only would it simply be cheaper to have her killed, selling her to you could come back to haunt me if she causes trouble within the city. As I was the one who sold her to you, there would be no end to the inquiries into the quality of my slaves.¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t be a problem.¡±

    ¡°Sir¡­ How can you possibly know that?¡±

    While he still seemed to have no idea what my level was, if he himself as a level 50 Slave Merchant couldn¡¯t handle a slave, then how could a low-level Adventurer new to the ways of the country possibly hope to do so?

    ¡°It¡¯s simple,¡± I said. ¡°You saw what happened in there. Regardless of the reason why, she calmed down the moment she saw me. With that, I believe that I can get through to her.¡±

    He scratched his chin in a way that hid his mouth while looking me over.

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    Even I couldn¡¯t explain why she calmed down at the sight of me or why I was so drawn to her, aside from her obvious beauty, but if there was a reason for it, all I had to do was learn it and use it.

    I couldn¡¯t let this chance slide the way I squandered my life by willingly forfeiting my ability to use my intelligence for any sort of benefit. What I knew now didn¡¯t matter in the long run. It was how I used what I knew. I didn¡¯t use it back then, but now I could. Now I will. And I could turn this around for all of us and make everyone happy, including her.

    ¡°Sir, if what you say is true¡­ then perhaps you do have what it takes to reign in that wild woman. But¡­¡±

    ¡°But?¡±

    ¡°But I cannot just part with her for only 99 gold. As a Merchant, I¡¯d be a fool for accepting a trade as unbalanced as trading a piece of gold for a single copper.¡±

    His powerful greed as a Merchant that demanded he do whatever he could to get as much as he could out of every transaction kept him too level-headed to get the jump on him when bargaining for something, someone, worth so much to the both of us.

    I was about to protest his decision by repeating the grave losses he already incurred, but he continued on his own.

    ¡°Instead, if you wish, sir, I will allow you to place a downpayment on her with your 99 gold. While I am willing to offer her at only half her expected value of 50,000 gold pieces, I will allow you to take her with you while you both work to pay off this de¡­ loan. How does that sound?¡±

    Geez. That deal would put me in a 24,901 gold-deep hole. And on my first day in this world to boot. My Merchant ability wasn¡¯t giving me any ideas on how to lower the price by even a single percent. Nor was it telling me to run away from his offer. So, I was on my own.

    All it took was the mental image of that girl, her pointed ears aiming themselves right at me as Alphonse stuffed her neck through the hole on the business end of a guillotine to get me to make up my mind. He was right. There was no reasonable way I should have been able to buy her. To save her. So, this was my only chance.

    I guess I won¡¯t be buying a house anytime soon.

    ¡°Deal,¡± I said, offering my hand before he could rescind his offer.

    He took it with a satisfied smile. Looking particularly exhausted, he stood up and stretched. After what happened, I figured he was worried he wasn¡¯t going to be able to sell anything to me today. I imagined that selling slaves was vaguely similar to selling cars in that you were selling one large item worth a lot of money. Not everyone could afford your prices, so any time you spent trying to talk them into it, only to fail in the end, was both time and money wasted.

    ¡°I will bring her right out so that you may look her over. If she is not to your liking, you may still cancel the deal up to any point before you¡¯ve put up the gold for the downpayment. One moment, please.¡±

    He left me alone in the room. Sweating, I thought to sneak a little more tea from the pot he left behind, but the sour taste in my mouth wasn¡¯t going to be quenched.

    I agreed to buy a person. A slave. My goal for coming here was just as half-assed as anything else I¡¯d done in life. Maybe, subconsciously, I was only doing this to have another excuse to be lazy. Having someone else around to handle all the things I didn¡¯t want to do could easily wind up being just as an excuse to revert to how I was back on Earth, as any sort of pleasure I¡¯d get from being with her.

    There was still time to back out, but if I was going through with this, I had to make sure I didn¡¯t let that happen. And if not going through with this meant her death, then I had to do it.

    Alphonse came back several minutes later with the chestnut-haired cat-girl walking in behind him. She carried only a single suitcase. While she didn¡¯t look too pleased, as noted by the distinct droop in her ears just as much as the depressing turn to her lips, she still followed behind him without any guards holding her down. Maybe because her last outburst ended up with her being forced to sleep, the fight in her was gone.

    If what he said about her was true and that those outbursts were just to make herself look as unruly as possible so that she wouldn¡¯t be bought, then the sadness I felt in her must have been due to her failure to accomplish that goal. Or, maybe she managed to hear his threat to kill her and reluctantly decided this was the better option.

    Ending up next to a man like me being the better option. It was as almost laughable thought.

    I stood and Alphonse gestured to her once the door closed and introduced us.

    ¡°This here is Yua. Yua, this young man here as decided to purchase you. Please greet your new master.¡±

    Probably biting back numerous complaints as her teeth dug into her lip, she faced me directly, her all too alluring face beautiful even when clearly despondent. She bowed to me.

    ¡°¡­ Master, I am Yua of the northern cat-kin tribe. It will¡­ it will be my pleasure to serve you.¡±

    ¡°H-Hello,¡± I said, admittedly meekly. That confidence I had when trying to win her contract seemed to have gone home without me. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you. I hope we can get along.¡±

    I don¡¯t know if I was expecting a smile, even a forced one, but I wasn¡¯t too surprised when all she did was grimace at her feet. I still had no idea what made her calm down when she saw me earlier, but the effect seemed to have worn off already.

    Perhaps sensing this, Alphonse stepped in between us.

    ¡°Sir, would you please review her contract one final time before making your decision?¡±

    ¡°Sure¡­¡±

    He nodded respectfully and instead of pulling out a sheet of paper, he held out his hand. Yua placed her hand on top of his without needing to be asked and continued to stare at her feet. Alphonse turned to me.

    ¡°Put your hand on top of hers so that you may review her.¡±

    I nodded, more embarrassed than I care to admit to touch such a beautiful woman¡¯s hand with or without her permission. However, I powered through and did as he asked.

    Judging by how hard she fought and how strong she clearly was, I found it entirely surprising how smooth and soft her hand was against mine. It wouldn¡¯t be too far off to have expected that her hands would be rough, calloused and covered with scars from all the training she must have had to gain the amount of strength she used to throw around the thugs the way she did. But the back of her hand was as smooth as if she never received so much as a scratch on it and used the best lotion the world could offer each and every day to keep them pristine.

    A second or two after my hand touched hers, a window not too dissimilar to my menu appeared in between us. It displayed a side-by-side comparison of both of our names, stats, classes, abilities as well as several other little details. Neither Alphonse nor Yua made any indication that they noticed how mine read, so I guessed only I could see it.

    It was easy to assume that this was just part of the magic binding her to her prospective master. Assuming most things that couldn¡¯t be explained by natural causes in this world as being the work of magic was probably a safe bet to an extent. But this way, I could see who she was and what she was capable of without having to ask.

    Feeling as though looking at the information that should have been hers alone to know, I moved through the menu, thinking that this was as good an opportunity to learn as much about her as I could.

    The first thing that I noticed was that she was indeed labeled as a cat-kin like I thought and like how she called herself. Though it said nothing of this northern tribe. Next was that she was eighteen years old, just like my new body, and that she was only level 3. While it was slightly concerning that she had a higher level than me, I made sure not to mention it since they didn¡¯t seem to realize this. I moved on.

    Her classes she had to offer were Beast-Warrior and Monk. I was familiar with both straight away thanks to the games I played in the past, but seeing them did make me question why both her and Alphonse and everyone else I¡¯d met so far had only two classes, when I had four so far.

    I nodded to myself, deciding that with her strength and her classes, she really would be a great help in tackling the dungeons if I chose to go that route. Then I switched to the next tab.

    Her abilities were displayed here. Like myself, she didn¡¯t have much to offer because her level was so low. She only had the abilities ¡°Rend¡± and ¡°Iron Fist.¡± I figured that Rend was some sort of slashing ability available only to the Beast-Warrior class, but when I looked back to the hand under mine, I saw that her nails were no longer than any other girl¡¯s. Did she need some sort of weapon to use it? Hopefully said weapon wasn¡¯t her teeth.

    The Iron Fist ability on the other hand, was familiar to me. I didn¡¯t yet know fully what it did, but I remembered her using it on the thugs earlier. It seemed to either be a basic power attack or a general attack-raising ability. My guess was the former. Meaning that she had two attacking abilities that would be very helpful and versatile. Meanwhile, I could only chuck Fire Balls at our enemies and flail around with my sword.

    The last tab looked to be all about her health and other general information about her. Here it listed her age, hair and eye colors, all of which were already obvious to me at a glance, but below it was another empty section labeled ¡°Illnesses.¡± So, at least she was physically healthy, which was more than I could have hoped for for a slave. We¡¯d have to work on her broken heart later.

    Then below that it listed some much, much more personal information that I was sure she might have wanted to keep secret.

    Enticed by the lure of secret, forbidden knowledge, I continued reading her health page while holding her hand and when my eyes reached the bottom, they bulged. There it read something no man other than her betrothed should have known about her.

    ¡°S-She¡¯s a virgin?!¡±

    Yua¡¯s face instantly turned bright pink and her right ear started to twitch. She bit her lip hard and glared, looking like she wanted to smack the consciousness out of me just for saying that out loud. Luckily, her contract hadn¡¯t been transferred to me yet, so she wouldn¡¯t be hurt because of my mistake if she did this. Unless, maybe if it counted as ruining a trade for her current master.

    But still, how had a girl this beautiful not found a man yet? Was it because of her personality? Not likely. Her circumstances as a slave were likely the cause for her attitude. But before all of this slavery business, there had to have been no end to the men that made passes at her before. Seeing her now, I refused to believe otherwise.

    She may hate me for pointing this out, but I couldn¡¯t deny this surprising information about her made me a little happy.

    Nodding as though understanding my outburst completely, Alphonse said, ¡°Most of our female slaves are virgins. Most buyers don¡¯t want someone that¡¯s already been sullied. Does this please you, sir?¡±

    I hated to say it because of the context of the situation, but I believed him without any sort of need for him to prove it. My guess was that this place, any slave house really, typically sold men for fighting and hard labor and sold women to tend to housework, including the sorts of work needed in the bedroom.

    A bit apprehensive of how Yua might react if I actually affirmed his question, I just nodded. Her head lowered more, completely hiding her face as a slight tremble took to her shoulders. I¡¯ll have to make that embarrassing outburst up to her later.

    After I let Alphonse know that I was done reviewing her personal information, he nodded and snapped the fingers of his free hand. Not even a second later, one of the maids from earlier came in and set out a small, very shiny silver tray on the coffee table. I had been here in this city long enough to know what that was meant for, even if I didn¡¯t know why all the Merchants seemed to insist on using these trays. So, I reached into my pouch to access my item box discreetly and pulled out the sack of gold coins I hadn¡¯t even seen yet and line them up in stacks of ten for him.

    It was awkward to try and do this with only one hand, but Alphonse didn¡¯t complain. He was probably used to it.

    When I finished, he held his hand over the tray and incanted, ¡°Appraise Item.¡± Apparently, I wasn¡¯t the only one to figure out that skill could be used to count coin.

    One last time, Alphonse nodded and turned to Yua again. She looked to him apprehensively, almost looking like she might rather risk running away instead of accept this trade, which she probably would if she could. But she didn¡¯t try to run. Maybe it was some sense of pride in the face of danger that caused her to draw a breath and hide her emotions, but she managed to calm herself as much as could be understandably possible in this situation.

    The same window opened up between us again, this time with a prompt asking if I accept the trade. So, I hit Yes and looked to Alphonse. He put his other hand on top of mine.

    ¡°I, Alphonse De Grave, hereby relinquish the contract of Yua to Sir Alex¡­ on the condition that the remainder of her worth be paid in full within three days.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what? I only have three days to earn almost 25,000 gold?!¡±

    [Yua has become your slave]

    Before my question could be answered, a light shone between our hands and the window with Yua¡¯s private information faded from existence. I guessed that that was supposed to be my only chance to read it, but another notification popped up and my menu opened straight to my stats page. From there, I saw another tab appeared with her name and in it, all of her information.

    The light faded and I pushed the menu aside. Tearing my hand from theirs, I spun to face him.

    ¡°What the hell is this three days business? I never agree to that amount of time!¡±

    Alphonse smirked, finally showing the true colors I expected of him, yet somehow still fell for. Now that the deal was done and laughed.

    ¡°You¡¯re not much of a Merchant, are you? You accepted the deal without first hashing out the fine details, but what¡¯s done is done. You have three days to pay off her contract before it¡¯s voided and ownership over her is returned to me. Have a good day.¡±

    Alphonse strolled out of the room with the tray of gold, laughing all the way.

    Yua didn¡¯t say anything. Still looking red in the cheeks over my blurting out her personal information, she only glared at me. The apprehension in her emerald eyes was heartbreaking.

    I chased after Alphonse and grabbed his arm, nearly knocking the tray of coins from his hands.

    ¡°Hold on! You can¡¯t do this. How the hell am I supposed to make that much money that fast?!¡±

    He shook me off easily and smirked.

    ¡°Like I said, sir, what¡¯s done is done. For all intents and purposes, that girl belongs to you. For the time being, anyway. Until you fail to pay me back, that is.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ what if I can¡¯t?¡±

    I asked the question again, stupidly hoping his answer would change. Alphonse just laughed in my face.

    ¡°If you can¡¯t pay it all off by the time the three days are over, then ownership of her will revert back to me and the remainder of the debt will still fall onto you. However, because of your failure, an interest of ten percent will be added onto it.¡±

    ¡°Ten percent¡­¡±

    I nearly felt like bursting into tears at having already financially ruined myself. But I held back. Held back because I knew that would just make this black-hearted bastard happier.

    ¡°What¡­ What will happen to her if I can¡¯t pay?¡±

    ¡°Sir¡­ I believe I already told you what I planned for her. What you should be more concerned about is what will happen to you when you fail. Ta-Ta, future slave.¡±

    With that as his final word, he left me there in the hallway, unable to say a word back at him. He didn¡¯t even bother to show me the door or have one of his guards throw me out.

    The second I gave up on trying to change his mind, another notification popped up, as if his continued laughter was what finalized the sale.

    [Merchant class increased to level 2]

    I could almost laugh at the timing. Had it come a couple of minutes earlier, maybe I could have seen through his bullshit and¡­

    To think, I went from being elated at the thought of just being with such a beautiful woman while thinking I was saving her life from meeting a brutal end, to having my soul shattered by the same type of greed and arrogance that ruled the lives of everyone in my old world. In every world. My world.

    How the hell could I have had a full-on conversation about contracts and not stop to read for loop holes when presented with one?

    He must have seen how I looked at her. I felt it myself. He knew I wanted her the moment he saw us together and he tricked me the same way I tried to trick him. Only, he was a much better trickster. He got me to completely forget about anything other than buying her.

    I should have realized his offer to loan her to me was too good to be true. What the hell happened to me being so smart that everything just became needlessly easy? How could I be so stupid!

    ¡°Master¡­¡± Yua appeared behind me as quietly as, well, a cat. ¡°Perhaps it is best we leave.¡±

    While she spoke with a bit of a gruff attitude now, her cheeks were still red. Less so, but still clearly embarrassed. She no doubt had been prepared for what was expected of a female slave such as herself. Despite this, she bared the risk before her and leaned into whisper into my ear.

    ¡°Master, I believe that if you wish to pay him back as fast as possible, it is best that we leave now so that we may prepare.¡±

    I guessed that her cat ears weren¡¯t just for show and that she truly heard everything we talked about earlier and decided it was in both our best interests that I manage pay him back.

    Seeing no other option, and with her now acting as my saving grace for pulling me out of my depressed stupor before it could totally consume me, I turned to her to say thanks, but she rejected me instantly by whipping her pretty face away the moment our eyes met.

    Yea¡­ I guess I deserve that. Slaves didn¡¯t seem to need to be nice to their masters. Another aspect of this trade that I failed to consider.

    Sorry your new master is a complete idiot, Yua. Hopefully we can still get along. Somehow.

    With a sigh, I straightened my back and prepared what was left of my dignity and left De Grave Imports with her.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 6

    We ran straight back to the Lazy Cat Inn and dropped off Yua¡¯s luggage in my room before heading straight back out. Thankfully, the innkeeper wasn¡¯t posted at her counter to see us up. I really couldn¡¯t afford to be charged for a second person staying in my room right now. For this reason and a mountain more piling up behind it, we left as soon as we came.

    Yua made sure she didn¡¯t lag too far behind while we walked, but she also made sure to keep her distance. Nevertheless, she followed me dutifully, looking annoyed each time I looked over my shoulder to see if she was still there.

    No idea why she didn¡¯t used my distracted state to just run away and save herself. It¡¯s not like I gave her an order to stay beside me. There may be a magical contract binding us now, but I couldn¡¯t think of a reason why she wouldn¡¯t want to high tail it out of here after Alphonse¡¯s threat.

    I was sure my worries must have been plastered all over my face, because everyone we encountered did their best to swim away from me while I passed through the ocean of people milling about like I were a shark¡¯s fin through the water¡¯s surface.

    Arggh! Enough with the similes and metaphors.

    What the hell am I supposed to do?!

    The simplest answer to my new money troubles was to head to the dungeon, even if the things I found in it were worth more than what I found from regular forest animals, there was no way that we could beat enough of them and do so fast enough to make up the absurd price of her contract. Not to mention that, unless there was a huge number of enemies on the first floor, there were likely other adventurers already progressing through it, killing everything before we even had the chance to get there. For all I knew, everything on the first floor was already dead. Then I also had to consider the time it would take for the enemies to respawn the next day.

    God¡­ Goddess, I never even considered asking what Yua¡¯s actual price was. For all I knew, he lied about that too. And now I only have three days before she¡­ and I¡­

    I gulped and felt for my neck as if there were already a rope coiling around it. Which, for all intents and purposes, there was. Even if I could callously push aside the gruesome fate he had in mind for Yua, I¡¯d be forced into slavery for failing to pay him what I owed. From there, I would most likely be sold off as a fighter or laborer, forced to toil in the hardest jobs imaginable until the day I died.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    We didn¡¯t have time to spare. We¡¯d just have to do what we could today and be the first ones in tomorrow. I didn¡¯t really want for her to fight and needlessly risk her safety, but now I had no choice but to beg for her assistance after seeing her capabilities in a fight.

    After a while of neither of us speaking to one another as we made our way through the city, Yua finally quickened her pace to catch up to speak to me. I managed to find in myself some semblance of calm in the cute way her the cat ears atop her chestnut hair twitched curiously, though there was no matching amusement in her expression.

    ¡°Hey, Master, where are we going?¡±

    She asked just as we entered the city¡¯s shopping district. I wasn¡¯t too sure how I felt about her calling me ¡°Master,¡± nor did I have the time to consider the tone she used when she did, but I didn¡¯t complain. I was much too busy worrying about what to do next. While I didn¡¯t know exactly where to go, I did have at least the beginnings of a plan cooking up in my head for how we could start.

    ¡°I¡¯m taking you to a blacksmith. We need to head straight to the dungeon if we want to have any hope of making some coin. And I don¡¯t have a sword for you to use. Hopefully the coin I have left will be enough for you to at least get a knife.¡±

    While I could make use of my Fire Ball spell and give her my sword, I was apprehensive to do so. I could only use Fire Ball about five times before my mana would run out. While my mana seemed to have recovered completely since I torched the rabbit, I hadn¡¯t seen how long it¡¯d taken to do so. So, relying too much on my magic right now would be a mistake.

    ¡°¡­ Master?¡±

    Then there was the idea of potions. I had one health potion already and its existence in this world and the existence of mana itself suggested that there might be mana potions as well, even if I didn¡¯t start with one. For now, though, I should probably just stick with buying health potions to keep us in the fight longer. Hopefully they won¡¯t be too expensive.

    I¡¯ll just make use of my Increased Mana Recovery trait where mana is concerned. It may have recovered what I used in the forest already, but it¡¯s going to require some more hands-on testing so I don¡¯t end up running out during a fight.

    ¡°Master?¡±

    There was also the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to consider. Thought that wouldn¡¯t be an option for a while. I imagined that they paid more handsomely for completing quests than I¡¯d get selling off item drops. But there was the level restriction barring entry into their ranks to worry about.

    Then again, killing just three animals on the way here did net me a fair bit of experience. And the monsters in the dungeons were supposed to be tougher, right? That should mean even more experience for our efforts, right? Yua was only level three, but the strength she threw around as she man-handled those thugs earlier should mean that fighting in the dungeons wouldn¡¯t be too terrible. I hoped.

    We could level up together and hopefully get to know each other doing so.

    Was that too much to ask for? I hoped not. I missed my chance with the jogging girl, but unlike with her, Yua and I were stuck together. For at least three days, anyways. For the next three days, we would be forced to interact. Forced to talk to one another. I had no real combat experience, but it was easy to say that keeping my mouth shut out of embarrassment in the middle of a fight could lead to one or both of us being killed.

    ¡°Master!¡±

    Yua shouted and grabbed me by the sleeve before yanking me back to stop me from taking another step.

    At first, I thought she¡¯d stopped me because I was walking straight into one of those carriages I spotted earlier or maybe something more dangerous I wasn¡¯t even aware of, but when I picked my gaze up from where I apparently left it at my feet, I saw that there was nothing in front of us but people.

    ¡°Huh? Oh, sorry. I¡¯m sure that the blacksmith will have something used and cheap for you to use. Please bear with it for now. I¡¯ll get you something better as soon as I can.¡±

    Yua put her hands on her hips and sighed.

    ¡°Master, that¡¯s what I¡¯m trying to tell you. I don¡¯t need a weapon.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean? We¡¯re going to fight in the dungeon, you know?¡±

    She smirked, the closest thing to a smile I¡¯d seen on her yet, and held up her fists. She looked oddly proud of herself as she flashed a toothy grin.

    ¡°I have the Monk class. That means I fight with my fists. Or fist-like weapons, which I don¡¯t really like. I don¡¯t even know how to use a sword.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡±

    I remembered reading that in her status page, but it didn¡¯t quite click because of the stressful situation we were in.

    In video games, the Monk class I was most familiar with was usually a holy man that specialized in light and healing magics. Thinking about it now, I do remember there being some games with warrior monks that either used martial arts or maces. Maybe that¡¯s what hers referred to.

    ¡°I see¡­ Then, what about armor?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t need that either. I don¡¯t plan on getting hit.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean you don¡¯t plan on getting hit? Have you been in the dungeon before?¡±

    She shrugged, then grimaced.

    ¡°Several times. I made it down to the third floor.¡±

    ¡°Really? But you¡¯re not an Adventurer.¡±

    Yua cocked her head and raised a brow at me. The look she gave me was nothing more than unbridled confusion, the sort where she might actually be questioning my very sanity, but coming from a beauty like her, that little gesture felt like a dire insult towards my intelligence. And given how I got us into this mess, I couldn¡¯t say she was wrong.

    ¡°¡­ You don¡¯t have to be an Adventurer to go into the dungeon. Anyone can. Whether or not they choose to take that risk is entirely up to them.¡±

    I did my best to suppress a sigh. That should have been obvious, but my only knowledge of the dungeons came from Alphonse, who only spoke of them in terms of Adventurers making gold by fighting in them. Somewhere in all of that, I must have just assumed only Adventurers were allowed in.

    I suppose that with beast-kin being stronger than the average human, they might even make it a habit to venture into the dungeons for some easy money. Or, maybe, it was just easier to earn what they needed rather than buy the spoils of other Adventurers?

    ¡°Right¡­ Er, Yua, could you tell me what kind of monsters we will meet on the first floor, then?¡±

    Monsters was a vague term that could mean anything. I¡¯d learned about a fair few fictional beasts in my time on Earth, but all that knowledge, meager as it may be due to my laziness, was based entirely on fiction. Even if the basis for this world was made using my knowledge, things here could easily be different. I¡¯d been in a fight already, but if we were talking about real monsters, not wild animals then I at least wanted to know what we were up against.

    ¡°Sure, if I must.¡± She shrugged, like the info was nothing to brag about. ¡°The first floor contains only wolves and slimes. Nothing to worry about.¡±

    Wolves, eh? Maybe I should be happy about what happened in the forest then. Now at least I know I have a little experience before jumping into danger.

    ¡°Do you know how much the items they drop are worth?¡±

    ¡°Nope,¡± she answered, again with a shrug. ¡°Well, I suppose I can tell you that the wolves may drop either their fangs or pelt and the slimes drop either oil or slime. I don¡¯t know how much they are worth, though.¡±

    I mulled this over.

    Wolves and slimes are fairly common as low-level enemies. I had already beaten two wolves at this point, but the ones in the dungeon were supposed to be tougher. Then again, they did only take one hit each, maybe these new ones won¡¯t be too much harder to beat.

    Trying to keep my optimism alive and well, I clenched my fist, only to realize something was off.

    ¡°Wait, if you got to the third floor, then why do you not know what the items are worth? Were you just collecting them for your personal use?¡±

    Yua did mention she came from the northern ¡°tribe¡± of cat-kin. As generalizations go, maybe her people were actually a bit more on the tribal side of things and favored fur and leather clothing. She might have gone in, and judging by the fight I saw earlier, wiped the floor with the wolves and hauled their pelts back home to turn them into clothes or anything else fur and leather might be used for.

    And as for the slimes, oil, regardless of what kind, surely had a number of uses. It may not be that valuable, dropping from a low-level enemy, but I could come up with a number of ways for her to need such a thing.

    The question was why she never bothered to sell any of them. Was the number of monsters in dungeon so low that she never had enough of a surplus of them to warrant selling? If so, that could present a huge problem for us.

    We needed as much as we could get our hands on.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    When I asked, Yua¡¯s curiosity died out in an instant. Her ears drooped along with the corners of her lips, but then rocketed right back up and pointed somewhere else. It was almost like she intentionally started focusing on another conversation somewhere miles away just to avoid answering.

    Whatever her reasons, she really didn¡¯t want to say. So, I let it be. It really didn¡¯t matter just yet. The amount of gold we needed to pull in was so much that a pelt or two wasn¡¯t going to make a difference anyway. It¡¯d be best to just collect everything we found and sell it. Hell, if I could get away with it, I¡¯d rip up the dungeon floor and sell that as well!

    ¡°If you don¡¯t need a weapon, what do you think we should do first, then?¡± I asked, deferring to the more experience party.

    She sighed, exasperated and said under her breath, ¡°such a useless master,¡± then put her knuckles to her chin. She looked away for a moment to think.

    I tried not to get angry with her. If we were going to work together, I couldn¡¯t allow anymore animosity between us than the sprawling gulch our master-slave relationship started us with. After all, her life will be on the line in the dungeon as well as outside it.

    If she really did hear Alphonse¡¯s threat, she was good at pretending she wasn¡¯t walking around with a knife at her throat.

    ¡°I think it would be best if Master buys a backpack or two first. That way, we can carry more loot and make fewer trips to the market.¡±

    Right, we wouldn¡¯t be able to fight if we tried juggling a bunch of pelts while swinging a sword or throwing a fist. We¡¯d be asking for the monsters to kill us.

    While I could just use my item box and save some money like my inner merchant was telling me to do, I couldn¡¯t deny the possibility that Yua might be taken away from me after revealing its existence to her. And we haven¡¯t exactly built up enough trust for me to be sure she wouldn¡¯t tell anyone. If I were enslaved with that knowledge out in the open, I¡¯d no doubt reluctantly bring Alphonse a boat-load of gold and be forced to ferry around his crap for the rest of my life.

    Considering how that was an option I already thought of for myself, it didn¡¯t sound all that bad, but the lack of free will could easily go wrong if my hypothetical master turned out to be a tyrant that wouldn¡¯t let me rest or if I ended up abused.

    ¡°I agree. What about potions?¡±

    ¡°If you can afford them, Master. But since master is so broke, you might not be able to.¡±

    ¡°¡­ And where can we get potions and backpacks?¡±

    She snorted and crossed her arms under her ample bosom. Her thin brown tail gave a quick flick. The condescension in her gaze was so palpable, so blunt, that nobody in Amoranth would have expected her to be the slave here.

    I¡¯m starting to wonder if Alphonse lied about her taking lessons to better serve her future master, too.

    ¡°Obviously you buy potions from the Apothecary¡¯s shop, where else? It¡¯s this way.¡±

    Without waiting for me to give the okay for this change in our game plan, Yua walked off in a completely different direction than the blacksmith I heard earlier. This time, I had to keep pace with her so I didn¡¯t get lost.

    We made our way through the city, through the dwindling sea of people leaving the public square in favor of the safety of their homes as the sun began to set for the day. Neither of us said a word to each other. It wasn¡¯t because we needed silence, the crowd around us was noisy enough as is, but because we just didn¡¯t know anything about each other before getting lumped together and forced to take on this impossible task.

    More importantly, I knew nothing about her. Getting lumped together may have been what I was after at first, but the circumstances were entirely too different to consider such things now. Which was probably for the best anyways.

    Still, I had to wonder about her. Why was she enslaved in the first place? I was so immediately infatuated with her that I didn¡¯t think to ask. From the way Albert and Alphonse spoke on the subject, people were only enslaved if they did something wrong or owed an impossible amount of money. Which was it for her? Did I even have the right to ask?

    Well, I am her master, so technically yes. But that didn¡¯t mean either of us were okay with me probing into things she may not want to talk about. Regardless of the reason, a denizen of this world that fully understood its ways most likely found the memory to be traumatic to some extent. Even if she was at fault, I doubted she¡¯d want to think back on it.

    However, if she used to be a wanted criminal with her picture posted everywhere for anyone to see, only to finally be brought down by a group of Adventurers she may well have once fought alongside with in the dungeons, shouldn¡¯t I be allowed to know?

    Was I working with a career criminal?

    Not that I could take him or his word without enough salt to dry up the ocean, but the way Alphonse told it, the slave contract was iron-clad. It had no chinks that could help a slave to screw over their master. But what if there was? What if there was something someone not from this world couldn¡¯t have known about her contract? A loophole to exploit to ruin me in any way that would allow her to steal her freedom? It¡¯s not like I read and signed a physical document. It seemed to be almost entirely verbal and I didn¡¯t have a lawyer on my side to explain to anyone interested on why that was bullshit.

    I could see it now. She¡¯d fight with me in the dungeons, killing monster after monster. Slowly but surely, we¡¯d come to tolerate each other. Maybe to me, it might seem like something more than ¡°tolerate¡± was budding between us.

    Oh, hell, who am I kidding? I probably would think that.

    Anyways, we get closer and closer until bam, she¡¯d find a solution to her problem by intentionally not letting me know when an enemy was sneaking up on me. Or maybe when I was about to walk into an insta-kill trap. I¡¯d die and she¡¯d be seen as innocent and could run off scot-free without a shred of sympathy or teary regret to shed over my corpse.

    And those legs of hers look like they¡¯d be good for running, too. Slender, but with just enough thickness to her thighs to render a man speechless. Then there were the hills in the seat of her pants that shifted alluringly with each step she took. I wasn¡¯t the sort to say that I¡¯d want her to squish my face between her thighs, but the sight of them definitely made me wish I was. If she¡­

    No. No!

    I shook my head.

    I literally died last time I let myself get swept up in ogling a girl¡¯s ass out on a walk! I could say it was worth it as a joke only once. Dying this way a second time would just be depressing!

    I quickened my pace to walk beside her to avoid the temptation. She glared at me out of the corner of her eye, not deigning to even fully look at me as if she¡¯d noticed my gaze, and continued.

    My shoulders slumped, but I didn¡¯t let myself fall behind her. I wanted to at least walk beside her while I had the chance. I didn¡¯t know what sort of impression I wanted her to have of me, but it should be of someone that was at least competent, not some perv that would check out her ass on the way to gear ourselves up to go risk our lives.

    We reached the end of a street filled with merchant stalls in the tail end of the merchant district and stopped in front of a small building with dozens of plants I had never seen before growing in flower beds in front of the shop. Several more were hanging in the store windows from planters suspended from the awning shading the front steps. Smoke billowed out of the tall smokestack on the roof and I could smell something strange, but not all that unpleasant, coming from inside.

    I didn¡¯t have to guess that this was the Apothecary¡¯s shop. Where Albert¡¯s place and The Lazy Cat Inn had wooden signs with the names of their establishments carved into them, this shop instead painted the name ¡°Bubbling Cauldron¡± in arcing letters on the front window, just below some moss draped over one of the many planters likely growing ingredients for potion making.

    Despite the situation, I was beside myself with glee.

    A potion shop. A real potion shop! Presumably with potions that actually worked, and not some pseudoscience nonsense thought up by a teenaged free-spirit with too much time on their hands, with good intentions but with no idea how the medicinal world actually worked.

    Would I find more health potions like mine here? Or maybe ones that refilled mana at the low low cost of a quick drink in the middle of battle? Would I find others with unknown effects, ready to either buff me up or cure some rare disease?

    Aside from the mention of an Adventurer¡¯s Guild and my own magic, this was my first real proof that I was in a fantasy world. In a world. Not on my own. I wasn¡¯t special here. Nobody was going to offer up pointless congratulations for my lack of effort. Others could do what I do and most could probably do it better.

    I couldn¡¯t suppress the joy I felt at getting to step inside this place for the first time. I never thought a simple potion shop would be so exciting. They were usually fairly bland in the games, offering little more to the player than a scant line up of potions and ingredients propped up on the counter to tell the player hey, you, see these potions? Yea, this is proof that this is a potion shop. But here I was. In the games, where potions served their purpose but they didn¡¯t actually affect your person, places such as this were easily forgettable. Stepping into this shop was definitely going to have to be something I remembered for the rest of my life.

    With a huff of annoyance, Yua quickly climbed the steps up to the door and held it open, turning to me with a hand on her hip. A plume of the same unpleasant smell from earlier wafted into our faces and I was forced to blink several times to regain my composure. Her tail flicked again and somehow, I got the impression of impatience from it.

    Apparently, holding doors was going to be her duty now. It felt like our roles in this case were reversed, but hey, it¡¯s not like she was my girlfriend in the first place. I¡¯ll just thank her properly and say there¡¯s no need for that next time.

    However, when the toe of my boot touched the first step up to the shop, someone got in the way. It was a woman.

    This woman had long black hair tied into a long pony tail that dangled over the shield that she hung on her back. Hung over her shoulder was a short spear of what even a novice like me could say looked like it was made from an incredibly skilled craftsman. She didn¡¯t seem to be paying any active attention to it, but she ducked accordingly to avoid letting the spear¡¯s tip scratch the door frame as she exited the shop. At her curvy hips was a black leather belt with several, higher quality pouches than the one I carried. As she descended the steps, seemingly unaware of my existence, she stuffed a few small vials into it while she walked.

    This was fine and all. I didn¡¯t mind moving out of her way. The problem, however, was the scandalous outfit she was wearing. Or rather, what she wasn¡¯t wearing!

    The minuscule pieces of metal that adorned her body was essentially a set bikini-armor. Her smaller, but shapely breasts were packed tight into a black metal bra that seemed to actually amplify the amount of cleavage she was capable of showing. Meanwhile, down below, below her toned but not overly muscular abdomen, she wore an equally skimpy, equally black set of metal underwear that might as well have been a thong for all it hid of her. The only other coverings she had on her body was a chainmail skirt that didn¡¯t exactly hide anything in the front, but it at least kept her rear safe. The only logic to her armor was the pair of metal gauntlets she sported. In fact, as she moved down the steps, I had to question whether or not I was catching repeated glimpses of something I wasn¡¯t supposed to be seeing each time her thighs shifted apart.

    The woman paid my distracted gaze no mind at all, probably didn¡¯t even notice me gawking as she fiddled around with her potions. She passed me by without so much as a word of rebuke. I did a double take as she left and saw that her chained skirt barely covered her ass at all.

    Strangest of all, nobody in the surrounding area seemed to think anything of this outfit. Even back on Earth, where bikinis were common enough to say it wouldn¡¯t be strange to see a woman wearing one at the beach or pool, if a she was to walk around a modern city wearing nothing but a set a slick fabric that covered no more of her body than her underwear normally would have, everyone would look. Or least they¡¯d pretend they weren¡¯t. But nobody seemed to care except me. The second she stepped out of the shop, she might as well have been on the beach.

    ¡°Master¡­¡±

    Oops.

    I flinched. I just promised myself I wouldn¡¯t ogle Yua like a piece of meat, only to then do exactly that to the next attractive woman I saw. No wonder I managed to die doing this.

    ¡°I-I wasn¡¯t looking! It¡¯s just¡­ How can she walk around dressed like that?¡±

    ¡°Like what? You mean that Adventurer? What¡¯s wrong with the way she¡¯s dressed?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean what¡¯s wrong? She was practically naked!¡±

    I whispered as loud as I could to make my point without antagonizing the woman in question. She was already a fair distance away, but her info box still said her numbers were much higher than ours. Not someone I wanted to insult openly.

    Yua rolled her eyes and crossed her arms again, keeping her foot in front of the door to keep it from closing on us. The longer she kept the door open, the more of the nose-tingling smell from inside came wafting out. She twitched her nose with no small amount of discomfort.

    ¡°Geez, just how dumb is my master¡­? That woman was just wearing some high-quality enchanted armor.¡±

    ¡°How can an armor that barely covers your body be considered high-quality?¡±

    While I was all for such armors in video games, in real life all it did was leave most of your body exposed to nature and, more importantly, to enemy attacks. It may look sexy, but it¡¯s a death wish waiting to happen.

    Wait¡­ did she say enchanted?

    ¡°Master¡­ I take it you have never seen enchanted armor before, so let me explain before you make any more of a fool out of yourself. Enchanted armors don¡¯t just provide the physical defense from the metals they are made of, they are enchanted with protective magics that absorb most of the damage taken in the wearer¡¯s stead. Meaning they don¡¯t have to cover your whole body to protect you. Not only are they sturdier than a set of full plate mail armor, they are also significantly lighter. And that¡¯s not even considering the other enchantments it may have. I¡¯ve seen at least a dozen other Adventurers wearing something like that on my way to the dungeon in the past. Oh, and males can wear them too, by the way.¡±

    Men can wear them? That¡¯s¡­ a thought I wish I didn¡¯t let enter my mind.

    ¡°So, that skimpy armor actually makes you tougher and faster?¡±

    ¡°Exactly¡­ At least you could figure that much out for yourself.¡±

    I rubbed at my eyes, not to remove the image of that woman from them, but because of Yua. Her snide remarks were starting to get to me, but I tried to ignore it. Thief or not, she was stuck in a position just as messed up as my own. She was probably just mad about being bought land treated like an object. I could hardly blame her for that. I needed to be patient.

    ¡°Another thing,¡± she continued. ¡°Most people consider armor like that to be a testament to their social status. Not only are they worth a lot of money, you have to either be incredibly rich to buy them or exceedingly lucky to find them in the dungeon. So, you would do best not to look down on her, just because you can¡¯t keep your male eyes to yourself.¡±

    ¡°S-Sorry?¡±

    I apologized without fully understanding why I needed to. What man in their right mind wouldn¡¯t check out a woman dressed like that while walking around in public like all she¡¯s doing is running errands? It may be rude, but come on!

    Yua huffed again and whipped her chin anywhere but in my direction, unwilling to even look at her pervert of a master now.

    ¡°Are you coming in or what? The fresh air is going to ruin the potion I¡¯m making.¡±

    Another feminine voice that sounded incredibly tired and on the verge of collapse shambled through the door Yua held, asking us to come inside. I spared Yua from having to hold the door any longer by jumping up the steps and going inside.

    Apparently, miss bikini armor was the only customer in the shop before leaving, as once the door shut, Yua and I were alone. Almost the very second the door cut us off from the fresh air outside, my nose was assaulted by a colorful assortment of smells, none of which were pleasant. I hadn¡¯t minded the stench when I was outside, but now that we were trapped with it, it seemed to become even more of a health hazard. So much for a memorable trip.

    I had to wonder how Yua could stand it when it nearly made me wretch. She already showed a bit of her extra-sensitive hearing, so shouldn¡¯t her nose be stronger than a human¡¯s, too?

    ¡°How does this smell not bother you?¡± I asked, holding my nose shut.

    ¡°Hmph. When living in a human city as a beast-kin, you have to get used to weird smells and sounds, or you won¡¯t be able to make it a day.¡±

    Choosing to take her snarky remark as advice, I let go of my nose and forced myself to withstand the pressure and tried to shake off the sensation by looking around at what the store had to offer to distract myself.

    Potions of various kinds of colored liquids lined the shop in neatly organized rows of transparent, perfectly-shaped glass bottles and vials that could have easily passed for something made by a machine. Every table in the store was well stocked with potions, empty glass bottles and even wicker baskets and boxes full of ingredients I couldn¡¯t have hoped to name if I tried. Without the aid of my ability to see their info box, of course.

    Along with them, as Yua promised, were a few small backpacks and other types of bags, all likely meant for carrying potions and ingredients when out and about. There were even a few belts with pouches that looked specifically made to give quick access to potions in the middle of a fight so you didn¡¯t have to rummage around in your bag for what you needed while someone was swinging a sword at you. They looked similar to what miss bikini armor was wearing around her hips.

    I figured the general store or somewhere else more focused on these sorts of things might carry a larger bag than any of what was offered here, but at least getting both potions and bags from this place would save us some time. For now, we could make use of these things and, like I tried to offer Yua, buy something better when we had more gold. It would be a small set back, but it would help us in the long run.

    ¡°But where¡¯s the shop keeper?¡±

    As I said, the shop was empty.

    Did she accidentally drink a potion that turned her invisible thinking it was something to temporarily mute the nerves in her nostrils? Why call out to us if she isn¡¯t even here to take our order? I looked to Yua, thinking she might know the answer since she¡¯d been here before, but all I got from her was a yet another flick of her ear.

    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    ¡°I¡¯m coming. I¡¯m coming.¡±

    That same wavering voice from a minute ago called from the back of the shop. After opening a door and letting about a ton of purplish smoke fly into the main storeroom a small, child-like girl proclaimed herself as the owner of the voice we¡¯d heard as she appeared from the shop¡¯s backroom. She turned and slammed the door shut, like she was trying to keep the smoke and whatever caused it from leaving the room. Leaning onto the door, she let out a long, tired sigh before moving over to the counter to greet us. Though, before that, the tiny girl hefted herself onto what I assumed to be a stool hidden behind the counter to save us the trouble of looking down on her.

    She was a short, cute girl whose smooth skin betrayed more of her age than the heavy bags under her eyes tried to ruin. She didn¡¯t look too much older than I was now, if anything, her slim frame and tiny stature made her look more than a bit younger. But the main issue at odds with her age was with how she carried herself with the sort of almost-defeatist manner only someone experienced in the ways of the world would. Almost like I did back on Earth.

    She clearly hadn¡¯t been getting much sleep recently. Apart from the bags under her eyes, her long dark green hair was so frizzy, likely due to the smoke, that it nearly lifted the pointed witch¡¯s hat off of her head. As if that wasn¡¯t enough to portray her fragility, she was almost painfully thin. Her body straddled the line between emaciated and petite so hard that it was genuinely difficult to tell if I needed to run out of the shop to buy her a sandwich before she keeled over.

    And, of course, as if miss bikini armor wasn¡¯t enough, she was wearing a black dress so tight, it seemed to perfectly show off the figure hidden beneath it. The collar of which was so low cut that it quickly became apparent that she wasn¡¯t wearing a bra, or anything but the dress for that matter, over her petite, budding breasts.

    To be frank, she was the type of cute little girl you just wanted to hug and protect from the woes of daily life, but you equally couldn¡¯t be sure she wouldn¡¯t lash out at you for assuming she was anything less than a fully grown woman.

    I leaned in to whisper to Yua.

    ¡°Is that an enchanted dress?¡±

    She scoffed. ¡°No, idiot-Master. That¡¯s just a dress.¡±

    Just a dress? What the hell are the fashion standards of this world?!

    ¡°Good afternoon you two. I am Madam Turquesse. How may I help you?¡±

    This petite witch gazed up at us with a tired smile before she pushed her half-moon glasses, which I was immediately convinced she only wore to make herself look older, back up onto her sweaty nose after they slid down.

    I took a peek at her info box and saw that she was actually not a child or even a teen, but a twenty-five-year-old woman. Other than this shocking revelation, the only other information I got worth knowing was that she was indeed an Apothecary. However, her second class wasn¡¯t a Merchant like all the other shop owners I¡¯d seen up until now. Instead, she was a level 32 Witch. I wondered if ¡°Witch¡± was just a female only variation of the Mage class or if the class was simply something different in this world. Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t ask without revealing how I knew what she was.

    ¡°Erm, um¡­ Well, Madame, we would like some health potions,¡± I said, stuttering over my words. ¡°And that backpack over there.¡±

    I pointed to the first backpack I noticed upon entering the shop. I was really beginning to think that my confidence trait really did have something to do with a person¡¯s level. Even in the face of a woman so short, her head only reached up to the lower half of my chest, I felt I was no match. Then again, maybe it¡¯s just because she was cute. I did have more trouble with women than I did men, after all.

    She smiled up at me sympathetically, as if reading my mind and rejecting the notion of my interest with just that.

    Or maybe she was just too tired and had to use a great deal of what dwindling energy she had left to smile politely for her customer.

    ¡°Well, that small backpack will be 2 silvers. But which potions would you like?¡±

    ¡°Health potions,¡± I repeated, thinking she was just too tired to remember.

    Again, with a sympathetic smile, she spoke.

    ¡°I know, dear customer, but you didn¡¯t specify what quality of health potion and how many you¡¯d like.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ There are different qualities of potions?¡±

    In response to my honest question, Yua scoffed and Madam Turquesse tilted her head as though deeply confused that I didn¡¯t know that already, but was apparently too kind to say it. And again, thanks only to the late helping hand that was hindsight, did I realize that the ¡°low-quality¡± health potion I already had suggested other qualities would be available.

    ¡°Yes, there are others,¡± the tiny witch said. ¡°Please allow me to demonstrate for you.¡±

    She disappeared behind the counter, though I suspected she just slid off the tall stool she was sitting on too quickly and her knees buckled from the force, dropping her out of sight. However, I heard no crash indicating she hit the floor. Instead, she rummaged around there, unseen, but making more than a little noise. The clanking of glass bottles and the sloshing of unknowable liquids filled the silence. Concern swelled in me, hoping she wouldn¡¯t end up breaking her own products only to make me pay for them. I had enough debt.

    She didn¡¯t do this, however. Instead, she came back up, using all the strength her little arms could muster to carry three differently sized bottles. Each contained a varying amount of what looked to be the same partially translucent red liquid. She set them down on the counter and once more expended the effort to climb back up onto her stool.

    With a weak, but gentle smile, she drew in a deep breath, which seemed to renew her life force as her smile brightened right after. She began her demonstration by pointing to the largest bottle, the one about the size of one of those giant beer mugs you¡¯d see people drinking from all the time in movies, but never in person.

    ¡°Contrary to its size, the large potion is actually the weakest of the three. This is because it requires more to do the same job.¡±

    ¡°So, it¡¯s watered-down, then?¡±

    She tilted her head, like she didn¡¯t think her explanation would be interrupted so soon.

    ¡°What¡¯s watered-down mean?¡±

    Or was I wrong and just misunderstood yet another part of this world¡¯s missing basic knowledge? I¡¯ve put my foot in my mouth so many times today that I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll ever get the taste out.

    But seriously, is that not a common thing here? If people are capable of cheating you into a contract you were only barely aware of, I imagined someone like a bartender or this little witch could easily get away with watering down their products.

    ¡°N-Nothing. Sorry, please continue.¡±

    The smile quickly returned to her face once she got going again. I got the impression she really enjoyed educating the public about her potions.

    ¡°The middle one is smaller, because it¡¯s more powerful. Similarly, the smallest one is the strongest because it is a health potion in its most concentrated form. What it lacks in quantity it makes up with sheer healing power! Their small size means that they are also easier to carry on your person. Perfect for the Adventurer on the go! You know, sometimes small things can be good too.¡±

    She held up the smallest bottle, more of a vial, really, while looking extra proud thinking that I didn¡¯t notice the reference to her height. It was a diamond shaped bottle that looked like its cork stopper had more mass to it than the potion itself. It didn¡¯t look all that powerful, but what other choice did I have but to believe the expert? Until I saw the thing in action, I was still on the fence on if these things worked. The only reason why I was taking this seriously was due to Yua suggesting it.

    ¡°Okay, I understand now. Do all potions work like this?¡±

    She shook her head and her glasses slipped further down her nose. She seemed to not notice this as she raised a teacherly finger into the air.

    ¡°I would say most do, but some of the more advanced potions don¡¯t actually produce a lot per mixture and, therefore, a larger bottle would be wasted on them. Conversely, there are some liquids thicker than that of the health potion line that wouldn¡¯t fit in the smallest of vials, even though they aren¡¯t very strong. Oh, and¡­¡±

    Seconds into her rapid-fire introduction into all things potion, she happily went off on a tangent regarding the cultivation of certain ingredients whose names I didn¡¯t know and weren¡¯t available here in her shop, simply because they were vaguely related to the potions we were asking about.

    As she rambled on, I noticed the shadows created by the sun¡¯s light reaching through the window to caress the leaves of her plants slowly started to move as the daylight dimmed into early evening. Since I didn¡¯t have to do much talking and she was clearly enjoying herself, I wanted to let her continue, but we were already short on time. So, I decided to cut the exposition short and wrap this up.

    ¡°T-Thank you for the explanation, but we really need to go. Can we buy one small health potion and the backpack, please?¡±

    She had to stop mid ramble to pout, but the little witch recovered quickly. Very professional. For her, stopping to talk about potions was likely a relaxing way to take a break from making potions.

    ¡°Of course. The weakest health potion is also 2 silvers. That brings your total to 4 silvers.¡±

    I was about to reach for my item box when something clicked in my mind. There was no way to say for sure how it was that I even noticed or made the connection, but given our financial situation, I couldn¡¯t let this chance slip by.

    Time to try some bartering.

    ¡°Wait, the health potion is 2 whole silvers? What a rip-off! The general store had the same thing for just 1 silver!¡±

    Taken aback by my sudden outburst, Madame Turquesse withdrew her chin, but only for a second. When I pointed an accusing finger at the bottle of crimson life juice, her brow deeply furrowed, her lips grew taught and any sleepiness she held in her expression vanished.

    ¡°What on Ternia are you blathering on about? You dare compare my potions to the swill that lard imports from Guerraway?! Guerraway! The only thing that sea-side ditch knows is fish! You¡¯d be lucky if that sewage could cure even a paper cut! I lovingly brew my potions to cure nothing less severe than a stab wound that might someday be aimed at that thick head of yours!¡±

    I blinked, awed both by her fury and my misstep. Yua, on the other hand, palmed her forehead and sighed.

    Apparently, I¡¯m just as bad at bartering as I am speaking. Suppose I should have seen that coming. I¡¯d hoped to bring up a lower price to get her to lower hers, but it came out all wrong.

    Aside from the best of my experience involving real trade consisting entirely of complaining about how slow the cashiers at my local supermarket were, most of the time I went to the store, I made use of the self-checkout lanes specifically to avoid conversation. I don¡¯t know why I thought I¡¯d be able to whittle down the price just because I saw something similar somewhere else. Similar, just similar. Not the same. Thinking back, the potion at the general store was actually just a cure for ear aches. It being red too wasn¡¯t a good enough reason to bring it up. Not exactly the same thing.

    I really need to level my Merchant class to avoid making these mistakes again later.

    Still, how did I even remember that? I only glanced at the potion in the general store for a second or two until I shifted to something else because of how uninteresting it was. I mean, while they weren¡¯t exactly potions, we had cures for that on Earth, too.

    ¡°And for your information,¡± the furious witch continued. ¡°Basic healing potions such as this are mainly only useful to lower-level Adventurers, or low-income commoners specifically because they would never be able to afford them at any higher a price. And in case you didn¡¯t know, which I doubt a block-head like you would, but only Apothecaries can actually brew potions. Of any quality. So, we set our prices based on the amount of work put into our craft and the availability of ingredients. Thankfully, since I am close to the dungeon, I can keep the price as low as it is due to fresh ingredients coming my way almost daily. So, if you have a problem with the price, ship yourself off to Guerraway and buy their crap. But trust me, that stuff will get you killed.¡±

    I threw up my hands when the tiny witch leaned over the counter to yell in my face, but she backed off almost as soon as she did this. With a heavy, tired grunt, as if that one movement took every ounce of stamina she had left, she plopped back down on her stool and glared over her glasses at me.

    ¡°Geez¡­ I can¡¯t believe my idiot-master managed to piss off the only Apothecary in the city five minutes after meeting her.¡±

    Ignoring the way my eye twitched at Yua¡¯s comment, I bowed my head to the tiny witch.

    ¡°S-Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean you or your potions any offense,¡± I started. ¡°I¡¯m just¡­ Bad with words, you see? All I wanted to do was try and haggle your prices down a little and I fully apologize for failing and for insulting you. We¡¯re just really low on coin and we need to save as much as we can¡±

    Madame Turquesse¡¯s glare seemed to last an eternity, but she turned away, notably to a rack of unlabeled potions she no doubt knew the effects of by heart, and let some of the anger slip away as if they were a painting of some beautiful flower garden meant to soothe her nerves.

    ¡°Whatever,¡± she said with a sigh. ¡°I don¡¯t have the energy to yell anymore. I¡¯ll let you off just this once, but you better train that tongue of yours. Doubt my potions again, and I¡¯ll bar you from so much as entering my apothecary in one piece ever again, understand?¡±

    ¡°Y-yes, Ma¡¯am!¡±

    Given the level of her Witch class, I didn¡¯t doubt that she fully meant that little threat, so I apologized again.

    ¡°Hmph.¡±

    She slid the bottle over the counter towards me, her eyes practically demanding I pay up now that I caused her trouble.

    ¡°U-um, sorry to continue to be so rude after all of that, but would you consider lowering the price a bit, please?¡±

    The difference of 1 silver was nothing compared to our debt, but instead of remaining pessimistic about this, I decided it best to think of every coin we managed to save as just another step towards our goal. Well, my goal, anyways. Yua was too busy shaking her head for me to see if she at least understood where I was coming from. I did whip out 100 gold to buy her, after all. She may be wondering why I was complaining over something so insignificant by comparison.

    However, the tiny witch shook her head as well.

    ¡°I can¡¯t. Like I said, the price is dictated by the number of ingredients and by my time. I can keep the price low due to the number of Adventurers coming here to buy my work, but moving it any lower could cause me issues. Not to mention the trouble I¡¯d incur if claims of my offering you favoritism if word were to get out.¡±

    At her clear-cut rejection, my gaze fell to the bottle. The light coming through the shop windows was growing dimmer by the second and the bottle¡¯s contents were starting to look a lot less vibrant. Were we in the dungeon already, we may well have been able to make up the cost of this damn potion by now.

    I thought to just leave it be and reject the potion on the grounds that Yua¡¯s experience fighting in the dungeons would allow us to keep safe for a while, but seemingly by coincidence, her ever-swaying tail happened to brush up against my forearm.

    Right. This was for her, not me. I can¡¯t let myself be stingy now.

    ¡°The backpack is worth 2 silvers because they are last winter¡¯s leftovers from a local leather craftsman,¡± Madame Turquesse added. ¡°Normally, they cost more. I can¡¯t change their price either, because I bought them myself so that my customers may come to enjoy the collecting of potion ingredients themselves. You know, many plants growing out there can be used for¡­¡± sensing the tangent she was about to leave off on, she cleared her throat. ¡°And, if you treat the bag right, it can last you years, saving your purse in the long run.¡±

    ¡°Okay. Okay. Sorry for trying to haggle with you. I¡¯ll just¡­ I¡¯ll take both, please.¡±

    ¡°Of course, dear customer.¡±

    Feeling defeated, mainly by myself, I accessed my item box through my pouch and took out the 4 silver coins. When she saw them, she set the bag and bottle on the silver tray resting on her counter and pushed all of it to me. I set down the coins and an apparently impatient Yua snatched up the bag and made for the door. She didn¡¯t hold it for me this time.

    I guessed that, like with the door, she assumed she¡¯d be the one carrying our luggage.

    Probably happy to be rid of me, Madame Turquesse gave us a limp-wristed wave goodbye as we left her shop. After a brief delay of being unsure whether or not I should wave back and before I could make up my mind, she turned her attention back to the door she slammed earlier and pulled it open again. Nowhere in her renewed sleepy expression did she show any reluctant to face the purple cloud and the stench lingering in that room before dragging herself in.

    Yua was already back on the street where she waited with her hands on her hips and her tail flailing through the air in annoyance. I guess she wanted to rid herself of the apothecary¡¯s stench as soon as possible.

    I moved to join her, but the second I left the shop¡¯s premises, another notification popped up that nearly made me trip.

    [Apothecary class acquired.]

    What? Why? How?

    I didn¡¯t even do anything that time! All I did was listen to the tiny witch¡¯s lecture on potions for a few minutes, then I got yelled at. How does the class feature of this world even work? I suppose I did have the Easy Class Gain trait, but I really didn¡¯t do anything this time.

    Unless¡­ I gained the Merchant job from buying something, right? Or maybe it was because I sold something? Regardless, maybe I got the Apothecary job because I bought a potion? Hard to believe since I already had one locked away in my item box. Just owning one couldn¡¯t have been the prerequisite. Buying and selling to get the Merchant class made sense to an extent, but I felt I should¡¯ve had to do something a bit more substantial to become an Apothecary. Even as a novice. Then there was the fact of how neither class took effect until I left the shop to consider.

    I mean, these classes are supposed to be earned at least in part by birthright, aren¡¯t they? There¡¯s easy and then there¡¯s just cheating.

    I hung my head, confused, and complained both to myself and the Goddess above for neither of us having had the idea of giving me a guide on how this world works.

    This was a world based on video games, right? Video games come with guides, dammit! Help menu, do your job!

    With the image of the Goddess waving cutely at me in mind, my shoulders slumped. Now I only had 4 coppers to my name. Would that even be enough to buy us both food?

    My outlook on our future was growing dimmer by the second after I was forced to take into consideration how we¡¯d have to buy food on top of potions and gear, just to keep the fight going.

    Thinking back, ignoring her skimpy armor, that Adventurer from earlier was actually carrying several of what looked like the highest quality potions on her belt. I had no idea what they were for, but she must have been loaded to carry that many of them. Also, Yua did say that armor was super expensive.

    Maybe she got super lucky and struck it rich in the dungeon? Probably best not to put too much hope into that happening to us as well, but it was a comforting thought to know it might be possible.

    ¡°Hmph.¡±

    As if noticing what, or whom, I was thinking of, Yua huffed and turned on her heel.

    ¡°Wait. Yua, take this, would you?¡±

    I held out the new health potion for her and she eyed it dubiously, before her expression went blank. She came back at me with the same accusatory glare as before.

    ¡°Master¡­ It¡¯d be a lot safer if you kept the potion on yourself during battle. I may not be able to ferry it over to you the second you get hurt.¡±

    Yua rolled her eyes in my general direction again and shot a heavy breath out her nose, as if the gesture had somehow insulted her. I knew she was right, but was that just an excuse not to carry it?

    ¡°I didn¡¯t buy it for myself. It¡¯s for you. I already have one.¡±

    I patted my leather pouch for effect, though it was perfectly empty. Yua¡¯s ears twitched and her expression softened into the same beautiful face that so enraptured me and what held no small part in getting me into this mess reappeared, however briefly.

    ¡°Erp¡­ You bought it for¡­ I-I won¡¯t need it. I don¡¯t plan on getting hit. Unlike you, I know what I¡¯m doing. You don¡¯t seem like you have much experience in¡­ anything.¡±

    Anything? She hasn¡¯t even seen me fight yet. Not that I expect to make any sort of heroic demonstration in front of her.

    Or did she maybe mean that kind of experience? But she hasn¡¯t either!

    Honestly. Even if I regret the way we met, I am your master, you know! I¡¯m trying to treat you like a person and take care of you, here. You could at least show a tiny bit of gratitude if not respect!

    ¡°¡­ Just take it, please. I don¡¯t want you to get hurt.¡±

    Her ears twitched cutely at this, but her expression remained guarded. Freely able to ignore all of the complaints I kept bottled up, Yua turned her nose up and away from me, but held out both her hands all the same. It was a terrible example of servitude, but more than I needed. I set the bottle in the palms that appeared just as smooth and delicate as any other girl¡¯s, in stark contrast to how her earlier brawl against the thugs suggested they¡¯d have been covered in calluses. I half expected the bottle to shatter on impact with her palm, but all she did was toss the thing into one of the front pockets of the backpack.

    The bag was only about the size of a high-schooler¡¯s bookbag, but made of much sturdier material. It didn¡¯t even bulge when the fairly heavy bottle was dumped into it. I noticed she seemed to purposely leave that pocket only half closed, but she didn¡¯t elaborate on why.

    ¡°Thank you, Master. I will¡­ do my best to make sure I don¡¯t need it.¡±

    She bowed to me out of nowhere and I threw my hands up to stop her once a couple passersby took notice.

    Where was this coming from? Her sudden lack of hostility somehow made it even harder to approach her. Did masters not usually buy things for slaves, not even health potions for those meant to fight for them? Weren¡¯t the conditions needed to own one partially to ensure they be kept healthy? I was buying it for her safety, not because I was under any obligation to do so, I didn¡¯t see why this would change her attitude all of a sudden.

    ¡°We should go,¡± she said, as though her bowing to me in public were no big deal. She turned her attention to the fading sun. ¡°At this point, we¡¯ll be lucky if there are any monsters left in the dungeon.¡±

    Before I knew it, Yua started towards another part of town I was unfamiliar with. I let her lead the way awhile before realizing that she was leading us further and further away from the city gate.

    From what I could tell, the Great City of Amoranth was shaped similarly to a four-pointed star with each tip pointing towards the four cardinal directions. Based on my memory, which was a tad afflicted since I was in the back of a wagon under a tarp when I first entered the city, the main gate was at the southern corner, southern tip, of the city wall. The slave house was in the east. The general store, inn and apothecary were all near the center of the city in the merchant¡¯s district.

    That much I was able to map out on my own, but after checking my compass, I saw we were heading towards the city¡¯s western tip, not towards the south.

    ¡°Um, Yua, where are you taking us?¡±

    Her feet ground to a halt and she drew in a deep breath through her nose as she tilted her head back to point it towards the darkening sky, as if trying to quell her anger.

    ¡°Please tell me that my Master, an Adventurer like yourself, at least knows where the Amoranth Dungeon is.¡±

    I hesitated at her tone, but at least this time I had a proper excuse.

    ¡°I¡¯m not from Amoranth. This is my first day in the city. Are you saying that the dungeon is actually somewhere in the city, not outside it?¡±

    She chewed over what I said, her cat ears twitching in obvious irritation, but I could tell she understood my reasoning. Maybe she was just looking for a way to use this bit of info to shoot another barb at me.

    ¡°Yes, it is,¡± she said and started walking again, seemingly unable to find a passable insult. I hurried to follow and listen. ¡°Because of the dangers they present, most cities with a nearby dungeon build their walls around it to both claim it as a source of income and to claim to provide protection over it. And before you ask, since Master seems to know nothing other than how to breathe and stare at women, this is for the sake of safety. Not for the safety of the people in the city, but of the world.¡±

    I took the shot about my ogling on the chin and said nothing of it. I really couldn¡¯t say she was wrong.

    We continued walking, turning down street after street as she talked. Soon there would be no more sunlight for us to see by, but before the sunlight fully faded from the sky and before I had the chance to ask about finding us a torch, the clock on my HUD showed that the time had reached 6:00PM. The very second it did, dozens of street lamps lining the streets that I hadn¡¯t even noticed before started to glow. Not with the fluorescent din of a light bulb, but a bright blue flame that cast its cool color over the cityscape, mingling with the warm glow of the dusk to create a breathtaking sight that nearly stopped me in my tracks.

    All the nearby buildings and the people took on what should have seemed a melancholy hue, but the sight of the city suddenly blooming with enough of these lights to make it seem as though it had been submerged by the ocean itself was so wonderous that negative emotions seemed outright impossible to conjure up while looking at it.

    Yua continued, apparently unphased by the sight while I took it all in.

    ¡°The city¡¯s adventurers wipe out the monsters in the dungeons, but if the Adventurers were ever unable to accomplish this, the monsters would break out and the city walls would all shut their gates forever. Then from what I was told, a powerful spell would be cast by the nobility¡¯s best casters to create a newer, stronger barrier around the entire city. The wall is a part of this barrier. This way, the monsters that escaped would at least be delayed in being set fully free, so that the king can have time to send his armies to put them down.¡±

    I imagined an army of fully armored knights, cavalry, rows and rows of archers drawing their bows and siege equipment setting up against the city, all to hilariously face off against a horde of slimes, before I came back to reality.

    ¡°If there¡¯s a barrier that strong, why not just cast it over the dungeon itself and be done with it?¡±

    ¡°Because, the barrier prevents all living things from passing through it. In or out. This includes humans, beast-kin and so on.¡±

    And so on? This was a fantasy world, so other races were likely to appear sooner or later, but to the best of my knowledge, I hadn¡¯t seen anything other than humans and beast-kin yet.

    ¡°This new barrier isn¡¯t unbreakable. Eventually, the monsters would break through, but putting it up now would just prevent the Adventurers from entering it in the first place. Its only purpose is to trap the monsters in the city, force them to focus on devouring the people and smashing everything in sight, all to give more time to those coming to stop them. The city and all its inhabitants would essentially be sacrificed to save the rest of the world. Or at least prevent its total destruction. This is part of why the high-level adventurers fight exclusively on the higher floors. To prevent the stronger monsters from breaking through into the lower levels and then into the city.¡±

    ¡°But if the monsters can break through to the upper levels, why doesn¡¯t the boss at the bottom floor just move up through the weaker levels and break free?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Nobody does, really. Everyone just kind of assumes it¡¯s because the doorways between floors can only be opened by defeating the boss monster guarding it. Several have tried just rushing the door, only to have the boss stab them in the back when it didn¡¯t budge for them.¡±

    Then the dungeon creating the bosses is also blocking the bosses from achieving their goal? That makes no sense.

    I didn¡¯t want to call out the flaw in her explanation, though. If she¡¯s from a ¡°northern tribe¡± then she¡¯s probably not from the city herself. She likely heard all of this from someone else and either misremembered the details or something got lost in translation along the way.

    And in the end, I was just happy she finally talked to me without tacking on an insult to every other sentence.

    ¡°Is there any proof of that?¡±

    Yua shook her head and purposely stopped her tail from swishing about to prevent it from being grabbed by a drunken man that shambled past her. He fell on his face after the attempt and seemed to pass out on the spot. The further we walked, the fewer people I saw.

    ¡°It¡¯s impossible to know,¡± she said. ¡°But everyone assumes that, because new monsters only appear once a new floor is accessed, the final boss just hasn¡¯t appeared yet. So, it isn¡¯t a threat for now. Nobody¡¯s made it down to the final floor and it¡¯s possible nobody ever will.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t a very good excuse, but I knew I was right to buy her. If for any reason at all, she was chalk-full of knowledge about the world that I desperately needed to know. And she had a compelling reason to share it with me; our survival.

    The fact that I did buy her still left a sour taste in my mouth, but it was reassuring to have a source of worldly information so I wasn¡¯t starting life here on a blank canvas.

    ¡°I see. So, how far down have the Adventurer¡¯s gotten?¡±

    Yua side-stepped a few human children running about in the streets playing and accidently bumped into me. Regardless of whether or not she realized this, she continued sharing.

    ¡°Last I heard, they made it down to floor forty-two.¡±

    ¡°Out of?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t say. Again, the assumption is one-hundred. But it¡¯s really just a guess. Nobody¡¯s ever cleared a dungeon, so it¡¯s impossible to know how deep they really go.¡±

    ¡°So, they might not even be half-way¡­¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    With that quick, succinct answer, the conversation dwindled away into nothingness, just like the sounds of liveliness we were leaving behind us in the city as we ventured into a more secluded, but not empty district. The street lamps didn¡¯t even offer the soft hum I had become so used to back on Earth and now missed without even realizing it. There were still the sounds of city life off in the distance, but since my ears lacked Yua¡¯s hearing sensitivity, they would soon fade for me too.

    It always happened like this. Through some means or another, I end up in a conversation with someone out of the blue, we get going and enjoy the subject for a while, only to reach a point of stagnation I can never seem to recover from. I would be able to add to the conversation at several points, but at the end, I realize I have nothing more to say and the thoughts just cease. I¡¯d want to keep going, but my mind just blanks. And then the air between us suddenly becomes awkward, as if we only realized after the fact that we never should have tried in the first place.

    As if she hadn¡¯t noticed this and was fully prepared to let the conversation die out, Yua continued walking unabated.

    Those conversations all in the past were just time fillers. Quick breaks with co-workers that started, usually, by them making a comment on one thing or another regarding something I was actually familiar with. I would enjoy the conversation to an extent, but in the end, I suppose I wasn¡¯t actually interested in talking with them.

    Yua, however, was someone I wanted to talk to. Even if it meant putting up with the occasional insult. Her circumstances and my pervy greed earned her the right to be a little brisk, didn¡¯t they? All I know is that I didn¡¯t want the conversation to end here. Even just another minute would be enough to satisfy me. So, I kicked my brain into overdrive and after the hamster running laps in there realized it had not one, but two whole sets of feet to run on, I made a connection that by all rights should have been ridiculously obvious from the start.

    ¡°You must really like fighting in the dungeons to know this much.¡±

    Yua glanced at me before turning right back to focusing on the walk. She stayed silent for a long while, leaving me to feel as though my effort failed on launch, until she came back with, ¡°I like fighting in general.¡±

    She went silent again, her lips pursed as if trying to decide how much of herself to divulge.

    That, however, was all I got from her on the subject. I tried again.

    ¡°¡­ H-How long has the dungeon been here? I mean, it¡¯s been here long enough to build a giant city around it, right? It must be pretty old.¡±

    It may be due to the slight crack my voice made when I forced out another question, or maybe it was just her showing me a bit of pity as a reward for my efforts, but she chuckled slightly.

    ¡°It¡¯s been around way longer than anyone still alive today could say. And that includes the long-lived races.¡±

    ¡°So, nothing but guesses there, too?¡±

    ¡°Yup¡­ Master, why do you not know any of this already?¡±

    ¡°Oh, uh, I come from a place where there are no dungeons. So, I never had the chance to learn about them.¡±

    ¡°Really? That¡¯s strange...¡±

    ¡°Yea, right, so I hope you don¡¯t mind teaching me the basics.¡±

    Feeling sweat start to drip from my brow, I put up my best smile and Yua stared intently at it, her left emerald of an eye acting as a chisel and her right as a hammer, both ready to chip away and my crumbling fa?ade. Who would have thought chatting about dungeons might end up with her on the trail to finding out where I was really from? Her ear twitched only once before she gave it up and continued.

    ¡°¡­ Here we are,¡± she said, apparently willing to drop the subject to point ahead of us. We seemed to have reached our destination.

    So much for a rousing conversation. This at least counted as progress, right?

    According to my compass and a pretty basic mental map of the city, Yua brought us to the corner of the western quarter of Amoranth and stopped in front of what looked like a large, domed fortress built so close to the city¡¯s main walls that it looked as if they were slowly swallowing it whole.

    Its walls were just as thick as the cities and unlike the rest of the city¡¯s borders, it was entirely undecorated. This place¡¯s sole purpose seems to be keeping its inhabitants safe, or if Yua was to be believed, keep them trapped inside. Therefore, its appearance didn¡¯t really matter.

    Although, thinking about it, I had to wonder why they built the fortress right next to the wall if they were trying to prevent the monsters from breaking out. The wall may be incredibly thick, but surely it was still breakable.

    They even continued to build houses and other buildings up to less than a quarter mile away from the fort¡¯s entrance. That puts the civilian population right on the border of the hypothetical conflict zone. Did they design the city layout around Yua¡¯s explanation of the backup plan in case the monsters got out and purposefully built housing close to it to act as cannon fodder until the mages put up the new barrier? If so, I hoped I never meet the man that put that plan together.

    Dozens of armed and armored knights littered the grounds both in front of and on the upper floors of the fortress. Archers with bows at the ready peered down on us as we approached while those guarding the main gate itself kept a keen line of sight on us and kept their hands on the hilts of their swords. All of their levels were in the upper 40¡¯s. I had yet to discover if that was actually considered high in this world, but at least they weren¡¯t leaving the most dangerous part of the city to be guarded by weaklings.

    I had a hard time trying to understand why we were being eyed like trespassers trying to walk onto an active police crime scene, since Adventurers and other people had to come this way all the time, but I chalked it up to it just being their job to be wary of anything and everything. So, I rallied myself to have to deal with it for at least the next three days.

    Under the weight of their gazes as we approached, I was almost positive that they were going to stop and question us, but Yua kept walking like it was nothing. Considering that people wishing to enter here would be doing so at their own peril, they likely didn¡¯t mind much who did as long as they didn¡¯t cause trouble. They were probably just on guard for anyone trying to break the barrier or for any fights amongst Adventurers that might break out.

    We entered under the dome of the fortress and instead of finding the interior of some kind of miniature castle like I was expecting, all there was to see was a large pointed rock that was about as tall as the city wall itself and around a hundred feet wide at its base. It immediately justified the sheer height of the fort¡¯s walls. To the best of my knowledge, there were no other stones like it anywhere near here. The thing would have stood out so openly before the city was built that it was almost like it wanted to be found.

    In its center at the base of the miniature mountain, the shape of a doorway was carved directly into it. Be it by human hand or otherwise, I couldn¡¯t say. What I could was that this entry way was presumably the entrance to the dungeon. If the assumptions of its depth were at all true, and the reason why light seemed to twist and bend the closer you get to it, then it tunneled far enough underground that even the shadows cast by the fort¡¯s lighting seemed to be swallowed alive by the purest darkness within. Nothing past the first step could be seen.

    Standing next to it with the nonchalance of a supermarket security guard, was a lone knight. Checking his info box told me that he was actually a General in the king¡¯s army named Bertol and that he was some 10 levels above the next highest knight.

    There was a small line of other Adventurers in front of us waiting to enter, so we lined up behind them to await our turn. The one in front stepped forward and a sudden burst of blue light appeared beside the General. The man walked through it and both he and the light disappeared almost right after. The line moved forward and then the next men stepped up, this time a pair, and another burst of blue appeared. The line moved again and the process repeated itself like a finely-tuned machine.

    Who would have thought that a bunch of people who lived and supported themselves through violence could be so neat and orderly?

    Since my earlier conversation with Yua seemed to be done with, I went ahead and scanned the other adventurers in line to see what sort of people we might be dealing with, but it was mainly to pass the time. Some were close to, but above my level. While others were as high if not higher than the General guarding the entrance. However, all those that were so high level were all older looking men and women in their late forties. Most didn¡¯t look all that powerful, but I had to guess that there was just some of that frail old man is actually a badass energy going on here.

    Just how long did it take to level up in this world if it took them until now to reach this level?

    ¡°Next.¡±

    The General called and the same bikini-armor woman from the apothecary shop stepped up to him. Yua eyed me without actually turning my way, which kept my gaze planted firmly on General Bertol. He was just as much a man as I was, but he didn¡¯t so much as bat an eye when he saw how she geared herself.

    Do people really not mind? I can¡¯t be crazy about this one.

    Instead, he just spoke to her. It was the first time I was able to hear what he asked.

    ¡°Which floor?¡±

    ¡°Thirty-two,¡± the woman said, like it was nothing to brag about, but I noticed a jealous twitch to Yua¡¯s brow.

    I quickly checked miss bikini armor¡¯s info box to remind myself of what I saw earlier before she went in and saw that she was only level 32 herself. Did that mean the floor you are capable of fighting is the same as your current level?

    No, that sounds too simplistic. She must have another reason for going there.

    ¡°Alright,¡± the General said. ¡°Please wait a moment.¡±

    He held his open palm up to the door and started chanting a spell.

    ¡°Dimensional Step.¡±

    When he said that, a thin, almost transparent blue wall of light appeared in front of the dungeon entrance and, as soon as the light stabilized, the woman walked into it and vanished.

    And, as she left, I caught the General turn his head just slightly to watch her ass as she went.

    I fucking knew it!

    More importantly, did I just witness teleportation magic being used as an elevator? I understood why one might want to do that, but wasn¡¯t that kind of a waste of some really cool magic?

    ¡°Next.¡±

    Once Miss Bikini Armor was gone, the General called for the next person in line like everyone present didn¡¯t just catch him in the act. Or maybe they were just used to him. Either way, when he started conversing with the next man in line, a notification popped up in front of my face.

    [New Spell Acquired: Dimensional Step.]

    Suddenly, and just like with the Fire Ball spell, my mind was flooded with all the knowledge and intricacies of how the spell functioned. It was an incredibly jarring sensation, enough to almost make me dizzy, but it faded almost as soon as it came.

    Oh, right. I have the ability to copy spells. All I¡¯ve gotten from it so far was a spell whose primary use seemed to be just a sleep aid. So, I almost forgot about it. Definitely going to have to try this one out, though. Hopefully I have enough mana to play around with it later once we¡¯re done fighting for the day.

    However, if a Dimensional Step can carry you thirty-two levels underground, which I had to assume was about the same depth as a thirty-two-story building would be tall, how far can it actually take you? For some reason, what I very suddenly knew about the spell didn¡¯t readily give me the answer, but there had to be a limit if it could be used this way. I mean, there¡¯s at least twenty people in line and the man was bound to run out of mana eventually.

    Hopefully, in the future, the spell¡¯s limit wouldn¡¯t stick you on the fiftieth floor and force you to have to fight your way through the last ninety-nine just to reach the final floor.

    Not that I planned on taking the dungeon that far in the first place. We¡¯d get the gold we needed, maybe train up some inside if we feel like it, and then never bother with it again. I was just curious about my new spell.

    ¡°Next.¡±

    We continued to wait patiently for our turn while I tried to think up a number of ways I could test my new spell against our situation when the General finally called for us. We stepped forward and from what I could tell, I was the only one that clenched up.

    ¡°Which level?¡±

    I was surprised that he didn¡¯t so much as ask if we were even adventurers, but then I remembered that anybody could enter the dungeon. He also didn¡¯t bother to mention our poor equipment or the fact that Yua looked unarmed. He must get new people entering the dungeon all the time.

    ¡°Uh, um, we¡¯re going to the first floor, please.¡±

    He nodded and I guessed he figured that would be the answer because he didn¡¯t so much as raise a brow at me. My surprise notwithstanding, he just turned to the entrance and called forth his spell again.

    ¡°Dimensional Step.¡±

    I thought we¡¯d have been able to walk right in, but apparently the teleportation wasn¡¯t just to let people skip levels they weren¡¯t interested in. It must be to get around the barrier. No living creatures in or out, right?

    The blue lights that appeared before us swirled around in the air like a whirlpool in front of the entrance before settling into the same thin, slightly transparent wall I saw from before.

    We were out of time. Confronted with the reality of being so close to actually entering the dungeon, I started checking what I had on hand, only now concerned that we might not have enough supply to survive and keep us going for as long as possible when an impatient Yua pushed me into the wall of light.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 7

    The world blacked out for less than half a second, but it was more than enough to make my heart clench. I thought that I had died again the second before my foot hit the floor on the other side of the spell. It would have been such a depressing way to die, not even getting to fight back against whatever killed me. Thankfully, this was just my own paranoia in action as my senses quickly kicked back in and I could see that my location had indeed changed, but not to the same endlessly white void I had appeared in this morning.

    ¡°Guess that teleportation spell isn¡¯t a joke¡­¡±

    Before me was not the same coliseum-like fort we had stood in just a second ago, but a long corridor made entirely of stone. There was not a single light source in sight. Not a candle, not a lightbulb, not even the glowing backside of a firefly fluttering about. And yet the place somehow remained entirely visible. Guess there was no need for a torch after all.

    And that was it. That was all there was to see.

    I was expecting several things from the mention of a dungeon, but found none of it here. Asides from the grey stone plating of the floor and the greyer brick of the walls and the few steps leading to all of this, there was nothing down here. Except, if you chose to count it, there was a little bit of mold on some of the brickwork.

    My first instinct was to wallow in disappointment. So far, most fantasy elements of this world came off as rather lack-luster to me. Magic was fun, but incredibly dangerous to use out in the open. Slavery is a thing that¡¯s legal, and the people behind it are apparently just as evil as they were in my world. The apothecary shop did manage to put up what its name offered, but I ended up getting lectured then yelled at by someone half my size. It was my fault, but still. No fun.

    The instinct that took over right after my self-pity was a soul shaking worry that very nearly became an outright panic. Yua mentioned the monsters that spawned today may have already been cleared, so that could be the reason why there was nothing in front of me now but stone, mold and a deep hallway that was almost uniform-enough to feel like the walls were just copied and pasted on repeat by some lazy game developer.

    I could see no monsters and heard no fighting. In fact, I couldn¡¯t hear anything except for my own heart beat when my eardrums were forced to search for any source of sound to replace the uneasy quiet surrounding me. It was pretty quiet in the forest, but this was completely different. There were no tree branches listing back and forth in the breeze, the leaves they carried flapping and tickling each other carelessly. No animals scurrying about, hiding in the brush. And no rabbits accidentally getting blasted by a fire ball. There was just, nothing.

    I gulped down my worries, then gulped some more and just when I did, I felt something soft and squishy bare down on my back right before something heavy collided with me. There was a hefty, yet strikingly lady-like grunt and a force that sent me falling forwards. I managed to catch myself by grabbing at the wall, but only just barely.

    ¡°Ouch,¡± Yua said, pulling herself off of my back. ¡°Don¡¯t just stand in front of the entrance like that. You¡¯re going to throw someone off their game or scare them into attacking you.¡±

    ¡°Sorry¡­ Wait, can monsters reach the entrance up here?¡±

    ¡°Obviously,¡± she said, wrapping an arm over her bust with a grimace. It did wonders to amplify the effect her cleavage had on me, but I thought it best not to mention this as she seemed to be checking if the haphazardly placed buttons on her shirt had come undone. I respectfully looked away, just in case they did. ¡°The monsters are trying to get out. Where else would they be?¡±

    ¡°Right¡­ Then where are they?¡±

    ¡°The ones closest to the door are always the ones killed first,¡± she said, this time stretching her back by bending forward to touch her toes. The movement accidently provided me the perfect position to get a better look at the hole in the back of her leather pants. Although, the only thing worth seeing there was the cute, wriggling tail sticking out of it. Still, after watching her limber body actually manage to touch and hold onto her toes, her bare toes, a sudden realization struck me like a bolt of douchebag-colored lightning.

    Did I really make her walk all the way here without any shoes? We might be in a rush, but maybe we should have stopped somewhere to buy her a pair, cheap as they might need to be. I really needed to get her some as soon as I could.

    ¡°Most new Adventurers don¡¯t have the stamina to fight for too long,¡± she continued, leaning only her torso to the side in a stretch, arcing her arms over her head one at a time. ¡°So, they tend to kill one or two monsters before they get tired and give up for the day.¡±

    Yua turned to the side to bend one leg into a squat and stretched the other in a half-splits-like motion. The tightness of her pants screamed for me to look at her every curve as its leather creaked against her movements, but I shook my head and turned away. I really needed to focus, now more than ever. She was taking this seriously and prepping for strenuous physical activity. I can¡¯t let my libido get the best of me here!

    Not to mention I really didn¡¯t want her to hate me more than she already did.

    ¡°Does that mean this floor might not be cleared yet?¡±

    ¡°Ahh,¡± she sighed, jumping straight back up into a standing position. ¡°That¡¯s right. I can still hear some monsters milling about.¡±

    Her perky cat ears twitched atop her head, a sight I was already growing familiar with. I nodded in response, thankful that, if I was going to screw up so badly, that I at least managed to get partnered with a beast-kin. As long as she was with me, it was like having a sonar at the ready to find our enemies. We wouldn¡¯t be delving into this dungeon blind, then.

    ¡°You should stretch while you can,¡± she said.

    ¡°Thanks, but I¡¯ve never been one for stretching before or after exercise. It¡¯s never done me any good. Anyway, you think we should have gotten a map for this place before coming here?¡±

    The walls and floors looked almost identical as far down the dungeon as I could see. The only differences were the placement of the few patches of mold and the occasional gashes in the wall I only just realized were likely signs of a recent battle. I was sure we could easily get lost in here, even with her ears guiding us.

    Yua shook her head.

    ¡°You can¡¯t map the dungeons. Along with the monsters spawning every morning, the layout of each floor changes precisely at midnight. The only constant is the number of enemies that spawn each morning and the floor boss.¡±

    ¡°Then doesn¡¯t that mean treasure chests might not respawn too?¡±

    If someone already found a chest here, then our hopes for finding something pricey were pointless. This was the first floor, even if the layout magically changed every morning, someone had likely already found a chest here and looted it, assuming one even spawned here. But, if the chests respawn as well, then maybe¡­

    ¡°Probably, but don¡¯t get your hopes up. From what I¡¯ve heard, chests almost never spawn down on the lower levels.¡±

    Yua looked at me, bemused. She seemed to be waiting for yet another question from her worthless master. When I was about to end the questioning right then and there and thank her for what she¡¯s already shared, she asked a question of her own.

    ¡°How long are you planning on spending down here tonight?¡±

    ¡°As long as we can. Or until the monsters are all dead.¡±

    Yua closed her eyes and sighed, though for some reason it sounded like a sigh of relief. I guess she really does enjoy fighting. If so, then at least this process won¡¯t be too hard on her.

    ¡°Could you lead us, please?¡±

    Her eyes shot open into a glare before spinning on her heel in a huff.

    ¡°Hmph. I knew I¡¯d get thrown out as bait. Fine. I can¡¯t do anything from the backline anyways.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not using you as bait. I just don¡¯t have a way to find monsters quickly enough. And I thought, if you were in front¡­¡±

    With her ears, and maybe even her nose, she could in theory spot us targets at a distance and take us straight to them. The design of the dungeon seemed confusing even at a glance due to how uniform it was, so having her guide us straight to our targets would prevent us from wandering aimlessly. Or so I thought.

    ¡°Ha. Yea right. I¡¯m not stupid. I know I¡¯m a battle slave, too. Might as well act as your meat shield like I¡¯m supposed to.¡±

    ¡°What? No!... Ugh, look, I need your cooperation on this. I know you¡¯re upset with your position, but don¡¯t you at least want to be rid of Alphonse? Because if we fail to earn enough money to pay off your contract, you¡¯ll have to go right back to him.¡±

    ¡°Hmph.¡±

    Yua¡¯s only response to this was to cross her arms. I knew she might have heard his earlier threat to kill her, so maybe if she thought I was using her as a shield, she¡¯d be risking death either way.

    I sort of felt I had to admire her willingness to speak her mind even when she was a literal slave faced with two different forms of potential death, and against her new master who could easily start abusing her should he grow tired of her nonsense. Not that I would, but she didn¡¯t know that.

    It definitely wasn¡¯t the sort of attitude I felt I could take. I would have been lost in my own little world of despair had I been put in her situation, but she¡¯s somehow still so strong. She¡¯s the slave, but she¡¯s already so much more than me¡­

    ¡°¡­ Yua,¡± I pressed my eyes to calm myself. ¡°I know it might not seem like it, but I want to save you from Alphonse. But in order to do that, I need your help. I can¡¯t promise you much, but¡­ but I can promise to at least treat you better than he did.¡±

    Yua¡¯s glare didn¡¯t budge. I don¡¯t know why I thought it might. She had no reason to believe me. And I can¡¯t deny that there was another, dirtier reason for buying her. Hell, she might have even heard about that too. That ruckus she caused did happen shortly after Alphonse made that comment on breeding between our races being impossible and I jumped straight into his clutches, so she was likely expecting to be abused more. I just had to show her that won¡¯t be the case.

    I bought her in a moment of weakness fueled by my libido and loneliness after meeting that dog-kin in the bath. Maybe, if I had dealt with my lust before leaving the inn, I might not have bought her and ended up in so much debt, but then her head would still likely end up on the chopping block. If today¡¯s outburst was just the last straw for Alphonse, it was likely best that it happened while I was there and not someone with much less patience and a penchant for complaining, or she might have been ¡°put down¡± on the spot.

    ¡°¡­ Fine,¡± she said finally, though her expression still didn¡¯t budge. ¡°Which do you want to fight first? Wolf or slime?¡±

    I was about to consider suggesting the slime, given my knowledge of what perverted antics they get up to in anime whenever they grab hold of a girl, but quickly shut that idea down.

    ¡°Wolf, if you don¡¯t mind.¡±

    I chose the option I felt I already knew how to deal with. They may be stronger here, but they are still wolves, right? They probably fight the same way the ones in the forest did.

    ¡°Sure. It¡¯s up to you, after all, Master.¡±

    The snarky way she called my name, or rather the title she picked out for me, was almost endearing as Yua started down the hall. While she still seemed annoyed at the notion of being forced to act as the vanguard of our two-person party, she was still visibly pumped to get a chance to fight.

    I steeled myself one final time, drew my sword and followed her.

    Starting from the first left turn in front of where the teleportation spell dumped us, Yua carefully guided the party through the corridors. Sticking close to her like my life depended on it, which it literally did, I kept my sword raised and readied myself for anything that might attempt to make a surprise attack. She, however, remained entirely calm for the duration of the walk. This despite how she complained about being made to act as the vanguard.

    We continued through the silence for a few minutes, nothing to hear but the sounds of our own feet tapping against the stone floor. The whole way, there was nothing visually striking enough to act as landmarks we could breadcrumb together to find our way back out, just an endless path of stone walls. Though, the dungeon layout on this floor didn¡¯t seem too complicated.

    This is how it usually was on the first few levels where video games were concerned, just a narrow, straightforward path with barely a twist or turn to it to get the player to understand the basics of dungeon crawling. But we¡¯d likely have to start actively mapping the lower floors once they became more difficult. Which meant we would have to stop a lot more often to plot things out. Which also meant less time to make coin.

    Maybe I should have checked with the Adventurer¡¯s Guild first. The name alone suggested that we¡¯d get sent out on quests to do something the average person couldn¡¯t or to fight and kill something before coming back to collect our reward. And with the sort of effort and time such quests would take, I could easily imagine those rewards were nice. But, unfortunately, my level wasn¡¯t high enough and traveling between cities would also mean taking time we didn¡¯t have to spare.

    The utter lack of real possibilities to make some good coin was a distraction I really didn¡¯t want to acknowledge right now.

    After a brisk four-to-five-minute walk, Yua finally came to a stop. She pressed herself against a corner leading to yet another turn in the path and tilted her head. Her ear gave a small twitch and, assuming from this that she was listening for something, I kept myself as quiet as could be. She did not speak until her ears twitched again.

    ¡°There¡¯s a wolf right around the corner,¡± she said in a whisper. ¡°Only one. Do you want to take it or should I... Or should I?¡±

    Far be it from me to say this girl still didn¡¯t look beautiful when she turned a condescending smirk to me, but that definitely sounded like she was suggesting I couldn¡¯t handle one of the weakest monsters in the dungeon. I¡¯ve fought not only one wolf before, but two. And at the same time for that matter. This one may be stronger, but two on one was definitely the harder fight. It had to be.

    She was challenging me. I couldn¡¯t tell exactly why I thought so, but I chose to take it as her wanting to see what I could do since I promised to fight alongside her. She might have just wanted to see if I was capable of handling myself so that she didn¡¯t have to act like a meat shield.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take it,¡± I said, trying to sound confident. ¡°You just watch my back.¡±

    If worst came to worst, all I could do was hope she¡¯d come to my aid if I needed it, but I was determined to put her smirk in its place and show that I could handle this much on my own.

    She shrugged and moved behind me.

    With barely a moment¡¯s hesitation to psyche myself up, I stepped around the corner with my sword pointed at the wolf slowly approaching us, as if it already knew we were here. It probably heard us whispering and came to investigate the noise.

    Scanning it showed it to be only level one, like the wolves in the forest, but I was careful to remember that this one would be stronger. It was about a third larger than those in the forest and its coat of fur was a much sleeker, almost metallic grey. I hoped that didn¡¯t mean its hide was thicker than the ones I fought. And I pleaded with the Goddess above that it didn¡¯t mean it was actually as tough as metal. It truly earned the name of monster.

    Thinking back, I don¡¯t remember the skin of the wolves in the forest putting up much resistance when I cut them, so maybe this sword might be enough here too.

    It growled and I tightened my grip on my sword.

    I probably looked tensed up to Yua, and I probably was, but something inside me told me that I needed to limber up. With the beast staring me down, fangs already bared, I didn¡¯t have the leeway to take a minute to stretch. So, I took a long breath and slowly exhaled it through my nostrils. If I couldn¡¯t be calm, I could at least pretend that I was.

    Showing much less caution than the forest wolves did, this one charged at me almost as soon as it decided I looked tasty enough to warrant the effort it¡¯d take to kill me.

    Without thinking, I widened my stance and turned my body to the side to minimize the number of areas the wolf could target, but also to keep my blade hidden behind my back so it could approach unhindered by the thoughts of danger. While the corridor was wide enough for me to be able to swing my sword freely from this position, if this larger wolf tried to circle around me, it would end up using its size and the force of its charge to pin me against the wall. Or it might even work its way around me to get at Yua. So, I kept my feet rooted in the middle of the path, keeping its gaze squarely on me.

    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

    I waited, thinking that this felt like the best option, but I had no idea how I knew that. This knowhow, this internal advice felt just like it did when fighting the forest wolves. Maybe my Swordsman class was trying to take over my actions the same way the Merchant one did when I bought Yua.

    If true, I needed to be cautious. That feeling likely wasn¡¯t infallible. Thanks to the failure of my Merchant class and my naivete, I fell for a scheme anyone with more than an iota of common sense would have seen through if given a half a second to think it over. Which meant this might not be the best course of action, either.

    I couldn¡¯t be too rigid with how I stood. I needed to be able to react to however this wolf chose to attack.

    Then like a mad beast, the wolf blew past my earlier thought that it might go for Yua, whose thinner body no doubt made her look the easier target, and continued straight at me. I readied my sword imagined the limited number of ways this wolf could attack me. Unlike in the forest, it couldn¡¯t circle around me in a wide arc, nor could it leap out of a bush in a surprise attack. A slash with its claws or a bite was all I could expect from it. So, which was it going to be?

    Before it got within fifteen feet of me, I already chose how to act out my counter attack regardless of the wolf¡¯s choice.

    Growling madly and foaming at the teeth as if rabid, the wolf jumped into the air and two rows of sharpened fangs bared down on me. It attempted to barrel into my chest, likely aiming its bite for my throat and for an easy kill.

    I leapt backwards and, using its own momentum along with the power of my thrust, jabbed the pointed tip of my sword straight down its throat, skewering it. Its weight carried it forward still, sliding down my blade until its nose slammed into the cross guard.

    The wolf kicked and thrashed, only realizing all too late that it needed to run away. Before the sheer weight of the thing could cause me to drop my weapon, it let out the loud, sad whimper of a dog in pain before it vanished in a burst of light.

    Wait¡­ Was that it? Were these things really weak enough to die in one hit? I¡¯d question if I was over-leveled for this area, if I wasn¡¯t still level 1. No, that¡¯s probably got nothing to do with it anyways. If this world functioned on true physics and biology just as much as it did on video game logic, then anyone would die after having a sword shoved down their esophagus.

    At my feet was another pelt. This time it was labeled as a ¡°Proud Wolf¡¯s Pelt.¡± I let out the breath I had been holding and picked it up.

    ¡°Hmm. Was it proud because it kept such good care of its fur?¡±

    I was a little hesitant at first, thinking its metallic-looking fur might slice up my hand, but when I ran my fingers over it, it felt just as soft as any other fur would. Not that I had an abundance of knowledge on the subject. I guess the metallic sheen was just a trick of the light. No need to aim for its weak spots, then? A critical hit was always nice, but in hindsight, I think aiming for such a small target like that was more dangerous. What if I missed and it managed to latch onto me? It¡¯d be game over for sure.

    ¡°Oooh?~ Good job, Master,¡± Yua hummed, clapping her hands together. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you knew to avoid slashing at its fur.¡±

    ¡°Wait, its fur really was tougher than a regular wolf¡¯s then? No, wait, you knew that and didn¡¯t bother to tell me? I could have died!¡±

    ¡°Hahaha! No, you wouldn¡¯t, Master. I wouldn¡¯t have let it come to that. If it looked like you were going to fail, I would have stepped in. These pups can¡¯t hope to stand up against my fists!¡±

    Yua shadow-boxed the air with a fierce smile while I stood there dumfounded and blankly watched.

    If she was my slave and knowingly allowed me to walk towards injury or a possible death, the spell binding her soul to mine should have caused her pain, right? Unless, if she was so sure of herself being able to come to my rescue before I actually got hurt, then maybe it just didn¡¯t trigger? Was the spell¡¯s trigger actually only effective if she didn¡¯t expect to be able to save me? Alphonse said she¡¯d still feel a less severe pain if she did something to me by accident, but nothing seemed to have happened. Sure, I didn¡¯t get hurt in the first place, but she didn¡¯t seem to worry about the potential of her getting hurt in the event that I did.

    If this were true and if she truly thought I was in no danger due to her own abilities, then she wouldn¡¯t be punished if she failed.

    I can¡¯t say I¡¯d want her to suffer the same end that came to me, but a little bit of payback for a screw up born of her own cockiness would have been nice. Only a little bit, though.

    ¡°Next time just tell me if you know a monster¡¯s weaknesses or strengths. Don¡¯t leave it to luck that I might figure it out on my own.¡±

    ¡°Okay!~¡±

    That kind of loophole in the slavery spell could lead to problems if she ends up overestimating our abilities. Or the monsters¡¯ lack thereof.

    I left her alone to brag about her strength as she patted her thin bicep and silently used the Appraisal skill on the wolf pelt to see if it would show how much it was worth and thankfully, it did. Apparently, this one was worth 10 silver pieces. That unfortunately wasn¡¯t much of an improvement from the forest wolves and what¡¯s worse, that isn¡¯t necessarily the price it would go for at the market. The actual price may depend on my Merchant¡¯s class. Because of the game logic running this world, it was possible that, at the low level of 2, I might get less than its full value. But at the same time, if I raised that class¡¯s level, I might even be able to successfully ask for more than the listed price. Maybe then my bartering skill would improve and I wouldn¡¯t blunder like I did at the Apothecary¡¯s place. Maybe, if I worked it hard enough, I could get so good at it that I could actually sell things for twice their real worth. Although, from the looks of how I leveled the class to begin with, I would need to trade quite a bit to level it up before that could ever be a thing.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take that. I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯d have an easier time moving with the loot than you would.¡±

    Yua quit her boxing to pluck the wolf pelt out of my hands. She threw it over her shoulder and straight into her bag in a trained sort of motion that suggested she held a fair bit more experience than she let on. I considered telling her the truth about my item box when I thought that the added weight of all the future items we were going to find would end up slowing her down, but now that the actual fighting had begun, she seemed raring to go and didn¡¯t give me the chance.

    Were all beast-kin this hungry for battle when it was presented to them or was it just her?

    ¡°Master, which would you like to fight next?¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Well, I know I can handle the wolves now, since they seem a bit dumber than the ones in the forest.¡±

    I already thought lunging like that was foolish, but doing so when you didn¡¯t have the backup of your pack nearby was just plain stupid.

    ¡°Yea. The ones down here are all bark and no brain.¡±

    Cockiness aside, she was probably right. Unlike those in the forest, who had to sneak about and plan how they were going to pounce on their skittish prey, all while coordinating with their pack, the wolves here had nothing to do but to walk down the corridors and fight whatever came their way. Maybe they relied too much on their power and never developed the intellect the ones in the wild needed to survive.

    ¡°How about we try a slime next?¡±

    I thought it best to try a little variety to see what sort of fight the slimes could put up against us so we could plan accordingly. Yua offered me a brief shrug and a ¡°follow me,¡± before walking off down the path the wolf had come from. Once again, I had to force myself to look away from her swaying ass and tail as she moved through the dungeon, but some of the tension in me released itself when I saw how happy she looked.

    This time, she took us much further into the dungeon than before. After continuing to walk past more and more walls that looked exactly the same, it didn¡¯t take me long to figure out I¡¯d be entirely lost without her. I did hear the occasional tapping of a wolfs claws against the stone floor, but because Yua seemed to ignore their existence entirely, I guessed we weren¡¯t in any danger of them heading for us.

    Using her cool demeanor as the backbone I should¡¯ve already had, I felt safe enough to open my status menu and checked how much EXP I got from proud wolf. Much to my surprise, my Adventurer and Swordsman classes both jumped up quite a bit. The Adventurer class jumped from 250 EXP out of a needed 500 to level up, to 450. And with only one kill. The Swordsman class gained the same and put it close to 250. Meaning both got a boost of 200 EXP. That¡¯s twice what the regular wolf gave me.

    Alphonse and Yua both stressed that the monsters here were stronger than their wild counterparts, but if I only gained twice the EXP from fighting them, did that mean they were only twice as strong?

    Not bad. With this, I¡¯m already close to leveling up both classes. At least my attempts to improve myself via these numbers didn¡¯t get saddled with a giant set back.

    Out of curiosity, I checked Yua¡¯s stats as well. Apparently, both her Beast-Warrior and Monk classes increased by 100 EXP as well, landing the first at an even 200 and the second at 100. This must mean that, even if she didn¡¯t participate in the fight, because we are partied together, she gets experience too. Whether or not that was just how the world worked or if it was a side-effect of my EXP-boosting trait, I couldn¡¯t know just yet. More testing was required for a concrete answer.

    The only questions left here were whether or not she got the same amount everyone else did while I got a boosted figure, because the system this world runs on favors whoever landed the killing blow. Or if the total EXP was simply divided amongst everyone in the party. Say, if the wolf actually gave 300 EXP in total after my boost affected it, then she only got a third of the EXP because she didn¡¯t actually help in the fight. That would be a fair trade off, though it obviously favored the lone Adventurer approach to things.

    Either way, I believe that means that, at least for the foreseeable future, as long as I get the final blow on each monster, then I should be able to catch up to Yua¡¯s level soon. My confidence boost wasn¡¯t helping me much when it came to her, if it was even doing anything at all, but leveling above her might do the trick.

    Although, the smile she wore while gearing up for the fight ahead was the best I¡¯d seen from her all day. Considering that, I wasn¡¯t sure if I should prioritize leveling or making her happy.

    I suppose it didn¡¯t really matter all that much just yet. As long as both of us got stronger in the process and we could kill more of these monsters, we could build on our stock of loot to build up our finances. And do so faster. Becoming closer, close enough for her to at least put a stopper on the casual insults every time I made mistake, was going to have to take a backseat to the order in which we needed to tackle our problems.

    Money first, interpersonal relationships second. That seemed like it should be the other way around, but time wasn¡¯t on our side.

    We walked for a minute or two in silence after I came to this conclusion before she suddenly stopped again. Her ears twitched and she pointed to the bend in the path ahead.

    ¡°It¡¯s around this corner,¡± she said then turned her head back to whisper some advice this time. ¡°Slimes bodies absorb physical attacks even better than the hide of those wolves. So don¡¯t expect to kill it in one hit. We should fight it together to save time.¡±

    I nodded rather than speak my understanding. I hadn¡¯t seen it yet, so I had no idea if slimes in this world had ears, but gaming experience suggested that slimes weren¡¯t known for their excellent hearing.

    Sword drawn and fists clenched, we both rounded the corner while I worried about how I was going to swing my weapon without hitting her, but that thought came to an abrupt halt when she shrieked.

    ¡°Wah!¡±

    Before I knew what happened to her, Yua fell backwards. She tried to reclaim her balance mid-flight by stomping her feet as fast as she could, trying to grab onto the traction that was supposed to be offered by the stone flooring, but she failed. On pure instinct, I reached out my hands to catch her and her body collided with mine, knocking us both down. We both landed on our butts, her landing between my legs.

    ¡°Ow¡­¡±

    While I reeled from the literal pain in the ass she¡¯d just become, I realized that my hand was groping something alluringly soft and springy. Something whose touch seemed to inexplicably soothe my very soul. But more so, I noticed that Yua had gone oddly quiet.

    The blood coursing through my veins froze in place when I realized that my hand had accidently cupped her breast when I tried to catch her.

    ¡°S-S-Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to!¡± I said, ripping my hand away from her chest before I could allow myself to enjoy the sensation.

    Trembling, hopefully from embarrassment rather than anger, she quietly bent forwards and protectively covered her chest with her arms, as if she expected me to go for another feel now that I got a taste.

    I apologized again and looked in front of her to see why she fell in the first place. What I found was a large trail of what looked like a thick green goo smeared all over the floor in front of us. In her eagerness to fight, Yua must have failed to notice this and the smooth bottoms of her unprotected feet weren¡¯t capable of correcting her mistake. So, she slipped.

    I apologized a third time when she remained quiet. I expected to be berated as a pervert, but she said nothing. She just tried to get to her feet again, but ended up slipping on the goo a second time. For fear of accidentally touching something I shouldn¡¯t, I purposely avoided trying to help her and let her fall. She clenched her teeth, probably not from the further staining of her already shabby clothing with the goo, but maybe from the pain or the inelegant display of the skills she¡¯d been bragging about this entire time. Without so much as a word to wound her ego, I offered her a hand and she took it. Reluctantly, she took it.

    Just as she did and I started to lift her, her ears twitched and she let go of my hand to plop back down on the stone floor.

    ¡°It¡¯s here!¡±

    She shouted and pointed ahead of us, towards a slime racing down the hall at full speed. It wasn¡¯t as fast as the wolf, but it was moving faster than how slimes in video games typically did. Looking at how the slime¡¯s gelatinous body moved sort of like a slug¡¯s and that it too left a trail behind it, I realized it had to be responsible for the goo on the floor. More importantly, moving back over the now slick floor might have increased its speed.

    It raced towards us, seemingly eager to make a move now that our best fighter was indisposed. I had no idea how a slime might actually try to hurt us, but after seeing how Yua¡¯s skin wasn¡¯t burning where the goo touched her, my thoughts fell on the possibility that it would try to wrap itself around my head, rendering me incapable of breathing and forcing me to effectively drown on solid land.

    Wanting very much to avoid this slow death for the both of us, and careful to avoid wasting time with a physical attack that might hurt Yua, I raised my hand and silently cast the Fire Ball spell.

    Unlike with the branch and the rabbit, I didn¡¯t sit there and revel in the light burning in front of my palm and let the mana burst out all on its own. The ball of flames flew with all the speed of an amateur pitcher¡¯s thrown baseball and collided with the slime¡¯s body. It immediately stopped its charge and reeled forward, sort of like a man that just received a well-thrown punch to the gut.

    Just when it looked like the slime¡¯s inner goo was about to boil under the intense heat, it melted into a large green puddle before disappearing altogether in a burst of light. The trail it left behind disappeared right along with it, as did the slime coating Yua¡¯s clothes and feet. All that was left was a small bottle of green liquid that inexplicably appeared where the slime died.

    ¡°Wow¡­ That was easy,¡± I said, checking my stats again. ¡°I guess it was just a slime after all.¡±

    My Mage class gained 100 EXP, placing it at 150 out of 500. But more importantly, it was enough for my Adventurer class to level up. Yua too gained some EXP, but since she only got 50 for her Beast-Warrior class and nothing for Monk again, I guessed that that meant that she not only gets half of whatever I get, but that if she doesn¡¯t participate in the fight directly, only her birth class gets the reward. That must have meant the 100 EXP in her Monk class had been there before I even met her.

    I offered her a hand up again and once more, she reluctantly took it. Still covering her chest, she glared at me as she got back to her feet. Apparently, saving her from the slime wasn¡¯t enough to erase the sin of accidentally groping her.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± I pleaded. ¡°I really didn¡¯t do it on purpose.¡±

    Yua clenched the fist not covering her chest, spun around, and walked.

    ¡°From now on, Master, I think it would be best if you take care of the slimes. I¡¯ll handle the wolves myself¡­ I really need to punch something right now.¡±

    Terribly happy that that something wasn¡¯t going to be me, I agreed without hesitation.

    I was about to chase after her, but when I stopped to pick up what the slime dropped and appraised it, along with the usual information detailing it as a vial of ¡°Living Slime Goo¡± and that it was priced at 1 silver per bottle, it said that the goo was apparently poisonous. After reading this, I got a notification from the Apothecary class telling me that, if ingested, the slime goo could cure injuries and this confused me greatly. How the hell could something heal you and still be considered poisonous?

    Unable to parse out this discrepancy before we were separated, I tucked it away into my item box via the pouch on my belt and ran after Yua before we could get separated.

    ¡°So, after all that complaining about me keeping secrets about monsters, why didn¡¯t you tell me you could use fire magic? I would have let you take the front against the slime if I¡¯d known.¡±

    ¡°Again, sorry. I wasn¡¯t thinking about it.¡±

    ¡°Stop apologizing already and tell me why you planned on fighting the slime with me if you could use non-physical magic? Shouldn¡¯t you have thought to tell me when I said that it was strong against physical attacks? Are you stupid? Or did you just forget you knew the spell and all the effort it took to learn it?¡±

    Effort? I learned it instantly at the press of a button and only used it once.

    Under her barrage of questions as we continued to walk the dungeon, I started to feel like she was the master and I the slave. I did not reprimand her for it, though. She was right and I¡¯m not just saying that because I left my spine back at the inn. It¡¯s life or death down here and not only should I have been fully aware of all of my own abilities and used them the best I could, but I should have told her.

    ¡°Like I said, I just didn¡¯t think about it.¡±

    ¡°Hmph.¡±

    Finally giving up on covering her chest, Yua stormed off towards the next enemy without consulting me this time. I guessed that she was headed towards the nearest wolf to vent her frustration.

    She found one not too long after she started looking and before the wolf itself even noticed us, she adopted a fighting stance that felt like a mixture between that of a professional boxer and of a martial artist.

    Her legs were spaced far apart, but were noticeably sturdy despite this. Her fists were balled up protectively in front of her chest and face. Despite her slender frame, she looked strong. She looked capable of either lashing out with a vicious punch at the slightest provocation, but was equally capable of dashing in any direction she¡¯d feel she need to when the enemy approached.

    But the wolf hadn¡¯t seen her yet. Maybe, having extra sensitive ears herself, Yua knew how to sneak up on such a creature. Perhaps because of this, she bent her knees slightly before taking off in a mad dash straight for the wolf.

    ¡°Iron Fist!¡±

    She shouted, or rather incanted, as she ran and her right fist began to glow with a silvery light. Before I could take in the spectacle of it, she slammed her fist straight into the side of the large wolf¡¯s head the moment it turned to face her, throwing its entire body against the nearby wall. Exactly like she did the thugs that tried to reign her in back at the slave house. With the wall behind pinning it in place, the wolf was forced to take the full brunt of her attack. Its skull crunched and snapped before its face imploded under the sheer force of her strike.

    I was suddenly very aware of how terrified those earlier thugs must have felt when facing off against her. And I now fully understood why they trembled at the thought of fighting just this one girl. She was holding back the whole time. And now she was supposed to be on my side. At least, I hoped so.

    The beast-kin truly were amazing fighters. Thinking back, Yua, as a level 3 girl just barely out of her teens, was able to handle at least ten armed thugs all by herself. And with her bare hands to boot. If I wasn¡¯t there to distract her, I could only imagine the damage she could have caused before Alphonse was able to cast that sleep spell on her.

    Or, rather, I was seeing it now. The force of the punches and kicks she continued to throw at the wolf and the growls she made as she did, made the walls themselves quake. Again and again, she pummeled the beast without ever letting it touch the floor. It felt like her continued barrage was actually keeping the monster from dying, despite having shattered its skull already.

    All I could do was stand there and watch, feeling as though the gusts of air resulting from the excess force of her punches might actually blow me away.

    Oh, that poor wolf.

    Hopefully satisfied, Yua gave the wolf one last kick that shot it up into the air and bounced it off of the ceiling before letting it hit the ground. Finally, the wolf burst into light and died. Breathing heavily, she turned back to me with a smile I could only hope was genuinely a happy one, but I couldn¡¯t escape the glint of her canines glaring at me from beneath her lips.

    ¡°Master, shall I find us another wolf?¡±

    ¡°S-Sure¡­¡±

    After she collected the wolf¡¯s pelt, Yua stomped off down the hall again in search of another fight. I hoped that the first one had calmed her down and that it was just the thrill of the fight propelling her forward, but I doubted it. Despite the terror she beaten into the wolf, she hadn¡¯t even broken a sweat yet.

    I hurried to follow and checked our stats again to see if my earlier hunch was right and I was surprised to find that I was actually dead wrong.

    Doing the math, I found that I still gained the full 200 EXP for my Adventurer class, whereas she still only received an even 100 for her Beast-Warrior class. While I didn¡¯t gain anything for my Swordsman or Mage classes, I still got more than she did, despite doing nothing.

    I was about to say that that was unfair for me to benefit so much from her effort, but realized that it had to be the EPX-boosting trait that did it, not the world itself. That, or her being my slave somehow forced me to siphon off some of what she earned.

    Not that I would actually want to, but if this were true, I could easily sit back and let her power level me until I caught up to her. Although, watching her beat down the next wolf she found kind of turned me away from that line of thought altogether. The thought of what she might do to me if she found out I was using her like that was more than compelling enough to stop the idea in its tracks.

    Besides, I didn¡¯t want to take the easy way out and let myself grow complacent. Not again.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 8

    We continued rampaging our way through the dungeon almost entirely uncontested. As promised, Yua handled all of the wolves, while I delt with the slimes like we should have done from the get go. By the time we stopped to take a break and catch out breaths, we had killed five more wolves and four slimes. Thankfully, the dungeons hadn¡¯t been as cleaned out as Yua and I were expecting.

    The experience gained was enough to level both of us up. I myself leveled up twice and caught up with Yua quicker than I thought I would. I even managed to outpace her a bit thanks to the EXP boost, putting me closer to the next level than she was. I even managed to level up the Mage class to level 2 thanks to killing the slimes with magic.

    It felt incredibly unfair for me to have already outpaced her after how many years of diligent practice it likely took her to become as skilled a fighter as she was, but if it was for the sake of burning through the dungeon and making money faster, then I chose to accept the cheating as a fact of life.

    Thanks to our efforts, we now had 7 wolf pelts and 1 Wolf Fang, appraised at around 3 silvers. I was already suggested that it was possible, but I was still surprised to find out that monsters could really drop two items at a time if you were lucky enough. Thanks to this, we also found 1 Slime Oil, appraised also at 1 silver, on top of the 5 slime goos that seemed to be a guaranteed drop just like the wolf pelts.

    In total, if I took the appraised prices at face value, after about an hour¡¯s worth of risking our lives, we had earned a paltry 79 silver pieces. Just a little more than shy of 1 gold piece and fucking nowhere near what we needed. The kicker was, that since I was the one with the Appraisal ability, I was the only one that noticed this issue.

    We were both starting to sweat and were both moderately out of breath, so we chose to stay put for a few minutes. While we did so, I did some quick mental math. If we worked a minimum of 10 hours a day for the next two days before the deadline, assuming our profits were consistent with what we just got, we would still only bring in about 47 gold and 4 silver pieces. Again, nowhere near enough.

    Then there was the fact that we were both tired and my mana bar had been mostly depleted due to the rapid succession of slimes we faced. It was slowly recovering on its own thanks to one of my cheat traits, but that wasn¡¯t going to be enough to keep fighting this way. Eventually, we¡¯d come up on a slime while I had no mana and we¡¯d be forced to either waste a significant amount of time fighting with sword and fist, or we¡¯d have to run away and come back once more of my mana had been restored. So, in other words¡­

    ¡°This isn¡¯t working,¡± I said after taking a deep breath and sighing it back out. ¡°Yua, can you find any more of them?¡±

    Standing back up by pushing her hands down on her knees to straighten them out, this time without any snarky remarks, she tilted her head back and twitched her ears. It was the same gesture she always made when trying to locate more enemies for us, but I couldn¡¯t come up with a valid reason for why the slight change in angle made so much of a difference to her.

    Regardless, from where I sat against the wall across from her, the non-existent light sources allowing us to see all seemed to have put a spotlight on her and I was forced to notice that her hair, slick with sweat, was sticking to her flushed face in a way that made her look even more enticing. I watched as droplets of sweat slipped down her delicate neck and down into the forbidden valley between her breasts as they rose and fell with every lightly labored breath she took. Her already tight clothes were clinging to her shapely body even more thanks to this, which only made it harder not to look so much.

    I already thought she was beautiful, obviously, but now she was downright sexy. She¡¯d been fighting all this time, but the appearance she wore now gave off the impression she¡¯d just undergone an intense night of passionate love-making. And to think, I almost shared such a night with her and likely would have if Alphonse didn¡¯t screw us over.

    ¡°Master¡­ Can you calm your heart down? The sound of it pounding like that is distracting. Just take a seat and catch your breath for now.¡±

    My cheeks heated up as I asked, ¡°You-You can hear my heart?¡±

    ¡°If I focus on my ears, I can hear all sorts of things.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­¡±

    So that¡¯s how it works. Good to know¡­I guess.

    Hopefully putting mana into her brain doesn¡¯t give her the option to read my mind. That groping incident earlier just made it harder not to think of her in a sexual light and I¡¯d really rather her not know that.

    We¡¯d been fighting together for a good hour or so, but in all that time, we hadn¡¯t spoken much and whenever we did, it was only to convey the location of an enemy or the way we wanted to approach fighting them. I felt a good portion of this was due to Yua being more than a little apprehensive towards me after said groping incident, but she worked through her anger and discomfort quickly enough. The rest of it was due to my inexperience sharing in casual conversation making it incredibly difficult to think up something to say.

    I always had this problem when trying to speak to people, but it was even worse with her now that she¡¯d become my slave. It definitely wasn¡¯t the same as her being my girlfriend, or even just a regular friend. Me ¡°owning¡± her didn¡¯t somehow unlock the ability to speak casually to her or share any sort of intimate thoughts. Moreover, due to the negative nature of what little of a relationship we did have, it was still entirely on me to put in the foot work and make something happen.

    And I had nothing to show for it.

    Between every battle, I spent every second made available to me by none other than Yua¡¯s diligent ears thinking of how to progress things both with her on an emotional level and on the task before us, but I couldn¡¯t think of anything.

    Why does this always happen? At this rate, after trying this much with Yua, I could only imagine how much I would have embarrassed myself if I actually managed to speak with that jogging woman. Even after all the snark and barely hidden insults made at my expense, I still found something that demanded I acknowledge there was more to her. That her treatment of me was born of lingering resentment for her enslavement, not because it was who she was as a person.

    I¡¯d noticed as much during our fights against the monsters. After she worked through her initial anger, each time she defeated a wolf, she¡¯d turn back to me with a beautiful smile, as if wanting to be praised for her skill, only to then wipe it off her face the moment she saw that it was me she was looking to for approval. Her strength was truly amazing, enough to make her want to brag about it boisterously, but not to me. But those smiles¡­

    None of these brief smiles were directed at me when I cast my magic on the slimes, though. How could she find any sort of pride in that when all I did was point my hand at the slime and essentially work my imagination to make them die? She was in there fighting through the danger while all I did was raise my hand and fling fire balls at moving puddles of goo. It could hardly be considered a fair division of either skill or work.

    But those occasional, bright smiles were more than enough to suggest her rough outer shell just needed a little wearing down. I¡¯d known her for less than half a day so far and yet I found myself wanting almost desperately to see that other side of her. To just experience it once and see who she really was beneath that snarky exterior. Even if that really was just who she was as a person, I wanted to see the sides of her that didn¡¯t hate my guts. Even just a glimpse at the truth I didn¡¯t deserve to see would be enough to settle my heart, but in all our time in the dungeon so far, she never spent more than a second or two looking my way.

    No matter how I worked my brain and forced whichever parts of it were in charge of coming up with casual banter to lighten the mood between us, I think up with anything even remotely worth trying. And I was starting to think that buying her might have robbed me of ever having the chance to make this work. Well, logically speaking, I suppose I didn¡¯t need to think it might, it already had. I tried to focus on the dungeon, but the more time we spent together, the harder doing so became.

    After a few minutes of her silent searching and my trying not to get flustered by just looking at her so she didn¡¯t hear the inner argument between my heart and brain, Yua¡¯s chin finally fell back down. And the look on her face was not a happy one.

    ¡°Master, I think we¡¯ve finished off the last of them already.¡±

    ¡°Shit¡­ We don¡¯t have anywhere near enough loot yet. Isn¡¯t there anything else we could do?¡±

    ¡°Hmm,¡± she tilted her head and swept her sweaty bangs out of her eyes. ¡°Well, the only thing left to do on this floor would be to fight the boss. Unlike the regular monsters, the bosses always respawn once every hour. We¡¯ve been here for at least that long, so we should be able to face it now.¡±

    ¡°The boss already, eh? What is it? Do you know?¡±

    She nodded while pulling her long chestnut hair off of the back of her neck. When she realized she had nothing to tie it up with, she sighed and let it fall back down.

    ¡°It¡¯s another wolf. But much bigger and much stronger.¡±

    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound too bad.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not,¡± she said with an honest shrug. ¡°I fought it once all by myself and managed just fine. As long as we continue as we have been so far, it shouldn¡¯t be anything to worry about.¡±

    I had a pretty good idea of how she fought so far, so I knew she was already very capable, but if she said she could manage the boss all on her own, then that was a huge relief. I¡¯d still help, of course, but if she was telling the truth, we could fight the boss, head to the next floor and explore it for an hour or so before returning to fight the boss again. Bosses always gave better EXP and dropped better loot, so this could be a viable path for us to take to speed up the money-making and leveling processes.

    ¡°Alright, if the boss is all that¡¯s left here, we might as well go for it. If you¡¯re ready, can you lead us to it?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    I wished I could give her more of a break since her style of fighting relied so heavily on her stamina, but she didn¡¯t complain. She knew as well as I did that the sooner we pressed forward, the better. And true to form, she looked a little excited to challenge a stronger foe. Which was truthfully a little concerning.

    According to the information she dumped on me earlier, regarding how the dungeons worked, the boss was likely guarding the door to the next level, so facing him was a must before we could progress deeper. I had no idea if the General waiting outside of the dungeon would let anyone jump to any level regardless of how far they¡¯d gone on their own power, but I doubted it. The deeper levels would likely offer nothing less than instant death for lower-level people like us. We, however, needed to press on as fast as possible and the boss would be a good benchmark to tell if we were capable of progressing deeper and taking that risk. Yua already said she made it past this floor all on her own, but she had her skills to help her along. The best I could do now was see if my numbers were up to snuff.

    The faster we get through this and level up, the deeper we could go. And hopefully, that meant we would find better loot.

    ¡°The boss room should be over here,¡± Yua said, pointing down one of the halls we hadn¡¯t travelled yet. ¡°It¡¯s the only monster still making any noise and I recognize its footsteps. It¡¯s definitely the boss.¡±

    She turned back to grin fiercely at me as she walked, her swishing tail displaying her eagerness. There was still a faint pinkness to her cheeks. The thought of a better fight definitely seemed to excite her a bit.

    ¡°Hey, Master, what do you think of the dungeon so far?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not bad. Feels like it would make for a good workout¡­ if you wanted to be lazy for a day.¡±

    She seemed to be getting some good exercise, but I was sweating just from the walking. It wasn¡¯t exactly tiring to cast spells, after all. My new body was most definitely in better shape than my old one, but that didn¡¯t mean I was used to so much physical activity. Not to mention there wasn¡¯t exactly a draft down here to cool us off. Maybe I could just lie and say the heat from my own Fire Balls was responsible for the sweat.

    To my surprise, she giggled at my little joke and turned back to me, noticeably at ease since we were free of random monsters. I was once more faced with the honest-to-goddess truth that this girl¡¯s smile was abnormally beautiful as I deliberately left out the part about not having enough loot to sell in my assessment of the dungeon, since she looked like she was having a good time. As much as that smile made me want to protect her future even more whenever I saw it, at this rate, she was as good as dead. The odds of us paying off what I owed Alphonse were growing slimmer every second.

    Snap!

    We continued while I alone worried about our futures, but we both stopped moving entirely when we heard the loud snap of some kind of unseen rope being stretched to its limits and as it tore itself apart to relieve the tension. We both instinctively looked at our feet. Yua lifted up hers and a small section of the floor started to rise where it had been. She had stepped on some kind of pressure plate.

    There are traps in the dungeons?!!

    The second I realized what had happened, but before I could contemplate how a non-man-made dungeon could produce traps, a wide section of the floor we were standing on fell away so instantaneously that it might as well have never been there to begin with. With a mutual yelp of surprise, we fell right along with it as the edges of this new hole were too far away to grab hold of to stop ourselves, so the relentless force that was gravity pulled us down into the darkness of the pit.

    Before I could fear an army of spikes, waiting at the bottom like a bunch of madmen raising their spears at us to force us to impale ourselves at the end of our decent, putting an abrupt end to my and Yua¡¯s new life, we hit the very solid, very flat floor beneath us. And we hit it hard. I thankfully never had to experience the pain of a broken bone due to the protection of my self-isolation back on Earth, but it felt like my pelvis had been shattered on impact.

    The hole we¡¯d fallen into was at least eight feet tall, too tall to jump and grab hold of the edge of it. Reeling from the new pain in my ass, only moderately sure nothing was actually broken, I checked our surroundings for some sort of ladder or something we could grab onto to pull ourselves back up, thinking that this pitfall trap was just meant to slow us down, but I found nothing but smooth stone. I suppose we should be thankful we didn¡¯t actually break anything, but it still hurt like hell and now were going to have to work our battered bodies to find a way out.

    Before I could check on Yua¡¯s condition, there was another snap, this time from above. We both looked, ignoring the pain of the fall, and saw that a large cube of stone belonging to the ceiling had been knocked loose and was falling straight towards us.

    About eight feet wide on both sides, the mass of stone looked large enough to not only fill the hole perfectly, but it also fell precisely where it needed to in order to do so. The precision of this magically-designed trap was relentless. I could tell at a glance that the stone was guaranteed to slip right into the pit and crush us.

    Reluctantly, already sure that there was no route for escape, I readied myself to accept my fate. I instinctively covered my head, knowing it wouldn¡¯t do anything against the weight of the chunk of ceiling and hoped the Goddess would forgive me for all my indiscretions when we met again. Yua shot back up to her feet.

    The mass of stone collided with Yua first and I felt myself every bit the pathetic excuse of a man I always knew I was. I was going to die knowing that nothing had changed in that regard.

    I waited for death, a brief, flitting thought, a hope really, that I wouldn¡¯t feel any pain just how I didn¡¯t with the truck, but it didn¡¯t come. Death didn¡¯t come.

    Confused and scared shitless, I looked to see what happened and found Yua standing in the center of the pit. Standing. Her body wasn¡¯t bent and broken, left to awkwardly hold the mass of stone until her weary bones finally gave out and let it continue to crush us both. Impossibly, she was holding up the massive stone that had to weigh at least a ton with nothing but her bare hands.

    She gritted her teeth, flexed the muscles on her thin arms to fill them with enough blood to carry out this feat and did all she could to stop the stone from continuing on its crash course with our heads. Her overall thin frame suggested that this should have been impossible, but she was doing it. She was somehow exerting even more power than she had when she brutalized the wolves earlier.

    ¡°Master, run away! There¡¯s an alcove in the wall behind you. Get under it now!... Ghh¡­ It was probably designed as a failsafe in case any of the monsters managed to fall in. It might lead back to the main floor!¡±

    Seeing me practically cowering on the floor while she struggled enough for thick droplets of sweat to pour off her forehead, she yelled for me to flee. She wanted me to leave her there to die. I myself was resigned to die just now, it certainly wouldn¡¯t be my first time, but I couldn¡¯t allow for it to happen to her. Not this girl. Not when she just pointed out the escape route I missed.

    ¡°What? No way! I¡¯m not about to let you die for my sake!¡±

    ¡°Arrghh!¡±

    As if my protest were an insult to the trap, it seemed to increase in weight and forced Yua¡¯s trembling arms to give it some ground, decreasing the gap between it and the ground.

    ¡°Just go! I¡¯m done for no matter what. Don¡¯t you realize that?¡±

    Fuck!

    I hated it more than anything, more than the trap itself, but she was right. If I did as she said, the stone would crush her. If I stayed and tried to help her, we¡¯d both die. If she somehow let me switch places with her and I died, the slave spell would just kill her right back because it would inevitably decide she let her master die. This wasn¡¯t a noble sacrifice; it was simple logic. No matter the scenario, she was going to die.

    ¡°Just go. At least that way¡­¡±

    Her voice grew more and more strained the more she tried to convince me to flee. Her face had gone entirely red with the strain and her impressive strength was beginning to fail. The knees only just barely holding her up were starting to buckle beneath her. The grip she had on the stone looked to be losing strength. The grinding of the stone against the walls as it forced its way down on us was almost deafening as it played the song that would act as her final elegy.

    ¡°No, no, no! I won¡¯t let you die! I just got to meet you! I haven¡¯t told you how I... T-there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll let you die here!¡±

    Still. Not even now? What the hell is wrong with me? One or both of us might die and I still can¡¯t summon up the courage to tell her how I really felt. Love at first sight was supposed to be a clich¨¦, a ridiculous gimmick of storytelling that could never happen in real life, but it alone forced me to stay put, even if it went against her wishes.

    Her pained expression broke for a second as she looked at me, pleading with her big emerald eyes. She was a fighter to the core. If death was inevitable, she wanted for at least one of us to live.

    Maybe, if she were to die, I would be exempted from my need to pay off Alphonse. A loophole all in itself, after all, the goods I promised to pay for would be gone.

    The thought pained me to no end.

    I ignored her pleas for me to think of myself and quickly opened my menu to see if I had anything, any abilities that could save the both of us.

    I read through everything I had as fast as I could. Every second I wasted would only prolong her struggle and her pain.

    ¡°Come on. Come on! There has to be something I can do!¡±

    ¡°Just¡­ go!¡± she cried; the trembling of her arms almost audible over the sound of stone sliding against stone. The longer this went on, the more light from the rest of the dungeon was cut off. I had to read faster.

    Finally, I came up upon an ability I never even thought to try, but remembered seeing on my list of abilities. Material Destruction. If it did anything like what its name suggested, it might be just what we need.

    God dammit¡­ why didn¡¯t I test all of this out before coming in here?!

    Shaking, Yua¡¯s legs were on the verge of giving in all together. I decided to take a chance with this ability and ran to her side. If it failed, then at least I would get to meet that beautiful goddess again and thank her for the chance she gave me. And if I was lucky, Yua would be there too. Anything would be better than trying to live on like nothing happened after sacrificing this girl to save my own skin.

    I was a piece of shit. A lazy, incompetent bastard so lacking in confidence that even I was embarrassed of myself, but leaving her to die was something that not even I could stand for.

    In one swift, sloppy motion, I wrapped one hand around Yua¡¯s waist, thrust the other towards the stone whose weight she delayed and yelled with all my strength.

    ¡°N-no! Run¡­!¡±

    ¡°Material Destruction!¡±

    ¡°Ahhhhhh!¡±

    Yua screamed and her arms finally gave out. I pulled her close just as the giant stone block fell right on top of us, enveloping us in a pitch-black darkness so deep, that even the thought of light seemed impossible.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 9

    The world around me had become a pitch-black darkness so deep that even the thought of light seemed impossible. To say that I couldn¡¯t even see the tip of my own nose would have been an understatement so egregious that had we not almost died, I would have slapped myself in the face for considering it. When Yua¡¯s arms and knees buckled and the ceiling fell, it quickly stole away with the inexplicable visibility illuminating the dungeon, but it was a comforting thought, knowing that it was still there somewhere above us.

    We weren¡¯t dead, thankfully. I could tell that much from the sweet scent of Yua¡¯s breath against my neck as she tried to calm herself. The sheer physical exertion she had to put out to keep the stone from crushing us as long as she did tired her out so much that she wasn¡¯t able to stand on her own anymore. So, I put my knee between her thighs to give her something to sit on and to support her while she clung to me. She didn¡¯t say a word. Didn¡¯t protest in the slightest. She just sat and leaned on me, the tips of her ears tickling my nose all the while.

    Cramped as it was in here, in this small little box of stone, her breasts pressed so firmly against my chest that, in any other circumstance, her softness mixed with my inexperience would have been enough to drive me crazy, but for her sake, I managed to keep calm. Though each time her hot breath swept across my sweat-drenched neck, it tickled at my sense of reason.

    ¡°Thank that beautiful goddess,¡± I said to distract myself and hugged Yua as tight as I could.

    I thought she might protest me this, but in this one case, I wasn¡¯t going to have it. I was just happy neither of us died. She didn¡¯t reject me, though. Maybe she thought she had no choice as my slave or maybe it was just because she was too exhausted to try, but she relented, did away with her snark and let me hug her without complaint.

    I worked hard and finally had something to show for it that was worth a damn. She was safe.

    The Material Destruction ability did exactly what I thought it might and destroyed only a section of the stone about to crush us, creating a large hole about the size of a double-wide gym locker just above our heads before it finally fell. Instead of the stone crushing us, we slipped inside of it entirely unharmed. Well, mostly.

    It appeared to be an ability similar to another game I occasionally dabbled in that involved mining. Just like in that game, the chunk I removed was, or felt, like a perfect square, judging by how sharp the corners of our little room in solitude felt. The only difference was that I didn¡¯t seem to need a pickaxe to make it work.

    I had no idea why that goddess chose to incorporate aspects of that game into this world, as it wasn¡¯t exactly my idea of an RPG.

    While I praised that wonderful Goddess and myself for figuring out how that ability worked on the fly, Yua remained quiet for a long while. The only sounds she made were that of her continued heavy breathing. I was sure that the massive thud that accompanied the falling stone must have really hurt her extra sensitive ear drums. So, I didn¡¯t mind it at all when she squeezed my shirt and clung to me with what was left of her strength to deal with the pain. Aside from any muscle damage she sustained holding up that impossibly heavy boulder, her ears must have been ringing. The fact that she was still conscious was a testament to the strength she seemed proud of.

    I tried to check on her status page to see how she was doing, but all that popped up was a blank window. I checked mine just to be sure, then tried directly accessing the Help window. Both were blank.

    Great. Things that affect my vision like light must also affect the visibility of my menu.

    ¡°Where¡­ are we?¡±

    Sounding exceedingly tired after she regained enough strength to speak, I felt her hair shift against my arm, as if she looked straight up at me, even in the pitch-black of our secluded resting place. Somehow, I could feel her looking into my eyes, though I was effectively blind. I had to wonder if along with her powerful ears and nose came a cat¡¯s ability to see in the dark. If so, I felt she shouldn¡¯t have been able to without at least a trace of light, which there were none.

    ¡°Just rest up for a minute. I don¡¯t mind if you lean on me for support. It¡¯s the least I can do.¡±

    Slowly, probably reluctantly, I felt her forehead press back into my chest. Her legs seemed to give way and I felt her fully collapse onto my knee. I tried my best to be respectful and not think about which part of her body exactly was resting on my knee.

    I geared up to explain what happened, but she seemed to remember before I could.

    ¡°Right¡­ Master yelled something, then it all went dark. What happened after that?¡±

    ¡°Not much, but I imagine you might have temporarily passed out from the strain.¡±

    ¡°Then why is it still dark?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Somebody must have put out the candle.¡±

    I felt her breaths press against my chest in quick, sweet bursts as she giggled. Her grip on my shirt slackened and her arms fell to her sides. She slumped against me completely and I tightened my hold on her to give her the support she needed not to fall back. In this narrow stone room, she wouldn¡¯t have fallen far, but she still would have hit her head.

    ¡°¡­ Why did you come back for me?¡±

    Trapped beneath a solid block of apparently magical stone, her voice didn¡¯t echo in the slightest. The question was directed at me and only me and it shot straight into my eardrums to make sure I heard her loud and clear. I swallowed at the question, only remembering that, if the assumed ringing in her ears had dissipated enough to hold a conversation, that she heard my reaction.

    I had no idea what to say. How could I tell a girl I just met that I became infatuated with her at first sight? How could I tell her that in that dire moment, I didn¡¯t want to continue living without her by my side?

    Even in that near-death state, I still couldn¡¯t manage to say any of that. But now that I had a moment to think, the possible responses she could throw at me threaded my lips shut with a red-hot sewing needle made entirely of my own stupidity.

    Wouldn¡¯t that just make me sound like some kind of stalker? Wouldn¡¯t she reject the idea on the merits and claim I was an immature idiot for thinking that was enough? Or that thinking I could ever win her heart after buying her like an object.

    I could feel her waiting an answer, though she remained silent. So, for once in my life, I bit down my worries and just answered honestly.

    ¡°¡­ I didn¡¯t want to lose you.¡±

    ¡°B-But, I¡¯m just a slave¡­ If you let it crush me and got away, you might have been able to free yourself from your debt to Mr. DeGrave if you claimed I wasn¡¯t as good as he promised.¡±

    To put an end to her rambling, I squeezed her tighter. The fact that she brought up the same potential loophole that I had given thought to a moment ago stung me in a way I couldn¡¯t even place. She seemed to take this as my answer and stopped trying to convince me that I made the wrong decision.

    ¡°You¡¯re not just a slave. I know we just met, but you¡¯re a very important person to me. I can¡¯t and won¡¯t trade your life away just to save myself.¡±

    My cheeks burned.

    ¡°B-But I¡¯m just¡­¡±

    I felt her look up at me again in the darkness, this time tiredly resting her chin on my chest, and couldn¡¯t stand to think of the way she must have been looking at me. Was there pain in her expression? Disgust? Resignation? Or just confusion? Until now, I hadn¡¯t exactly been treating her as someone special to me, at least not openly. She had no reason to believe my words were my honest feelings and even if she did, she didn¡¯t need to respond to them in a way that would favor me.

    But like before, I couldn¡¯t stand for any of those thoughts holding me down. That line of thinking was exactly why I stayed rooted in place back on Earth, unable to ever take a step in the direction I wanted to go. A direction that might have been East. So, this time, instead of letting my pessimistic imagination run wild, I moved my hands through the darkness and cupped her cheeks before I leaned in and kissed her.

    ¡°Mm?!¡±

    A brief, surprised gasp was her only response to this surprise attack. I don¡¯t know if our lips were guided together through the darkness by some kind of mysterious force or if I just had to praise my extra luck since I found hers without fumbling around, but I knew immediately that I must have used up all the luck I had left in me when she didn¡¯t resist me. A tiny amount of strength returned to her arms and she reached up to grab hold of my shirt again.

    Perhaps inspired by the anonymity of the darkness and the lust that had built up in me since coming to this world, I threw caution to the wind and moved my lips. My movements were unskilled, but I managed to part hers with my tongue and a heated breath escaped her, further fueling my desire. She accepted this and met mine with hers. Our lips danced together to the music of our every breath while I memorized the texture of her kiss. She tasted so sweet. I was immediately intoxicated. But in this cramped space, this was thankfully all I could do.

    We continued on like that for what must have been only a minute or two, but could have easily been a few hours for all I cared. Our kiss only stopped when she no longer had the strength to hold her head up to meet mine. As if she had completely forgotten her need for oxygen after my assault, her lips slid away from mine and she drew in a sharp breath before collapsing onto me again.

    That was as far as I could allow myself to go. Without seeing her reaction, without seeing if what I¡¯d done made her hate me more, I couldn¡¯t even fathom doing any more than that. That was already likely too much. I¡¯d taken advantage of her weakness for my own pleasure. So, I bottled back up all the lust threatening to spill out and hugged her close. And we waited.

    If she chose to reprimand me, to scold me, to hate me when all this was done with, then as her master, I¡¯d give her that right. And as a man, I¡¯d accept it.

    ¡°Master¡­¡±

    ¡°Y-Yea?¡±

    ¡°Can you use that ability again? The one that made the stone disappear?¡±

    ¡°I think so.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Can you do it, please? I think we¡¯re running out of air.¡±

    ¡°R-right.¡±

    I supposed my actions earlier had cut us off from a constant supply of oxygen. A small price to pay for keeping us alive, but I guess all of Yua¡¯s heavy breathing and the brief, but wonderful kiss we shared might have depleted most of what we had.

    After a good long rest, Yua finally regained enough strength to stand on her own feet again. She apparently didn¡¯t want to speak on what I¡¯d done, or was at least saving it for when we had oxygen to spare. So, I left it alone. Still holding onto her due to the narrowness of the hole we were in, I put my hand behind me against the stone wall I was leaning on.

    ¡°Material Destruction.¡±

    I spoke as clear as I could so that Yua would realize what I was doing and not get startled by the sudden movement.

    The wall behind me disappeared instantly and became a hole large enough for us to walk through. With Yua holding my hand behind me, I continued destroying the stone in the direction of that little alcove she pointed out earlier.

    Once the final layer of stone in our way was destroyed, we felt the cool air of the dungeon rush our sweaty bodies. There was no breeze down here, the sensation of coolness must have been caused by the temperature of our heated embrace mixing with that of the outside.

    I helped Yua to sit down and sat next to her, still holding her hand. But only just barely. If she wanted to forget my earlier advances and continue shunning me, I wasn¡¯t going to stop her.

    But she didn¡¯t let go. She curled her fingers around my hand and we rested there a bit longer in the darkness together. She seemed to be able to stand well enough, but the short walk to safety seemed to be all she could manage.

    ¡°Yua, can you see a passage we can use to get out of here?¡±

    Still breathing a little heavily, she answered.

    ¡°Yes, but can¡¯t Master just use that ability to get us out?¡±

    Seeing that she wasn''t going to mention what just happened, I tried to let it go too.

    ¡°No. At least¡­ I don¡¯t think I want to.¡±

    She squeezed my hand out of what may have been concern, but I had my reasons.

    As much as I enjoyed our kiss, I had to be proactive about our future. Not only was it probably not safe to assume that gravity in this world worked like it did in the game this ability was based on, which means it only worked half the time and that the stone above us might collapse right down onto our heads if I took too much of the supporting structure away. Plus, given my knowledge of gaming logic, I had a hunch that a passage hidden within a trap like this must surely lead to something good. Yua said it might have been a fail safe for the monster in case they triggered the trap, but seeing how thoroughly she beat them down, I doubted they¡¯d be able to make it here before the trap crushed them.

    Now that we were already here, we would be fools not to look. I explained as much, omitting direct mentions of video games and such, while she listened patiently.

    ¡°Alright then. If Master thinks there is something there, we should go.¡±

    Feeling like her usual snarky tone did a complete one-eighty, I smiled.

    ¡°Could you lead the way, please? I¡¯m blind as a bat down here.¡±

    ¡°Of course. I can¡¯t see very well in the dark, but I can see much more than a human could.¡±

    She let go of me and I felt her shift onto her hands and knees in front of me before she crawled over to the far side of the little alcove.

    ¡°Wait, if you¡¯re tired, we can rest a bit longer.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m okay. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be much good in a fight just yet, but it¡¯s not like I¡¯m hurt.¡±

    With that, she continued crawling away. I did my best to follow her. However, as I thought about doing so, her body suddenly gained a feint, white outline that detailed her body¡¯s each and every curve as she continued to crawl in front of me. From the delicate strands of her hair to the tip of her tail that seemed reluctant to touch the ceiling of the passage we crawled.

    Unsure if it was really her at first or just an illusion brought about by my own lust and the oxygen deprivation we might have suffered, I stopped moving and listened to her as a test. Her sounds matched her movements perfectly.

    ¡°Hey, Yua¡­  Does the slave spell come with some kind of ability to track down the contracted slave?¡±

    ¡°I think so. Why?¡±

    She answered easy enough, but kept on moving towards a goal that I still couldn¡¯t see.

    ¡°Because I can see you. Or, an outline of you anyway. I can¡¯t see anything else, but I can see you almost perfectly.¡±

    She came to a stop so sudden that I would have collided with her backside had I not been able to see her outline and stop myself in time.

    Slowly, she turned her head around to look at me, her pointed ears flexing against the narrow roof of the tunnel. Then she covered her butt with one of her hands. I could feel the embarrassment pouring off of her.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m not looking.¡±

    ¡°Hmph.¡±

    After realizing the position her going first had put her in, she quickened her pace. Not being as nimble as this cat-girl, I had to struggle just to keep up with her. Hoping that the vague sweetness she showed when stuck in the stone with me and the confidence I had when I went to save her weren¡¯t gone, I did everything I could not to lose sight of her.

    After a few minutes of crawling, I finally started to see the feint glow of a blue light that instantly reminded me of the street lamps I saw in the city. From there, I must have subconsciously noticed I didn¡¯t need the magic effect showing me where Yua was, because her white outline vanished all on its own, replaced by the sight of her fully-formed body.

    Yua slipped out of the crawl space and I followed her into a small stone room with a stair case leading upstairs somewhere else in the dungeon. Likely back up to the main floor, as I thought.

    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    More importantly, in the center of the room was a red treasure chest with neat gold trim just sitting there, waiting to be found, just like I thought. I couldn¡¯t help but smile at my successful hunch and my impressive Luck stat.

    ¡°Wow,¡± Yua said, darting around the room, looking at the chest from every angle while her tail wagged about happily. ¡°I never managed to find a chest myself, but you found one during your first visit to the dungeon. You must be really lucky.¡±

    ¡°Yea, I am,¡± I said, looking at her.

    It was a bit hard to tell in a room filled with blue light, but I got the impression that she might have blushed. I really was lucky to have found her. For a multitude of reasons beyond her knowledge of this world and its workings.

    ¡°Erm¡­ M-Master, maybe you should just open it already?¡±

    She stepped away from the chest and gestured towards it with an open, as if the honor should be all mine despite her strength being the reason why we were even able to have this conversation. I smiled back, excited myself at the prospect, and did what she asked.

    Unlike how one would think the point of a treasure chest would be to hold and protect something valuable, the one we found had no key hole to keep it locked up. The thing was nothing more than a glorified box without it, so I had to wonder why the dungeon chose to give it such an ornate design. At least it opened easily enough when I tilted the lid back.

    At first, it looked like the box was empty, but upon closer inspection, I found a small silver ring resting inside, placed perfectly in its center. My mind went first to wondering whether or not silver jewelry was worth more than their weight in silver, since it looked only about as heavy as a single silver coin, but I noticed that it had what looked like a few tiny, rounded red gemstones about the size of fish eggs embedded into its band.

    I guess that means gemstones are a thing in this world as well. Not too surprising, honestly.

    When it came to RPG games, I always had the tendency to hoard all of the gemstones and jewelry I ever found instead of selling them. Just for the sake of collecting them. It would have helped me get through the games easier if I sell off my collection, but for some reason I could never force myself to do it. The sight of them piling up in my inventory was just too satisfying.

    Although, I suppose this time I would have to give them up.

    I cast Appraisal on the ring before touching it, still expecting a trap to show up since the chest was so easy to access and its info box appeared, annoyingly obscured by the light in the room.

    [Silver Ring of Life Regeneration]

    Wait, what?

    I snatched it out of the box and held it out to the light before casting Appraisal again. The name ¡°Silver Ring of Regeneration¡± popped up again. But how? If it did what I thought it would, finding something this good on the first floor made no sense to me. Its existence here was in and of itself a cheat code.

    From what the name suggested, this ring, if worn, would slowly and automatically regenerate lost health the same way a potion would.

    Although, maybe it¡¯s just a weaker version of the enchantment and its regeneration effect was too slow to really be useful in a fight. But the Appraisal ability didn¡¯t specify that its enchantment was a weak one or if it were strong. As this was the first enchanted item that I managed to get my hands on, I didn¡¯t even know if there were weak and strong versions like with potions. There was no way to know if it was without trying.

    I checked my own status, but I hadn¡¯t lost any health in the fall into the pit or in fighting against the monsters, which was a serious surprise since that fall hurt like hell. Maybe the damage to my actual  life force was just minimal enough to have already healed on its own. My ass did feel much better after taking that break. My combat classes might have helped me to subconsciously guide my fall so that I¡¯d take the minimum amount of damage.

    Yea. That made some sense. A fall like that should have easily broken an ankle or something, but I was effectively unharmed. And even Yua managed to jump right back to her feet to catch the ceiling after taking that same fall.

    Speaking of, while I kind of hated the thought of using her to experiment with the item, I checked Yua¡¯s status again now that I could see my menu and froze.

    Because of how strenuous it was for her to hold up that huge stone, or maybe because of the initial impact it made against her when she caught it, Yua¡¯s health had dropped to around twenty-percent of what its max value was. No wonder why she had such a hard time recovering. It wasn¡¯t just an issue of strength or stamina. She really almost died. But in this dim blue light, she looked completely fine.

    How the hell do health bars even work in this world?!

    ¡°Master? Did you get anything good?¡±

    She tilted her head like nothing was wrong with her. Her cat ears even twitched curiously, like she really wanted to know what I found more than anything else in the world. I clutched the ring in my fist and stood up.

    ¡°Yua, hold out your hand like this, please.¡±

    I held out my free hand with the palm facing the floor and, while confused by the weird request, she mimicked the pose. I took hold of her hand and held up the ring so she could see it and her eyebrows raised and looked surprised that I found something so pretty in a place like this, but she didn¡¯t so much as blush at the potential misunderstanding of what my holding her hand while offering her a ring could imply. Since she didn¡¯t react to the gesture with embarrassment, neither would I.

    I slipped the ring over one of her fingers. At first, the ring was loose enough that it would have fallen off if she weren¡¯t careful, but once it was on her finger and I let go, it shrank down into a more appropriate size to fit her all by itself. Supposing that it did this because it was enchanted to do so, I imagined that the armor the Bikini-Adventurer wore must have started off as something much less of a snug fit, given how it bit into her.

    Yua looked at the ring curiously while I kept an eye on her status page.

    Sure enough, her health bar was starting to refill, all thanks to the ring. Not just that, the speed that it recovered at was actually impressive. I couldn¡¯t tell if that was just because her lower level came with a lower pool of health, but in only a matter of minutes, her health bar was full once more. I even noticed her skin clear up a bit, like it had somehow become bruised during all the fighting with the wolves without my noticing.

    ¡°Amazing...¡±

    With something like this, we wouldn¡¯t need to buy so many potions. In fact, if I could use Yua¡¯s extra sensitive hearing to the fullest effect, we could head somewhere secluded after every battle and take turns using the ring to heal ourselves and save our potions for a real emergency. We were lucky so far to only fight weak enemies, but we probably wouldn¡¯t be so lucky in the future.

    This ring was a great find that would save us a lot of money in the future.

    ¡°Master, is something wrong? Did you want me to carry the ring for you? It¡¯s not heavy, but¡­¡±

    Yua, looking curious, her ears still twitching cutely, stared at the ring, then into my eyes, then back to the ring. I looked at the ring and realized that, in my haste to test it out, I had put it on her left ring finger. My cheeks were set aflame as I looked at it.

    I was about to apologize and explain the misunderstanding, but Yua just continued to look at the ring with a confused curiosity. She was maiden-like enough to cover her fully clothed bottom in near complete darkness just because she knew I could see her, but she had no reaction at all to what anyone else might have seen as a marriage proposal? The only thing that would have made it look more like I was asking her to marry me would have been if I was on my knee holding it out to her in a little black box!

    Is marriage even a thing in this world, or was she just more naive than she lets on?

    ¡°I¡­Uh. It¡¯s an enchanted ring,¡± I said. ¡°It regenerates the health of whoever wears it. You lost some health because of the trap, so I wanted to see if it could help you.¡±

    ¡°Eh, really? Did it?¡±

    Yua looked to her arms, turning them over and then looked all over the rest her body for signs of injuries. Naturally, not only were her injuries possibly not visible to begin with, the ring had already cured her of them. So, she found nothing and her tail swished happily.

    ¡°Yes, you are at full health now.¡±

    I answered, amused by how excited she looked, only to realize that I just unintentionally told her that I could see her health bar. If people couldn¡¯t see one another¡¯s level, then it went without saying that the same likely went for their health and other stats. I¡¯d have to come up with an excuse for this.

    ¡°Really? That¡¯s so amazing!¡±

    However, she either didn¡¯t notice or didn¡¯t care. Maybe the slave contract usually grants the master access to such info to begin with?

    ¡°Hey, Master, do you think a ring with this effect would sell for a lot? Enchanted items are hard to find, so I think selling this might be a good idea.¡±

    She slipped the ring off her finger, rejecting the proposal I didn¡¯t mean to make, and handed it back to me. Since I was so caught off guard by the ring¡¯s name and prospective uses it had for us, I hadn¡¯t even thought to look at the price tag the info box showed. So, I cast Appraisal on it again and¡­

    My jaw dropped and Yua tilted her head.

    ¡°It¡¯s worth 30,000 gold!¡±

    I yelled so hard that Yua had to cover her ears to avoid taking damage from the pitch of my voice. Once I calmed down, she let go of her ears and looked at the ring in my hand and nodded, putting an inquisitive finger to her chin.

    ¡°That makes sense.¡±

    ¡°I-It does?¡±

    While such rings existed in the games I played in the past, their effects were usually so minor, mainly because they typically only worked outside of combat when you really needed them most, that they usually weren¡¯t worth all that much compared to how much money you could make by just playing the game until you found something better. If anything, a ring like this would have just been treated as a placeholder until you got better equipment.

    Although, thinking about it logically, this world was the real world. Prices of items in games are likely decided by the developers and corresponded to the players level so that they didn¡¯t find something super overpowered early on, because they would just breeze through the game without taking the time to enjoy it. Not to mention what an item at this price could do to the in-game marketplace if sold. But here, where real people could easily die to monsters and wild life, something like this must truly be a godsend to the average Adventurer.

    ¡°Yes, Master,¡± Yua said, holding up a finger to explain.

    At least this time she didn¡¯t look annoyed to have to explain something she thought I probably should have already known.

    ¡°You see, enchanted items, like that woman¡¯s armor from earlier, can be extremely powerful if made by a skilled Enchanter. The effect on this one seems pretty strong on its own, so even if it were made by someone that was unskilled, it would still be worth quite a lot of coin. And that¡¯s not even mentioning the materials needed to make it. So, it¡¯s only natural that it should come at a high price.¡±

    Materials needed to make it? I wondered what those might be. Silver for the ring itself and whatever these gemstones were, were obvious requirements, but from my experience, and again, just gaming logic here, but you needed both the knowledge of the enchantment and some sort of catalyst to enchant an item. The catalyst was usually some sort of crystal and I had no idea where I¡¯d get one. If there was even one to find. Nor would I have the knowledge of how to make use of it if I managed to get my hands on one.

    While it would be risky, as in game doing so often caused the item to break, I might be able to study the ring somehow and figure out how the enchantment worked. If I could do that, I might even be able to apply the ring¡¯s enchantment to something else we could keep with us at all times. We¡¯d be able to keep ourselves safe and healthy while selling off duplicates for extra coin.

    Thinking along those lines¡­

    ¡°Yua, do you know what¡¯s needed to make enchanted equipment?¡±

    She shook her head.

    ¡°Sorry, but I don¡¯t. I¡¯ve never met someone with the Enchanter class before.¡±

    I sighed. There would be a dedicated class to the process. So, of course Yua wouldn¡¯t know. Although, I suppose I should have expected this, since there was an Apothecary class.

    ¡°Then how did you know that woman¡¯s armor was enchanted?¡±

    ¡°Because the first time I went to the dungeon, I met another woman wearing something similar and asked her about it. She¡¯s the one that told me everything I told you. Armors that looked like that could only ever be enchanted, because they would otherwise be useless in a fight.¡±

    That so¡­? Then why did you look at me like I was an idiot back then when you had to ask about it, too?

    Keeping my annoyance at her double standards at bay, I chose not to comment. I¡¯ll just have to find someone with the Enchanter class. Maybe I can just wonder around the city in my free time, scanning each and every person until I find one.

    Or¡­ maybe not. Given how my info box needed me to focus on something for a second or two before it told me what it knew, I bet I would come off as a huge creep if I went around just staring at people.

    I put the ring back in my pouch and Yua tilted her head again. Why is a gesture of confusion so cute when she does it?

    ¡°Master, aren¡¯t you going to wear the ring when we fight the boss?¡±

    Fight the boss? After all of that, she still wants to fight? I mean, even if her health has been restored, she did almost die just now. Even if we were in a hurry, I¡¯d say that definitely was a sign that we needed a good break.

    ¡°No,¡± I said, slipping the ring from my pouch into my item box to prevent accidentally dropping it. ¡°When I used Appraisal, I found out that this ring alone is enough to pay off your contract. I don¡¯t want to risk losing it.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Master can use Appraisal? I thought your classes were Adventurer and Swordsman.¡±

    I froze before I could put the ring into my item box. What a time to slip up. As much as I liked her, I had no idea how Yua was at keeping secrets. But it was too late to back down now. Since only those with the Merchant class could use that ability, I successfully outed myself. So, there was no point in lying further.

    ¡°O-Obviously. How else did you think I figured out the price?¡±

    ¡°I thought you just knew and got really excited.¡±

    She smiled cheerfully, her tail swished back and forth when she looked at me like an innocent little girl that realized she misunderstood and was expecting not to be called out for it.

    What¡¯s with these double standards?!

    Her swishing tail suddenly stopped and she looked at me as though something important just occurred to her.

    ¡°But, Master, how can you use the Merchant¡¯s ability when you aren¡¯t a Merchant?¡±

    Here we go.

    ¡°I am a Merchant, actually. Just not a very good one.¡±

    I had no choice but to take a shot at my lack-luster performance during every transaction I¡¯ve made today. Even when trading with Albert. That particular transaction went smoothly enough, but I might have been able to talk him into a better sale if I tried. Well, no. Probably not. Not after how things went with Madame Turquesse.

    My admission only seemed to cause Yua further confusion.

    ¡°But it¡¯s impossible to have more than two class,¡± she insisted, stamping her foot on the floor and furrowing her brow like she thought I was intentionally lying to her.

    So, two truly was the limit? At least, it was the limit she knew of, but given how everyone else I¡¯d seen so far only had two, she was probably right for the most part.

    ¡°I¡¯m serious. I have more than two classes,¡± I answered truthfully. ¡°I don¡¯t know how or why, I¡¯m able to get more.¡±

    I deliberately left out the reason being because of the Goddess¡¯ blessing. I still haven¡¯t explained to her how I came to this world and didn¡¯t want to pull the pin on that grenade just yet. Which meant what I could tell her was limited.

    ¡°You weren¡¯t all that bothered when I used magic earlier. You know I have the Mage class too, right?¡±

    ¡°Well, duh. But that¡¯s different. You¡¯re a human. Any non-beast-kin with sufficient mana can learn magic. Same as anyone being able to learn swordsmanship, all it takes is the ability to hold a sword and lots of practice. But having both the Swordsman and Mage classes on top of the Adventurer and Merchant ones? Impossible. Once you get your second class, you can¡¯t learn anymore. Ever.¡±

    Is life here really that limited? You either stick with the class, and therefore the job, you were born into or get tied down to whatever the next one you happen to try is? Is there really no wiggle room to find something you actually like? Alphonse did mention people having hobbies whose classes could be transferred to their children, but if they didn¡¯t actually have the associated class, didn¡¯t that mean they would always be sup-par at whatever they were attempting no matter how hard they tried? That¡¯s just depressing.

    Yua looked at me dubiously and crossed her arms. I sighed and decided to try something to show her. I already screwed up, so I might as well try to show her I wasn¡¯t lying.

    I didn¡¯t have any other valuables I could appraise that she couldn¡¯t assume I already knew the price of. Nor could I appraise her or my clothes. Both were common enough outfits that even an idiot like myself could guess the price of. So, I had to look around.

    Behind the chest, hanging from a crack in the brick wall, I found what looked like a hanging weed at first glance, but the name ¡°Green Moss¡± popped up when I looked closer. I slipped my hand beneath it while Yua watched and, somehow knowing instinctually that it was best to extract it as close to the root as possible, pulled it out of the wall, ignoring the fact that moss shouldn¡¯t have a root to begin with.

    The lightly damp weed felt disgusting in my hand, so I quickly used Appraisal so I could discard it.

    But when I did, the info box that appeared came with more detail than usual. Below the listed price of 5 coppers, I found a longer description that said,

    [Green Moss: Moss found often in dungeons and areas with bodies of water surrounded by foliage. If combined with Living Slime Goo, an Apothecary can brew a batch of lesser health potions.]

    Oh¡­ So that¡¯s why Living Slime Goo is able to heal you. It¡¯s a potion ingredient. Cooking it into a potion must get rid of its poisonous effects.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t prove you can Appraise it,¡± Yua said, eyeing me suspiciously. ¡°That just means you can say a random number while looking at it.¡±

    ¡°Maybe you¡¯re right,¡± I said, remembering that only I could see the pop-up window. ¡°But I think I just found something pretty good.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I think I can use this moss to create health potions. At least, I believe that¡¯s what my Apothecary class is telling me.¡±

    Since the Merchant¡¯s Appraisal ability typically only shared the item¡¯s name and worth, I thought the extra details came from the Apothecary class I just got. Is that also how I knew how to extract it? It¡¯s probably similar to the somewhat instinctual knowledge I had of fighting with a sword, despite never having wielded a real one before.

    Yua lowered her eyes at me and tapped a finger on her bicep.

    ¡°Now you¡¯re an Apothecary too?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­ Apparently.¡±

    Why does it feel like I¡¯m already losing any progress I made with her just now?

    ¡°Hmph. Fine then. Brew us up a potion later and I will believe you.¡±

    ¡°Well, if that¡¯s all the proof you need¡­¡±

    ¡°Uh-uh, Master,¡± she said, wagging her finger. ¡°Only real Apothecaries can actually brew a potion. Without the proper knowledge afforded to them only by the Apothecary class itself, there is no way you could make a successful potion. If you try to brew it without that, you¡¯ll just end up with a batch of useless sludge.¡±

    Again, with the return of a disrespectful intonation, she shared yet more knowledge of this world¡¯s inner workings with me.

    She huffed triumphantly, like she thought she won the argument, but I could clearly see the Apothecary class in my menu. So, I likely had nothing to worry about. I could probably prove her wrong at any time.

    She continued to stare at me and I felt forced to give up and accept her challenge.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll just prove it to you later,¡± I said, stuffing the moss into my item box via the pouch on my belt. I already outed myself as having more than two classes, let¡¯s not do the same with item box.

    ¡°We can talk about it later. For now, if you¡¯re sure you can, let¡¯s just go fight the boss.¡±

    I started up the staircase at the side of the room while she continued to huff, but she grabbed my sleeve from out of nowhere as I passed in front of her.

    ¡°Wait, Master. I really think you should use the ring for the boss fight.¡±

    ¡°Why? You said you can handle it yourself, so with us fighting together, there should be no problem, right? I don¡¯t want to risk of breaking or losing the ring.¡±

    In the time we spent in the stone, my mana had fully regenerated. So, I would be free to cast my spells from a distance, but that didn¡¯t mean the boss wouldn¡¯t try to close the gap to come for me directly if I annoyed it enough. As long as any wound I sustained wasn¡¯t instantly fatal, I was sure the ring could heal me, but I didn¡¯t yet know if its enchantment was limited. If used too much, it could even break on me.

    The instant solution to our money problems that this thing offered was worth taking the risk of getting hurt and relying on the potions we already had.

    Yua¡¯s brow furrowed and she pouted cutely when I turned her own confidence against her. She shook her head and tried again.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter! It¡¯s still dangerous and you haven¡¯t fought the boss yet. You shouldn¡¯t be getting cocky just because we killed a few pups!¡±

    She grabbed hold of my shirt, as if suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to wring the stupidity out of me, but I took her hand in mine and squeezed it lightly, instead of tearing it away and smiled at her. Her cheeks took on a slight shade of pink, probably remembering the kiss we shared in the darkness, but her glare was serious.

    ¡°I¡¯m not getting cocky. This ring is simply too valuable. If I lose it, then I might as well be losing you. And I won¡¯t let that happen!¡±

    ¡°Eh...?¡±

    Her glare gone, her cheeks took on a deeper hue in the blue light of the room. She let go of me to look at her feet. Being as unused to dealing with such cute girls, or girls in general really, I wasn¡¯t sure how to follow up on that. My inability to think up competent topics of conversation was getting the better of me again. I guess a little kiss wouldn¡¯t be enough to change that. Because our levels were similar now, I don¡¯t think the confidence trait was working properly just yet.

    ¡°L-Let¡¯s go,¡± I said. ¡°Depending on how we feel after the boss, we might have to call it a night.¡±

    ¡°O-Okay¡­¡±

    She followed behind me and when I chanced a look at her over my shoulder, her head was hanging as if she had just been scolded. I decided right then and there I would make up all the trouble I¡¯ve caused her by using some of what we earned tonight to let her pick out a pair of shoes. It might not be much, but anything would be better than forcing her to walk around barefoot all the time. And the ring would net us more money than we even needed.

    Thanks to that, all we needed to focus on now was leveling up. And that meant clearing the boss.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 10

    The staircase leading back up took us about the same distance as one flight¡¯s worth of stairs in a two-story house would before we came to a dead end. I expected about as much, given how far we fell when we triggered the trap and by how the tunnel we crawled through felt fairly level and how it didn¡¯t take us any deeper. So, while I lost my bearings in the fall, the exit had to come out roughly where we were before the trap. Meaning that the exit had been camouflaged in some way to prevent adventurers from seeing it and skipping the trap to head straight for the chest. And thanks to how everything in the dungeon looked almost exactly the same, it was easy to imagine everyone passing right by it.

    The wall before us looked as smooth as any of the others in the dungeon at first glance, but I made sure to check for a part of it that was a slightly different color or that was hidden by the minimalistic blue hue of light that still reached us from that hidden treasure room. I was looking for any indication of the existence of a hidden door. So, I pressed my cheek to the wall and started looking for a button of some sort or a lever to pull on. I found what I was looking for almost immediately.

    ¡°There we go.¡±

    I pressed the brick that was just barely jutting out of the otherwise uniformed wall and it sank into the stone. The wall, now a door, slowly lifted itself into the ceiling, revealing the familiar inexplicable lighting we had been fighting by all this time.

    Yua and I leapt out of the room as soon as we were able, just in case the door might come crashing back down on our heads if we were too slow. It stayed open, however, as proof that we survived a fatal trap.

    ¡°Yua, can you still hear the boss?¡±

    While Yua already confirmed that she was still eager to fight the boss despite what happened, we had been down there long enough for another Adventurer to have challenged and beat it. She told me the bosses respawn every hour, so the worst we¡¯d have to deal with would be to wait until then. Figuring that she could use a longer break than she let on, I at least wouldn¡¯t have minded a pause.  She tilted her head back in the usual way and listened. Not long after, she nodded back.

    ¡°Yes. We are actually closer to it than we were before the trap.¡±

    Since she was still so eager to continue the fight, and because I didn¡¯t have much choice with her acting as our guide, I let her lead the way.

    So, the trap was both designed to kill if it could, but also to reward those that paid close attention to their surroundings by letting them skip straight to the boss? I could see why that could be a good thing, but why leave such a shortcut so close to the boss room to begin with? If we hadn¡¯t fallen down there, we¡¯d be fighting the boss already. We may have even finished by now. Something like that should have been near the beginning of the floor. Was it was meant to deter us from pursuing the boss so it could gather the strength needed to break free? Why else would it choose to confine itself instead of roaming the halls like the rest of the monsters?

    Then there was the fact that the trap hadn¡¯t been sprung by anyone else yet. Sure, Yua did have to step on a specific plate before it activated, so other Adventurers could have easily side-stepped the trigger completely by accident, but if not, then that meant nobody even fought the boss yet today. Unless, there was a different route we could have taken to it. I should have paid more attention to the path we were on instead of leaving it all to Yua.

    Without running into any more monsters, while I complained about the poor level design to myself, Yua led us straight to a large pair of doors. The walls and floor of the dungeon so far had all been as plain as could be, but these large stone doors were carved with a much more intricate, almost menacing design, that were complete with seemingly unintelligible runes and symbols befitting that of a seal placed on boss room to keep its inhabitant locked up tight. The way they stood out most likely would have caused new Adventurers like myself to grow cautious, too cautious, and in their caution, make the mistake of giving up on the spot. But since Yua told me what was supposed to be in that room, I was more excited than worried for once.

    A bigger, stronger wolf was still just a wolf.

    ¡­Maybe I am getting cocky.

    ¡°Are you ready, Master?¡±

    I drew my sword and nodded. Yua nodded back, grinned and slammed her fist into her palm before walking towards the door. Despite them being tall enough to almost reach the ceiling and clearly being made of the same stone as the walls, Yua pushed them open without issue. Given how she handle that huge chunk of stone that fell on us, this must have been nothing for her.

    The stone doors grinded against the floor as she pushed them and a gust made mostly of dust and stagnant air rushed out at us. I shielded my eyes from the dust storm, but I could still feel something hidden deep inside what looked to be a large empty room. It was a disturbing presence that made my spine rattle. I never really put any stock into the fantasy trope of feeling an enemy¡¯s presence, but the moment she opened the door, I knew without a doubt that something was there waiting for us. Maybe it was just my classes helping me to detect the danger we were putting ourselves against.

    Yua looked back to me, clearly feeling it too, and once more asked with her eyes if I was ready. I nodded and we went in.

    The boss room wasn¡¯t too different in design than the rest of the floor. The main differences were that the room looked to be around five-hundred feet square, while the walls stretched up about three stories into the air, meaning the Dimensional Step that brought us to the first floor actually took us much deeper than I thought it did.

    The only other ornamentation in the room was the light source keeping the stone walls and floor lit with a bright orange hue. Where the rest of the dungeon had been lit by some unseen light source, there were two large braziers burning hot with bright red flames as thick as the trees in the forest.

    The light of the flames crawled across the floor, digging its bright red tendrils into the stonework and up a massive paw furred with the same metallic-grey strands that shielded the wolves we fought earlier. I followed the attached limb up its body and to the head of the beast it belonged to and found two giant, glowing eyes glaring down on us tiny intruders. The boss wolf was no less than twenty times my size. When it stood to meet its challengers from its lazy prone position on the floor, I felt a sense of vertigo watching it rise up to make me even smaller.

    It was much, much larger than I was expecting. I thought it would be at most twice the size of the other wolves, but this was absurd. How could this thing be the boss of the first floor?!

    And it was already growling at us. Of course, it was. There was only one room and one open door. There was no way the boss wouldn¡¯t have noticed us enter. Not with ears that big.

    It looked to us, its eyes sharp and ready to perceive even the slightest shift in movement. It was ready to pounce. But unlike its smaller counter parts, it seemed a bit more cautious. Perhaps it was intelligent enough to be weary of those with the skills needed to push past its weaker counter parts before openly challenging it.

    Staring up at it, nearly dropping my sword from fear of its menace, I was consumed by a single question: How the hell did Yua fight this thing by herself? It looks like it could literally swallow her whole!

    I looked at the boss¡¯s info box while trying to force my knees not to shake. Even more dissimilar to the other wolves both in and out of the forest, this one¡¯s info box was stamped with the image of a crimson skull next to the name ¡°Proud Great Wolf.¡± I guessed the skull was meant to indicate that it was a boss, since its level was the same as ours at only level 5.

    But then, how did Yua manage to beat it by herself before? She had to have still been only level 3 or maybe even lower when she challenged it.

    ¡°How did you manage to fight this thing by yourself?¡± I asked, wishing I had sought more information on it before we entered the boss room.

    ¡°I kept dodging its attacks and striking the same spot on its hind leg over and over until it broke and it couldn¡¯t move. After that, it was defenseless.¡±

    Without any more snark, Yua answered as soon as I asked, taking up the same fighting stance she did earlier against the wolves. It was a simple plan of action and she seemed set on using it again.

    If the boss respawned every hour, did that mean she¡¯d actually fought it multiple times using the same tactic? If so, that was more reassuring, but it didn¡¯t ease my worries by much.

    I readied myself the best I could as well, thinking I might try the same with my sword. Almost as if the Great Wolf had noticed us silently agree to fight it this way, where it waited for us to show we were ready for the sake of its supposed pride in lieu of attacking the moment it could, it pounced.

    With a growl loud enough to shake both my heart and resolve, it barreled not towards me, but towards Yua. I doubted enemies that respawn could retain the memories of their slain former selves, but it almost felt like the Great Wolf held some kind of grudge against Yua as it completely ignored me and stampeded straight towards her. Or, maybe, its canine instincts just kicked in when it caught the scent of a cat.

    ¡°Ha!¡±

    With a shout, Yua ducked down low to the ground when the Great Wolf¡¯s massive paw swept at her head. She used her squat position to shoot herself under its massive body and towards the Great Wolf¡¯s hind leg and exactly like she said, she punched it full force.

    ¡°Iron Fist!¡±

    With a thud that sounded like it would have turned my bones to dust if swung anywhere remotely near me, Yua hit the Great Wolf so hard that it momentarily lost its footing and had to leap back to another corner of the room where it tentatively tapped its hind paw against the stone to see if the leg could still move properly. It could. Yua readied herself to square off against it once more, waiting like a professional boxer for her opponent to attack so that she could counter it.

    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    Amazed with her skill and bravery, I thought to check the Great Wolf¡¯s info box again. Seemingly only now that some damage had been done to it, its life bar appeared. Apparently just that one punch took about a tenth of its life. Her level had definitely increased a bit since the last time she fought it, so I could only imagine how long it had taken her back then.

    The Great Wolf howled loudly, as if pleased by the existence of a worthy opponent. It leapt at Yua again.

    Once more, she dodged when its fangs tried to snap down on her and leapt behind it. I felt her punch¡¯s force through the air and the Great wolf stumbled again, its hind leg momentarily curled up defensively against its body. It seemed to have a distinctly hard time fending off attacks to its rear.

    But how was this possible? Where did she learn the sort of bravery needed to face such a creature? I can¡¯t even hold a conversation with someone without fearing I might mess it up or that my mind might just go blank, and yet, she¡¯s throwing herself against a monster that looked like it would eat her as soon as it saw her.

    Was fighting just that fun for her?

    I shook my head as she dodged yet another swipe aimed this time for her torso. As much as I wanted to give into the fear and leave this to the more experienced party, I couldn¡¯t just let Yua be. Regardless of how skilled she was, she was risking her life in this fight, all for my selfish want to keep her at my side. I couldn¡¯t accept this.

    Squeezing the hilt of my sword hard enough to make its guard rattle and wanting to show Yua that I could help her, more than I wanted to show the wolf, I ran towards it so it couldn¡¯t leap away to safety and slashed at it as hard as I could with my sword. Its hitherto undamaged front paw didn¡¯t so much as wobble when I struck it, as if the cut I made in its flesh was no more severe than a paper cut. My hands strained against the grip of my sword as if I¡¯d just hit a steel beam, but when I withdrew my blade, a large red gash appeared just above the Great Wolf¡¯s right forepaw.

    It growled hatefully at me, as if it were actually expecting to face off against Yua alone and was about to lunge at me with its fangs bared, but I heard Yua shout her ability¡¯s name again and the Great Wolf¡¯s posture broke as its leg was struck again. The sickening crunch of a bone snapping followed right behind it.

    This time its howl sounded pained beyond belief. It scrambled, now unable to walk properly on its three still-working legs and swept at Yua again. This time faster and harder. Feral now that it understood the danger we posed. She barely dodged it this time, but her fierce look didn¡¯t change as its paw sored close enough over her head to ruffle a few stray strands of her chestnut hair. She squat down briefly to pull power into her legs and charged at its broken hind leg again, but the Great Wolf had other ideas.

    Instead of falling for the same trick a third time, the Great Wolf rained down attacks on her without end just as wildly as a real, scared and dying animal would. Again and again it snarled and tried to cut her in half with its claws or to swallow her whole with its bite. Unable to finish her attack, Yua could do nothing but dodge.

    I couldn¡¯t tell if it was doing so on purpose, I don¡¯t think I could have managed it if I were as injured as it was, but the Great Wolf was slowly pushing Yua into the corner of the room.

    With its back to me as it focused entirely on Yua, it left me an opening I¡¯d have to be stupid to neglect. I charged after it and slashed at the broken leg that dangled grotesquely behind it. As if it had already decided to abandon the lost limb, it ignored my attack entirely and continued its onslaught towards Yua.

    It wasn¡¯t acting like a normal animal. It was a monster.

    ¡°Agh!¡±

    Yua¡¯s pained cry drilled into my ears when she was struck by its paw. She barely managed to block the blow, but it still sent her soaring through the air and further into the corner of the room. As much as it must have hurt, she quickly got back to her feet so that it couldn¡¯t capitalize on her pain and pummel her further into the ground.

    Seeing her pushed farther and farther into the corner scared me. But when I saw her grimace as she clenched the arm she blocked its attack with, and when I saw thick red blood seep from between her fingers, anger filled every inch of my being.

    She spent this whole trip showing just how strong and proud of herself she was. I didn¡¯t want her to lose that pride. I didn¡¯t want her hurt or in danger, but such things came with this profession. It couldn¡¯t be avoided. But watching her stand there, forced into a corner and unable to move in the sorts of flashy ways she needed to make use of to dodge the attacks of a beast so large, I forced the hopelessness of the situation out of my mind and charged.

    I promised to protect her. That was all that mattered.

    I unleashed a flurry of blows to its leg. Unlike the earlier wolves, which were taken out by us easily and didn¡¯t even have a chance to bleed, the Great Wolf¡¯s leg sprayed fountains of blood with each strike of my sword as I cut deeper and deeper, trying to drag its attention away from Yua. If I could cause it enough pain, surely, it¡¯d forget about her.

    I sliced through its thick flesh and fur, severed tendons and muscles and yelled through the spray of blood before finally cutting its leg off completely.

    The severed limb flopped to the floor, but did not disappear.

    ¡°Ah!!¡±

    Just when I was sure I had caught the monster¡¯s attention, I was dumbstruck when I heard Yua cry out again. The damn thing still cared more about the person who broke it and left it in that vulnerable state than the one that capitalized on the damage!

    Why? The damn thing was half dead now because of what I¡¯d done!

    ¡°Shit!¡±

    The Great Wolf lunged for her again. Her confidence in her abilities shaken by the repeated blows, Yua was slower to respond and mistimed her dodge. She was knocked back and slammed against the wall again.

    ¡°Fuck!¡±

    I yelled at myself when I saw her health drop down to match the great Wolf¡¯s fifty percent mark.

    There had to be something I could do. I worked my brain as fast as I could until I thought it might actually overheat before I could come up with a plan based on what I had at my disposal.

    Then, as if I had the answer the entire time, I remembered what happened to the branch in the forest when I first tested my magic.

    ¡°Fire Ball!¡±

    I didn¡¯t waste any time worrying about how silly and juvenile it felt to actually chant a magic spell and aimed at the center of Giant Wolf¡¯s head. The ball of flames shot forth from my hand and flew exactly where I needed it to like a homing missile and struck the Great Wolf in the back of the head.

    The ball itself carved out about another tenth of the Great Wolf¡¯s health all by itself and, just as I thought it might, the fur it seemed to be so proud of caught fire. The flames coating it and the sickening stench of burnt hair both spread throughout the room. The Great Wolf howled, whined, in agony. Its movements muddied by the lack of its hind leg, it bucked and jumped and shook its head awkwardly, as if thinking the flames spreading across its fur were just a bit of water it could shake off if it tried hard enough.

    When this didn¡¯t work, it blindly slammed itself against the wall, as if to try and use the stone to snuff the flames. Another quick peek at its health bar showed that the constant burning was causing it to take more damage over time, just like anything on fire should.

    Using the distraction the best I could, I ran to Yua¡¯s side and wrapped my arm around her, pulling her close to my chest. Thankfully, she was still conscious and breathing quite heavily from overexerting herself, but the large gash in her arm and the blood streaming down to her fingertips was of greater concern. If the Great Wolf¡¯s claw had sunk any deeper, she may have had to have the arm amputated. A thought that I wasn¡¯t sure she realized herself as she watched the flames engulf our enemy, a fierce battle glare still shifting her beautiful face into that of a warrior.

    Without a need for testing my hypothesis, I was certain that if the flame was able to burn the Great Wolf¡¯s fur and cause constant damage while it raged on, it would eventually die even if we didn¡¯t do anything. So, letting her blood loss go untreated would end in the same result.

    This seemed like the sort of obvious statement anyone with a rudimentary, but working knowledge of the human body would look at you like you were an unrepentant idiot for questioning. But with this world based partially on video game logic, I couldn¡¯t just assume all my knowledge from Earth still applied here.

    The sight of her life bar steadily decreasing was all that mattered.

    I jammed my hand into the invisible item box and yanked out the potion I started in this world with and uncorked it with my teeth, while trying to ignore her sudden bewilderment at seeing my hand disappear and reappear the way it did. Her health was decreasing much slower than the Great Wolf¡¯s, but that didn¡¯t matter.

    The sudden magic she had never seen before and the sight of the potion that appeared out of thin air snapped her back to her senses.

    ¡°Master, forget about me! You can¡¯t just turn your back on a monster. It¡¯s too dangerous!¡±

    ¡°You need to drink this.¡±

    ¡°But that¡¯s yours! I told you, if you die, I¡¯ll¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid!¡±

    I yelled and she immediately stopped protesting. Her shoulders raised with surprise and her ears twitched. Wide-eyed, she stared at me.

    ¡°I told you already. I won¡¯t leave you to die. Now shut up and drink!¡±

    I forced the circular top of the glass bottle against her lips and tilted it back to force her to imbibe the liquid. She fought me on it, but only for a second. She parted her lips and the red liquid quickly drained into her mouth. Some spilled down her chin and onto her chest, but the effects of the potion were instant, just as I¡¯d hoped.

    As she drank, not only did her health bar start to rise again and blood stop gushing from the open wound, but the gash itself started to seal shut like an army of invisible surgeons were threading the edges of her skin back together. By the time she downed the entire bottle and had to come back up for air, her arm was as smooth as it was when I met her. There wasn¡¯t even a scar left to prove that she had been hurt in the first place.

    ¡°Good. Now rest here and let me finish this.¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡±

    I turned back to face the wolf through the cloud of smoke and cinder billowing from its body and saw that its health was already down to twenty-five percent of its original value. That was more than enough for me.

    I ran straight for the beast at full speed with my sword poised to strike. While I treated Yua¡¯s wound, the flames had spread to the Great Wolf¡¯s eyes and the intense heat seemed to have liquified the once glaring orbs, as it didn¡¯t show any sign that it saw me charging for it. Neither did it seem to smell me over the scent of its own burning flesh clogging its nose. Its ears had already burned down to useless stubs that didn¡¯t even look like they could move anymore.

    It was completely blind to both me and my attack as it continued to writhe and lash out at nothing in its panic.

    I slashed its snout when it dropped its head, still trying pointlessly to quench the flames devouring it. The cut bisected its upper lip deep enough to leave its fangs permanently exposed. The intense heat of the flames caused the newly severed flesh to curl in on itself. Its blood instantly boiled, sizzled and popped on its flesh the second the heat touched it.

    I slashed again and again, not willing to give the great Wolf a chance to fight back any more than it did when chasing Yua and it stupidly chose to ignore me. Its health bar started plummeting, thanks to both my assault and the still thickening flames.

    Finally, after a continued succession of strikes at any part of its body I could reach, I struck the blow that ended the Great Wolf¡¯s howls of pain by thrusting my sword up under its chin, skewering its tongue and pinning it to the roof of its mouth.

    A despondent gurgle belched up from within its throat only once, before its last three limbs gave in and it started to collapse. Wary that its massive body, still alite with fire, might fall on me, I abandoned my sword instead of attempting to pull it out and took several long steps away from the falling wolf to avoid being crushed.

    Its lifeless body continued to burn for several long seconds after I watched its health bar finally hit zero. That same moment, the once terrifying monster exploded into a burst of light so overwhelming, that even the flames coating the fur that used to exist on it were left looking dull in comparison. Along with its body, the flames engulfing it faded from existence as they no longer had anything to cling to and devour.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 11

    My sword clattered to the ground when the beast it was plunged into disappeared in a great burst of light. I left it to fall and I ran to Yua¡¯s side as she tried to stand again.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± I asked, grabbing her by the shoulders.

    She looked briefly to where the Proud Great Wolf¡¯s body once lay, saw that the thing that nearly killed her was now nothing but air and then turned back to me. She nodded and smiled slightly.

    ¡°Thanks to you, Master.¡±

    Filled with relief, I hugged her and she let out a small yelp of surprise, but she did not push me away at all.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t act sooner. Because of that, you got hurt.¡±

    While I am loathed to admit it, after seeing how much damage her first strike caused the boss, I almost let myself become fully content with letting her live up to her own blustering and let her handle the fight on her own. Because of this, I was late to attack. And again, just like with the slime, I should have thought to use my magic from the start. After seeing how the flames blinded our foe, I could have made the fight so much easier for us both.

    ¡°Master¡­ N-No. It wasn¡¯t your fault. Even after telling you not to get cocky, I let the advantage we gained at the start get to my head. I¡¯m sorry for making you¡­ worry?¡±

    From within my arms, she turned an intensely confused and slightly meek look towards me, but I ignored it. She was safe again.

    I sighed, my breath ruffling her hair as the relieving thought that I was holding her warm, still very alive body continued to ease the tension that kept me so stiff in that fight. I don¡¯t think my heart is going to be capable of handling this much worry for every fight we face going forward. We need to hurry and make as much coin as possible so we can be done with the dungeons for good.

    I had no idea how Yua managed to handle that thing by herself when her level was even lower, but I really had no reason to believe she was lying. She handled the fight perfectly until that one slip up nearly cost her her life. In fact, as far as I know, slaves might be unable to lie to their masters. Maybe she really did just dodge and weave around it until she found a chance to strike at its hind legs. It was large and had more health than the other monsters, but its defenses clearly weren¡¯t unbreakable. Her method was entirely plausible.

    Maybe it was my being there, attacking at the same time, that enraged it enough to go wild and become unpredictable. Whatever fight she might have prepared herself for just ended up being different due to a second party being there to help. She must have gone into this planning for a one-on-one fight, since it worked the last time she tried.

    As I pressed my arms tighter around her by way of apology, a pop-up window appeared in front of my face.

    [Boss of Amoranth Dungeon first floor, Proud Great Wolf, has been defeated. Experience gained: 1000]

    No. It wasn¡¯t my existence in the fight that almost cost us. We just hadn¡¯t spent enough time together to really get in sync and fight as a single unit, rather than as two individuals. As far as I could tell, Yua only had experience fighting by herself and that was how she tackled this boss. Her confidence in her own abilities was abundantly obvious to me now, but since most of my abilities are a mystery to her, there was no way we could have coordinated properly on the spot.

    I really need to test my abilities to their fullest so that I could at least know what I could and couldn¡¯t share with her.

    ¡°Um, Master¡­ I think I can stand on my own now.¡±

    Without realizing that I had gotten lost in thought while reviewing the fight, I had forgotten to let go of Yua. I quickly pulled my arms back and embarrassingly tried to play it off by scratching the back of my head. Yua just looked at me with a slight furrow in her brow and a pink hue to her cheeks. She lifted her chin into the air with a ¡°hmph,¡± and looked away.

    She left me standing there like an idiot and walked over to where the boss¡¯ body once lay.

    I sighed.

    Unable to complain, I decided to check my stats again since the boss rewarded us with a lot of experience.

    When I opened it up, I saw that my Adventurer class had gone up to 7, my Swordsman had gone up to 3 and my Mage grew to 5. That was a pretty sizeable jump from just that one boss. But then again, bosses should be expected to give out much more experience than the regular mobs, anyways. Definitely can¡¯t complain there. It was a small token of our efforts here.

    I went ahead and checked Yua as well. Thanks to the potion, she was at full health again and her Beast-Warrior class grew to level 6, finally putting me ahead of her. But that was the only class of hers that changed. Which was strange, since I clearly remembered her using her Monk ability ¡°Iron Fist.¡±

    ¡°Unless¡­ Even with bosses, it depends only on who gets the final blow.¡±

    While I murmured to myself, Yua walked back towards me holding my sword with the pommel turned towards me and a big grey pelt large enough to be used as a blanket draped over her shoulder. I took the sword back and put it back into its sheath while she shifted to holding the pelt with both arms against her bulging chest. It looked oddly comfortable¡­ The fur on the pelt, I mean.

    ¡°I wonder how much this is worth,¡± Yua said looking at what she carried.

    ¡°Let¡¯s find out.¡±

    I put my hand over it and silently cast Appraisal. What popped up was the expected explanation that the pelt belonged to the Proud Great Wolf and the price on it wasn¡¯t too terrible if and only if compared to the other wolf pelts Yua was carrying. However, when compared to how much trouble we had just fighting the damn boss, I felt robbed.

    ¡°Well, Mr. Merchant-Master, how much is it?¡± she asked with a smug smile and a wave of her tail when I dropped my chin.

    ¡°It¡¯s only worth 10 gold pieces. That¡¯s all we got for our troubles. And you even ended up getting hurt.¡±

    While I seethed to myself, Yua¡¯s eyes went wide and her ears stood on end.

    ¡°C-Can you really use Appraisal, then?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I can. Like I said, I don¡¯t know how to explain it, but I can. Why?¡±

    ¡°Because, when I beat the boss by myself, that¡¯s how much I sold its pelt for.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡±

    Did I accidentally just simultaneously prove I wasn¡¯t lying about my extra classes and that the price shown in Appraisal is what the item will sell for? I suppose I can tack onto that the confirmation of my previous thoughts on Yua selling the loot she picked up and not telling me their worth out of spite.

    Seeing my bewilderment, Yua¡¯s expression shifted from surprised to oddly annoyed. I suppose being faced with someone so unsure of themself while she was full of pride for her strength must have irked her some. I coughed into my fist to clear my throat. Then coughed again, probably due to all the smoke I inhaled.

    ¡°Ahem. See, I told you. I wasn¡¯t lying about the other classes, either. Have some faith in me, would ya?¡±

    At that, her ears drooped, rounding out the top of her head and she bowed deeply to me. The image of her doing the same back in the city flashed across my eyes. It was so unlike her that it almost felt like she¡¯d become a different person within the span of a second, and without leaving my sight.

    ¡°Master, please accept my apologies. I should have believed you.¡±

    ¡°Hey, hey. You don¡¯t need to go that far. It¡¯s okay.¡±

    She lifted her head, then shook it almost commandingly.

    ¡°As your slave, I should have trusted what you said without question. It is my duty to apologize,¡± she said, then bowed again.

    Concerned that she was taking this apology too far, I put a hand on her shoulder to tell her it¡¯s okay to stop. It¡¯s not like she had reason to assume I was telling the truth when even I figured out the class limitations that are supposed to be in place. Even I don¡¯t understand why I can gain more. My own trait aside, gaining them easily was different from having more than the limit.

    After I hurried to gesture for her to stop, she lifted her head again.

    ¡°Please, don¡¯t worry about it,¡± I said. ¡°A little healthy skepticism is good for you.¡±

    ¡°No, Master. I apologize again, but I refuse to accept that. Because I thought you were lying to trick me, I didn¡¯t believe in your true ability and ended up making you worry instead of helping you properly.¡±

    She bowed again and I sighed. Rubbing at my eyes, raw from the smoke and flames, I once more gestured for her to stand. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll ever get used to this. Couldn¡¯t we just have a normal relationship? I don¡¯t need this hierarchy weighing us down.

    ¡°Alright, how about this? You were wrong for doubting me and I was wrong for not sharing what I knew beforehand. How¡¯s that?¡±

    She looked down at the pelt, then to her now fully healed arm. The wound that was there was entirely gone, with nothing left behind to remind her of its existence other than the already dried blood. She turned back to me before nodding slightly.

    ¡°Alright,¡± I said and checked the time on my HUD. ¡°It¡¯s getting late. I doubt any of the merchant stalls will be open right now, so I think we should just go get some rest and leave the buying and selling of things for tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°I agree,¡± she said seriously and, much to my surprise, without that snarky attitude she usually peppered her language with. She seemed to flip-flop on the snark quite a bit. Hopefully I don¡¯t screw up again and we can stay like this.

    ¡°Great. We¡¯ve agreed on something. So, can you lead us back out of the dungeon?¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡±

    ¡°Okay, thank¡­ What?¡±

    I had to do a double take to understand what she said. I would have chalked it up to the fact that, because she was rolling up the large belt into a burrito-like shape before strapping it onto her backpack like a camping bedroll, that she simply wasn¡¯t paying attention to what I said. So, I asked again, but got the same answer while she lifted the bag straps back onto her shoulders. The extra weight didn¡¯t seem to bother her in the slightest.

    ¡°My apologies, Master, but I can¡¯t do that. I was only able to bring us this far because I could hear the monsters. So, because the dungeon¡¯s shape changes every day, I don¡¯t know the way out.¡±

    ¡°T-Then how do people normally find their way back?¡± I asked, fearing the answer I knew I was going to hear.

    ¡°They either draw up a new map every day and follow it back to where they came or just wonder around until they find the exit.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Wouldn¡¯t they just risk getting lost down here doing that?¡±

    She shrugged.

    ¡°Most adventurers don¡¯t actually push this far into a dungeon on a daily basis. Due to the changing shape of it, it¡¯s easy to get lost down here, since you can¡¯t rely on past experiences in it. So, they usually don¡¯t have to back track too much.¡±

    ¡°¡­Really?¡±

    That partially explained why the Adventurers were having a hard time clearing the lower floors, but being told that we would have to wonder around to make it out of here really made my exhaustion hit home. I wasn¡¯t the most active person in my past life, so putting the whole life and death aside, this has been the longest workout I¡¯ve ever had.

    I went from wondering around blindly in the woods and walked all the way to the first city I found. Ran all over said city to gather the things and information I needed. Nearly had a heart attack in the bath. Got conned out of all my money when trying to buy my dream girl. Then right after we spent at least an hour and a half in the dungeon fighting nearly non-stop. Until we both nearly died fighting the very first boss in the dungeon.

    Then there was that comparably brief delay while we were trapped in the stone. It was stimulating, but not exactly relaxing to be forced so close to her the entire time.

    ¡°Wait, if there¡¯s a barrier blocking the main dungeon exit and boss doors between each floor, how were we supposed to get out in the first place?¡±

    Another small nod from Yua and, pretending that she wasn¡¯t serving an ignorant master by keeping a mostly straight face, she gave me a quick answer.

    ¡°Any adventurers inside the dungeon that want to leave gather near their floor¡¯s entrance and either leave the next time someone enters to share their portal or they wait for the General to cast one on his own. He does so each hour, for each floor.¡±

    Each hour on each floor? How much mana does the man have if he can cast that spell that many times a day? Does he eat and drink mana potions?! I can barely cast a few Fire Balls before I¡¯m tapped, but I can imagine him needing to cast that spell at least a hundred times a day if that was true.

    ¡°That¡¯s why they had someone writing down which floors those that entered were going to. So, that they can be brought back later. Or didn¡¯t you notice?¡±

    Notice someone writing? No, I can say safely that I didn¡¯t. Again, all I could remember was the sight of that bikini-armor woman. It did make sense for them to at least keep track of where those inside the dungeons meant to go, if the only way in or out was via teleportation.

    ¡°¡­ I really should have paid more attention to where we were going.¡±

    ¡°No, Master, that should have been my job. I¡¯m sorry for making that mistake. However, if we are lucky, we may be able to find the exit before midnight if we hurry.¡±

    Yua, wearing what must have been a pretty heavy backpack by now like it was nothing, and after nearly dying due to blood loss, proactively headed out of the boss room while I complained about being tired.

    Shit. I hadn¡¯t considered the time. I knew it was late, knew the shops would be closed after a mere glance at the clock, but I didn¡¯t really take in the actual time itself.

    It was 10:20PM.

    We hadn¡¯t exactly taken a linear path to get to the boss room. We focused entirely on chasing down each and every enemy Yua could find us because our goal was to collect as much loot as we could. We weren¡¯t divebombing through the place to head straight to the boss. We¡¯d taken enough twists and turns up to this point that I could easily say we were lost. And that is without including how that trap left us displaced from the path we were already on.

    In theory, we had plenty of time to leave the dungeon before it shifted at midnight and I was very opposed to the thought of lingering here to wait and see what would happen to a living creature that risked staying within its depths all night long. The mental image of the stone walls and floors moving and grinding against each other with a person unfortunately sandwiched between them made me shudder.

    But it could easily take us hours to get back, since each wrong path would wind up forcing us to double back to try a new route. And we had less than two hours to escape this place before we found out firsthand what happened to those trapped inside by the stroke of midnight.

    If we could just teleport back to where we started¡­

    ¡°Wait. Wait,¡± I said running to catch up to and grab Yua by the hand. Her cheeks reddened a bit when I did, but she stopped when I asked.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Just¡­ Hold on a second. I have an idea.¡±

    I quickly navigated back through my menu to my abilities page and found exactly what I thought I would. I had almost completely forgotten that my trait allowed me to memorize the teleportation spell the General used to let us in. Assuming it worked, we probably could have used it to escape that trap earlier, but that¡¯s beside the point now.

    Smiling to myself and praying that the spell worked both ways and that the barrier wouldn¡¯t prevent it from being used within the dungeon itself, I pointed my hand at the wall closest to us. Thinking of the dungeon entrance, I incanted, ¡°Dimensional Step!¡±

    The second I did, I suddenly felt completely drained and had the desperate urge to climb into my bed at the inn and fall asleep. I checked my status page and saw that the spell had used up most of my remaining mana. My stamina bar hadn¡¯t been touched after the fight, and yet I felt more tired now than I had in years.

    Does blowing through your mana make you feel just as fatigued as you would after depleting your stamina, but instead of physical exhaustion, it¡¯s all mental? Just how many Fire Balls did I throw at the boss for this one spell to nearly wipe me out? Blinking hard to keep myself awake, I felt what respect I had for General Bertol for managing an entire city¡¯s worth of Adventurers this way.

    ¡°Master, what are you¡­Woah!¡±

    Yua was completely caught off guard as, thankfully, the spell seemed to have worked. A large mass of swirling blue light took form in the air in front of my outstretched palm. The lights each took on a mind of their own and swirled together to build upon themselves until they took the shape of a portal shaped just like a door that pasted itself to the front of the wall I aimed at.

    Once the lights stopped moving, Yua gasped, clearly both amazed and impressed.

    ¡°Master, I didn¡¯t know you could use teleportation magic!¡±

    ¡°Heh, I only just learned it. To be honest, I¡¯m not really sure if it worked.¡±

    My Easy Spell Copy trait allowed my to instantly learn this spell, but it¡¯s not like I¡¯ve ever used it myself.

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s no way to know but to test it ourselves then!¡±

    Excited for reasons I couldn¡¯t understand, Yua dashed behind my now lethargic body and playfully shoved me towards the glowing door. In my exhausted state, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to fight back if I wanted. So, working the rest of my consciousness on keeping the doorway open, I walked along with her into the light.

    We phased through the light unharmed just like we did when entering the dungeon before, but what I felt wasn¡¯t the cobblestone floor surrounding the Amoranth Dungeon. Instead, my feet touched down on a wooden floor that looked like it should have squeaked beneath our combined weight, but it remained silent. A quick glance at our surroundings was enough to tell we weren¡¯t in the coliseum-like fort, but that we had entered a small, non-descript bedroom. I was greatly concerned that I had messed up the spell, but then I recognized where we were.

    ¡°Where are we?¡± Yua asked, taking her hands off my back to look around.

    ¡°This is the room I rented at the Lazy Cat Inn. I guess I messed up the spell.¡±

    Upon learning the spell, I also learned how it worked despite never having seen or used it before that moment. So, my guess was that, since I started thinking about climbing into bed at the inn before the spell¡¯s light show settled, that same thought must have changed the destination I had in mind on accident. I must need to continue concentrating on where I want to go. At least until the spell is complete.

    This mess up could have easily been a huge mistake if my mind had slipped to somewhere more dangerous like the forest, or potentially worse if we landed somewhere in public view. I didn¡¯t exactly think it best to let everyone know that I could teleport now, since it sounded like I¡¯d end up in some sort of trouble for using it. It was hard to imagine this kingdom¡¯s government, or any government for that matter, allowing just anyone to use teleportation magic whenever they please. The thought of teleporting into a bank vault to ease our money troubles did flash across my mind, but I brushed it off as just more of my newfound mental fatigue. No point in becoming a Thief myself when I¡¯ll need to meet with a Slave Master in a few days.

    Still, at least we ended up somewhere safe.

    The general out by the dungeon must have a crazy amount of focus if he can stand there doing that all day while women in skimpy armor walked up to him as if trying to show off.

    ¡°This is your room?¡± Yua asked excitedly, then started searching for something. Apparently, she found it because she shot me a bright smile. ¡°It¡¯s my suitcase! This really is your room. To be able to teleport straight out of the dungeon all the way over here. Master, you are amazing!¡±

    Thoroughly lightened up by her enthusiastic praise, I decided to poke a little fun.

    ¡°Amazing, huh? What happened to calling me Idiot-Master?¡±

    ¡°Er¡­ I mean¡­ Master, I¡¯m sorry!¡±

    She shouted her apology and bowed. Reflexively, I checked to see if anyone heard her and I was grateful to remember the sound-muffling magic placed on the room. It was late and a lot of people were probably already asleep and I really didn¡¯t want a rush of people coming to bang on our door, yelling at us to keep it down.

    I raised my hands to try and calm her down. Or to at least get her to stop bowing already.

    ¡°Woah, I wasn¡¯t reprimanding you for what you said earlier. I was just joking.¡±

    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    ¡°But I¡¯m not,¡± she said firmly.

    Yua looked me square in the eye, straightened her back, brought her bare feet together like a soldier about to salute their superior and then bowed a second time. She then began to tremble, clutching at her knees as if to brace herself. When she spoke again, she spoke to the floor.

    ¡°Master, I have been doing nothing but disrespecting you since you purchased me. I hope you can forgive me!¡±

    While what she said was actually completely true, I had no idea how to respond to that. Even if I would really rather not think of her as such, I did drop a lot of money to buy her. She was my slave. She was most likely raised to act as one for a significant portion of her life as well. Alphonse did tell me that she had been trained to act as a slave, even if she was unruly when we first met, but I had to wonder if his teachings included telling her that her master would likely hit her whenever she messed up or was rude.

    It was easy to guess as much since that¡¯s typically how slavery use to work on Earth as well. That¡¯s probably how it worked everywhere, actually. But it was even more cruel a thought to think that any rational person could do such a thing to someone they actively knew couldn¡¯t fight back. At least, not without receiving more pain from the spell that bound them to their master than the initial violence they were forced to bear.

    Still, how had she been treated until now if this girl, someone I knew to be strong enough to shatter the femur of a wolf several times her size in just a couple jabs of her fist, felt the need to cower in front of her master?

    Quickly and easily deciding that I would not do that to her, ever, I once more had to gesture for her to raise her head. And when she did, I was met the wavering, almost teary gaze her emerald eyes professed to me and returned her serious expression.

    ¡°Yua, I accept your apology,¡± I said and saw her shoulders relax a bit, but I continued. ¡°I don¡¯t know what they told you at the slave house, but I¡¯m not ever going to hurt you for doing something wrong or disobeying me. Should you ever do something I don¡¯t like, I¡¯ll just tell you and we can talk about it. Okay?¡±

    She gazed up at me, tears nearly spilling from her eyes, her lips quivering. She nodded before covering her mouth and turning away to wipe at her face.

    I could tell that I had hit the nail on the head. Of course, she would worry about something like that. Who wouldn¡¯t? After years of being told that she would have to put up with being abused as a part of her daily life going forward and that she would have to just take the abuse obediently must have been very taxing on her mind.

    Was the threat of future violence the reason why she was so rude to me? Was I the man she thought might hurt her and she just wanted to fight back the only way she could? Shouldn¡¯t she had noticed that I wasn¡¯t planning on such a thing? I never once laid a hand on her, regardless of how rude she was. Then again, maybe she thought I was just holding back because we were in public. I did go and get all embarrassed when she bowed to me in front of the Apothecary shop.

    I watched her standing there, shaking as she tried not to cry, and imagined that she might even be telling herself not to believe such kind words for fear of it hurting worse when they were found out to be a lie. I thought I should hug her and tell her it¡¯d be alright, but decided against it.

    I still had no idea what to really say to her, past what we¡¯d already talked about, but I was sure that the last thing she must have wanted right now was for me to put my hands on her. In any way. And any more honeyed words directed at her now may just be perceived as lies. So, I thought to give her a moment to herself and took care of our luggage in her stead.

    I unlocked and opened the chest at the foot of the bed and tossed her backpack inside for safe keeping and for quick access come morning. I closed it and, since the larger boss pelt wouldn¡¯t fit, I left it on top of the chest. I left the regeneration ring in my item box for extra safe keeping. Even if the odds were low, I wasn¡¯t about to risk a thief breaking into our room and stealing the answer to our problems.

    That was pretty much it. That was all I could do. We had nothing else to really take care of, me being from another world without any of my old possessions and with her being a slave with hardly anything to her name in the first place. There was Yua¡¯s suitcase to deal with, but since it contained her things, I¡¯d rather wait for her to decide what to do with it.

    Since Yua hadn¡¯t composed herself just yet, and because I figured someone with so much pride in her strength wouldn¡¯t want to be confronted as she was now, I moved to the window to take in the sights.

    The streets below were all but entirely empty. The only souls still out walking through the merchant district looked to be city knights out on patrol, lit only by the blue glow of the street lamps. The once bustling city had chosen to head to bed for the night. Perhaps a testament to how early people in this world had to get up, there were so few candles burning in the distance that I could have easily convinced myself that I was hallucinating the ones I saw burning the night away.

    The sun had long since receded and hid behind the horizon, leaving the room to almost completely surrender itself to the darkness once the teleportation door and its swirling lights faded away. The only light that found its way inside was the gentle vibrance of the moon.

    I checked the bedside table for a candle and found one along with a note containing some brief instructions on how to use it. And in English to boot. I never even thought to consider whether or not the language was written the same. I didn¡¯t even stop to think that the shop signs I¡¯d been reading since arriving in Amoranth were all in English as well. Once I heard they spoke it, that was more than good enough for me.

    Guess that was just more of me half-assing my way through life.

    The candle itself seemed to be some kind of magic item. All I had to do to light it was let a small amount of mana flow into it. I wasn¡¯t sure I could do that, but I just followed the instructions I was given by the Goddess and imagined it happening as I touched the candle¡¯s base. Same as it did with the Fire Ball spell, a little bit of thought later and a small, red flame flickered into existence at the tip of the candle¡¯s wick.

    Amazed by the little implement, I waved a hand over it and registered heat against my palm. The flame was very real, but the candle¡¯s wick didn¡¯t look to actually be burning, as it never turned black and the shaft of the candle didn¡¯t look to be melting.

    Now with a bit more light to see by, I found a plate of food that had long since gone cold sitting on the nightstand. There was a fairly large piece of meat, whose animal source I couldn¡¯t quite name, a baked potato and a small salad topped only with cherry tomatoes. At least, I think it was a salad. The leafy vegetables it was made up of were a dead giveaway, but I didn¡¯t recognize any of them either.

    Still, I smiled to myself when I wondered if the woman I saw entering the city had been carrying this very potato.

    I¡¯d forgotten that I paid for a meal when I rented this room, but apparently, the innkeeper didn¡¯t. I may be guessing, but judging by her gruff personality, she didn¡¯t care if you ate them. The meals you paid for were delivered whenever she felt like, even if you aren¡¯t there to receive them. I don¡¯t know why the innkeeper decided to waste the food though, since we clearly weren¡¯t here at the time it was delivered, but I was happy to get what I paid for since I didn¡¯t have the money to spare.

    Yua was still wiping at her eyes, but seemed to have calmed down a fair bit as she was no longer trembling.

    Her misshapen, hand-me-down outfit was tight enough on her body that, despite her sizable bustline, it was too easy to see how thin she really was. I thought as much while watching her fight and wondering where in her apparent fragility she summoned all of her strength from, but my idiotic self didn¡¯t put any thought into thinking on why she was so thin in the first place. I was just too enraptured by her beautiful appearance to give her circumstances a second thought

    The thought brought me back to thinking of Lucy, my housecat, and how I was forever unable to help feed her now. She may well end up like this if the owner I was promised she¡¯d find mistreated her the same way. But I didn¡¯t have another world blocking me from Yua. I could take care of her.

    There was only one thing I could do after this connection made itself known in my mind. So, I tore the piece of meat in half, did the same to the potato and divided the mysterious medley of vegetables as evenly as I could. I set my half on the smaller plate that had been used as a coaster for a cup filled with what was once likely hot tea.

    ¡°Yua. You should eat something. Here, take this.¡±

    I handed her the plate and she sniffled one last time before turning back to me and gave me a weak smile.

    When she saw the food I held out to her, Yua¡¯s ears and tail stood on end with her surprise. She snatched the plate out of my hand like she thought it might disappear if she wasn¡¯t fast enough, but didn¡¯t immediately dig in, even though she had to be at least as hungry as I was. If not more so after all that fighting and the blood loss. I¡¯m guessing that greedy bastard Alphonse didn¡¯t prepare the best foods for the slaves he sold and cheaped out like he did when dressing her. She must have been surprised at how much I had given her.

    She started poking the food with her index finger, as if testing to see if it was real. Then she looked to my plate and right back to hers. Her ears drooped.

    ¡°Sorry it¡¯s not hot anymore, ¡°I said. ¡°I actually forgot I ordered dinner when I checked in. If I had thought about it, we could have come back sooner¡­¡±

    ¡°Master, I can¡¯t eat this,¡± she said abruptly after biting her lip.

    ¡°What? Why not? Are you a vegetarian? Oh, or you just don¡¯t like it cold? The kitchen downstairs is probably closed for the night, but I could try to heat it up with Fire Ball.¡±

    ¡°No, no, no!¡± she said in a panic and jumped to cover my mouth with her hand to stop me from making another stupid suggestion, or maybe to stop me from incanting my spell. I mean, really? Fire Ball? I nearly burned down the forest trying to light a twig on fire.

    Yua realized what she had just done when I muffled an apology into her palm and she quickly withdrew her hand. She gripped the edges of her plate, looking at it longingly for several long seconds, before looking back at me.

    ¡°This is Master¡¯s food. I-I can¡¯t take it from you.¡±

    So, that¡¯s what that was all about?

    I let out a slight laugh and handed her the fork that came in a set with a knife.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I don¡¯t mind. Really, I don¡¯t. Please eat. You¡¯ll need your energy for tomorrow. I¡¯ll get us both something tastier tomorrow. I think we need to get up and head to the dungeon as early as possible so that we can fight as many monsters as we can. I think we should probably clear the first floor again for some easy experience, so that the next¡­¡±

    Somewhere along my rambling, Yua finally started crying. The bravado she put up to hide her emotions a minute ago had been shattered and silvery tears slipped down her cheeks without pause. She quietly wept into her plate and when I offered the fork again, she accepted it with a half-nod.

    I watched as she took a bite of the unnamed meat and how, even through the saltiness of her tears, that one bite looked like it had been the tastiest thing she¡¯d ever eaten. I¡¯d have to be a heartless bastard to question why, considering how bland it tasted when I tried it myself.

    Instead of continuing the barrage of my plans for tomorrow and the questions I still had about the world, I sat with her on the floor and ate with her. She enjoyed herself by picking at each morsel of food with her fork, as though she expected it to jump off the plate and reveal itself as a cruel joke aimed at her expense, only to then bite into it with a teary-eyed smile. To her, it was as if the simple, cold meal were cooked to perfection by the world¡¯s most renowned chef.

    Watching her flip-flop between the sadness of her expectations and the unrefined happiness that existed on her plate, I was conflicted. I wanted to shove more of my food onto her plate to let her smile persist as long as possible, but I was sure doing so would only bring in more protests. So, in order to not spite that smile of hers, I kept to myself and ate in silence.

    When we finished, Yua got up and, looking somewhat rejuvenated, took the initiative to set the plates outside the door for a morning pickup all on her own. I stretched out on the floor, letting the bland contents of the meal I had to force down with only a cup of cold tea to share between us to help it settle for a minute. The food wasn¡¯t bad, per say. Definitely would have been better hot, but the flavoring was too different from what I was used to.

    Still, I couldn¡¯t complain about anything after watching Yua enjoy each and every bite as if the food was only getting better over time, not colder. I got up.

    The moment I got to my feet, all of my fatigue rushed over me again and made me dizzy. Thankfully, we had been using the bed as a backrest while we ate, so even if I managed to fall, I¡¯d have something soft to land on.

    ¡°Yua, it¡¯s late. How about we go ahead and sleep so we can get an early start tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Yes, Master.¡±

    During her meal, I believed she may have finally pieced together that I wasn¡¯t some abusive asshole and warmed up to me a bit. So, when the smile she gave me reached all the way to her tired emerald eyes, I felt duty bound not only to return it, but to protect it for the rest of my life. Then she surprised me.

    ¡°Yua¡­ What are you doing?¡±

    She had laid down and curled up into a ball on the floor, hugging her knees to her ample chest for warmth, the second I suggested we get some sleep. As if it had already been predetermined that she would take the floor and I the bed.

    ¡°I thought you said you wanted to sleep?¡±

    ¡°Yea, but not on the floor. You¡­ Um¡­ You can sleep in the bed with¡­ me.¡±

    I guessed that slaves sleeping on the floor was the norm in this world, but I found it unacceptable. To me, making her sleep there on the cold hard floor was just as much abuse as hitting her would have been.

    Yua shot up into an oddly refined, yet very stiff sitting position with her hands clenched on her knees. Her face quickly grew crimson and, unable to hide it, she clutched her own hands so hard I was genuinely concerned that she might break a bone.

    ¡°Wha-Wha-What do you mean, Master? I th-thought that, since you haven¡¯t completely bought me yet, that you weren¡¯t allowed to do dirty things to me!¡±

    Now fully taken aback and suddenly a lot less tired after receiving that verbal kamikaze attack, I nearly laughed. But I could understand full well what she was getting at. The complete one-eighty she did from bitchy-helper earlier today to the cute and timid maiden before me now was because she knew full well that her contract demanded that she belonged to her master in both mind and body. It was the body part of that contract that had her covering her heaving chest with her arms when all I did was look down to tell her she had the wrong idea.

    While she had a point about me not buying her fully yet, nowhere in our conversation did Alphonse mention that being intimate with her was off the table. Technically, he did say she was mine. With the added stipulation of ¡°for now¡± tacked on at the end, but who cares. As much as I didn¡¯t want to think about it, because he planned on killing her if and when I failed to bring him the money, he probably didn¡¯t care at all what happened in the in-between.

    I would be lying if I said that some of the finer details Alphonse reported me of just what it meant to own a person¡¯s body had nothing to do with my decision to buy her. I was in a very weak state of mind after the encounter in the bath out in back of the inn reminded me of just how lonely I¡¯d been all my life, but the thought of offering her to sleep in the same bed as me came with as many different connotations as I really didn¡¯t want to put in her head right now.

    I truly wasn¡¯t inviting her to bed for that. We were both tired and needed sleep.

    I rubbed my eyes, ridding myself of my manly desires to lift this cute girl in front of me up in my arms and carry her all the way to adulthood tonight. Instead, I gave her the warmest smile I could while trying not to look like a total creep.

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that right now. I promise. I just don¡¯t want you sleeping on the floor,¡± I paused, thought it over and continued, ¡°In fact, sleeping on the floor is forbidden from now on, unless we don¡¯t have a proper bed to share. In which case, I will sleep on the floor as well. Okay? Consider that an order.¡±

    I threw around the word ¡°order¡± like it wasn¡¯t the first time I did, meaning to do something nice for her, but it was still something she was being forced to obey. So, when she looked at me apprehensively, clearly not fully believing what I said, I couldn¡¯t complain.

    ¡°I just don¡¯t want you to be uncomfortable,¡± I added. ¡°Please, just sleep on the bed.¡±

    ¡°Th-Then¡­ You really won¡¯t touch me?¡±

    ¡°No. I promise. I just¡­ Don¡¯t want to be alone. Okay?¡±

    I thought it best to turn the conversation back onto myself and give her a bit of the real truth. I had been all alone during the entirety of my adult life. Another night alone in bed when I had an option to have some companionship wasn¡¯t something I could accept. Call it selfish, call it a form of abuse all on its own, but having her warmth next to me, even if not all of it, was something I truly desired above all else in the world right at that moment.

    Still looking confused and scared, she swallowed. Then she nodded. I don¡¯t know if it was because I was ordering her to do so as her master, or if she grew to trust the man she just met enough to sleep by his side after spending half a day fighting alongside him. I couldn¡¯t know without asking and I didn¡¯t think myself capable of doing so.

    Either way, she stood up.

    Then she began unlacing the leather string below her breasts holding her messy top together with a still very flushed face.

    ¡°I-I told you, you don¡¯t have to do anything like that tonight,¡± I said, covering my eyes.

    ¡°I-I understand, but¡­ If I¡¯m not sleeping on the floor, I need to change into something lighter so I don¡¯t bother you¡­ C-Could you maybe turn around, please, Master?¡±

    I nodded and did as she requested, wondering why she didn¡¯t just ask that to begin with. She must have only intended to sleep with her clothes on because she thought she wasn¡¯t going to have a blanket to cover herself with.

    With my back to Yua and with the light of the magic candle casting my shadow over her, I heard the sounds of the leather strings bound to her clothes quickly sliding against each other to come undone. Then there was something that sounded like the shifting of a shirt being pulled over her head. The soft sound of her hair rubbing against the fabric before it fell into place with an almost imperceptible slap against her slender back caught my attention more than anything else. I gulped at the thought of what was happening right behind me.

    I knew panties were a thing in this world thanks to that dog-kin girl in the bath, but I didn¡¯t dare check to see if bras were, too. But given that same dog-kin girl didn¡¯t wear one, I doubted it. It was either that, or her master had specific requirements to how she dressed.

    Soon, I heard the untightening of some very tight leather, remembering only now that her pants had no belt and no button to keep the front closed. I clenched my fist to steady my resolve and keep to my promise. She had to be taking off her pants now and I wasn¡¯t about to turn around and ruin what trust we had built up fighting together in the dungeon and after sharing a meal.

    While I steeled myself, I heard her slide her suitcase across the wooden floor before unlatching the metal clasp holding it shut. The sound of this alone, this completely unsexual click of a clasp, seemed to shake the entire world. Then there was another brief sound of a softer fabric rustling in the darkness. After a moment of more clothes and leather rustling, probably the sounds of her day clothes being stuffed back in the suitcase, the room went quiet.

    ¡°Y-You can turn around now.¡±

    Her voice prickled more sweetly against my ears than I guessed she meant it to. Cautiously, I did as she said and turned around to find her standing there wearing nothing but a long, white cloth that was tied into two knots, one on either shoulder, to act like a hastily put-together tank top that was clearly several sizes too big for her. I did my best not to notice the twin peaks poking out from under that makeshift shirt or the fact that the sides of it dropped low enough to see the bare sides of her breasts.

    My resolve threatened to break free and run rampant when I saw her standing in the moonlight dressed like that, clenching at the hem of her top to pull it lower, as if deciding on her own that covering what was hidden beneath the cloth was worth the sacrifice of letting more of her cleavage peek out from its protection, but I bit down hard on it to keep it in place.

    Her shirt was a mess. The thin, beat-up fabric looked dirty enough for me to easily say it might have once been a loose scrap that had been pulled from a dumpster and, like the rest of her clothes, repurposed into something she could wear.

    On top of this, despite her obvious embarrassment, though she didn¡¯t try to cover herself any more than strictly necessary, the emerald eyes just above her blushing cheeks still looked very tired.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just go to bed, then,¡± I said.

    Trying to show that nothing about this situation needed to make her worry, I kicked off my boots, pulled off my gloves and threw my shirt over my head with a contented sigh. Her ears stiffened once more as she gasped after seeing me standing there half naked.

    ¡°I-I-I thought you said you weren¡¯t going to¡­¡±

    ¡°No, no, no. I¡¯m not going to do anything! Relax, please! I just don¡¯t like sleeping with a shirt on, is all. I promise. And this is my only set of clothes. I don¡¯t have anything else to change into and don¡¯t want to ruin what I have.¡±

    Even with that said, I didn¡¯t take my pants off to avoid scaring her further. I hadn¡¯t planned on doing so from the start, mind you. If I told her that I actually preferred sleeping naked, she¡¯d probably never talk to me again. And, if I¡¯m being honest, I was worried that the upgrade the Goddess gave me might show itself tonight, against my wishes. And the thought of my leather pants holding strong and firm to keep it at bay was somewhat comforting.

    Yua nodded, still too apprehensive to trust me fully on the issue, but she climbed onto the bed anyway.

    The tail lifting up the back of her shirt and preventing it from properly covering the proof that she was a least wearing a pair of striped panties under that too-revealing top, swayed back and forth along with the movements of her hips as she crawled unsteadily onto the mattress. Once her feet were off the ground, she quickly threw her hips around so that her back was to the wall, as if she¡¯d noticed me looking. She smoothed down the back of her shirt the way I thought a girl in a skirt might before sitting down. And there she waited. Watching.

    I sighed at her admittedly justified lack of trust in me with this subject, but I climbed into bed too. Wondering how it was I wasn¡¯t freaking out like I used to do when a pretty girl so much as looked at me, I laid down beside her. I guessed it had something to do with the confidence boost ability I got from the goddess finally activating now that I had out-leveled her. Or maybe I was just too tired from all the fighting to care. In the end, I guess it doesn¡¯t matter.

    I pulled thin wool blanket over myself to hide what exposed skin she could see for no other reason than her peace of mind, but held it just high enough off the mattress to signal for her to join me.

    She looked at it, still as apprehensive as ever, but the bed was thin and meant for one. There wasn¡¯t enough room to really share. And there was only the one pillow.

    She bit her lip and spoke softly.

    ¡°I-I guess your arm is better than the floor.¡±

    With just a hint of snark to hide her obvious embarrassment, she pushed her feet under the blanket and put her head down on my bicep, watching my every movement with wavering emerald eyes. I hadn¡¯t exactly meant to have her use my arm, I could do without a pillow for the night, but I suppose that one was on me for not offering it to her properly.

    Her hair was still soft as silk, despite the intense fighting and the sweat she¡¯d built up all night. I wondered a little too late if my scent was at all offensive to her sensitive nose. I had taken a bath earlier, even if said bath lacked soap, but I did work up just as much of a sweat as she did. I couldn¡¯t smell anything particularly bad, but that didn¡¯t mean she didn¡¯t.

    Hoping to hide anything that might bother her, I dropped the blanket over us and made sure to cover her properly since I was positive that cloth she wrapped herself in wasn¡¯t strong enough to stay in place and cover what it was meant to all night long. Feeling this was safest to avoid any temptation should I wake up in the middle of the night and see her looking utterly defenseless next to me, I laid my head on the small pillow provided with the room.

    The second my head hit the pillow and I registered the feeling of her next to me, primarily the softness of her hair tickling my arm where she laid her head, I felt a shocking amount of comfort I hadn¡¯t felt before bed in years. Decades, even. All fatigue aside, I felt as though I could conk out at any moment.

    That is, until I felt her arms move under the blanket. She clenched her hands together in front of her chest, like she thought I was still planning something after all of this and wanted nothing more than to protect the chastity that I so callously blurted out a comment on when we¡¯d only just met. But I wasn¡¯t. I really was just tired.

    Plus¡­ I just didn¡¯t want her to hate me. So, for several long seconds that might as well have been hours of silence, I kept quiet and kept my eyes welded shut.

    ¡°To think Master¡¯s first real order would be something so nice as saving me from sleeping on the cold hard floor.¡±

    I didn¡¯t respond. Those words seemed to be more for herself than me.

    Thinking to myself in a half-asleep fogginess that it was because my restraint surprised even me so, that I had little issue ignoring the inner conflict between the parts of me that wanted to jump out of bed to leave her alone and the part of me that only wanted more. Instead, I swallowed hard and allowed myself the small prize of wrapping the arm she laid on around her shoulders to hold her just a little closer. The act of doing so was slow, awkward and incredibly new to me, but I felt my heart move in ways I didn¡¯t even think possible anymore when she didn¡¯t fight back. I wasn¡¯t sure if this was right or wrong or anything other than what it was. What I wanted.

    I had the companionship that I so desperately wanted. But she wasn¡¯t really my companion.

    Yua was stiff as a board in my arm. Her tail, which had been lively all day, had gone limp somewhere between us and I was sure it wasn¡¯t because she had fallen asleep. She was still on guard and probably for good reason. I probably shouldn¡¯t take offense to this, as any girl in her position would react this way to a man holding her in bed their first night together.

    I¡¯m no fool. If anything, aside from the stupid decisions I¡¯ve been making all day, I know I haven¡¯t won her heart just because I saved her a couple times. Life isn¡¯t some fairy tale and she wasn¡¯t a damsel in distress. She was a warrior that, in one instance, chose to save the life of a man she didn¡¯t even care for, despite that choice¡¯s guarantee of leading to her own death, just so one of us could live on. And only because she felt doomed regardless of what she did. I was the one who panicked when I saw her in danger. Not her.

    No, despite the danger to her life, she considered the situation carefully and chose what she thought of as the best option. She just made a mistake in triggering that trap in the first place. And after watching the skill in which she fought these last few hours, I could easily guess that, had she been alone and if I wasn¡¯t there to distract her, she may well have noticed the trap and avoided it.

    I can¡¯t let myself be fooled into thinking her emotions had changed in my favor just because of all that happened in the dungeon or because of how honestly excited she looked to learn I could use teleportation magic.

    That was a fluke and nothing more.

    I complained about learning and mastering things too easily back on Earth and how it made me lazy, and now I gained what seemed to be a super powerful spell by literally just looking at it be cast. Why was it that the Goddess, knowing of my plight, decided to give me this power. It was just making the problem more severe. If this admittedly absurd problem of mine were an untreated cut left to fester after deigning it not worth tending, then that Goddess tore back the scab it created to try and heal it by smearing mud all over it.

    All that effort I put into trying was ultimately pointless. It came too easy. Everyone had been hyping up the monsters in the dungeon as supremely dangerous, but nothing in the dungeon was a threat except for the boss, which I already managed to figure out a plan on how to beat it with less effort and risk next time we faced it. The only difficult part of today was almost losing her and realizing that our chances of paying off her contract were slim, which we may have just cleared up anyway thanks to that enchanted ring.

    It was just more of the same. An easy life I didn¡¯t want to live. Only this time, I couldn¡¯t hide behind my computer screen.

    Yua¡¯s stiffness slackened a little in the unprobed silence. Her ears, still attentive as they were in the dungeon, seemed to be on high alert for any movement I might make outside of breathing.

    I closed my eyes.

    How can I continue thinking this way with this girl at my side? It was easy, sure, but there were plenty of troubles. And if the ease at which all of this came to me meant I could win her contract and protect her, then shouldn¡¯t that be worth it?

    The short answer was yes. The long one¡­ probably. She could wake up in the morning and decide that forcing her to sleep next to me was too much and swear to hate me forever. I could imagine the sort of depression I might fall in were that to happen. So much so that I thought to jump out of bed and take to the floor myself after all. But regardless of how she felt about me, I would keep her safe.

    I let that be my final thoughts on the matter as sleep¡¯s sticky tendrils once more pulled me deeper into the pillow. I decided to enjoy the warmth and the rapturous feeling of the breathing of the person next to me that was slowly growing steady.

    The last thing I felt before finally drifting off to sleep was the slight tickle of the tips of her ears rubbing against my nose as they flicked.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 12a

    <div>

    ¡°Master¡­¡±

    Still half asleep and ready to stay that way for all eternity, a sweet voice called out to me through the haze, but my eyes remained glued shut. No matter how much sleep I may have had last night, it wasn¡¯t nearly enough. I always had trouble waking up in the morning, due to always tossing and turning night away. This was just more of the same.

    I was probably hearing things. Or, more likely, I left my computer monitor on again and some video or another started playing on the speaker once Lucy accidentally, or purposefully, knowing her, pulled the headphone jack out of the tower. If she hadn¡¯t jumped on me yet, then she wasn¡¯t ready for food.

    Deciding this meant that it wasn¡¯t time to get up, and vaguely remembering that it was Saturday, I rolled onto my side and away from the voice. Hopefully, the video playing wasn¡¯t a dirty one. I didn¡¯t want to wake up and realized I had a wet dream at my age.

    ¡°Master¡­? It¡¯s morning.¡±

    When I didn¡¯t respond to the cute, but now slightly bothered voice, which now sounded close enough to make me feel as though my headphones hadn¡¯t come unplugged, but that they fell onto my pillow, I felt a cautious hand tap my shoulder gently before it rocked me.

    Wondering where it was that Lucy gained enough strength to actually move my body, I opened my eyes and was at first deeply confused and a little scared of the beautiful face that greeted me.

    Her emerald green eyes, framed by an already brushed field of chestnut brown hair, glowed in the morning sun where she looking down on, no looked at me. The difference was unmistakable. I recognized those eyes at once, but this situation was something that could never have happened.

    But when I remembered that the bed I was laying in wasn¡¯t actually the one that stole so many hours of consciousness from me back on Earth and, more importantly, who the gorgeous girl shaking me awake was, my eyes widened much like I¡¯m sure they did moments before that truck hit me.

    ¡°Geez, Master,¡± Yua said, thumping her hands on her shapely hips. Her tail snapped at the air to emphasize her discontent. ¡°You¡¯re the one that said you wanted to get up early.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m up. I¡¯m up,¡± I said, forcing myself into as sitting position.

    Knowing full well that the sweet words whispered directly into my brain to tempt me back to sleep my ear belonged to the pillow behind me, I threw off the blanket to let the morning chill keep me from falling asleep again. The moment it did just that, I scratched at my stomach and yawned, then pointedly looked down when my fingertips felt a set of rigid and easily defined abs instead of the flabby mess my old body had become. It was a sensation I never felt back on Earth even when I was at my best, but I wasn¡¯t too sure if I should be proud of it, given that it was a freebee from the Goddess that I didn¡¯t even ask for.

    When I finally managed to rub the sleep out of my eyes, I saw that Yua had gotten out of bed first and was cleaning up the mess she made with her suitcase. She apparently decided to get dressed before waking me, as she was once more wearing the same hastily thrown together clothes as yesterday. It was probably more to save herself some embarrassment than it was to keep me from watching, but I couldn¡¯t deny that I was disappointed to have missed it.

    I tossed my legs over the side of the bed and with their movement, I felt the unpleasant sensation of the leather pants I had gone to bed in scrunching up in a few uncomfortable places. I suddenly remembered the sleepy thought I had about the potential wet dream and my attention immediately shot down to my crotch.

    The Goddess had bestowed upon me a weapon more powerful than any other in the world, but I let out a huge sigh of relief upon noticing that sleeping next to Yua hadn¡¯t caused it to stand up to reveal its full strength.

    I really don¡¯t think I could have lived it down if that happened after swearing up and down to her I meant no harm to her chastity.

    That same, maidenly woman masquerading as a warrior, or was it the other way around, seemed to have taken my sigh as another yawn and turned another gentle smile in my direction once she slid her suitcase between the chest at the foot of the bed and the wall.

    No. That had to be a mistake. The smile was not gentle, nor were the feelings of warmth it made burn in my chest real. What I saw and what I felt just now were mere byproducts of the light of dawn creeping in through the window to play a dubious prank on me.

    Yua went to bed practically trembling from fear after I basically forced her to sleep next to me completely against her will. There was no way she could have smiled so brightly at me first thing in the morning after what may well have been a sleepless night for her.

    But there it was again. That gentle smile. This time accentuated by a cute tilt to her head, where her chestnut hair slipped down over her shoulder and forced the sunlight filtering through it to cast an even more godly light upon her. Further, she seemed to have buttoned the randomized buttons of her hand-me-down top in an even more disorderly fashion than they were yesterday, as the amount of cleavage I spotted when she bent to scoop up and fold the blanket was almost too much.

    No, it was entirely too much. Whereas yesterday I could catch barely a peak at that hidden valley, now about half of each breast was visible. Against the backdrop of the morning sun, I could almost swear I could see a bit of pink there, too!

    ¡°Master,¡± she said, folding the blanket over her arms like a maid. ¡°If you want to go to breakfast before heading to the dungeon, its best we go soon before the line gets¡­ Wah!¡±

    She yelped in surprise and jumped back. Her smile vanished and her face quickly turned bright red. She pointed at me, her finger shaking. Or rather, her finger trembled at the sight of a certain part of me that managed to stand up and greet the world a tentative good morning before I could even fully remove myself from the bed.

    Thanks to a certain goddess, the enhancement that was added to my weapon made itself all too noticeable, despite my pants doing their darndest to keep it at bay. In fact, it almost looked like the clasp holding them together was starting to lose the battle for my shame.

    ¡°Wait, wait,¡± I said, scrambling for the blanket to cover myself, only to realize she was holding it and lunged for the pillow instead. ¡°It¡¯s not¡­ I mean¡­ It just happens, sort of happens to men win the morning. I wasn¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°I-I know that much, at least!¡±

    Clearly just as embarrassed as I was, she spun around to face the door to what was supposed to be our little one-person room. She turned her cheek slightly, then whipped her face back towards the door. Then, speaking with an odd politeness, she said, ¡°Sh-Should I maybe wait outside until¡­ um¡­ it can calm down?¡±

    ¡°N-No¡­ Er, well, maybe instead of that, c-could I ask you a small favor?¡±

    Her shoulders stiffened, er, probably a bad word to use here, but not inaccurate. I quickly fumbled through my words to alleviate any further misunderstandings she may be having regarding my condition.

    ¡°C-Could you please re-button your shirt? It, um¡­ you¡¯re showing a bit too much skin a-and it¡¯ll be hard to focus in the dungeon if.... That¡¯s why I¡­ I-I¡¯d appreciate it.¡±

    At my poorly thought-out request, Yua¡¯s ears shot to attention and she looked down to her own chest. Then, with a surprising calmness given what I had just pointed out to her, she muttered ¡°so that¡¯s why,¡± then quietly set about unbuttoning and rebuttoning her shirt with her back fully to me. The ease at which this change came about felt just as odd as her smile. I mean, wasn¡¯t there supposed to be a heavily-embarrassed slap coming my way right now for pointing that out?

    Given how the shirt was thrown together, Yua probably had a hard time remembering which buttons went where and was in too much of a hurry to finish dressing before I could wake up to have noticed the mistake herself.

    As she did this, I forced my mind to think of any and every negative thing that had ever happened to me to try and calm my weapon down. Thankfully, or regretfully, these thoughts came to me with a surprising clarity and I was able to remember even the smaller details I once thought lost to time.

    The time I gave up on playing baseball in junior high school because the coach said I wasn¡¯t good enough, and how I, depressed, neglected his advice to keep practicing and try again the next year. Then again in high school when I managed to make it to the junior varsity tennis team, only to fail at climbing the ranks to the varsity team to be with the friends that got me to play in the first place, because I let myself become complacent with the skills I already had and again, neglected the coach¡¯s advice on how I could improve.

    Then there was the conversation I had with what you could probably call the ¡°class nerd¡± in a AP classroom full of nerds and how I once had the gall to brag about how our grades were the same despite me never putting any effort into my studies and how he, in his infinite wisdom, questioned me on why I didn¡¯t and how I had nothing to say to him but a bit of fake laughter.

    Then there was Grandma¡¯s death and the memory of how her doctors wouldn¡¯t let us kids come in to her hospital room to say goodbye in her final moments, because they thought we might break the very equipment keeping her alive as long as it did. Yea, that one stung.

    I felt like shit for using that day as a reason to calm myself, but it worked, and my pants suddenly felt a lot less tight.

    Goddess, why am I like this? I just got her to trust in me enough to know I wouldn¡¯t attack her in bed, only to have her wake up to this? And why? Because I saw a little bit of cleavage? I¡¯m not a kid. A virgin, maybe, but not a kid. I¡¯ve seen way more than that online. Hell, the outfit she wore to bed last night was way more stimulating than what she is wearing right now! I managed to keep calm then, so what the hell?

    Once we managed to move past that little (large) misunderstanding so early in the morning, I was able to successfully stand up without making Yua think I was going to jump on her. She managed to cover up properly as well. Or, as properly as she could, anyways. Even after I promised that the problem went away, she kept her back to me while I got dressed.

    So much for growing closer¡­ Guess this morning will have to be just another bad memory to add to the list.

    ¡°I¡¯m dressed,¡± I said despondently and she finally turned around.

    Her brow was furrowed and her cheeks were still pink, but she got right back to what she was trying to do before my morning blunder and tidy up what little mess I made getting out of bed. I guessed she was taught to do as much as a slave could for their master without actually being asked to, because I certainly wasn¡¯t about to ask her to do anything more strenuous than to continue breathing after all that.

    She quickly, but carefully, put the pillow I used to cover myself back into place and spread the blanket back out onto the bed. She even tucked in the sides and arranged the pillow neatly up by headboard. Honestly, it looked even better than how I found it when I first rented the room. I tried to tell her that she didn¡¯t need to since it would just get messy later and because I never bothered with such things in the past, but she wasn¡¯t having it.

    ¡°I can¡¯t let my master live in such a dirty room. Especially since¡­ You saved my life and¡­ You were so nice to me last night.¡±

    Is that it? The room is practically barren. Even if we entered it after a heavy rain and trudged mud everywhere, it¡¯d still look mostly clean.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to thank me for that. It¡¯s only natural to help someone you like.¡±

    Wait, what? Did I just say that? I remembered saying something similar yesterday in the heat of a perilous moment, but how did that just fall out of my mouth completely uncontested by my lack of confidence?

    ¡°I-I see,¡± she said, poking her index fingers together. ¡°Then, would you like me to gather and catalog all the loot we got yesterday?¡±

    Still bewildered by my own comment, I nodded yes and she zipped right over to the chest at the foot of the bed after I tossed her the key. She was trying to hide the rising flush in her cheeks, but I elected not to comment on it. I was doing the same.

    What is going on here? It¡¯s one thing to be grateful for someone saving your life, but for it to change your entire attitude towards them the next day when you spent the whole of the day before either glaring at them or on your guard against them? And what¡¯s this about being nice to her? It can¡¯t be because I made her share a bed with me. The fact that I had to say ¡°made her¡± was more than enough proof to prove that wasn¡¯t it. So, could it be, because I shared my food with her? she did really seem to enjoy it after she tried to turn it down despite being clearly hungry herself.

    What happened to my resolve to accept that saving her life wasn¡¯t going to be enough to win her over?

    I scratched my head.

    Why was it that interacting with people was so much harder than everything else I¡¯ve ever tried before? It¡¯s not like I was always bad at it. I actually used to be somewhat popular in high school. I only lost that edge because I spent five years in college, in a strange city, with no friends and in a place where I could easily swear the other students were ten-times more judgmental than what I was used to back home. Even after coming back home to what few friends I had left by that time, I never really recovered that part of me.

    I knew that it was probably best to just ask her what she meant directly so that I could continue to do whatever managed to make her happy, but again, the words would not come out as anything other than a sigh directed at my own ineptitude.

    While rummaging around inside her backpack, probably counting the items inside to make sure they stack up with the number of enemies we defeated, her hand suddenly stopped moving inside the bag. Then she started searching again, this time in a visible panic that had her ears standing on end, before stopping again and slowly turning to me, her eyes nearly in tears again.

    Seeing her like this, I began to panic at the thought that my worries of a thief breaking into the room while we slept ended up coming true. My mind began racing, imagining what they might have taken and how much it might have set us back from our already unapproachable goal, when she spoke.

    ¡°M-Master¡­ where¡¯s the ring you found?¡±

    I sighed so hard that lightheadedness nearly made me fall back onto the mattress. How many panic attacks is this girl going to force on me today?

    ¡°Relax, Yua. I kept it safe.¡±

    To help her calm down before she could panic herself, I quickly reached into the air between us and into my item box. I never quite managed to get used to the sight of my hand disappearing into nothingness, thanks mainly to using my pouch so much to hide the action. It was just too strange. In an instant, it looked like my hand had been amputated, stitched up and spent years healing until smooth, only without the added torture of all the pain that was supposed to come with that process.

    I pulled out the tiny ring and held it between my fingers for her to see. When its ruby-like jewels caught the morning sunlight, they sparkled, much like her eyes did once she saw it.

    ¡°See?¡±

    She calmed down instantly and jumped to her feet and darted around my extended hand to examine every atom of the ring, from every conceivable angle, all while her ears twitched inquisitively.

    Was it too much to hope that she was so excited about the ring because its sale would pay off her contract and finalize me as her one and only master? Not just because she wanted to escape Alphonse?

    I suppose I wouldn¡¯t have the guts to ask that question, even if she had given me the chance.

    Relief washed over her body and she put a hand to her chest in a sigh of relief upon seeing the tiny silver band, only to then be immediately overshadowed by an apparent amazement that practically sent her tail spinning through the air like a helicopter¡¯s propeller.

    Seriously? Is this really the same girl that spent most of our time together scowling at me yesterday? Also, isn¡¯t it supposed to be dogs that wag their tail excitedly?

    ¡°¡­ Master, was that magic? You did that before, right? With the potion? Where were you hiding it?¡±

    It was only natural that she be curious about what I had done. She may have taken the temporary severing of my right hand in stride when she saw it happen right before her, but it was still probably something wild to her. Even if she was born in a world presumably full of magic. While I hadn¡¯t exactly meant to do so, to retrieve the health potion she needed to survive, I showed her the existence of my item box while we were in the middle of fighting the Proud Great Wolf. So, she must have forgotten all about it until seeing it again.

    Again, I didn¡¯t mean to show it to her just yet. In my morning haze, if I may be so bold as to claim I was still suffering from such a state after that little incident involving my pants, I acted too hastily in trying to ease her mind. The image of her crying last night stuck with me a little too hard and I really didn¡¯t want to see her become any sort of upset going forward.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never really seen magic outside of the dungeon,¡± she continued, tail beating down the air behind her. ¡°It¡¯s amazing that you managed to learn so many spells already! How does it work? Is it like a little invisible safe you can keep with you anywhere you go?¡±

    Taken aback by her continued barrage of questions, I felt I had no chance to fully remind myself of why I didn¡¯t want to share this particular ability¡¯s existence with anyone, but at the same time, I felt I had to give the bright, curious smile of this girl nothing but the truth.

    Regardless of how she found out about it, now that she¡¯d already seen it, I didn¡¯t see much point in trying to hide it from her anymore, so I went ahead and explained how the item box worked. She listened with rapt attention, her overly excited tail showing off how much effort she put into keeping the rest of herself still.

    ¡°Amazing,¡± she said, her eyes beaming with just as much enthusiasm as when I showed her my teleportation magic. ¡°Master is amazing!¡±

    She showered me with praise, leaving me to feel an embarrassing heat in my cheeks.

    Wait. Embarrassed? Not depressed? That wasn¡¯t right. I hadn¡¯t earned that spell or this ability. They may not have come naturally to me as my school work back on Earth did, but they were given to me for free. I should have felt like garbage, put up a fake smile and said a very limp ¡°thank you¡± for the kind words, just like I did whenever a teacher, friend or family member complimented something I worked on. So, why did this girl¡¯s and only this girl¡¯s praise make me so¡­ happy?

    ¡°Er, well¡­ Ahem. For starters, it¡¯s not a spell, but a trait called Item Box that allows me to access a sort of invisible and bottomless backpack. Also¡­¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡± she hummed, cutting me off. ¡°What sort of trait does that? Does it belong to one of those extra classes you were talking about?¡±

    What? She believes me on that too, now? She was so staunch in her denial of my apparently rare ability to gain more than two classes just yesterday. And now she¡¯s acting like its already a well-known fact?

    Was this a dream? Am I still asleep? Was this that sort of dream you have on the cusp of consciousness early in the morning after waking up just a little too early? The sort where you can control your dreams to an extent because you are aware you¡¯re in a dream. I thought to do something utterly random and reckless just to check, such as jump off the bed and dropkick the bedroom door, but the cute tilt to Yua¡¯s head brought me back to my senses.

    ¡°It¡¯s not from a class,¡± I said. ¡°I just sort of have it.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure if the only way to actually gain a trait was similar to how abilities worked, but that may well be the case if she bothered to ask. If she found this at all strange, she didn¡¯t show it.

    ¡°I see,¡± she said with a nod. ¡°I was wondering why an Adventurer like you was traveling so light in the first place. I mean, you¡¯re not from Amoranth, right? I thought it was weird that you didn¡¯t have any traveling equipment with you or in here when we dropped of my suitcase yesterday. That¡¯s even more amazing!¡±

    There it was again. Unearned praise. Or maybe that was more praise for the ability, not me myself? If not, then isn¡¯t she basically praising me just for having the item box? It¡¯s not like I used it in any beneficial way, other than holding the ring.

    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    But still, when it comes from her, it just feels so warm. Why couldn¡¯t praise feel like this with everyone else?

    ¡°Th-Thanks, but, uh¡­ I actually wanted to apologize to you regarding my item box.¡±

    Her ears twitched.

    ¡°Apologize? What has Master done that needs to be forgiven?¡±

    ¡°Because I made you walk around the dungeon carrying all our loot yesterday when you really didn¡¯t have to. I bet it must have slowed you down while you fought, right? I just thought that, if other people saw us walking the dungeon without actually holding any loot, they would end up suspicious of me and start asking questions. So, I had you carry it all.¡±

    She put her chin to her knuckle and started nodding to herself, mulling over my explanation. The quizzical pose lasted barely a second before she looked me in the eyes again.

    ¡°Then I don¡¯t see that as something that needs to be forgiven. I am your slave, Master. I am sworn to do as you ask. So, even if you still want me to carry everything, I will.¡±

    ¡°Alright, then¡­ I¡¯ll ask you to keep carrying the backpack.¡±

    ¡°Understood! Just leave it to me!¡±

    She thrust her hands on her hips and puffed out her shapely chest to show she was serious. Apparently, I had broken enough walls between us for her to be at least a little proud of her master.

    Or¡­ Was this some kind of trick? Putting her looks and more importantly, my feelings for her aside, the way she is acting now is too at odds with who she was yesterday. I can¡¯t let myself get too distracted. I still don¡¯t know if she is a former criminal.

    Right after that incident this morning, she jumped straight into going through our loot from yesterday, on her own initiative, only to bring back up the super expensive ring. While I put it into my item box, she must have seen me put it in my pouch after I decided not to use it. I left the pouch and my belt on the floor last night before bed, so what if she searched it and decided to tease the question out of me after weakening my resolve with a peep at her cleavage in order to get me to tell her where I hid it? She hardly reacted to my noticing and pointing to her exposed skin, after all. Given how she reacted with pure anger when I accidentally groped her yesterday and all the comments she made about me looking at the bikini-armor woman, this was definitely weird. It might have been on purpose.

    What if her entire demeanor this morning was just a ploy to steal the ring and pay off her contract herself? All the smiles and praise might have been to that effect. Is that even possible? She¡¯s technically already bound to me via the slave spell, but is there a way for the slave to break the spell all on their own? Can Alphonse undo the contract whenever he wants?

    What if forcing her to sleep next to me was just the last straw that forced her to try this?

    ¡°¡­But I will transfer everything inside the bag to my Item Box for safe keeping,¡± I said, thinking the valuables would be safest with me. ¡°When we need to sell them, I¡¯ll just pull them out of my Item Box through the bag, to make it look like you¡¯re carrying them. That way you don¡¯t actually have to carry all that heavy stuff. Although, I won¡¯t be able to get away with pulling the Proud Great Wolf pelt out of this small backpack.¡±

    The thing was too large to even fit in it. We were going to have to carry that thing no matter what.

    ¡°No problem. Master is already being very generous, so this much is nothing!¡±

    Yua pumped her fist energetically and slapped the boss pelt with her tail. Meanwhile, I had to hope that my stupidity in showing her this ability when I still wasn¡¯t sure of who she really was won¡¯t end up biting me in the ass later.

    ¡°I am very grateful. But to be clear, I don¡¯t want you to tell anyone about my item box or teleportation spell or¡­ Well, just don¡¯t tell anyone about anything I can do. And if anyone asks, I am just an Adventurer and a Swordsman, okay? Actually, no. I¡¯m sorry, but I am making that an order. Don¡¯t tell anyone about me.¡±

    I needed to be absolutely sure none of this would get out. The world already seemed to run on might and magic. If the people found out I had the equivalent of a bunch of cheat codes at my beck and call, then I¡¯d never be safe again as they would no doubt either relentlessly try to get me to work for them or outright kill me. And I really didn¡¯t want to know which of the two it¡¯d end up being.

    Until I understood whether or not I could fully trust Yua, I¡¯d have to get her to comply by forcing the slave spell to keep her mouth shut.

    Oddly enough, she smiled as bright as the morning sun the second time I gave her a serious order and she thumped her chest. Looking respectfully, I did notice her breasts jiggle when she did so, but I didn¡¯t let it sway me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Master. Your secrets are safe with me!¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said, clapping my hands together. ¡°Then, if you¡¯re ready, let¡¯s get going.¡±

    We were going to have a lot to do today and didn¡¯t have any more time to waste. I wasn¡¯t sure how long it would take to sell off all of what we got, especially the ring, so it was best we didn¡¯t fool around anymore than necessary.

    With my mind full of the endless worries my own mistakes piled on me, I yawned as I walked to the door and when I tried to pull on the handle, it didn¡¯t budge.

    ¡°Master, wait.¡±

    Yua had put her palm on the door, using her impressive strength to prevent it from opening. However, she didn¡¯t look mad.

    ¡°Just because we don¡¯t have time to bathe, doesn¡¯t mean you should go around looking like you just rolled out of bed. Here, let me just¡­¡±

    Without my asking her to, Yua began combing her slender fingers through my hair, smoothing it out into a presumably more respectable appearance. The tickle of her fingers carefully running through my hair sent shivers up my spine and after just a few seconds in, I felt as though she was giving my entire scalp a full-body massage. Not that that made any sense, nor did it matter that I noticed it didn¡¯t. As tall as I was, she had to stand on her toes and raise her arm up, freeing her breasts to wobble slightly with her careful movements. She had indeed rebuttoned her shirt.

    To avoid a repeat of earlier, I tried not to look at her too much.

    ¡°There. Master is much more presentable now,¡± she said and fell back onto her feet with a smile. ¡°You know, Master, if you don¡¯t take care of your appearance, people might start to think you are a slave instead of my master.¡±

    ¡°Sorry¡­ I, uh¡­ I¡¯ll be more careful next time. And thanks.¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡±

    For some reason, looking oddly satisfied with herself, she threw on her backpack after using some loose strings attached to it to tie down the boss pelt. It made her look like she was carrying a rolled up sleeping bag. When she was ready, she skipped across the room to hold the door open for me. I didn¡¯t mind opening doors for myself, but I didn¡¯t want to ruin her good mood by telling her that. So, I gave her a short, sympathetic smile as thanks.

    We left the inn good and early, so there was still technically time before the appointed checkout hour. I didn¡¯t yet have the money to rent the room for another night, so I decided to put it off and sneak away until I did. Thankfully, the innkeeper wasn¡¯t there to see us leave. I didn¡¯t want Yua to lose her suitcase if the innkeeper decided to clear the room for a new guest after thinking we skipped out without telling her, but when I brought it up, Yua mentioned the only thing in it was that shirt she wore to bed last night and that she wasn¡¯t particularly attached to it. So, we let it be.

    Even in the morning, the city streets were bustling with people. The sights and smells of various food stalls were already heating up and sharing their flavors with the world. Those that already ate were already going about their work days and some of the children too young to help out were already playing and chasing one another in the streets. Thanks to them, several of the women tending to their chores had to watch where they stepped and lifted the large baskets of dirty laundry they held up over their head to avoid letting a child crash into it as they weaved their way through the crowd. Almost all of the women, at least the ones carrying the baskets of laundry, headed in the same direction. My guess was that there was some kind of magic laundromat or a nearby stream or something where they washed their family¡¯s things.

    Right, laundry. Yua and I both only had one outfit each. We¡¯d have to clean them at some point before they really started to stink. I should buy something for us to wear when that time comes. Or, maybe I should just wait. As much as I preferred to be clean, I shouldn¡¯t waste any money until the thing with Alphonse is done and settled and Yua and I are free. But then again, we will be fighting, which means sweating. Even if she might say she¡¯s fine with the city¡¯s smells by now, I didn¡¯t want to personally be a cause of suffering for her extra sensitive nose.

    We walked side by side for a while, but when we came up to the shopping district, Yua stopped.

    ¡°Where should we go first, Master?¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Well, I think we should just head to the general store first. Once we sell off the pelts and everything else, then we can use that money to stock up on what we¡¯ll need for the day.¡±

    Yua, tilted her head and looked at me curiously.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°Master, you don¡¯t sell pelts to the general store if you want to make money. You take them to the armorer or a clothing store.¡±

    Well, that¡¯s something I wish I knew yesterday. No, I should have guessed that to begin with. The general store most likely takes the pelts for dirt cheap prices and resells them to the clothing stores for a profit. Taking the materials straight to where they are needed should net us a larger profit.

    ¡°What about the other things? Where should I sell those?¡±

    Yua put her finger to her chin and took a moment to think to herself before answering.

    ¡°The wolf fangs and living slime goo should go to the apothecary. The slime oil could go as well, but you could also sell it to just about any of the city¡¯s cooks.¡±

    ¡°You can cook with slime oil?¡±

    It looked close enough to regular cooking oil, but the idea of anything one of those slime balls dropped from their bodies touching my food sounded disgusting. Not to mention the goo they also dropped was literally poisonous.

    ¡°Yes. It¡¯s not the best oil for cooking, but it¡¯s the cheapest. So, I¡¯m sure someone wouldn¡¯t mind taking it off your hands instead of buying it for a higher price at the store.¡±

    ¡°Makes sense,¡± I sighed.

    From that point alone, I knew we were going to be running all over the place trying to sell off our loot before doing it all over again when we were done with the dungeons. I would have preferred to just head to the dungeon now and sell off everything when we finished for the day, but I didn¡¯t know how long we were going to dive through the dungeon today and we needed money to buy what we needed before going into the dungeon in the first place.

    Still, didn¡¯t Yua say something about not selling the things she looted? I seem to recall she did. Was she just holding out on me back then out of hate? It¡¯s easy to assume she might have held out on me because she wanted me to fail to pay back Alphonse and get myself enslaved as revenge for buying her.

    I shook my head and, thanks to one of the women crying out as they dropped their laundry basket right in a muddy puddle on the side of the road, Yua didn¡¯t notice.

    Being suspicious of her is probably fine, but I shouldn¡¯t act like it in public. Until I have a concrete answer, it¡¯s all just a possibility. Potentially one born out of my own paranoia. Although, it was paranoia well deserved after her sudden change in attitude. Still, it was just as easy to assume that she simply didn¡¯t want to be nice and share everything she knew to the man she just met and that had just bought her.

    ¡°That¡¯s all fine, but what about the silver ring of¡­¡±

    Yua horridly pushed both of her hands onto my lips, preventing me from speaking any further.

    ¡°Shhh! Master, you shouldn¡¯t mention that you are carrying something valuable when we¡¯re in public. You never know when someone might be listening!¡±

    She turned her cat ears to the crowd of people seemingly just going about their days and listened. I wasn¡¯t worried about any thieves stealing the ring out of my item box, since nobody but Yua even knew it existed. Not to mention I was pretty sure only I could access it. But given her concern, I went ahead and looked as well, albeit aggressively carefully, so I didn¡¯t draw attention.

    Unlike her, I had the ability to see people¡¯s private information by just focusing on them for a second. So, it was easy to tell that there was nobody around with the Thief tag under their name. Assuming there even was a tag like that to begin with. Furthermore, I didn¡¯t even see anyone looking at us. I pulled her hands off of my mouth.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Yua. Nobody is listening. Thanks for the concern, but nobody would be able to take it from me, remember?¡±

    She opened her mouth in an ¡°oh¡± of recognition, like she only just remembered the thing she just learned this morning and nodded before looking down to her bare feet. Her cat ears drooped sadly and I had to clench my chest to prevent her meek demeanor from causing me a sugary heart attack.

    ¡°Sorry I put my hands on your face, Master.¡±

    ¡°I-It¡¯s alright. You don¡¯t have to apologize for every little thing. You were definitely in the right there. Let¡¯s just get going, okay?¡±

    Her frown flipped over in an instant and her ears perked right back up, seemingly happy that she wasn¡¯t going to be punished. I hated that she might still feel that I¡¯d resort to corporal punishment, but I had to admit that she would be stupid to trust me completely when I told her I wouldn¡¯t hurt her after she had spent years being taught that her future master might do just that.

    At my request, Yua took us to the nearest clothing store. We walked the cobble stone path throughout the city until we found a white, two-story building with large glass windows showing what they had in stock. Seeing this, I wondered if window shopping was still something people did here to waste time.

    ¡°Welcome to the Threaded Spool, Sir. I am Gideon. How may I help you?¡±

    The moment we walked inside the shop, the owner, an older man dressed stunningly well when compared to the people walking around outside greeted us from behind the counter near the entrance. He wore a well-tailored shirt, spiffy leather vest and wrapped it all together with a red necktie.

    It was nice to know good looking clothes existed here. I didn¡¯t particularly like walking around looking like I live outside.

    ¡°Good morning,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯re here to sell some wolf pelts from the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Alright, Sir. May I see what you have?¡±

    Happy that the man seemed to be a little easier going than the other shop owners I have dealt with so far, I had Yua turn around so I could undo the straps fixing the boss pelt to her backpack and set it on the counter. Gideon didn¡¯t seem surprised by its size at all and set about analyzing it while I shoved my hand into Yua¡¯s backpack to begin our little ruse by accessing my item box as discretely as possible.

    I pulled out the rest of the pelts and stacked them neatly on the counter, as my Merchant class seemed to tell me that I needed to present my goods properly. He seemed pleased with this and set about using his own Appraisal skill on each of the pelts. I was about to question why he didn¡¯t just appraise the whole stack like you could with coins, but then he took out what looked like a monocle or maybe a small magnifying glass from his vest pocket and looked even closer at the fur. We watched in silence as his eye darted around each pelt as if he were checking every strand of fur for split ends. Once he was satisfied, he slipped the monocle back into its pocket and smiled politely at us.

    ¡°Alright. You have brought me 7 Proud Wolf Pelts from the first floor of Amoranth Dungeon and the pelt of the Proud Great Wolf from the same floor. For this, I can offer you 10 gold and 70 silver pieces. Will that be alright?¡±

    ¡°Can you really tell what floor we got these from?¡±

    Gideon smiled as if knowing were only natural. I hadn¡¯t thought to ask Yua yet, but now that the question had fallen out of my mouth, I considered the fact that the wolves may appear only on the first floor. This wasn¡¯t a big deal, but it did make me look like a total newbie when it came to these pelts and the dungeon. I better be on guard for future mistakes so I don¡¯t screw up like I did with Alphonse.

    ¡°I can,¡± he said with a polite, but proud incline of his chin. ¡°You may not be able to, but as a Tailor, I can see distinct differences in the quality of the furs brought to me. The wolves from the first floor have fur that can be easily treated and made softer so that it can be worn directly on the skin. Those from the deeper levels have tougher fur that are much harder to prepare, but are much more durable. Although, the only real difference is how they are prepared once I have my way with them.¡±

    Gideon folded his hand neatly on the counter, looking rather proud of himself for being able to educate a newbie, or maybe just someone not as well versed with his class as he was. It was actually hard to tell if he was being condescending or just sharing what he knew.

    At least I didn¡¯t make a fool of myself.

    ¡°I see. Thanks for the explanation. I¡¯ll take the 10 gold and 70 silver pieces then.¡±

    ¡°Right away, Sir. Just one moment.¡±

    Unlike the general store owner, Gideon stayed put and pulled out a small metal box from the backside of the counter and set it down next to the pelts. He slowly pulled coins out of it, counting them as meticulously as he did with the pelts. I decided to look around the shop, just to see what they had while we waited for him to finish.

    There were several different types of common city clothes and even some that looked to be more durable, probably the sort that might be favored by those that worked with their hands and more. All of what was available was either hanging from hooks on the walls or were folded into neat piles on the small rounded tables scattered across the main floor. Many looked just as well-made as what Gideon wore, but there were also a lot of clothes that looked similar to what Yua was wearing now, but long before it got tossed out and was reappropriated to fit a slave.

    I thought for a second that the clothes the Goddess gave me might some sort of rare, one-of-kind items I could sell and replace with something cheaper for a profit, but I ended up finding something similar over in the men¡¯s section and the thought was squashed. Damn.

    Then I noticed a few racks of various shoes and boots lined up against the wall. Seeing this, I looked at Yua¡¯s bare feet. They were covered in a fine layer of dirt and dust from the walk over, but they didn¡¯t look to be injured in anyway. The thought made me wonder if beast-kin just have harder skin than humans, but felt my face heat up when I realized that likely wasn¡¯t the case from back when I accidentally groped her and felt just a little of her softness.

    ¡°H-Hey, Yua. Why don¡¯t you go ahead and pick out a pair of shoes for yourself? I¡¯ll buy them for you. My treat.¡±

    Offering a girl a pair of shoes in recompense for touching her where I shouldn¡¯t have probably should have earned me a good punch to the gut, if not somewhere lower on my body. But after hearing my offer to get her a gift, her eyes went wide before immediately laying into a protest.

    ¡°But Master, what about the cost?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I said, waving her off. ¡°I don¡¯t like the idea of you walking around barefoot. What will happen if you step on something and get hurt? Besides, having something on your feet will help in the dungeon, won¡¯t it?¡±

    The streets may have been paved with stone, but that didn¡¯t mean they were spotless. Furthermore, I thought back again to when I groped her, but mainly how that only happened because she slipped on the slime¡¯s goo. As exhilarating as the sensation was, I wanted to prevent that from happening again. She seemed to as well and remembered the unfortunate way I had caught her, because she blushed.

    ¡°B-But¡­ Masters don¡¯t buy things like nice clothes for their slaves. Slaves aren¡¯t allowed to own anything.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not concerned with how other masters treat their slaves,¡± I said, putting my foot down, surprised at how easily she outed herself as a slave in public. ¡°I don¡¯t want you walking around without shoes and getting hurt because of it.¡±

    She looked apprehensive, like she thought I was tricking her, but I held my gaze firm with a smile to show my sincerity. She had no choice but to buckle and accept the gift.

    ¡°Th-Then I will do as Master wishes and choose something¡­ Anything a slave owns belongs to their master, so this is like you¡¯re buying it for yourself anyways.¡±

    With that admittedly dark response, Yua took off for the racks of shoes to start her search for something that would fit. As apprehensive as she was to accept the gift, she did look moderately happy to do some shopping for her own benefit. Even if it was just this much.

    Curious about what she said, I leaned on the counter to talk to Gideon as he finished counting his coins.

    ¡°Is what she said true? About slaves not being allowed to own anything?¡±

    Gideon set the final stack of 10 silver coins onto the same sort of small silver platter all the other merchants in the city seemed to use and nodded.

    ¡°It is,¡± he explained. ¡°Slaves, by name, are not allowed to own anything at all. That goes even for the clothes on their backs. Everything they possess before they are enslaved or that is given to them thereafter, becomes the rightful property of their current master. If you wished, you could even force her to take off everything she is wearing right this instant and make her walk besides you as naked as the day she was born.¡±

    My elbow slipped off the counter as his last point struck me and I nearly fell. While walking around with a naked girl as beautiful as Yua sounded sexy on paper, and in my daydreams, there was no way I would actually force her to do something like that. However, when my mind naturally went along with the image of that dirty fantasy and looked her way, Yua¡¯s ears twitched. She hadn¡¯t been looking at me, but her cat ears probably heard our conversation.

    So, I coughed into my hand and denied the fantasy.

    ¡°Well, I won¡¯t be making her do something like that. But thanks for the explanation.¡±

    Gideon gave me a small smile as if all he had done was tell me something obvious. I chose not to start up another conversation since the man seemed to have no qualms with talking about weird stuff like that. So, we both waited for Yua to finish picking in silence.

    ¡°Master, can I, um¡­ could I get these?¡±

    Yua held up a pair of tall, polished leather boots that looked like they might reach up to her calves. Their thick soles would provide an adequate amount of protection from slipping and the black leather laces looked as clean as if they were just made that morning.

    That said, they didn¡¯t look even remotely cute. I thought she might go for something more lady-like from all the nicer options available, but it looks like she went with what would best improve her ability to fight. That, or she just went with the cheapest option to ease the strain on my purse. The leather they are made of does look kind of thin and might rip easily.

    ¡°I-I think I will be able to kick even harder with these,¡± she added, as if needing to plead her case.

    ¡°That looks fine,¡± I said, turning to Gideon. ¡°How much are they?¡±

    Given how I didn¡¯t see a single price tag in the entire store, I figured customers were meant to ask him whenever they needed to know. I held out my hand for the boots, but only so I could check them with Appraisal. Thankfully, Gideon heard our conversation and gave the same price listed in the info box that appeared.

    ¡°The Long Women¡¯s Leather Boots are 10 silver pieces.¡±

    10 silvers, eh? I guess they aren¡¯t as cheap as they look.

    ¡°Eh, but that¡¯s so much,¡± Yua protested again. ¡°Master, you don¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll take them. Yua, put them on before we leave.¡±

    I pushed one of the stacks of silver pieces on the tray back towards Gideon and scooped up the rest to set them into my item box via my pouch. While I did, Yua sat down on the floor right where she stood, her eager tail swaying around happily despite her protests, and stuffed her feet into their new leathery homes. Watching her do this, I made a mental note to search this shop again when we had the coin to spare and see if I could find us some socks.

    After living an entire life with the luxury of socks, being made to wear leather boots without them was a nightmare. I was too tired to care last night, but when I finally took mine off before bed, I realized just how much my feet hurt just from them rubbing up against the leather all day.

    Unlike the ring we found, when she put them on, they did not resize themselves to fit her feet perfectly. But when she tied them up and stood, now slightly taller, and tapped the toe of her boot on the floor, it looked like they fit her well enough as is. They even accentuated the shape of her legs and bottom, much like a pair of high-heels would have.

    Satisfied with her new footwear, Yua beamed at me with a radiant smile. That smile was enough to say the 10 silvers were more than worth it.

    Unless¡­ she wasn¡¯t just protesting the sale to get my good-natured self to buy them anyway, right? She wasn¡¯t using reverse psychology on me, was she?

    No. No. Don¡¯t be dumb. I just demanded that she pick something out. And those do look like the cheapest pair Gideon had for sale. She could have picked out something better, but didn¡¯t. Don¡¯t let your suspicions get the better of you.

    After we finished at the tailor¡¯s shop, and now that we had money, we took a quick trip back to the inn. I thought to have Yua wait outside while I tried to make it look like I was alone and so I¡¯d only have to pay for one person, but the innkeeper snarled at me, saying she already knew about the girl and that slaves get to room for free as long as they are with their master. Apparently, this is because they aren¡¯t recognized as people and because they were expected to sleep on the floor, not the beds. That and that feeding them was entirely at the master¡¯s discretion, as they would still be charged for the second meal.

    Taking a detailed mental note of all of this to avoid having to ask her again, I wondered how she knew about Yua, since she didn¡¯t see me haul her into my room after buying her or when I teleported us straight into the room after we finished with the dungeon yesterday. Regardless, I rented the same room again and tacked on two full meals. Hopefully, Yua¡¯d brighten up even more than she did last night if she got a full meal all to herself.

    Wait. What am I even talking about? Brighten up? I¡¯m still torn between my infatuation with her and the possibility that she¡¯s just waiting to stab me in the back. So, why am I still so focused on improving her mood? Maybe I¡¯m subconsciously thinking that she might give up her thoughts of betrayal if I got her to like me? Then again, wouldn¡¯t me acknowledging that mean it¡¯s not subconscious anymore? Were these my actual thoughts and was it just my now not-so-little buddy downstairs telling me that Yua was good people? Despite the possibilities, I still want to make her smile. I want to see her so happy she might even cry.

    Goddess, what the hell is wrong with me? You gave me all these powers, but you couldn¡¯t help me make up my mind? Why lead me to Yua anyways? You said ¡°head East,¡± right? I went East, found Amoranth, went further East inside the Eastern District of Amoranth and found Yua in the slave house. That¡¯s what you wanted for me, right? Why did you set me on a path directly to her? What was the point of meeting her, aside from falling for her so hard that I made the dumbest decision of my life with barely a thought for the consequences? If so, I¡¯m allowed to complain, right? You wanted this for me, right? What the hell, right?

    Practically skipping down the sidewalk in her new boots, Yua¡¯s ears gave a little half-flick and she looked at me over her shoulder as we walked. The crowd was starting to grow as the day went on, so she must have been looking to make sure I was still there since all the other sounds of the city¡¯s daily life had clouded her sense of hearing. When she spotted me, I noticed a small upward turn to her lips before she faced forwards again and her chestnut hair swept her expression out of sight to sway in the breeze.

    Her tail gave a happy swish, but I looked away for fear of getting caught staring at what lay just below that.

    I¡¯m not crazy, am I? She¡¯s been nothing but rude and impatient with me until now, then the day after we found something crazy valuable, she¡¯s all smiles. That can¡¯t be a coincidence, can it?

    <div>

 Volume 1 - Chapter 12b

    <div>

    After our trip to the tailor, we headed for the next and only place on our itinerary that I really didn¡¯t want to go.

    The Apothecary¡¯s shop seemed to loom over us in its spot in the backend of the Merchant¡¯s District. Nothing had changed other than the area being brighter than it was last time we were here due to the time. Though, I suppose it did also lack that distinctly disgusting scent we¡¯d suffered through last time, but that wasn¡¯t enough to make me want to be here. With these scant differences likely to appear on everyone else¡¯s list of improvements for the location, I couldn¡¯t help but feel as though the stairs leading up to the shop had become infinitely longer. Without meaning to, I froze not when I set foot on the first step, but when Yua did.

    I knew the reason for this apprehension, of course. It¡¯s because I managed to piss off the owner yesterday. I spent most of my life either bullshitting my way through problematic conversations, avoiding them, or taking them much more seriously than the situation required, according to those around me anyways, but it was exceedingly rare for me to have actually pissed someone off.

    What I didn¡¯t know was how to deal with the Apothecary now that I had. I wasn¡¯t any good at dealing with people that were already pissed off at me. And frankly, I didn¡¯t know how anyone could be. I noticed early on in our conversation yesterday that her love for her job was a bit out there, but I still went ahead and accidentally insulted her hard work by comparing it to a similar product that was apparently garbage. We parted on what seemed like good terms, but that could have been because she was too tired to deal with me any more than she already had. She certainly looked the part, anyways.

    Now how was I supposed to deal with her? We needed to buy more potions, but what if she turned us down because of what happened?  She¡¯s the only Apothecary in the city, right? Yua said she was. And because my memory of the row of potions available at the general store was oddly clear, I knew they didn¡¯t have any Health Potions available.

    The image of Yua getting hurt in the boss fight yesterday made me clench my fist and¡­

    ¡°Master,¡± Yua said. ¡°Is something wrong?¡±

    Having already made it up a few steps while I lingered on the sidewalk, my foot still only half-way on the first, Yua stopped and turned back to me. There was not a trace of concern on her face, as if she had forgotten what happened yesterday, which seemed unlikely since she went out of her way to complain about it at the time.

    How could she not be worried that¡­

    No. No. Stop worrying. Stop always worrying about everything. Just go. If the tiny witch is still upset, I¡¯ll just apologize again.

    Yea. Stop being stupid for five seconds and just go talk to her. Debating the issue with myself is only wasting time we don¡¯t have.

    Goddess¡­ Why do I even have to tell myself this when it seems so obvious?

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. Just¡­ hungry, I guess.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Do you want to get breakfast first, then?¡±

    Yua took a step down, towards me, as if she¡¯d already decided that I¡¯d answered in the affirmative.

    ¡°No, not yet. The potions are more important right now. She didn¡¯t seem to have too many in stock yesterday, so I want to get them before they sell out.¡±

    ¡°Well, if Master says so. But I¡¯ve never seen them sell out before.¡±

    With a shrug, Yua turned back and grabbed the door for me. Again, without my asking her to. Considering how I used to be the one to go out of my way to hold the door for random people to try and be pointlessly nice, only to get rebuffed or ignored for my efforts, this was going to take some getting used to.

    After I decided to just deal with my fate, I raced up the stairs, but Yua still got to the door first. Smiling again with that same, gentle and confusing smile, Yua pulled the door open and stepped aside as I walked past her. And, I am very slightly proud of myself to admit, but I did not stop to inhale a year¡¯s worth of air to reassure myself before I did so.

    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s you two again. Welcome back.¡±

    At first, I thought the shop was empty and that the Apothecary was stuck in her backroom again, dealing with some potion or another, but when the bell on her door jingled, the tip of a witch¡¯s hat shot up from behind the counter. Revealed beneath it was the extra-petite Witch Madame Turquesse. She had a smudge of something blue-ish on her cheek, mussing up her cute, but sleepy face. I was surprised to see that her expression was mostly placid and that she didn¡¯t cringe when she saw us standing in her doorway. Instead, she pulled herself onto her stool and faced us directly, looking more like she wanted to pretend that we hadn¡¯t just seen her struggling to climb the thing, than she looked bothered by us.

    As if she never went to sleep last night, she was still wearing the same, alluringly tight black dress that showed off exactly how minuscule her breasts were. I guessed at once, by how the bags under her eyes seemed to have doubled in weight, that the reason why she didn¡¯t change wasn¡¯t because she didn¡¯t have other sets of clothes like Yua and myself, but because her fatigue didn¡¯t let her.

    I pinched my thigh when she took the great effort to tilt her head at me, I realized I had been staring and forced my mouth to move.

    ¡°I-I¡¯d like to sell some things I, we, found in the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Okay then.¡±

    Madame Turquesse slouched slightly, but I didn¡¯t get the impression it was because she was angry with me. Maybe the sleepless night I assume she had caused her to forget it even happened? Or maybe she was just hoping we¡¯d come to buy something, instead coming to sell. But if we were to give potion ingredients to a potion fanatic like her¡­

    No. Stop overthinking. Just take the fact that she doesn¡¯t seem to be upset in stride and sell your shit!

    Exactly like I did at the tailor; I pulled the wolf fangs and all but one of the living slime goos out of Yua¡¯s backpack and set all of what we had on the tiny witch¡¯s counter. Clearly recognizing the goods, she eagerly checked them over with twice the zeal as Gideon had the pelts, which I assumed to be a good thing. Though she didn¡¯t appear to have a monocle.

    ¡°Okay,¡± she said after a lengthy review of our loot. ¡°Looks like you brought me 4 Living Slime Goo and 1 Proud Wolf Fang. That was nice of you.¡±

    She spoke with a yawn that gave me the honest impression that she could pass out at any minute.

    ¡°Er, how much can you give us for it?¡±

    ¡°Oh, right. Sorry. I didn¡¯t get to sleep last night¡­ *Yawn*¡­ Brewing horse medicine is such a hassle¡­ I can give you 7 silvers for all of what you brought. That sound okay?¡±

    Seeing once again that the prices lined up with what their item boxes showed, I nodded.

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. Actually, speaking of brewing potions, can you tell me what is needed to do that? Besides the Apothecary class and the ingredients, of course.¡±

    ¡°Ahh. How to brew potions? Interested in becoming an Apothecary, are you?¡±

    I nodded and smiled my best I¡¯m not forcing a smile -smile. She returned it with one of her own, but hers looked to be much more genuine.

    Even if Yua now believed in my multiple classes, or pretended to at least, and even though I didn¡¯t actually have to prove to her that I could brew a potion, I still figured it would be of great financial benefit to us if I could make all the potions we¡¯d need going forwards myself. And better yet, the ingredients seem to be in the dungeon, so making use of my Apothecary class in this way would be a win-win for us.

    Madame Turquesse, however, seemed to have completely ignored the potential loss of a paying customer as her eyes suddenly filled with life once the topic changed to her pasison. In less time it would have taken me to say the word ¡°potion,¡± she looked like she was about to go into all the fine details of potion making, just like she did last night when she raised a teacherly finger to begin her instruction, but I hurried to stop her before she could start.

    ¡°S-Sorry, but could you give us the short version? We need to head to the dungeon as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Well, if all you want to know is the basics of the basics. All you need is a cauldron and something to stir with. And water, if the recipe calls for it. Most do, but some¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it? Couldn¡¯t I just use a pot?¡±

    Madame Turquesse sneered disapprovingly at me, as if I made a blunder on the same level as saying her health potion tasted like literal shit. Not that I knew what either option actually tasted like, as Yua was the only one of us to taste a health potion so far.

    I thought she was gearing to blow up on me just like last night and tried to prevent her meltdown by quickly apologizing, but she beat me to it with a sigh. Then a yawn. Seems like she truly didn¡¯t have the energy this time around.

    ¡°No, you cannot use a simple pot to achieve the great art that is potion making,¡± she said, making an ¡®X¡¯ with her index fingers for emphasis. ¡°Nope. Not at all. The only apparatus an Apothecary needs is a cauldron.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­ Can you tell me why a cauldron differs from a pot?¡±

    Comparing your average cooking pot to your average Halloween witch¡¯s cauldron didn¡¯t really make any sort of difference all that apparent to me. They were both large, metal bowls essentially that you fill with water and other ingredients. The main difference I could think up was that, being that they were possibly made of different metals and that cauldrons were probably thicker, which didn¡¯t seem all that important. Although, I was smart enough not to make this point aloud.

    Madame Turquesse shook her head, the small, arrogant smile on her lips that of an older sister telling her little brother what a fool he was for thinking he¡¯d ever get the upper hand on her in any subject, while towering over him with her arms crossed in apparent triumph.

    I don¡¯t know why, considering how I¡¯d asked her to share her knowledge, not denied its existence. Also, she looked like she¡¯d only come up about as high as my chest if we stood side-by-side. Stature wasn¡¯t exactly something she of all people should be lauding over someone.

    ¡°You see,¡± she started. ¡°A cauldron is actually a magic item. Similar enough to how one might use a magic candle, you need but to mix a bit of your mana into the potion through the cauldron itself. Obviously, you cannot do this with a regular pot. It is quite literally impossible. If you were to try, you would just bring about the same disastrous results as someone without the Apothecary class trying to use a real cauldron. Meaning you¡¯d just make a pile of sludge and waste your ingredients. Furthermore, using a cauldron properly requires the hidden knowledge only those with the Apothecary class are privy to.¡±

    Hidden knowledge? Is that similar to how my Swordsman class seems to have given me a basic fighter¡¯s senses on top of the knowledge of how to actually swing the damn thing without lopping off my own arm?

    But if that¡¯s the case, how does someone, who isn¡¯t me, become an Apothecary if they aren¡¯t born into the class and if they can¡¯t even attempt to make a potion without being guaranteed to fail?

    ¡°Then what kinds of cauldrons do you have? I want to try making some small health potions.¡±

    ¡°Hmm? If small health potions are all you¡¯re after, then I recommend this medium-sized one. Anything bigger would be a waste and anything smaller wouldn¡¯t be enough.¡±

    I grew a little concerned for her health when it took the support of both her arms to raise a single finger towards a large black pot, er cauldron, lined up with a few others on a table facing the store¡¯s side window. It looked like it should easily hold around five gallons of water, though its thick metal sides made me concerned about its weight. But comparing it to the larger one next to it, which looked like it needed an entire team of body builders to carry, I couldn¡¯t complain. My item box would do all the heavy lifting anyways.

    ¡°How much is the medium one?¡±

    ¡°10 gold pieces.¡±

    Yea¡­ It would be.

    I just got it and it¡¯s all the gold I have left. But if I was successful, we could gather enough ingredients to make all the potions we¡¯ll need for the foreseeable future just by exploring the dungeon. The problem was, clearing the dungeons as we have been now, we weren¡¯t likely to make the goal of 25,000 gold pieces in the next two days unless the enemies on the next floors started dropping diamonds instead of pelts and goo. And I don¡¯t want to put too much faith in the ring selling, either, so buying the cauldron now would be a gamble.

    But making my own potions and selling them would bring us more money on top of the loot. Plus, on a side note, if I were to sell her pre-made potions, Madame Turquesse might not have to make her own and should be able to get some proper rest. Assuming she doesn¡¯t refer to them as sewage simply because she didn¡¯t make them herself.

    I looked to Yua for her opinion on the risk and she just smiled sympathetically and shrugged as if this gamble didn¡¯t concern her in the slightest. I guess it was up to me as her master to decide for her. Not that I liked that she might have felt that way.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take it.¡±

    ¡°Alrighty then. I wish you great success in your endeavors. Assuming you even have the Apothecary class, anyways. If you don¡¯t, have fun wasting your ingredients.¡±

    Wow, no mercy with this one.

    I took out the gold coins, set them on the silver tray and took the leftover silvers from the leftover profit our loot made us after buying some empty potion bottles. While Yua stuffed the bottles into her backpack, the frail-looking Madam Turquesse jumped off her stool and hefted the cauldron up herself before setting it on the counter like it was nothing. Thinking that the ¡°magic¡± in the magic item she mentioned a minute ago actually made it lighter than it looked I picked the cauldron off counter just like how the magic candle didn¡¯t burn anything once lit, but I nearly dropped it on the spot before shoving my knee beneath it to force my legs to help out with its massive weight.

    Of course, the damn thing was heavy. It¡¯s basically a giant hunk of metal at least half an inch thick all the way around. Was it her love of potions that allowed this tiny witch to lift this thing so easily, or was it just because her level was so high?

    Seeing me struggling, Yua offered to help and we each took hold of one of its handles.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said. ¡°About how long does it take to brew health potions?¡±

    ¡°Hmm, about an hour for the small ones,¡± the tiny witch answered happily, still looking quite tired despite her quick burst of energy a moment ago. ¡°Is there anything else?¡±

    After a quick thought, I realized that our health wasn¡¯t the only issue we¡¯d face in the dungeon.

    ¡°Do you have any potions that can recover stamina?¡±

    Regardless of whether or not the ring might sell, we were going to be in the dungeon all day. Thinking back to last night when we were both exhausted after clearing what may have only been half the normal amount of monsters on the first floor before tackling the boss, I figured we might need a pick-me-up to keep us going. Plus, since energy drinks didn¡¯t seem to be a thing in this world in the more modern sense, and because health potions exist, I figure she must have something that could help us.

    Madam Turquesse looked from me to Yua, then back to me and covered her mouth to giggle.

    ¡°Oh my~¡­ Shouldn¡¯t you two wait until bedtime before you start talking about stamina potions? Young people these days have no shame.¡±

    ¡°Eh?!¡± Yua shouted, turning red and nearly dropping her half of the cauldron.

    ¡°Th-They''re for the dungeon!¡±

    I didn¡¯t even know they could be used for that! I never even considered it! Honest!

    ¡°I know. I know,¡± the tiny bitch said, waving her had dismissively. ¡°I was just joking. Small stamina potions are 2 silvers each. Same as the small health potions.¡±

    I slammed the money for two each on the counter, took what she handed me and we stormed off.

    ¡°Good luck with your potion! If you need help, feel free to stop by anytime. If it¡¯s talking about potions, I can go all night long! Just like you with those stamina potions!¡±

    It took a while for Yua to recover from Madam Turquesse¡¯s little ¡°joke,¡± but by the time we got back to the inn to drop off the cauldron, the redness in her cheeks had receded. Hopefully she would just forget that ever happened and wouldn¡¯t start trembling the moment I got closer to her again. It was already bad enough she assumed I¡¯d try something pervy the moment I got the chance, I don¡¯t need that little witch putting more of those ideas in her head.

    I suppose I should just take her playful barbs at my embarrassment as the true payback for insulting her potions yesterday.

    We set it in our room, put the bottles in my item box and divided up the stamina potions between us, so we¡¯d each have our own at the ready. I¡¯d have to wait until we were done fighting for the day to start brewing potions myself when I had more freedom to be around the cauldron. We didn¡¯t have time to waste doing it now.

    ¡°All that¡¯s left is the ring,¡± I said. ¡°Then we can hit the dungeons.¡±

    ¡°Finally,¡± Yua said, pumping herself up to get in there and fight again.

    Given that selling things directly to the stores that would actually make use of them should net us more coin, I wanted to try and sell the regeneration ring to a store that specifically sold enchanted items, but according to Yua, no such place existed anywhere in this city. So, there was only one place I could imagine that would be willing to take it off our hands.

    By the time we got to the General Store, they seemed to be at their peak working hours as there was a small crowd of people rummaging about the inside. When I got there around the middle of the day yesterday, the place was almost entirely empty, so I had to do a double-take of the signboard to see if we were in the right place. Watching what little the shop had to offer fly off the shelves and into the hands of the greedy customers, I had to guess that most people in the city do their shopping early in the morning because supplies weren¡¯t as abundant as they were in my old world. Everything here is man-made or grown locally in a finite quantity, so it¡¯s always going to be first come, first served from now on. I suppose the age of abundance I once lived in was now gone. Fantastic.

    While waiting for my turn at the counter, various housewives, teens, Adventurers and more all perused the various kinds of odds and ends on the shelves, their voices filling the shop with a breath of life that it lacked in my last visit, which made the place feel more welcoming, oddly enough. For whatever reason, being surrounded by so many people now didn¡¯t bother me as much as it used to. I guess I had too much on my mind to care at the moment. It was almost a shame that I couldn¡¯t just stay here a while and enjoy this feeling.

    There were several items I either hadn¡¯t noticed last time I was here or were outright new sitting on the tables attracting attention to themselves, but none of it was all that worth noticing, so I, as a man with tight purse strings, didn¡¯t bother joining the people in their search for seemingly useless trinkets. I was only here for one thing, then it was right back to work.

    A few things seemed to catch Yua¡¯s eye as we made our way through the crowd, though. Namely, things any girl would need to bring along with them when moving into a new home, such as hair brushes, tooth brushes and other beauty tools, as well as things a proper servant might need, such as a cheap apron with the picture of a duck sewn into its front pocket and various cooking implements. None of which she was allowed to own herself as a slave, apparently. Unfortunately, she¡¯d have to wait on all of that until we had more coin to spare.

    I let her look around without a word, taking a mental note of all the things she might want and need just in case. While I did this, what looked like a mother-daughter pair completed their purchase of some random jarred foods and left the shop and our turn to step up to the counter finally arrived.

    To my surprise, the shopkeeper seemed to recognize me the moment my face appeared from within the crowd.

    ¡°Good morning, dear customer and¡­¡± Albert suddenly stopped when he noticed I wasn¡¯t alone this time and turned a pair of openly lascivious eyes directly onto Yua¡¯s body, without a hint of remorse despite his own slave bunny-girl standing right next to him. ¡°Heh. I see you took my advice. That¡¯s a fine one you got there.¡±

    Only because I didn¡¯t want to piss him off again by punching him square in his big fat bald dome, I bit down my anger at the way he eye-humped Yua to the point of her becoming so uncomfortable, she actually resorted to hiding behind me.

    Right now, we needed his money. I can yell at him all I want later. Hell, I might even let Yua punch him a few times. I bet she might like that. Besides, his bunny-girl seemed like she¡¯d have something to say later on when they were alone, as she crossed her arms and glared at him from behind his back.

    ¡°Yea, I did,¡± I said honestly, for it was my only choice in the matter for multiple reasons. ¡°But I¡¯m not here to talk about that. I¡¯d like to sell this, please.¡±

    I slammed the ring on the counter a bit more forcefully than I meant to and the bunny-girl¡¯s ears twitched.

    Seemingly completely unaware of my not-so-well-hidden anger, he eyed the ring suspiciously without touching it, as if worried something so obviously valuable had been stolen and that I was trying to launder it to him, but his caution didn¡¯t last long. Since we weren¡¯t here to buy, he looked like he wanted to hurry and be done with this trade as soon as possible. Yua¡¯s obvious beauty couldn¡¯t hold the man¡¯s attention for long, not when even more customers entered the shop after we did and were waiting for his attention.

    He cast his Appraisal skill and after a second or two of watching his eyes run across a window full of text only he could see, his eyes grew wide and his mouth fell open with enough shock in his expression, that you¡¯d think we just handed him a diamond the size of a basketball. He reached behind himself and snatched the towel the bunny-girl had hanging from her pants pocket and used it to dab at his now sweaty forehead.

    I knew the ring was expensive, but that was a bit much.

    After a moment, he blinked as if coming out of a trance and slid the ring back over to me, clearly wanting to have nothing to do with it.

    ¡°Sir, I can¡¯t buy this¡­¡±

    ¡°What? Why not?¡±

    His outright denial was a big fat slap across the face. I pushed the ring back towards him, wanting to try my hand at bartering again.

    ¡°Please? I know what it¡¯s worth and I¡¯ll go as low as 25,000 gold for it.¡±

    ¡°The price isn¡¯t the problem,¡± he said, pushing it back a second time before removing his hands from the counter entirely. ¡°I don¡¯t keep anywhere near that much gold in my shop and even if I did, I still wouldn¡¯t buy it from you. If I tried, I¡¯d have no money to buy from anyone else and I wouldn¡¯t be able to make change for my customers until I manage to resell it. And that is only if I could find someone to buy it.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    His reasoning made so much sense that I couldn¡¯t complain. I don¡¯t know why I expected a small shop like this to be able to put up that much money. This shop may exist in a large, bustling city, but a general store in this world seemed to be somewhere between a small supermarket and a convenience store, due to the types of good he sold here. I had to beat a dungeon floor boss just to get 10 gold and I was expecting him to pay me three-thousand times that much. I understood the math, but I had no real idea what it took to actually earn that kind of coin.

    Plus, for all I knew, he had already used what money he had on hand to purchase the loot of other Adventurers capable on fighting on the lower floors. What I sold him yesterday was probably just scraps compared to that.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, dear customer. It¡¯s a nice find, but I really can¡¯t take it,¡± Albert said and put on a sympathetic smile. He eyed the ring again. It was easy for even a beginner Merchant like myself to see that he wanted it, but he knew full well that it was out of his grasp.

    I shook my head before the strength needed to keep it upright failed me and I ended up staring at my feet for an answer that was clearly not there. I knew relying on the sale of this ring was ridiculous, but it was our best bet at seeing this through. Even if I¡¯m extra generous to myself and assumed that the number of each floor multiplied the gold we got on the first floor, and we swept the whole place clean ourselves, we¡¯d still come up short. We were basically making pennies and nickels when we needed several stacks of hundred-dollar bills.

    We planned on heading to the dungeon anyways, so maybe we should just use the ring like Yua suggested. At least that way, we can keep trying and hope we find another enchanted item to sell, but one that is actually cheap enough to sell here in the city. If such a thing even existed.

    ¡°Master...¡± Yua clenched the back of my shirt.

    Her voice sounded weak, full of just as much pain and disappointment as mine surely had. In the face of this most recent failure of mine, I couldn¡¯t even muster up the brain power to consider if this was due to her wanting to steal whatever coin I got from its sale or if she too was saddened by this turn of events.

    I honestly hated Albert for it. I don¡¯t care if he had the money or not, or if he was just being logical in how he dealt with the ridiculous request of a customer. His refusal was going to get Yua taken away from me and most likely killed! All that time I spent together with her, trying to get her not to hate me may have only lasted a single day, but aside from all the worry, it was the most eventful day I¡¯d had in years. Probably my entire previous life.

    I just wanted to save her, to make up for the evil act of buying her in the first place. To give her a better life. One she likely deserved. The act she may have been putting up since this morning could be just a bluff, but it was good enough for it to at least feal real on the surface. Just that and that warm smile of hers was enough for me. She was enough as she is now or how she was yesterday. Even if things between us didn¡¯t end the way I wanted, I was sure we could at least be friends on some level. That may be all I deserved from her in the first place.

    We were going to fight in the dungeon, most likely fail to find the coin we needed and she¡¯d be taken from me before any of that could become reality. If only there was¡­

    Yua¡¯s grip on my shirt tightened and pulled me back from the brink of falling into the same rut of negative thoughts that kept me rooted in the life I hated back on Earth. Just like this morning, the droop to her ears and the non-existent enthusiasm of her tail displayed the sadness that was already plain enough on her face to say that it was nothing like the semi-permanent snark she fought me off with yesterday. The downward twist to her peachy lips looked almost as genuine as my own, as if she had been worrying about all of this the whole time I was.

    No! I refuse to let things go on like this!

    The bad thoughts keep coming for me, trying to weaken, trying to break me like they had in the past, but I have to keep fighting them. Letting them win out is why I ended up in this mess to begin with. If not for my own sake, then for hers. I had my chance at an easy life and screwed it up and ended up dying in a really embarrassing way just to get this second shot. She, however, was still on her first and only try at life and she¡¯s already had it leagues rougher than I did.

    Maybe I could just improve her circumstances. That¡¯d be enough for me.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t there something else we can do?¡± I said finally. ¡°Do you know of anyone else in the city that might be able to buy it?¡±

    He drew in a deep breath and sighed.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know anyone specific, but maybe you could try auctioning it off. There¡¯s still no guarantee that anybody will bid for it, but if you really need the coin, that¡¯s probably your best bet. But you¡¯d be gambling at it then. Hoping someone with very deep pockets takes a liking to it.¡±

    An auction? I never even considered that kind of system existed in this world. I¡¯d never gone to one back on Earth, either. I always enjoyed the concept of an auction as a passing fancy while watching others try their hand at it on television, but it was impossible for me. I knew I wouldn¡¯t have been able to open my mouth and proclaim, with the power of my own hard-earned money backing my words, that I wanted whatever happened to be for sale. So, I never bothered to put any real thought into going. But now forcing myself to go was just going to have to be the next step in trying harder to make this life worth living. And more importantly, it may well save Yua.

    Quickly, I pressed him for more information.

    ¡°I¡¯ll try that then. Where is it?¡±

    ¡°The auction house is in the east quarter of the city.¡±

    Surprisingly enough, the answer came from Yua, not Albert. I turned to her, ready to ask why she knew that and didn¡¯t say anything, but her ears were drooping even more than before. Her brow was furrowed, bringing out more lines in her face that someone of her apparent youth shouldn¡¯t have had to worry about for at least another couple decades. I could tell at once that she must have been thinking about something deeply depressing, but I had no idea what that could be. An auction still wasn¡¯t a guarantee, but I was ready to jump at any idea of hope that could be offered to us.

    Albert must have noticed my confusion, because he answered for her.

    ¡°Dear customer, I get that you aren¡¯t from around here, but you ought to know that slaves are the auctioneers¡¯ biggest money-makers. That¡¯s where the best of the best slaves go to be sold off to the highest bidder.¡±

    Yua bowed her head and shrank further behind me, like she didn¡¯t want me to look at her, and I think I might have understood why.

    She had to have been a slave for a long while before I met her. She probably made several friends amongst her fellow slaves as they were the only people on the planet who could properly understand what she was going through at the time and who could truly sympathize with her. And she probably had to watch many of them get sold off to a new master. Be it from some asshole like me showing up to buy them out of the blue or having to watch them get carted off to an auction house, likely never to be seen again.

    Just the thought of going to a place like that herself must be bringing back painful memories, ones on the same level as living in the slave house itself.

    ¡°But they don¡¯t just sell slaves,¡± Albert said. ¡°They often have various kinds of enchanted equipment up for sale. I¡¯m sure that, if you wanted to sell that ring in this city, the auction house is your best bet.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Thank you for the advice.¡±

    Torn between making Yua relive some past trauma or saving her life by selling the ring, the solution I found was easy enough. So, I stashed the ring back into my item box via my pouch, grabbed her by the hand and ran out of the store, pushing past the various customers blocking our way.

    We stopped on the sidewalk in front of the store and I checked my HUD to confirm the direction I needed to go, even though I somehow memorized the route to the slave house after only going there once. If it and the auction house were both in the east district, then I just had to make my way back there to start searching for it.

    This was my chance. Our chance. I just had to go, sell this damn ring and give the proceeds to Alphonse. I wouldn¡¯t even waste my time basking in the look of bewilderment he¡¯d no doubt show when I handed him a fat sack of coins. I¡¯d just take Yua and we¡¯d run. We¡¯d leave this city for good, for all the trouble it caused us.

    ¡°Yua, please go back to the inn and wait for me.¡±

    ¡°Eh? But Master¡­¡±

    She tried to protest, but I grabbed her by the shoulders to make her look at me. The following words spilled out before my self-consciousness could stop them.

    ¡°I want us to stay together, Yua. I don¡¯t want to lose you. And right now, that means I have to sell this ring. But I don¡¯t want to make you go if it¡¯s only going to end up hurting you.¡±

    Yua took a step back at the mention of needing to go to the auction house, almost like she was expecting it. But she rebounded quickly enough and, with a red tinge to her cheeks, she took my hand. Her strong, but somehow frail hand wrapped around mine with a pleading look in her big emerald eyes. I felt my cheeks heat up again as she was about to protest, but I cut her off.

    ¡°Please Yua, let me go. Just wait for me at the inn. I have the general idea of where it is, so I can find it myself. If I¡¯m lucky, and if I get there fast enough, someone might buy it early on instead of whatever else they were looking at.¡±

    Naturally, I had no idea how the auction house would work. This was just wishful thinking on my part, but it wasn¡¯t impossible. A ring that literally restored your life and cured wounds had to catch someone¡¯s attention.

    I started to leave, thinking she understood my reasoning, but she stopped me almost immediately. Grabbing my clenched fist again, Yua pleaded.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true that I have a lot of bad memories surrounding that place, but that¡¯s why I want to go. I know what to expect and I don¡¯t want Master to go alone. I want to be able to protect you the way you protected me.¡±

    ¡°Protect me? You do remember that I¡¯ve been to that part of the city before, right? I just bought you there yesterday¡­¡±

    The moment the words left my mouth, I felt every muscle in my body clench up, ready for her to condemn me. I didn¡¯t mean to remind her of how we came to know each other, even though that only just happened yesterday. It was most definitely still fresh in her mind.

    I thought she would have been upset at the reminder of her position in life, but she seemed to take it in stride as if it didn¡¯t matter and thumped a hand over her chest.

    ¡°I know,¡± she said. ¡°But you were lucky. At the time, you didn¡¯t have much coin on you, right? Well now you having that ring will draw out the Thieves hiding in the shadows.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s¡­¡± I checked over my shoulders to make sure nobody was listening. Found nothing, but whispered anyway in case there was a beast-kin lying in wait somewhere. ¡°It¡¯s in my item box. How would they even know?¡±

    ¡°Because they¡¯ll be able to smell it on you.¡±

    ¡°You mean¡­ Like a beast-kin could smell the ring?¡±

    ¡°No. I mean that people carrying valuable items always act differently when in public. They do things that unconsciously draw attention to themselves. Such as walk with a hunch even when you look otherwise healthy, subconsciously grabbing for your hidden coin purse whenever a stranger passes you on the street and so on, or how you might keep looking over your shoulder for no reason. This draws attention. The ring may or may not be safe where it is, I don¡¯t really understand your ability, but I have noticed the way you¡¯ve been carrying yourself this morning was rather odd. It¡¯s going to put a target on your back and most Thieves in the city hang out in the eastern district because they know that¡¯s where people with large purses like to spend their time. For various reasons.¡±

    I listened to her explanation, half in awe over the details she went into and half in worry. How does she know all of that? Why does she know what sorts of things Thieves would look for? Is this proof that she herself is a convicted criminal?

    Isn¡¯t this my best chance to find out once and for all?

    ¡°That¡¯s why I don¡¯t want Master to go alone.¡±

    ¡°Okay, um, but¡­ How exactly do you know all of that?¡±

    She tilted her head and her ear gave a twitch. I would have thought it was from annoyance given how she responded with such all of yesterday, but instead she just raised an eyebrow with the same sort of look she held on her face every time I asked something that should have been obvious.

    ¡°I learned it all from the other slaves at DeGrave Imports,¡± she said flatly. ¡°Outside of our training and meeting with our potential buyers, we had nothing else to do but talk. Some of the Thieves that got themselves caught told me what to look out for and in return, I taught them how to fight.¡±

    Despite myself, I let out a breath of relief.

    Of course, her answer didn¡¯t immediately dispel the possibility, but at least she didn¡¯t know any of that from firsthand experience.

    ¡°I see. Then¡­ I¡¯ve been acting strange?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    Again, a very blunt response. And also, a very hypocritical one. I feel I¡¯ve been mostly the same, but she¡¯s the one that changed her entire attitude overnight. And how do I know she isn¡¯t asking to go to help in order to corner me with a bunch of her thief friends in some back alley somewhere out of sight?

    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    A group of laughing children ran past us, distracting me. As my eyes unintentionally followed them in their play, I happened to notice the time on my HUD and shook my head.

    It wasn¡¯t what you¡¯d call late, it wasn¡¯t even noon yet, but we didn¡¯t have time to screw around with my indecisiveness. Two more days may seem like a lot of time to complete a project, but when said project consisted of earning enough money to say you¡¯d need at least a couple decades of scrimping and saving to do it normally, then it was almost as laughable as it was depressing.

    ¡°Fine¡­ I could use some help finding the auction house anyways.¡±

    If she decided to use this opportunity to try and escape our bond, then so be it. At least I¡¯d finally have my answer.

    ¡°You can count on me, Master!¡±

    With another fist pump, she smiled confidently at me. As beautiful as she was whenever I looked at her, the strong front she put up now was alone enough to cement the fact that I needed her by my side at all costs. Although, it would be nice if she could share some of that confidence she had, even if it was just for the possibility of us walking into trouble.

    ¡°Alright,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s go together, then. We¡¯ll hurry up with our business and be done with that place for good.¡±

    ¡°Right!¡±

    Unwilling and unable to turn her down after she showed me that brave face, I accepted her offer, much to her delight. I unclenched my fist, took hold of her hand and we took off for the eastern district.

    We entered the eastern section of Amoranth unmolested and slowed to a stop to avoid unwanted attention. Of course, this was assuming we didn¡¯t already have eyes on us from how we sped through the city.

    About half way on the way to De Grave Imports where we planned to start our search, or straight up ask directions if the need arose, we were pushed off the street by a group of six heavily armored men armed with swords and spears. Following their lead was a well-decorated cart pulled by no less than four horses. The driver, a fat man whose complexion looked to be permanently greasy, shot us a pompous sneer and didn¡¯t stop for even a second to complain at us like I was sure he would.

    Behind his cart were three more full of various boxed and unknown goods, all covered by a large white sheet, clearly meant to hide the contents, unlike that spice salesmen that helped me into the city. I knew almost at once that whatever they were carrying had to be meant for the auction, if not because of how much they were carrying and how far from the merchant district we were, but because those six guards in front weren¡¯t the only ones protecting the things inside the carts. But these things were not all there was.

    At the tail end of this procession of greed were a couple carriages whose out-of-place elegance made them appear about as expensive as what I assumed one of the smaller houses I¡¯d seen in the city might cost. Following further behind this was another small group of guards.

    Their no-doubt overly detailed exterior aside, it was obvious from a glance that it wasn¡¯t without reason for the back was filled with people. Not rich merchants or well-off nobles on their way into the city for some sightseeing, but slaves. The windows on the sides of the carts were left open on purpose to display the goods these merchants carried through the city and those goods were clearly people. The carriages they road in on were just the decorative wrapping they came in, which was in stark contrast with how they were dressed. Or should I say barely dressed for they wore only tattered rags to hide their shame, assuming they had even that much to cover themselves as I could only see their upper halves.

    One of the women inside, unlike the others, looked to be riding topless with a look of sheer despondency on her face. I thought she ought to have been worried for other reasons, given how she was crammed into the carriage with around six burly men, but each of them wore the same look on their faces, as if they hadn¡¯t noticed the half-naked beauty sitting next to them.

    Our eyes met as the carriage passed, but she showed no signs of caring that I had noticed her state of undress. She just returned her gaze to the floor, as if even looking up was utterly pointless for her now. She knew what was in store for her wherever the procession meant to take her as they pushed towards the northern part of the district.

    Yua¡¯s grim expression at the sight of the slaves almost looked to overshadow her desire to help me. Her fists clenched where they shook at her sides as she watched them pass and I felt a pit in my stomach gnawing at me when I thought of what their fates had waiting for them. It felt only worse when I realized that there was nothing I could do for them.

    I feel that, given the number of stories I¡¯ve read on the subject of otherworldly heroes and slaves, my first thought should have been that I needed to fight off all the guards, beat the merchants into submission and rescue these slaves, these people from the injustices they¡¯ve suffered, but all that I came up with was that I needed to protect Yua from having to go back to living that way in the event I failed. My only combat experience involved one-shotting slimes in the dungeon and killing a few wolves. And even if Yua helped, I doubted we¡¯d be able to stand up to the sheer number of guards hired to protect these carriages. And I didn¡¯t need to see their higher levels to know that it¡¯d be a losing effort.

    This wasn¡¯t a video game where I could stage a daring rescue, fail and reset over and over until I managed to eke out a victory by the skin of my teeth. Not only were they likely chained to the carriage somehow, if they were already bound by the effects of the slave spell and if they tried to run away, their master would always be able to track them down the same way I could Yua after we fell into that trap in the dungeon.

    It was a cruel reality and one that I¡¯d let myself become a part of because of my years of loneliness and only a moment of weakness mixed with opportunity. Seeing these people now, I can say that I do not regret my decision. I¡¯ll just have to do my best as Yua¡¯s master and make sure I make her happy. As happy as I can, anyways.

    And in order to do that, I had to look away from the slaves and content myself the best I could by wishing there was another choice. Yua nodded to me, and it was like she came to this same decision.

    Keeping our distance so we didn¡¯t look suspect to them, we followed the train of carts through the city. Thankfully, my assumption that they were headed for the auction house proved correct as they brought us to a two-story building made primarily of carved stone that looked oddly modern compared to all the other architecture in the city, just like DeGrave Imports. And like the slave house, it looked much nicer than most of what the city had to offer. The only real difference between the two was that this place was larger and actually had a sign detailing the name ¡°Amoranth Auction House¡± waiting for us out front.

    The carts pulled into a small, fenced off area just off to the side of the building and the workers waiting there immediately began unloading all the cargo without having to be asked.

    An arrogantly-dressed nobleman climbed down from his carriage. His high-class shirt and coat slipped over his bulging stomach when he stepped off of the short ladder leading up to the driver¡¯s perch much less gracefully than he likely intended and he quickly scrambled to right himself before barking orders at the driver of the carriage holding the slaves.

    Disgusted by him, we watched as he entered the building with his nose held high in the air, as if he refused to even breathe the same air as us lowly commoners. He wasn¡¯t so much as checked for weapons by the guards posted outside the building and was allowed in without any fuss. I guessed that he must have been am well-known man of some sort, since none even stopped to ask for his name.

    Stopping to catch our breaths so we looked more natural and much less desperate, Yua and I followed the fat man inside.

    Again, much like De Grave Imports, the inside of the auction house was well-furnished with couches and chairs of such quality make, that it made my bed at the Lazy Cat Inn look like it was a sheet of cardboard. No less than six women dressed as maids and labeled as such in their info boxes, were walking the grounds, either sweeping floors or polishing the fine oak tables that adorned the waiting room. If I didn¡¯t know any better, I¡¯d believe it if I were told I had accidentally walked into a nobleman¡¯s house.

    The fat noble we followed was greeted by an older man dressed like a butler and, unlike the maids, actually held the level 61 Auctioneer class. Because that is apparently a class all its own here. After listening to the noble give a brief rundown of what he brought to sell today, he was waved into the back, where he was accompanied by a maid that looked to be trying to hide her discomfort. We saw the reason why when she and the noble left the lobby and headed into the backrooms and the noble slipped his hand up the back of her skirt as if it were entirely natural. Apparently, this place had no human resources department she could complain to, as she did her best not to comment on it.

    Yua and I looked to each other, but the auctioneer called out to us before we could have any sort of unspoken conversation with each other.

    ¡°How may I help you today?¡±

    His choice of words as he greeted us sounded as inviting as any other shop owner in the city, but he spoke with an emotionless timbre that put me on edge. It felt like he somehow noticed the clear difference of our levels and wouldn¡¯t hesitate to crush me for wasting his time.

    I cleared my throat.

    ¡°Hi. M-My name is Alex. An adventurer. I wanted to try and auction off a rare item I found in the dungeons.¡±

    The man stared at me blankly and I almost got the impression that my earlier prediction was about to come true until he spoke again.

    ¡°And, what is it? Show it to me already.¡±

    ¡°But that¡­ Right, sorry.¡±

    I was about to complain that the noble before us didn¡¯t actually have to show that he was carrying what he said he was, but I held my tongue and told myself not to cause any problems as I reached into my pouch. This might as well be our only chance to actually sell off the ring. I can¡¯t mess this up.

    The moment I set it on the counter, he picked it up and cast his own Appraisal ability. I had no doubt that he saw the same price tag I and Albert saw, but unlike Albert, he didn¡¯t so much as bat an eye when he looked into its details. He set the ring back down and looked me in the eye.

    ¡°Hmm. Silver Ring of Regeneration. This isn¡¯t a bad find. How much were you looking to get for it?¡±

    ¡°Well, I already had it appraised at 30,000 gold pieces. So¡­¡±

    The man frowned slightly and shook his head.

    ¡°That may be what it¡¯s worth to buy it outright, but this is an auction house. If we start the bidding that high, we likely won¡¯t be able to sell it.¡±

    Shit, I forgot about that. The final price would be determined by how many people bid against each other starting from the listed price, meaning the price needed to start lower than its actual value, as starting too high might actually prevent people from bidding.

    That alone was a gamble too, because if I started too low and only one person bid for it, then they¡¯d basically win it for much less than its actual worth. Conversely, if several people really wanted it and continued to push their bids higher to defeat the other prospective buyers, then the price might even end up exceeding its original value. My Merchant class was telling me that starting low to let the buyers get amped up seeing the price continually increase would have both the effects of showing them how valuable the item truly was and that it would make them want join the bidding themselves. So, in a way, it was like we¡¯d be advertising the ring while selling it at the same time. This might be a good start, but unlike my class, I myself didn¡¯t think it was worth the risk.

    I wasn¡¯t looking to become rich, so I already had my answer.

    ¡°Then set the starting price at 25,000 gold pieces, please. I can¡¯t go any lower than that.¡±

    Returning the man¡¯s unwavering, stern gaze, we met each other in a silent battle of wills to see who¡¯d back down. He needed to make a profit off of this too. His level may have outclassed mine by a mile and my confidence boosting skill was nowhere to be seen as I felt my knees trembling in place, but I had all the support I needed when Yua gripped the back of my shirt.

    I don¡¯t know if she was just trying to tell me not to be so stubborn, but she had at least enough faith in me not to speak out about it. Assuming, of course, that her caution was born from faith and not distrust. And thanks to that, the auctioneer buckled first with a sigh.

    ¡°If that is what you wish, we can accommodate. However, you must be aware that it may not sell at that price. Now¡­¡±

    He took out a piece of paper that looked like one section of those user agreement prompts nobody ever actually reads, but it was accompanied by an arcane-looking patterned circle at the top that caught my eye. He slid it over the counter towards me before turning it so that I could read it. He then pressed his right index finger on the page where a line was left blank and a small spark of light erupted from the paper. When he removed his finger, the line now read: Silver Ring of Regeneration. Alex. Starting bid: 25,000 gold pieces.

    He looked to me for a response.

    Not wanting to make the same mistake I did with Alphonse, I braved his annoyed look and picked up what I now knew to be a contract of sorts to read it carefully. To my surprise, the very second I was able to see every word on the page, I somehow knew exactly what it detailed. Without seeing the paper for more than a heartbeat or two, I was able to recite it word for word from memory.

    Was this the Memorization ability that the Goddess gave me at work? If it improved my memory to the point where I could instantly remember every word on a page I didn¡¯t actively read, then that explained a great deal. From memorizing the random potions at the General Store to remembering all the details of my old memories I thought had been long since forgotten. I just never put much stock into how that particular ability worked, since the only things I¡¯ve read since coming here were status pages and shop names.

    Confused and intrigued by this, since speed-reading wasn¡¯t one of my abilities or traits or something I was capable of before all of this, I re-read the contract to make sure, but found that it did line up exactly with my memory. It read:

    By accepting this contract, you are accepting that the auction house takes ten percent of the final bid as payment for our services and that you will be transferring possession of the item or items you are trying to auction over to us until such time as the auction starts. Ownership of the item or items still belongs to you, so if you wish to break this contract before the auction starts, you may do so and your item shall be returned to you at no cost. However, you have until midday the day of the auction to decide. If you decide to follow through with the auction and your item does not sell, you may retrieve it at no cost to yourself or you may ask we keep hold of it and try again at the next auction.

    Ten percent? No wonder this place is so well kept. They are making a fortune off of just selling other people¡¯s crap. But that means that if the ring goes for the base price of 25,000 gold, they will skim 2,500 off of the top. That would leave us that much below what we needed. That meant the ring had to sell for around 27,800 just for us to barely make it. That was almost 3,000 gold more than what we actually needed. Talk about a gamble.

    I could still feel Yua holding onto me, her forehead pressed against my back, silently waiting for my decision. I had no idea if she knew the math and the risk that backed it up, but her silence was as good as leaving her fate in my hands. Because she effectively was.

    ¡°I accept those conditions.¡±

    Yua¡¯s grip on my shirt tightened and I hoped I was making the right decision.

    ¡°Then accept the seal,¡± the auctioneer said. ¡°Then we will handle the rest.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± I looked at the paper and couldn¡¯t see a spot to sign or a pen to sign it with. ¡°Um, how do I¡­¡±

    ¡°Just place your left hand on the paper, raise your right and say ¡®I accept this contract as it is written,¡¯ and your part in this will be done.¡±

    ¡°It will? Don¡¯t I have to be here during the auction?¡±

    ¡°You may attend the auction as a guest or as a customer if you intend to buy, but you do not need to be present if all you wish to do is sell. In the event your item sells, you may come to collect your coin yourself after, have a slave come to collect it for you or we could deliver it to wherever you may be staying, if you so wish. However, we are not responsible if the coin is stolen before or after it gets to you.¡±

    ¡­That just sounds like they are intentionally leaving in a loophole to steal the money if I don¡¯t show up to collect it myself. I could easily imagine them claiming they tried to bring the gold to my room at the inn, but that their couriers were attacked by some fictional bandits along the way.

    ¡°We¡¯ll just stop by before the auction finishes. When is it and how long does it usually last?¡±

    ¡°The next auction starts tomorrow at one hour after midday. They usually last a few hours, but that depends entirely on how many items are up for auction that day.¡±

    Tomorrow?! That¡¯s the day we need the money by!

    Now we¡¯re not just gambling that the ring will sell for enough to cover Yua¡¯s contract, but that it sells in time for us to make it back to Alphonse before the deadline.

    Biting back the urge to yell, I asked, ¡°If it sells earlier on in the auction, can we collect the money right after or do we have to wait until the auction is over?¡±

    ¡°That is dependent entirely on if the buyer is done bidding for the day. Once they pay, you may speak to the money changer here and show them this contract and you will be given what is owed you.¡±

    At least that might be good news. Unless the buyer has bottomless pockets, they might not have that much money on them. So, just buying the ring may cause them to tap out of the rest of the auction. Although, that could all change if they are allowed to write some kind of check or an I.O.U. Who knows how long we¡¯d have to wait then?

    Jumbling all these ifs about in my head, I realized I only really had the one option to begin with. So, I raised my right hand and put my left on the paper. The auctioneer did the same on the other side of the counter and waited for me.

    ¡°I accept this contract as it is written.¡±

    I spoke as clearly as I could, expecting the magic contained in the contract to not allow for errors in pronunciation. The moment I finished speaking, the arcane circle on the page glowed a shade of blue bright enough to make me wince in pain. The light slowly faded into nothingness and both my name and the auctioneer¡¯s name appeared at the bottom of the page in blood red ink.

    The auctioneer, apparently named Bradley since I never bothered to check, picked up the paper and rolled it into a tube before wrapping a bow around it stamped with the symbol of a gavel, probably the auction house¡¯s seal. He then handed it back to me, pulled out a large lockbox he had hidden somewhere behind the counter and looked to me as though he expected his expression alone to say that the deal was done. But I still had a question.

    ¡°Hey, why didn¡¯t that guy that came in here before us have to make a contract like this?¡±

    Bradley looked about as annoyed by the question as I thought he¡¯d be, but answered anyway. Like the only thing making him do so was the respect his job demanded he give to customers.

    ¡°That was Lord Robert Barrily. He is a regular here and is a trusted trading partner who often uses our services to sell off his slaves.¡±

    ¡°Slaves? Then does that mean he works for Alphonse DeGrave?¡±

    ¡°We do not offer details of our other customer¡¯s personal lives.¡±

    He stared dead-eyed at me, but that was all the answer I needed to know I hit the nail on the head. So, Alphonse has the backing of a noble as well? This day just keeps getting better.

    ¡°If this concludes your business with us¡­¡±

    ¡°It does. Thanks. I¡¯ll be back tomorrow.¡±

    As soon as we had confirmation that everything was taken care of and I declared loud and clear that I wouldn¡¯t fall for any potential bullshittery they may have been trying to get sneaky with, I once more grabbed Yua¡¯s hand and hurried for the exit. We rushed past the maids bowing and politely offering to help us find our way, as if we couldn¡¯t find the exit we¡¯d only just come through a few minutes ago and thrust ourselves back into Amoranth proper.

    We didn¡¯t stop there, though. We bulldozed past the workers still unloading Lord Barrily¡¯s carts and all the others that were only now arriving. Seems the auction house was pretty popular, as the line of carts and wagons lining up down the street seemed to go on and on without end. Seeing this, I quickened my pace. Having more people coming to sell their goods could only mean that the chances of our ring selling were going to plummet. We needed to prepare.

    ¡°M-Master,¡± Yua said, struggling to keep up, though that was probably just due to how I held her. ¡°What are we doing?¡±

    ¡°We need to head to the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°But why? I thought selling the ring was going to be good enough.¡±

    ¡°It might be, but we can¡¯t just assume it will actually sell. And, because the auction house takes a cut for themselves, we need to hurry and do our best to make up that difference while we still have time. Just in case. Otherwise, we won¡¯t have enough to pay off your contract.¡±

    I chose to leave out the option of it not selling at all, so that I can maintain that small amount of hope that it won¡¯t come to that. I just needed to keep hoping.

    On the brighter side, even if it did sell at the starting bid, then the amount we¡¯d need to make up for would be much, much lower. But we¡¯d still need to work our butts off in the meantime.

    ¡°Okay¡­¡±

    Yua sounded almost as worried as I was once I told her this. For one that loved fighting so much, I found it a little odd that she wasn¡¯t excited to hear we were going back to the dungeon. Did she not know how auctions actually worked? I mean, I¡¯m no expert either, but if she had some sort of trauma regarding them stealing her old friends away, I figured she¡¯d know at least a little.

    We continued down the line of carts, ignoring the drivers and passengers that looked at us in confusion and especially those that held enough contempt in their expressions to mar their faces. Be it our poor state of dress compared to theirs or maybe they just thought I had somehow smuggled one of the slaves for sale out of the auction house they were about to grace with their presence, it really didn¡¯t matter. Their opinions didn¡¯t matter. We would be an eyesore for the brief moment it would take for us to pass them. So, they can shove their opinions up their collective asses.

    This felt so incredibly odd. Being so close from paying off Yua¡¯s contract and at the same time, being so far away. The entirety of our future together, or whether or not there would even be one, now rided on what happens tomorrow.

    Yua and I could settle our differences and if she willed it, we¡¯d go our separate ways. I may hate it, but I¡¯d take her loss as my punishment for buying her in the first place. As long as she was safe, I could live with that.

    But, for whatever reason, if the side of her that smiled to me this morning was the side that greeted me when all this was done, then¡­

    ¡°Master¡­¡±

    ¡°We have to hurry, Yua,¡± I said, cutting her off as we ran. ¡°If you need to, we¡¯ll take a short break once we get there. I don¡¯t want to have to wait in line too long.¡±

    I say so, but it was me that was breathing heavily. This new body of mine could keep pace with her no problem in the short term, but my heart was beating so fast while thinking of all the possible outcomes for tomorrow that I couldn¡¯t breathe. She seemed to have picked up on this as her brow furrowed with what looked like concern.

    ¡°Master, I think you need to calm down.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m just a little¡­ excited, I guess.¡±

    ¡°No, Master. Your heart is¡­ You really need to calm down.¡±

    ¡°I agree,¡± said a third voice that stopped us in our tracks. One that I didn¡¯t need to be a beast-kin to recognize and one that neither of us wanted to hear.

    We skidded to a stop on the street, my mind for some reason briefly thanking myself for stopping to buy Yua her boots for this exact occasion. Once my legs stopped moving, my lungs finally caught up to me and, against my better judgment, I sucked in a deep breath just as the owner of the voice that only Yua could hate more than me climbed down from his carriage.

    Alphonse DeGrave had been waiting in the same line that flowed towards the auction house. From the looks of it, it was only him in his carriage and none of the ones behind or in front of him were the sort used to ferry people through the city, so he didn¡¯t seem to be heading out to sell off more of his slaves. Nor did he seem to be hauling anything else along with him.

    If he was connected to Lord Barrily in some way like I thought he was, then he might actually just be heading that way to say hello to an old friend once he received word he arrived in the city. My terrible luck must have just reared its head and forced me to run into him here.

    Once he set his neatly polished loafers on the cobblestone road, the thug holding the reigns of the carriage moved to disembark and join him, likely meaning to act as his bodyguard, but Alphonse just smirked at me and held up a hand to stay him. The thug shrugged and used the opportunity Alphonse gave him by facing us to slouch lazily in his seat. Though, he did eye me wearily and thump a hand on the hilt of his sword. An obvious threat if I ever saw one.

    Alphonse smoothed his slick hair back and, wearing what looked to be the same half-hearted attempt at a merchant¡¯s smile he neglected to show me back when we first met, he looked from me to Yua, then without even fully turning his smug face back to me, he laughed through his teeth.

    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡±

    ¡°Hahaha. Nothing, I suppose. It¡¯s just, I see you¡¯ve managed to grow enough of a backbone not to run from Amoranth.¡±

    Backbone? Did he really see through me so thoroughly that even my lack of confidence was obvious? I swear, I remember handling our negotiations at least fairly well. Sure, he got the jump on me on multiple occasions, but that was only because he pinpointed bits and pieces of the things I said and stretched them out until he found the truth. For all I was worth, I thought I had at least put up a fa?ade worthy of being called confidence, right up until I found out how he tricked me. I guess my confidence boost failed me there, too.

    I clenched my teeth.

    ¡°We both know that it wouldn¡¯t have mattered if I did.¡±

    ¡°True. But seeing you so desperate to buy this one, I figured you would have tried to run away with her the second I let you out of my house. Honestly, I was hoping for a chance to chase you down.¡±

    Despite Alphonse¡¯s blustering remarks, I could hear Yua muttering under her breath. I couldn¡¯t quite make out anything she said, but from the utterly unrefined anger in her burning expression, I didn¡¯t need to ask to know that if she spoke any louder, the thug waiting in the driver¡¯s perch would have jumped down with his sword drawn.

    It was almost strange seeing her like this. The last time the three of us were together, she looked so despondent over her attempts to avoid being sold had failed that she couldn¡¯t even pull her gaze away from her feet, but now she looked like she was honestly trying to set him ablaze with just her eyes.

    After learning what little about her life in the slave house, primarily how he dressed and fed her, I could easily say that his name took up so much of my shit list that it came before the title and took up the whole first three pages by itself.

    But still, Yua looked to be biting back every urge welling up in her to slam her most powerful Iron Fist right into his jaw, shattering his teeth like they were nothing more than bits of brittle chalk. Seems like the single day of freedom she¡¯s had from him was enough to make her forget any sort of need to be respectful. And, were it not for his continued smirk, I would have thought he still feared her as much as he did when I watched her toss around his men.

    ¡°Because if you ran, I¡¯d be well within my rights to end our contract on the spot,¡± he clarified, not that anyone asked.

    ¡°Sorry to disappoint,¡± I said, my own anger unwilling to let him get the better of me again. ¡°But we¡¯re doing everything we can to¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, I¡¯ve heard,¡± he interrupted with a flippant wave of his hand. ¡°You¡¯ve been running around in the dungeons. It¡¯s more proactive than begging for coin on the streets, I¡¯ll give you that, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve noticed by now.¡±

    The provocative twist to his lips no doubt meant that he was well aware that the more conventional method of looting the monsters in the dungeon couldn¡¯t possibly pan out the way we wanted. I was so aware of that fact that it practically gave me heartburn.

    However, despite the fact that he was apparently keeping tabs on us, he seemed unawares of the ring we just put up for auction. Obviously. I stuffed the thing straight into my item box almost as soon as we found it and it¡¯s been there ever since. The only other time we¡¯d taken the thing out was to try and sell it to Albert at the General Store. And even if his little birds managed to catch wind of this without us noticing, I still felt it fairly reasonable to say that he shouldn¡¯t know about it yet.

    Which means he¡¯s still expecting us to fail.

    I thought to use this moment to bluster and puff myself up, but I wasn¡¯t sure I could pull it off properly. Not after realizing how I failed last time. And not when the issue of the ring not actually being sold yet would inevitably come up. In fact, telling him about it might be dangerous. If he¡¯s friends with that Lord Barrily, he or they may have some amount of sway within the auction house. Bragging about it now might cause the auction to drop the sale of the ring altogether.

    It wasn¡¯t worth the risk. I had to take his laughter on the chin this time around.

    Then, as if only just noticing where we¡¯d come from, despite the line of carts heading straight to it, he looked to the auction house and back to me.

    ¡°My, my. Whatever are you doing here at Amoranth¡¯s Auction House? Let me guess¡­¡± he put a hand to his chin and pondered, though he didn¡¯t look even half serious. ¡°I see what it is. Yes. You thought that having another slave to help you in the dungeons would help you earn coin faster, right? But since you no doubt hate me now, you couldn¡¯t bring it upon yourself to drag your feet back into my house, so you came here, only to find out that the next auction isn¡¯t until tomorrow. When it would be well-too-late.¡±

    The all-around refined merchant¡¯s air he held himself up with seemed to be the only thing stopping him from breaking into a shit-eating grin. And, I had to say, aside from him being completely wrong this time around, he had a point. He himself brought up the concept of me buying cheap slaves specifically to earn money in the dungeon, so him coming to that conclusion was understandable. But understandable was all it was.

    Without knowing it, all he was doing now was telling me that he didn¡¯t know about the ring. And this time, I was positive I was right about his intentions.

    Seeing Yua continue to seethe, I put a hand out in front of her. I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d actually risk hurting him since it would only cause us trouble. She didn¡¯t even get violent with me when I accidentally groped her, so her actually threatening Alphonse with a broken nose would only end up hurting her right back due to the slave spell, since he effectively owns half of her contract as we speak. Matter of fact, unless he truly gave up his rights to her in our trade, that meant that Yua was showing an absurd amount of self-restraint, if even her thoughts were somehow still free of blood. Which I doubted, considering how pissed she looked.

    I resisted the urge to bite my lip, but not so much so that he couldn¡¯t think his words hurt me. Maybe if I played along, I could get some answers out of him.

    ¡°Why are you doing this to us?¡±

    ¡°Pardon?¡± he said with a barely restrained laugh. ¡°Are you seriously asking me that now? A bit late, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    ¡°If all you wanted out of this was money, we could have worked something else out. You didn¡¯t need to go this far to ruin our lives.¡±

    ¡°Please. It¡¯s almost literally my job to ruin lives. What sort of fool expects kindness from a Slave Master?¡±

    The more he spoke, the harder it was to keep myself calm. And it most definitely didn¡¯t help to have him point out the fact that it was incredibly stupid of me to trust him in the first place, but also that I myself didn¡¯t deserve to be trusted. Regardless of whether or not I had the Slave Master class, I do own Yua. A person. I¡¯m no more deserving of trust than he is. I¡¯m no better than he is, even if my hatred for him wants me to think so.

    Still, unlike him, I was at least trying to be kind to her. He put up a front and faked a smile until he successfully screwed me over, but at least my smiles for her were the truth. Weak, but true. That¡¯s where we differed. And that, at least where I was concerned, was all that mattered.

    Seeing his smirk run its course and as he was about to turn to leave, no doubt thinking he¡¯d won yet again, I noticed a slight twinge to his eye. Almost as if he¡¯d said something he himself found vaguely distasteful and elected to run away from it instead of correct it. The tough front he put up immediately after was no doubt more resilient than mine, but after having to use one all the time myself, I was sure that the weakening of his smile signaled the end of whatever it was he found humorous. But the same way he plucked my true intentions from the things I told him yesterday, I knew there was something there for me to grab.

    I pressed for more. I wracked my brain for random things to talk to Yua about, but this one came up so easily that my lips barely had time to filter my question out into something coherent before it reached his ears.

    ¡°How did you become a Slave Master, anyways?¡±

    The way he suddenly stopped as he was about to lift his foot onto the step ladder back up to the driver¡¯s perch looked so close to a flinch that I needed to suppress a smile. Not that I was wearing one, as the topic was dangerous.

    If you were to put aside the fact that him owning and selling slaves obviously made him a slave master by trade, it¡¯d be easy to guess how he got the class of the same name. But it wasn¡¯t his first class. His first was Merchant. It was more or less speculation on my part, but after taking into consideration Yua and all the others I¡¯ve met in this city so far, I had a pretty good feeling that the first class listed on any given person¡¯s info box was the class they were born with. Meaning that he had to do something to earn the class itself.

    Naturally, nobody else should have been able to tell this by just looking at him, but my info box didn¡¯t lie. It was this secret that put me in danger, as what I meant to sound like speculation was already a fact set in stone. In his info box that only I could see, but that he confirmed himself in his attempts to belittle my already self-aware incompetence.

    It¡¯s the same as how I¡¯ve earned my classes so far. He may not have a trait that makes it easier to gain new classes and I may not be able to pinpoint exactly what I did to earn some of them, but I know I did something that made sense in the context of the class title. Using magic to become a Mage. Buying and selling items to become a Merchant. The Slave Master title suggested that the requirements should have been obvious, to buy or sell a person, but maybe it wasn¡¯t that simple.

    He did something to earn that class and, from the stiff look in his shoulders, that reminder of that something seemed to touch a nerve. Call it petty, call it justified, but I wanted to find that nerve and kick it in the dick. If you can gain classes and jobs by working hard at them, I had to know why he worked to earn the Slave Master title. Maybe I could use the information to my favor somehow.

    However, when he turned back to us, his expression was a picture-perfect example of calm. He¡¯d wiped that smirk off his lips and he was no longer laughing, but if my question wounded him, he definitely wasn¡¯t going to let it show.

    ¡°How I became a Slave Master? What has you so interested, hmm? Think you can become like me and sell Yua here off to someone else to make up what you owe me? Because you can¡¯t. Her contract is still mine until the appointed date in which¡­ Ha. I suppose she will still be mine.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t sell her even if my life depended on it.¡±

    This time, I answered without hesitation. There was no stuttering, no mumbling, no skirting around the issue or pretending at falsehoods to hide my feelings. Nobody short of Yua herself was going to separate us. If the ring didn¡¯t sell, I¡¯d find some other way to end this in a way that would keep her smiling.

    Thief or not, after what she¡¯s been through, she deserves that much.

    Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed some of the heat in Yua¡¯s expression die down as she opened her mouth to wordlessly comment on what I said.

    ¡°Then why are you so interested?¡± Alphonse said, apparently unimpressed with my response.

    I put my hands in my pockets, feigning a calmness to match his own, but I was actually pinching my thigh to spur myself on.

    ¡°Call it professional curiosity.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t pin down which of my classes it was, but one of them was on to something. Whether or not learning his reasons helped us in the end was irrelevant. Just like in the video games I wasted my life on, I felt as though I¡¯d stumbled upon a hidden dialogue option that needed to be explored in detail.

    Alphonse looked to Yua again, possibly noticing that her anger had slackened a bit, because his smirk returned as he faced the long line of cart intended for the auction house. He shrugged.

    ¡°Fine. I suppose I have some time to play along. It¡¯s not exactly a secret at this point anyways.¡±

    Feeling some of the momentum I felt building dissipate with the ease in which he gave in, I waited quietly for him to continue. As did Yua. From the look of confusion on her face, I guessed she hadn¡¯t heard, or maybe hadn¡¯t been interested in, his reasons for being what he was.

    ¡°Back when I was around your age, I was betrothed to a woman by the name of Alicent Greyloch. She was so beautiful and so far beyond my means that I was left dumb and speechless when she actually accepted my proposal. After a mere handful of months¡¯ worth of me visiting her parent¡¯s pottery shop just to make small talk. I was just a fruit vendor myself at the time, after my mother retired and gave me her cart and, honestly, I have no idea what I said to earn her favor. Even now,¡± Alphonse¡¯s expression almost turned into that of an older man thinking back fondly on old memories, but he quickly righted it. ¡°We were a mere two months from the altar when she was being fitted for her wedding dress. Everything went fine and the dress fit perfectly. However, when she took it off, she¡¯d forgotten to remove the garter belt before leaving the store. Of course, being the kind soul she was, she hurried back to return it, but by then it was too late. She¡¯d become a Thief.

    ¡°We hid it well enough. Or at least, we thought we did. The next two months of impatience and continued promises that I¡¯d take her secret to the grave, we found ourselves at the altar and, when she showed up in that gorgeous wedding dress of hers and she took my hand, you¡¯d never have thought that she¡¯d spent the last few months panicking by the way she smiled at me.

    ¡°We said our vows, kissed and everyone cheered. Unfortunately for us, when I brought her back home and into the bedroom we were now going to share, we found a pair of disgusting Adventurers waiting for us.

    ¡°You see, Alicent¡¯s father was a little too good at his job. He¡¯d apparently come up with some technique or other that allowed him to make his pots noticeably more durable, so that they wouldn¡¯t shatter like glass when dropped. He, however, refused to give or even sell his secrets to his competitors. One such competitor, who¡¯s shop I¡¯ve since metaphorically burned to the ground, hired a couple of men to come and take in the Thief known now as Alicent DeGrave. On her wedding night, no less.¡±

    In the brief lull in his story that Alphonse took, no doubt remembering that night, I posed a simple question.

    ¡°But if they broke into your house, wouldn¡¯t they themselves have been marked as Thieves?¡±

    Alphonse snapped himself out of his melancholy jaunt through memory lane to roll his eyes.

    ¡°No, fool. Just breaking into someone¡¯s house doesn¡¯t make you a Thief, stealing does. And even if it did, it wouldn¡¯t have mattered. I¡¯d just bought the place a few days prior and the paperwork wasn¡¯t done yet. The bastard that sent those men thought everything through perfectly. They knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that we¡¯d be alone on our wedding night because we were going to¡­ well, I suppose you already know.¡±

    Alphonse¡¯s eyes darted quickly to Yua, but he didn¡¯t give either of us time to question why.

    ¡°They came. They took her. I fought back to the very best of my abilities, only to wind up with a broken nose for interfering with their apprehension of a criminal. They were entirely indifferent to the fact that she was still wearing her wedding dress as they hefted her over their shoulders and carried her away. I crawled after them as fast as my beaten and broken limbs would allow, but my vision was already growing feint.

    ¡°I thought we hid the fact that she¡¯d become a thief perfectly, but when I woke the next day to the worst headache I¡¯d ever had, I found out just how eerily fast rumors spread in the city. By the time I found out myself, the whole city knew of her accidental crime. So, nobody cared when I went to them for help, because they already knew there was nothing they could do. Not even her father, could do a thing to help. He ended up falling so deep into the bottle when I told him what happened that he ended up closing his shop for good.¡±

    He paused again, this time an anger I¡¯d never seen on him causing several strands of his once perfectly combed hair to fall over his face.

    ¡°¡­ I¡¯m sorry to hear all of this,¡± I said honestly. ¡°But I don¡¯t see what any of this has to do with my question.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Alphonse said, pushing his hair back into its rightful place. ¡°In short, I found out that she¡¯d been forced into slavery. Honestly, it¡¯s what we all thought would happen. She was too pretty, too valuable to be executed. So, I grabbed every coin I had to my name and bullied what I could out of her father and brought it all to the slave house she¡¯d been given to. Only, I didn¡¯t have nearly enough¡­ She was sold to someone else not even a week later.¡±

    I felt more of Yua¡¯s tension slip, but not all of it. Never all of it. She still very clearly hated the man despite this, and so did I. It was hard to argue that he didn¡¯t have it rough, but if despite all of this, he still intentionally screwed people over the same way that had been done to him...

    He continued.

    ¡°It was when I went to that slave house and saw just how much she was worth to me, that I realized my way of making money simply couldn¡¯t compare. So, I used what money I had to play the market. I bought myself a couple weaker, less attractive slaves. Prettied them up, got them into shape and when there was no more improvements to be made, I brought them to auction. As luck would have it, they sold for several times what I paid for them.¡±

    ¡°But why go that far? If it¡¯s the slave house that sold your wife, why fund them further by buying from them?¡±

    ¡°To get my beloved Alicent back, obviously,¡± he snarled, then composed himself as if that little slip were an honest accident. ¡°One thing I learned during my time as a Merchant is that everyone has a price. So, I thought that if I built up my purse well enough, I¡¯d be able to buy her back from her master and we could continue the life together we were denied.¡±

    ¡°And did you?¡± Yua asked through her teeth, no doubt thinking on all the slaves Alphonse must have toyed with just to try and win his wife back.

    ¡°Oh, yes, I did. And then some. A year later, when I showed up to that man¡¯s doorstep with a bag full of gold, he was more than happy to sell her back to me. See, he¡¯d fallen on rough times himself. Seems that a horde of demons attacked a caravan he¡¯d hired to ferry some very expensive works of art to another city. Everything was very much destroyed and he was very much desperate to recoup on his losses. So, he practically threw her at me the moment I walked in the door. She, of course, was elated to see me and jumped into my arms. I was so¡­ happy, that I dropped the bag of coins on his table, which was worth well over what he was asking for, and finally brought my Alicent back home. However, our happy ending was never to be.

    I felt something ominous well up in my gut, but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to question its meaning. Whatever it was he was about to say, I knew I wasn¡¯t going to like it.

    ¡°You see, when I brought her back home and finally brought her to bed, I found that she was so utterly used up by that man that she disgusted me. My beautiful, loving Alicent was so¡­ loose, so worn that I couldn¡¯t bring myself to look at her anymore. In my stupor upon realizing this, she tried all sorts of things to try and usher me back to the marital bed, but I wouldn¡¯t have it. I couldn¡¯t have her anymore.¡±

    ¡°So¡­.¡±

    ¡°So, I sold her off,¡± he said, utterly unconcerned with the shocked gasp that stole the rest of Yua¡¯s anger.

    ¡°You did what?!¡±

    ¡°How could you?!¡±

    In the face of our combined uproar, all Alphonse did was shrug.

    How in the hell could he work that hard for the woman he loved for an entire year, only to get rid of her the moment he realized he didn¡¯t like what she became. It¡¯s not like it was her choice. And from the sound of things, her love for him never died out despite what happened to her. What kind of heartless bastard would just turn a woman like that away? I mean, I most definitely can¡¯t get behind the methods he used to get her back, but how?!

    ¡°Why would you willingly trade away the woman you love after trying so hard for her sake?¡±

    ¡°Why? Don¡¯t be stupid. She was no longer the woman I loved. She was something else entirely. An unknown entity that was wearing her face to mock me. And, thankfully, she was still very much beautiful, so when a new buyer came to me and liked what he saw, it was a done deal. The price he offered for her was too much to ignore. And, as if the universe were laughing at me, it was her sale that finally earned me my Slave Master class.¡±

    Where did that twinge go? What part of the greedy smile he was wearing now was it that made me feel as though he had some lingering regrets over what happened?

    ¡°Don¡¯t be so surprised. When you deal in slaves, there is one thing you quickly come to understand,¡± he said, leaning in to us like he was letting us in on a secret. ¡°There is nearly nothing else in this world that is anywhere near as valuable as another living being. I made so much off of her sale that I was able to open my shop. Here in The Great City of Amoranth, no less. Sure, I had to start over, buying for cheap, selling for high, but it got me to where I am today.¡±

    The man was almost cartoonishly evil, yet the confident smile he wore now showed no signs of breaking character. That twinge that suggested he regretted his decision must just have been another ploy of his to mess with me. He must have baited me into asking because he knows that Yua and I were in a nearly similar situation.

    Like his wife, she was going to be taken from me. And, even if with all my cheat abilities, I was able to save up enough money to somehow magically win her back, it¡¯d be too late in various meanings.

    I wanted his reasoning and I think I got it. I don¡¯t know if it was because I was an Adventurer like the men that beat him and stole his wife, or if it was because he realized exactly how hard I fell for Yua when I first met her and decided to spite any potential relationship between us because his own happiness was denied.

    ¡°You sold your wife just to make a quick buck?¡±

    ¡°Buck? I told you, she wasn¡¯t my wife anymore. But yes. You see, beauties like her and like this one here are my biggest money makers.¡±

    He pinched and tugged Yua¡¯s cheek with the same sort of out of place smile that a parent might have when doing the same to their child when calling them cute. At the same time, the utter hellfire in her eyes did nothing short of prove that, while he still owned her in some aspect, she was not bound by the same slave spell she was with me, because I was sure that, had he pushed her a second longer, she¡¯d have ignored the threat of his hired thugs and snapped his neck. But she didn¡¯t.

    Unprompted, he let go and looked back to me.

    ¡°So, there you have it. Did you get what you wanted?¡±

    Despite my efforts to remain composed, my mouth fell agape. The grin he turned on me was not one of a man that just proudly told the story of how he started his own business. It was that of a trickster. A liar. Someone whose very existence could have been a falsehood had he not been standing right in front of me as living proof.

    Was everything he just told us a lie? Some sob story meant to make me feel for him, only to then break that sympathy over his knee to slap me across the face with it?

    Or was it all just meant to make me put myself in his fabricated shoes? To tell me that, if I beat him and completed her contract, that I would somehow end up like him? All to dishearten me from even trying.

    Without even knowing it, he actually suggested a really smart, but really evil plan. I could buy a cheap slave, but instead of prettying them up like he claims he did, I could use my experience boosting abilities to make them level up absurdly fast, therefore raising their value as battle slaves.

    Is that the sort of man I would have become if I¡¯d dragged Yua to bed the moment I bought her instead of the dungeons?

    No. That absolutely would not be the case. Given the continuing deepening of the pit in my stomach ever since I bought Yua, I could never do that to another person. I could feel myself sweating at the thought, but I knew two very good reasons as to why this could never be the case.

    Yua had been enslaved for years, but in all that time she never lost herself. She still put up a fight whenever she could and even after someone bought her, she still put up an attitude that suggested she¡¯d never bow to her master. Not fully, anyway. She¡¯d never break completely.

    And then there was me. I would never sell her off like that. Not to make up what I owed him and not because I didn¡¯t like what I saw once I had her. Hell, I can¡¯t tell if she¡¯s really a Thief at heart. One waiting for me to let my guard down, but I can still say that I love her. I may be a fool for saying so, but I can¡¯t help it. It¡¯s true. It¡¯s so very true that it hurts just seeing her so furious.

    I am not him. That much, more than anything else in this world, in my life, I can say with confidence. If any of his story was to be held as truth, then he just lost his way long ago. Maybe that beating from those adventurers just broke his mind as well as his body, but it didn¡¯t matter anymore. His past, real or not, was irrelevant.

    I won¡¯t play his games anymore and I won¡¯t let myself slip into despair at the thought of maybe sharing a few characteristics with him.

    As if sensing this determination in me and deciding that it was hilarious, he let out a bellowing laugh that might as well have disproved everything he just told us. He looked to the still glaring Yua and grinned.

    ¡°I suspect that her value¡¯s likely declined by now, but¡­.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Yua.¡±

    Cutting him off, fully regretting having fooled myself into thinking I could outsmart him again, I took Yua¡¯s hand and left Alphonse to shrug to himself, unawares that even the thug in the driver¡¯s perch of his carriage was looking at him with disgust written plainly on his face.

    ¡°Yua¡­¡± I said, once we were far enough away from him that he couldn¡¯t hear. ¡°For future reference, would I be labeled a Thief or anything of the sort if I were to punch him in the face?¡±

    ¡°No, Master¡­ You would not. So long as you don¡¯t kill him.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Good.¡±

    Regretting having stayed to listen to him, but using his little story as yet more kindling to fuel my want to pay off Yua¡¯s contract, we hurried to the dungeon without any more delays.

    <div>

 Volume 1 - Chapter 13

    By the time we got back to the dungeon, there was a long line waiting for us. I impatiently tapped my foot while I waited for the Adventurers to hurry it up and tell the General where they needed to be sent before he slowly cast his Dimensional Step spell for them, as if he had all the time in the world to do so. And as Yua suggested yesterday, there were a few people that didn¡¯t have the Adventurer class waiting to get in, but they were taking even longer to decide where to go than the rest.

    Why the hell didn¡¯t they decide before they got here? If you¡¯re here to risk your life, you ought to at least know what you¡¯re doing!

    ¡°Master, maybe you should calm down,¡± Yua pleaded, tugging on my sleeve.

    ¡°What are you talking about? Just a few minutes ago, you looked like you wanted to kill him.¡±

    Yua, somehow, managed to forget some or maybe most of her anger as soon as we got to the dungeon. More and more of it seemed to dissipate the closer we got to this place. Like her anger was based entirely on her proximity to Alphonse.

    But not me. Not after what I heard. Yua pressed her lips into a thin line, looking as though she wanted to seek permission for whatever she was about to say before saying it anyways.

    ¡°Master, you can¡¯t go into the dungeon so¡­ mad. It¡¯s not safe. If you let your emotions get the better of you while you¡¯re in there¡­¡±

    ¡°How can you stay so calm?¡± I interrupted. ¡°He made all that shit up about his wife just to mess with us. He still thinks he has us beat. We have to prove him wrong.¡±

    The ring¡¯s sale was still our best and only bet at doing so, but we still needed to make up enough gold to cover our costs should it sell for the bare minimum. I knew Yua was right in saying that my emotions could get the better of me in a fight, but I wasn¡¯t her. I wasn¡¯t some battle junkie that could just forget such things the second the thought of doing something fun popped into my head.

    I don¡¯t know what sort off training she went through to be able to do so herself, but where she stood now, she looked as though the only significant emotions she¡¯s worn all day was that warm smile she woke me up with. That, except, for the fact that she now gazed at me with confusion strongly mussing her beautiful features.

    ¡°Um, Master, he wasn¡¯t making up that stuff about his wife.¡±

    ¡°¡­ What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°He said it himself, right? It¡¯s not exactly a secret. Besides, I heard how calm his heart was when he told us. He wasn¡¯t lying.¡±

    Hearing those same word come from her peachy lips instead of his jogged my memory enough to make me want to slap myself. He did say exactly that. Once again, I let myself think I got the better of him, got distracted and didn¡¯t notice the obvious, only for him to pull the wool over my eyes. Why does this keep happening?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know much about it myself since I¡¯m not from Amoranth myself,¡± Yua continued. ¡°But the other slaves told me stories of the things he¡¯s done since opening the slave house. From what they said, he went around using his knowledge and influence to ruin each and every business that was related to those that stole his wife in any way. In any way, no matter how remote the connection. He even went after the businesses of their loved ones and the like. He broke them financially and enslaved them all. And, from what I¡¯ve heard, there were several more involved than what he told us just now.¡±

    When she finished, I felt a chill strangle my spine at the thought of the man we were up against. I thought that he was just a greedy merchant with a heart so black that it might as well have been a black hole from the moment he was born, but now everything made sense. Forget the power and money he must have needed to do so, if he had the brains to financially topple who knows how many businesses, then the man must be a genius. And after all my blundering these last few days, it was obvious why he¡¯d taken advantage of me. He saw from the, probably from the moment we met, that I was an easy mark.

    If what she says is true, then it makes sense that such a past wouldn¡¯t be a secret. If local businesses were involved in the incident he described, then of course several people would know about it. But if everyone knows, why the hell do they continue doing business with him? You would think that his actions had so thoroughly tarnished his reputation that he¡¯d never even be able to set foot in the city again, let alone keep such a distasteful business that brought in who knows how many thousands of gold coins each and every year. Then again, maybe that¡¯s why he and that Lord Barrily are working together. Can¡¯t kick a man out of the city if he¡¯s on good terms with the nobility.

    And more importantly, why did I convince myself that he was lying?

    No. I suppose I know. I made that connection between us and him and what I might have become had I taken advantage of Yua instead of taking the time to get to know her. I still feel like I know very little of her true self, but that much was enough to convince me that ending up like him, ready and willing to forsake my love for a bit of coin, was a future I absolutely couldn¡¯t allow.

    Yua and I were going to get the coin we needed, together. Always together.

    This beautiful girl, this chestnut-haired paragon of clear-headedness and I weren¡¯t going to end up like Alphonse and his wife. No wonder why none of my blundering in the dungeon yesterday didn¡¯t make her want to hurt me. She knew such thoughts were not only dangerous because of the slave spell, but because of our location.

    ¡°It¡¯s still morning,¡± she said calmly. ¡°We have plenty of time to¡­¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that,¡± I said, feigning calmness myself. If I couldn¡¯t be calm, I might as well act the part for her sake. ¡°Based on what we got for selling what we looted yesterday, we may not be able to get enough to make up that ten percent difference. So, we need to get in there as soon as possible and push as far as our bodies will take us. If we¡¯re fast enough, we might even be able to get to the third and fourth floors.¡±

    There was absolutely no more time to waste. Had she not noticed that our best bet to making a substantial amount of gold is to sell off whatever the boss of each floor drops? That large pelt that the boss of the first floor dropped yesterday sold for more than everything else we got combined. The ring obviously excluded. While it was likely that the monsters on the next floors would drop something more worthwhile, but bosses are definitely where the money is at. So, we needed to make our way to them as soon as possible.

    I wanted to just teleport into the dungeon and quickly clear the first floor again, but since the layout of the dungeons change every day, I had no idea if it would be safe. Plus, we might end up teleporting straight in front of a monster if we weren¡¯t careful. With Yua¡¯s guidance and our higher levels, I thought that we should be able to clear the first floor fairly quickly regardless.

    The line moved forwards and after watching multiple Adventurers enter the lower floors, decked out in all their expensive-looking armor and weapons, I considered asking one or more of them to borrow the coin we needed. If they could afford all that fancy equipment and if the loot dropped by monsters really did scale with the floor level you were on, I wouldn¡¯t have to go out too far on a limb to assume that they likely had gold to spare. Not to mention that they would probably give us more time to pay them back. Trade one debt for another with a more lenient time table. It made sense on paper, but borrowing that sort of money would always have its own troubles.

    I ultimately decided against asking them. Not because the anxiety of trying to broch the subject with them made me a little sweaty, but because none of these people know who I am. They would have to be awfully stupid to trust that I would pay them back without setting up some sort of binding magic contract to keep me from running away. Then, that would just be another contract we¡¯d have to deal with. And, since Yua was seen by the world as my ¡°property,¡± that meant she might actually need to be put up as collateral, meaning that failing would still end with me losing her.

    ¡°Next.¡±

    We stepped up once our turn arrived and the General did a double take before squinting, looking me over noticeably more than he did the day before. This was probably a natural reaction. I don¡¯t know how good his memory is, but he clearly saw us enter the dungeon yesterday and, because we teleported straight to the inn after we finished, he never saw us leave. He must have assumed we died down there.

    I felt my brow grow damp with sweat at this oversight and started to fret that he might question how we got out, but it might not be too hard to explain. Yua never told me how people learn teleportation magic, but when I showed it off to her, she was amazed rather than skeptical, like she was with everything else I said. By that logic, people other than the general here should be able to learn it as well. I¡¯d just have to come up with an excuse for how I did it.

    But, in the end, he shrugged his shoulders and crinkled his brow as though deciding that he probably just failed to remember this low-level nobody.

    ¡°Which floor?¡±

    After a moment¡¯s thought, I went with my original plan.

    ¡°First floor, please.¡±

    The General nodded and cast his teleportation spell for us without further question. Yua looked confused by my decision, but followed me in anyway when the spell finished charging.

    We stepped onto what looked like the exact same staircase we appeared on yesterday. However, I was able to see an immediate difference in the overall layout. Yesterday, the first hallway divided into paths leading both to the left and right, but this one only went left.

    ¡°Hmm. But the entrance is the same? Oh, right!¡±

    The entrance to each level must be the only part of the dungeon floors that are static objects. Meaning they must never change. This had to be the case. The Dimensional Step spell required the caster to think clearly about where they wanted to go while the spell was prepared. Obviously, the General wouldn¡¯t be able to teleport anyone inside if he wasn¡¯t sure what the specific floor¡¯s entrance looked like. And he surely didn¡¯t spend the first few hours of each morning plowing through all the known floors just to access the starting areas of each one and memorize them all.

    Shit. We could have just teleported to this point ourselves and wouldn¡¯t have had to waste time waiting in line if I was smart enough to figure that out earlier.

    Uggh. No use in crying about it now. I¡¯ll just have to make a mental note that we can teleport straight into the dungeons from the inn from now on.

    ¡°Master, why are we on the first floor again?¡± Yua asked after stepping through the portal behind me to start her stretching. I thought it was weird she didn¡¯t just question me before hand, but figured it had something to do with her being taught not to question her master¡¯s intentions in public. ¡°I thought Master wanted to fight on the next level.¡±

    ¡°I do, but I think it¡¯s best we clear out the first floor again. Now that we know what to expect and are stronger, it should be a lot faster. Then we can just enter the second floor from the boss room.¡±

    The idea wasn¡¯t only to pick up as much loot as fast as we could, I thought the easy, boosted experience from these low-level monsters would help us in the long run. That was how I typically played these types of games anyway. Continue leveling up to the point where the current mobs are no longer a threat to you before moving on to stronger foes. The monsters here still gave pretty good experience, anyways.

    Yua did not seem to share in this line of thought, though. She just tilted her head in confusion like she didn¡¯t understand my reasoning, but she gave up complaining either way and set off with the same battle plan as the day before. Even if she looked calm on the outside, I was sure she still wanted to vent some of her frustration on the wolves here.

    She lifted her chin to the ceiling and listened to the dungeon. After I waited a short two or three seconds, her ears perked up and she waved for me to follow her. Thankfully, our early start today meant there should theoretically be more enemies for us to battle and that Yua should have an easier time finding them, since fewer people have had the chance to come to this floor. At least, I hoped so. The other Adventurers ahead of us in line all seemed to take to the lower floors, so most of the first floor should be free for us to take.

    We went straight to work.

    We rounded the only corner available to us at the start and found the first of what was likely going to be several wolves waiting for us.

    ¡°Alright, Yua. Let¡¯s stick with the same plan as yesterday. You take the wolves. I¡¯ll take the slimes.¡±

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    She launched herself at the wolf while I stood behind as back up with my hand raised to throw a Fire Ball if needed. After what happened with the boss yesterday, I wasn¡¯t about to let myself think that we couldn¡¯t slip up and fall victim to these mobs. Not that it was likely to happen, anyways. After all those levels she got, Yua should be able to handle these wolves no problem.

    Or so I would like to say¡­

    While she was as skilled as ever, dodging and countering the wolf¡¯s every attack with her fists, as I watched her pummel the wolf into the ground before it burst into light and vanished, I noticed that it took her the same number of punches to beat the wolf as it had yesterday.

    Strange, her level more than doubled yesterday. Shouldn¡¯t the wolf require fewer hits from her to die now?

    Out of curiosity, and to have something to do while Yua retrieved the pelt she just earned, I checked our stats pages and found the reason. I slapped my hand on my forehead in resignation for my continued stupidty.

    Apparently, our actual stats did not improve automatically upon leveling up. All of mine were exactly the same as when I first arrived in this world, but off to the side of the window in front of me was an indicator that I had an extra 30 points to distribute amongst them as I liked.

    I stared at this indicator for a long time, right up until Yua came back to me.

    If this is how the leveling system in this world worked, then we would have had a much easier time fighting the boss if I¡¯d noticed. I was just too focused on our health, stamina and my mana bars to have noticed the change.

    Since I leveled up six times, that means we must gain 5 points per level. However, it did not seem to account for the levels gained for our side classes. Otherwise, I should be sitting on a lot more points thanks to all my levels. So, the points gained must only be linked to our birth class, or in my case, the Adventurer class.

    Deciding that must be how it worked, I was about to start distributing the points I gained into my Strength and Magic stats to make me a more formidable fighter, but as I watched Yua¡¯s cute ears twitch as she searched for the next enemy, I decided against it.

    I already used up all my luck until now on just getting Yua to stand by my side without openly hating me. I¡¯ll just need a lot more to keep her there and even more so to keep hoping that she wasn¡¯t waiting to stab me in the back.

    It was going to be a risk, possibly an incredibly stupid risk, but I dumped all of my points into my Luck stat, raising it from 20 straight to 50. I had no idea if there was a limit, but that sounded pretty good. Usually, in games, your Luck stat only affects the drop rates of items and maybe a few dialogue options. So, I had to hope my luck would transfer itself into someone buying the ring and to our fighting in the dungeon today going smoothly. If we were lucky, no pun intended, it would also help us to get the rarer drops from the monsters as well.

    After I finished my own stats, I check on Yua¡¯s and found that she too had points to spare. I wondered if that was because it was my duty as her master to decide how to use them, but that shouldn¡¯t be the case. If nobody else can see the stats window, how would they ever use the points they gained? Doesn¡¯t that mean the regular people¡¯s stats stay the same no matter their level?

    No, that doesn¡¯t make any sense. Yua must just be different because she¡¯s with me,  an outsider to this world. Instead of her stats going up according to the needs of her classes, it must be up to me since I have the menu. It¡¯s probably just the same as being able to choose how to level and progress your NPC followers in a video game.

    ¡°Master, there is another wolf this way.¡±

    Yua started off towards the next fight and I decided that now was not the time to be letting the menu obscure my vision. So, I divided Yua¡¯s levels equally. Her 15 points went straight into Vigor, Strength and Endurance.

    The extra Vigor was only for the boost it¡¯d give to her pool of health, which seemed important since we only had one last potion. The Strength was to make up for my own weaknesses going forward until I even out my own stats. Plus, her nimble movements and skills at fighting made her less likely to actually need a boost to her Speed just yet to avoid attacks. Finally, the endurance was more of a hunch, but I assumed it meant she would have more stamina and be able to fight for a longer time before getting tired and needing to retire for the day.

    It''ll be tough for now, Yua, but you¡¯ll have to be both our team¡¯s vanguard and tank until I can level up some more to support you properly.

    I watched her square up against the next wolf and waited to see how much her new stats would affect her ability to fight.

    The wolf jumped straight towards her chest just as brainlessly as all those before it had. She used its airborne state to dodge to the side like I had back in the forest and thrust her fist into the side of its head. The punch propelled the wolf like a rocket, throwing it crashing into the wall. It turned into light and vanished the second it hit the floor.

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Yua was so surprised by the abrupt victory that she left her fist dangling in the air to stare at the light particles floating up into nothingness. I was surprised too, but to a lesser extent. Before I boosted her stats and without the aid of her Iron Fist ability, it¡¯d taken her about four hits to kill the wolves down here. Now it only took one. That was a pretty big and helpful difference. But what surprised me more was that she had not noticed the difference in her own strength before the fight. Shouldn¡¯t she have felt lighter on her feet or something?

    ¡°Master, did you see that? It died in one hit. Maybe another Adventurer wounded it first. Strange that I couldn¡¯t smell any blood on it, though.¡±

    ¡°Of course, it died faster,¡± I said, shaking my head to dismiss her assumptions. ¡°We leveled up a few times yesterday. It¡¯s only natural that you¡¯re this much stronger.¡±

    ¡°Eh? A few times?¡±

    She threw my words back at me as if she didn¡¯t understand what they meant. So, I explained.

    ¡°Yes. Since you worked so hard yesterday, you leveled up three times. You¡¯re now level 6 and I¡¯m level 7.¡±

    Once more, her face took on a look of condescending doubt that I was reluctantly familiar with before she shoved her hands on her hips. Considering how lethal those hands were now, I was suddenly glad she had mellowed out some since yesterday.

    ¡°Master, that¡¯s just not possible.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Master, it takes months, sometimes years to level up that much. It¡¯s just not possible for me to level up three times in one day.¡±

    Years?! What the hell?! How powerful is my Experience Boosting trait?!

    ¡°I¡¯m serious,¡± I said. ¡°Isn¡¯t there a way I can show you to prove it?¡±

    ¡°Yes, there is. But are you sure you want to, Master? Usually, slave owners don¡¯t let their slaves see their own stats.¡±

    They don¡¯t? Maybe that¡¯s because a lot of people that buy slaves probably buy ones that are strong enough to fight in the dungeons. They probably don¡¯t want their slaves to realize that they are stronger than them. Even if the slave is unable to cause their master harm without facing death in return, knowing they are stronger may take away their respect for their master and open up the possibility of them getting cocky enough to try and demean them in other ways. Sort of like how Yua acted around me yesterday, though she had the addition of her being a girl and I a man and all that meant to deal with as well.

    Still. I know slaves aren¡¯t allowed to own anything, but why does that include their own status windows?

    ¡°Sure, I don¡¯t mind. How do I do it?¡±

    ¡°Just hold out your hand.¡±

    I did as she said and she placed her palm onto mine gently. While her hand was soft, I got the feeling she was trying to be careful she didn¡¯t somehow hurt me.

    ¡°Now, Master just has to imagine letting me see my level. It¡¯s the same way as trying to see your own, but you have to want me to see it.¡±

    So that¡¯s how people know their levels. It really is the same as how my menu system works, just with a lot less benefits. I wonder how much of their own info they could see. Since I could see all her health information, probably too much of it, I had to wonder if the people of this world were ever surprised to find that they had one disease or another, if it showed up as text whenever they thought to look.

    I did as she said and a small window appeared between us just like it did when originally accepting her slave contract. However, this time she wasn¡¯t looking at her feet. She was actively reading what was written there. I watched as her eyes grew wider and her mouth fell open.

    ¡°But¡­ But that¡¯s not possible,¡± she said, looking to me as if asking me to tell her I was somehow making up what she saw.

    ¡°It is. It appears that one of my traits significantly boosts the amount of experience we both accumulate while fighting. I actually went from level 1 all the way to level 7 yesterday.¡±

    ¡°EH?! Six levels in one day?!¡±

    This time she screamed her surprise. If it was that hard for her to accept her growth of three levels, then me attaining twice that must be a real shock.

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± I said, feeling just a tad smug in the face of her shock. ¡°Want to see?¡±

    Her face turned red and she almost took her hand away from mine. Suddenly, she wasn¡¯t able to look me in the eye.

    ¡°Um¡­ Master¡­ Are you sure that¡¯s okay? D-Do you really want me to see?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Why not. I don¡¯t mind.¡±

    ¡°B-B-But, your level is supposed to be really, really private!¡±

    Private? I mean, I can see others¡¯ level just by looking at them. Although, I guess I can only do that because of an ability that was all my own, given to me and only me by the Goddess¡¯ good grace. Still, with her stammering around all embarrassed like that, the people of this world must see their status windows as something about as private as what they have in their pants.

    ¡°Is it a problem? I mean, you showed me your level like it was nothing.¡±

    ¡°B-But that is because Master is Master. My everything belongs to you. So, showing you that much is only natural. B-but for Master to show me¡­¡±

    This time I blushed a bit. That implication was a little too powerful for me. I had no qualms with showing her, but that¡¯s probably because I hadn¡¯t grown up in this world the way she had. I cleared my throat.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind. If you want to look, I¡¯ll let you.¡±

    Yua gulped, then nodded.

    I showed her my own status page and watched as she skimmed it. Because she didn¡¯t know that I was truly level 1 when we met like how she knew her own level, her expression didn¡¯t change much when she saw what it was now. She must have still thought I was bluffing.

    But when her eyes ran along my classes page, she looked genuinely shocked. Still, with her looking so close at all of my personal information, I kind of understood what she meant about it being something private. I wasn¡¯t exactly blushing, but having her stare so intently at all that information did feel a little uncomfortable.

    ¡°Amazing... Master really does have more than two classes.¡±

    Well damn. If I¡¯d known I could just show her like this, I wouldn¡¯t have felt the need to prove it yesterday. Would have saved us some time.

    ¡°I told you I did. Now how about you check my abilities to prove I¡¯m not lying there too.¡±

    Yua nodded, apprehensively at first, but pulled on a serious expression before she navigated the menu to start browsing my abilities. Just like before, she was surprised to the point of staring at me like I were a freak of nature.

    ¡°Master, how do you have so many abilities and traits? You have more of those than you do classes¡­ And I don¡¯t even recognize most of them.¡±

    Of course, you don¡¯t recognize them. I only got them because of the help of the goddess that brought me here. But I guess I can¡¯t exactly tell her that. Actually, why am I telling her all of this anyway? Didn¡¯t I decide yesterday and again this morning to keep it a secret from her, at least until I knew I could trust her completely?

    Why am I so wishy-washy with her?

    Thinking on my feet, I came up with an excuse for my extra abilities.

    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    ¡°I¡¯m not from this country. So, that¡¯s probably why you never heard of these abilities.¡±

    ¡°Then¡­ Doesn¡¯t that mean the people from your homeland are all really strong?¡±

    Her eyes beamed at me, now thoroughly excited. Her ears were pointed, standing on end as she awaited my answer. Her tail wagged all over the place behind her, practically kicking up a cloud of dust as she displayed her enthusiasm.

    Again, aren¡¯t dogs the ones that wag their tails?

    ¡°Well, no. I guess I¡¯m a bit different, is all.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t exactly tell her that I am the only person in this entire world that used to live in the place she was thinking about. But at least, what I said wasn¡¯t a lie.

    ¡°Amazing. Master truly is amazing! Like this, we¡¯ll be able to get much stronger!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the plan. But, hey, Yua, why are you so obsessed with strength?¡±

    Ever since she first set foot in the dungeon with me, she has been raring to test herself in battle. To the point of almost ignoring that fact that she had just been bought as a slave not even an hour before that first step. She even took on the floor boss by herself in the past. I couldn¡¯t imagine doing something like that unless I had absolutely no other choice. She¡¯s also shown herself to be overly proud of the strength she already had and now that she has more, she¡¯s smiling as brightly as she might if I were to have found a way to break her slave contract once and for all.

    ¡°Hmm? Well, I guess Master isn¡¯t from here, so you wouldn¡¯t know, but for cat-kin, strength is what¡¯s most important. Gold and fancy titles don¡¯t mean anything unless you have the power to back them up. For us, your strength is what determines your position in life. Everything from the tribe¡¯s leader to who we choose as our mates is based only on strength. Well, mostly, anyways.¡±

    Wait, doesn¡¯t that mean that all I have to do to win her over is to get stronger?

    Ahem. Well, I guess I better not tell her that she is technically stronger than I am right now.

    ¡°So then, how did you get so strong, Yua?¡±

    Not asking for advice. Not at all. I just want a reference to how my party member got strong enough to take on a mob of armed thugs all by herself, all while unarmed.

    ¡°Through intense training that tests our abilities and by challenging the dungeons on our own. Cat-kin are taught from the moment we are born to be as strong as we can be by our mothers who birthed us without uttering so much as a cry of pain and our fathers who watched on without flinching.¡±

    I¡­ Giving birth without even crying? Even with medicines to dull the pain in my world that is still impossible!

    ¡°I-I see. If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll make sure we both get a lot stronger.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master! I¡¯m looking forward to it!¡±

    We continued on through the dungeon. Thankfully, as I thought, even though we ended up started later than I wanted, most of the floor monsters were still alive. Apparently, the total number of monsters we fought yesterday were only about half of what there normally was. Yesterday, there were times where we could walk for a several long minutes before finding something. But now there was another enemy around every corner.

    By the time we finished off all of the enemies Yua could find, we had killed 15 wolves and 10 slimes. This brought my levels up to 12 for Adventurer and 6 for Mage. Since I dumped a lot of points into Luck, I decided to only add a few more here and there to increase our chances at the auction. The rest were divided evenly into Vigor and Magic, since magic was basically all I was going to need for the foreseeable future and since Yua was our physical attacker, I thought it best to continue leveling my stats for the betterment of the party.

    I did manage to figure out that each point I put into the Magic stat boosted my total pool of mana, so in theory, I should be able to cast more spells before needing to recharge. But it¡¯s hard to tell when the slimes still die with just one cast of Fire Ball.

    As for Yua, I continued to put the three extra levels she gained into her Vigor, Strength and Endurance stats. By the time I told her this after we finished fighting the last wolf, she was jumping for joy at how strong she was getting. I wanted to stand by and watch as she enjoyed her ever increasing strength¡ªand the fact that her bra-less chest bounced just as happily as she did¡ª but we had to keep moving. The threat of what lay in our failure couldn¡¯t be out the thought that I was actually doing exactly what I set out to do in this world by leveling like this was and watching my stats go up.

    As for the points I put into Luck, they were already paying themselves off as about a third of the monsters we killed dropped two items, all of which I put into storage so Yua didn¡¯t have to carry them this time. We were still far off from our goal, but given how it only took us around twenty minutes to clear the mobs, I¡¯d say things were progressing much smoother than they did yesterday. As a bonus, thanks to the ease in which we dispatched the monsters, we were hardly breaking a sweat.

    ¡°Yua, are you sure there are no more monsters down here?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master, I am positive,¡± she said, still with that absurdly cute smile of hers plastered on her face as she pat her bicep to play with the symbol of her own strength.

    Thankfully, or should I say oddly enough, the boost to her Strength stat didn¡¯t make her musculature change even slightly. As confusing as this was, watching her perform more and more feats of strength her slender figure shouldn¡¯t have been able to, it easily explained how she was so strong in the first place. Meaning that this world just didn¡¯t make sense to begin with.

    ¡°Good. Let¡¯s hurry up and beat the boss again and continue onto the next floor. Can you lead the way?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Leave it to me.¡±

    She slammed her fist into her palm and the cute smile instantly warped into a serious desire to fight a strong opponent. I had no doubt that most of her eagerness came from her wanting to test her strength against the boss that nearly killed her just yesterday, rather than actually completing the floor. But I couldn¡¯t complain. In fact, if we weren¡¯t so hard pressed for time, I¡¯d let her solo the boss to take some revenge. I bet that would make her happy.

    While the floor layout was different now, I still felt an eerie presence mixed in with the stone creeping up on us as Yua guided us down the passages making up the hardly linear route to the boss. Regardless of how strong we¡¯ve become; the boss was still going to be a threat. We may have leveled, but our health points didn¡¯t raise all that much and our armor, or lack thereof, hasn¡¯t changed.

    Yua continued with her serious expression as she walked by my side, but I did catch her breaking into a smile every once in a while, as if she¡¯d forgotten the need to keep her emotions in check she lauded over me just a short while ago. I let her have her fun and kept my attention on our front the best I could, just in case something showed up while she wasn¡¯t paying attention.

    Before the final stretch to the boss room, I got a notification. I was half expecting it to tell me I got some other job without telling me why or what I did to get it, but that wasn¡¯t the case.

    [Trap Ahead.]

    ¡°Yua, stop.¡±

    I put my hand out in front of her and started looking around once I was sure she was going to stay put.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Master?¡±

    ¡°¡­ I think there¡¯s a trap nearby, but I¡¯m not sure how I know that.¡±

    Her not seeing the notification aside, I didn¡¯t understand how I knew there was something there when I got no such notification last time when we fell into the pit.

    ¡°Hmm? Oh, it¡¯s probably because you have the Detect Trap ability.¡±

    ¡°What? I do?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master. I saw it when you let me look at your abilities. Did you not know?¡±

    She tilted her head while I checked my skill page and, sure enough, Detect Trap was there under the Adventurer class section.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Oh. I think I understand.¡±

    It seems that triggering the ability to gain classes and skills was rather fickle. While I got the Dimensional Step spell from seeing it, I must have gotten Detect Trap because we triggered a trap ourselves yesterday. I must have just missed the notification that popped up for it because we were trapped in the darkness, unable to see the menu once the trap resolved itself. Though, I had no explanation for not noticing it when I scrambled through my list of abilities right before the ceiling dropped on us.

    After actively trying out the Detect Trap skill, I noticed that one of the tiles in the floor had a faint red glow to it and that it was raised slightly higher than the others. A pressure plate. Just like yesterday. And just like yesterday, once I noticed the source of the trap, another notification popped up warning me that it was the same type of trap, a pit-fall and ceiling-crush combo.

    I warned Yua not to step there while I pondered the possibility of if this meant traps always spawn in the same place or if we just got lucky that it happened to appear right before the boss again.

    Regardless, that gives me an idea.

    ¡°Yua, do you think you could step on the pressure plate and make it to the other side before the ceiling falls?¡±

    I pointed it out to her, since she hadn¡¯t actually seen it herself.

    ¡°Eh? Why does Master want to trigger the trap when we could just go around?¡±

    ¡°Think about it. Falling down there last time was scary, but we ended up finding the ring. What if there is something else down there now?¡±

    ¡°Oh, good idea. Shall I then?¡±

    I would have done it myself, but according to our stats, she was the fastest. So, she would have a higher chance of succeeding.

    I took a few steps back and readied my Material Destruction ability just in case it didn¡¯t look like she was going to make it. Doing this would be a risk, as much of a risk as anything we¡¯d done down here, but I wasn¡¯t about to let her do it without backup.

    Readying herself for the dash a few paces behind the pressure plate, Yua lowered herself to the floor. Hands on the tiles, she lifted her shapely behind (and tail) slightly into the air and set one foot in front of the other. She looked like a professional sprinter getting ready to take on Olympic race.

    Naturally, that pose in those tight leather pants was a dangerous affront to my sanity, but somehow, they did not tear. The lightly fluffy tail poking out of a tailored hole just above her bottom was slowly waving back and forth as she concentrated.

    ¡°Go whenever you are ready. I got your back.¡±

    After a brief moment of preparation, Yua took off running like a bolt of lightning. I watched and waited and the second she took off, I only just realized that I could have used Material Destruction to remove the stone ceiling before the trap was even triggered, but by then it was too late.

    Yua reached the pressure plate before I could even finalize the thought of my mistake and she kept running. Much faster than it had before, perhaps because I was watching from the outside instead of being in the trap itself, when the adrenaline coursing through my veins sped up my senses, the floor fell away and became a deep pit. At the price of nearly causing me a heart attack, Yua gracefully slid to a stop on the opposite side just before the floor could completely disappear beneath her and just as the stone ceiling began to fall.

    The stone hit the floor with a tremendous bang and I hoped that Yua was able to cover her sensitive ears this time. I hoped because I could no longer see her. Apparently, the section of stone ceiling that fell was tall enough to reach back up to the ceiling itself. It might even still have a part of it inside the hole it fell from, which clearly had the effect of completely blocking this particular path to the boss.

    Unable to see her in the sudden silence that took me, I started to worry that she might not have made it, but that worry triggered my right as her master to force the outline of her body to appear on the face of the stone separating us. With what looked like nothing more than a drawing of her etched into the stone, it alone proved she was still alive and kicking. This drawing of her acted out her attempt to stagger back to her feet and I sighed to myself.

    While she was holding down her ears like they were hurting, she seemed fine. I guessed I should have reminded her about the noise the trap made. She was nearly unconscious last time it happened, after all. I took a quick look at her health bar to see if she¡¯d need a potion and was relieved to see that the pain she was feeling didn¡¯t actually harm her health at all. Again, no idea how these health bars actually worked.

    Now all I needed to do was check and see if there is a hidden passage like last time.

    I used Material Destruction to make a path through the chunk of stone that was wide enough for only one person to step through, so that I could make sure Yua¡¯s ears weren¡¯t hurt too bad.

    ¡°You go ahead and take a break here,¡± I said, once I was sure she could hear me. ¡°I¡¯ll just be a minute. If I find anything, I¡¯ll come get you.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± she said, her voice sounding pained.

    After she managed to give me a thumbs up and a forced smile, I started removing more blocks of stone leading down. This time, I removed the stone in such a way that it created a make-shift staircase leading downwards so I wouldn¡¯t have to wonder how I¡¯d get back out.

    Because the stone removal was nearly instantaneous, I found my way to the bottom pretty quickly, but the alcove we hid in yesterday wasn¡¯t there. I removed more stone and checked all the way around the bottom of the pit, hoping all the while that removing the stone wouldn¡¯t cause the rest to collapse on me. Thought, I did leave several pillar-like sections untouched just in case.

    ¡°Master, did you find anything?¡±

    ¡°Nope. Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t. I guess it was too much to hope we would get that lucky twice in a row.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Master, when you use that Material Destruction spell, where do the blocks go? They look like they just disappear since you didn¡¯t move them somewhere else.¡±

    ¡°¡­ That¡¯s a good question.¡±

    As grateful as I was for figuring out I could use Material Destruction to save our lives, I never once considered what happened to the blocks I removed with the spell.

    After taking into consideration how the game this ability came from worked, I opened up my item box. There I found a single stack of bricks labeled ¡°Dungeon Stone.¡± It even had a number next to it to indicate how many there were.

    ¡°Looks like they automatically went into my item box. That¡¯s pretty useful¡­ How about if I try¡­¡±

    I selected the stone from my item box and like usual, the purple miasma appeared above my outstretched palm and the cube slipped out from my item box. It dropped into my hands and¡­

    ¡°Woah, that¡¯s heavy!¡±

    The second the blocks full weight touched my fingertips, I instinctually grabbed it with both hands to prevent it from falling. But the thing was so heavy that just holding it nearly made me fall to my knees. Yua moved to help me hold it, but I quickly returned it to my item box. It¡¯s a good thing my starting strength stat was as high as it was, or the weight of that thing might have broken a bone when I caught it.

    ¡°Phew! I guess it¡¯s a good thing I can still use them. But placing them is going to be a real pain in the¡­ Wait, hold on. Material Creation.¡±

    I pointed my hand at the floor between Yua and I and the same stone block popped into place. Its appearance was so abrupt, that it was as if the block itself randomly decided it needed to exist right then and there. Apparently, I just went about it the wrong way. Satisfied with this little test, I put the block back into storage.

    Yua clapped her hands together in awe of what I had done, like it was some party trick.

    ¡°That¡¯s amazing, Master!¡±

    Man¡­ I could really get used to her praising me with that beautiful face of hers every time I do something this easy. With here, the unearned praise somehow didn¡¯t feel even remotely depressing. But when all this business with Alphonse is over, I really need to take a few days off to test out the limits of all my abilities.

    For now, I had to think of a better way to use my abilities.

    ¡°Yua, do you know how durable these stones are?¡±

    ¡°How durable?¡±

    ¡°Yes. As in, if you were to hit it as hard as you could, would it break?¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± she slid her hand across its surface. ¡°I don¡¯t know. But I can try, if Master wishes.¡±

    ¡°No. No. Let¡¯s not do that. We still have more fighting to do, so I don¡¯t want to risk you breaking your hands. I¡¯ll test it myself some other time. For now, let¡¯s just collect some more of this stuff so I have a steady supply of it.¡±

    Assuming that the dungeon reforming itself every morning meant that anything I took would be replaced, I didn¡¯t see a problem with taking as much as I wanted.

    So, I set about removing the fallen slab of ceiling completely until there was nothing left but the floor and the staircase I made leading down into the pit. Though, I quickly used Material Creation to cover it back up just in case another Adventurer happened to make it this far into the dungeon once we¡¯re gone. Can¡¯t speak for this hypothetical Adventurer, but I would have found it exceedingly odd if I happened across a random staircase leading down to nothing but a brick wall.

    The stones I made appear over the hole sealed it up so tight that I couldn¡¯t even see a seem to indicate that there could¡¯ve been something more there. It looked like the stone had never been removed or altered in anyway. It was just one continuous stretch of stone without a seem to indicate that it didn¡¯t belong. Very interesting, but like my other abilities, I¡¯d have to play around with it another time.

    ¡°Alright. Break¡¯s over. Can you take us to the boss?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master!¡±

    Unburdened by further monsters and traps, the trek to the boss was actually easier than a walk through the woods. At least there, I had to deal with the uneven terrain and ever-present possibility of being attacked by a wild animal. But here, on this flat stone surface, we could walk as briskly as we pleased. It actually made me a little embarrassed by the anxiety I felt by this point in yesterday¡¯s trip.

    Yua¡¯s tail swished back and forth as we walked, right up until we reached the boss door where it then stopped and stood straight up, much like how a house cat¡¯s might when getting ready to pounce on a mouse that foolishly chose to scurry in front of it.

    This area, unlike the rest of the dungeon, looked exactly the same. Same large stone doors. Same magical runes embedded in their faces. And from what I could tell, the same amount of empty floorspace in front of it, which looked abundant now that I had the chance to observe the area calmly. While it¡¯s creation seemed randomly different compared to the rest of the dungeon, it looked the perfect place for Adventuring parties to stop and take a quick break before challenging the boss.

    Yua, though, didn¡¯t need to pause. All the fighting she¡¯d done up to this point was just a warm up. She cracked her knuckles and grinned fiercely as she stared down the door as though it were the boss itself.

    Yea¡­ I¡¯m definitely going to have to step in and help. She had a bit of a cocky look to her due to her new found strength and I didn¡¯t want her to make the same mistake again. But maybe it really would be best to let her take her revenge. In this one instance, I wanted to trust her new personality as the truth and say she wouldn¡¯t end up punching me if I stole this chance at redemption from her, but better safe than sorry. As long as the boss died and we could continue past it, I had no issue with letting her finish it off or stepping in myself if the need arose. We¡¯d do this together regardless.

    Yua pushed the door open at my request and we stepped inside. I was sure I wouldn¡¯t need to this time, but I readied myself to jump in front of her, just in case.

    The Proud Great Wolf was laying down in the corner of the room right where we found it last time and, thanks to my prior experience, this time I wasn¡¯t scared. It was laying down, practically lazing about with its chin resting on its forepaws as it snoozed. But that doesn¡¯t mean I was going to let us get cocky and assume it left itself open. I drew my sword, the metallic disturbance of metal sliding against metal making the boss¡¯ ear twitch. Its great nose let out a breath of hot air, as if it had only taken to breathing after being brought a new challenge.

    Taking heed of our presence, the great wolf quickly stood up, growled and bared its fangs to snap at us. Like last time, it seemed to be taking our entrance with an oddly misplaced sense of sportsmanship, as it looked to be waiting for us to make the first move.

    ¡°Alright, Yua, here¡¯s the plan. You distract it by going for its leg again. Just focus on evading its attacks, strike only if you can. While you do this, I will set its fur on fire with my magic. Last time I did that, its senses were dulled, so we should be able to beat it down without much issue. Just be careful of the flames.¡±

    ¡°Got it. Then I¡¯m going in.¡±

    We had plenty of time to discuss this beforehand, and probably should have, but the plan was short and sweet, so I didn¡¯t mind waiting until the last second to make sure it was fresh in our minds. Yua¡¯s original tactic worked just fine last time, we just messed it up, so I was sure she¡¯d be fine trying it again. This was more to let her know I¡¯d be using my magic earlier on in the fight, than anything else.

    With a battle cry as fierce as the wolf¡¯s, Yua lunged at the boss while I readied myself to cast my spell at the right moment. The boss was large enough and my spell small enough for Yua to have no need to worry about the splash damage of my Fire Ball itself, but the flames that resulted from it and spread would be a constant danger to her as a melee fighter. After that, the danger of friendly fire would only result if she, for whatever reason, attacked a part of the boss that was on fire.

    The great wolf lunged to bite Yua, but she jumped just before its maw could clamp down on her. It bit down on the air where she¡¯d been, missing her completely, just as she slammed her foot against its snout. She used its mass as a springboard as it instinctually recoiled from the afront to its nose. This sent her flying right over its back, where she landed perfectly behind it and within striking range. I had a hard time believing that she did that on purpose, but it worked.

    ¡°Iron Fist!¡±

    She shouted and, before I could even take in the silvery glow of her fist, I heard a heavy, uncomfortable crack on the other side of the room as she slammed her fist straight into the beast¡¯s, massive shin.

    Unlike with our last bout with the boss, that single blow shattered the bone within the leg with a loud, quick snap. The Great Wolf let out a very dog-like yelp of pain and tried to lift the now useless limb, but found it too painful. It dropped the broken limb back to the ground, only to momentarily collapse on itself before springing right back up onto its still working legs. Where any other dog would have tried to run the moment it was injured like this, this one snarled at us, its howl a thousand times more menacing than before. Yua, though, stood there grinning and looking at her fist.

    ¡°We aren¡¯t done yet, Yua. Don¡¯t lose focus¡­ Fire Ball!¡±

    Even though I didn¡¯t need to actually chant the spell¡¯s name to use it, I yelled it so that Yua could perform a proper follow up.

    Thanks to her heavy-handed blow, the wolf snout was turned towards me when it tried to catch itself, so I had a perfect shot.

    Thanks to the effort of two days worth of blasting slimes with this spell, my aim was entirely on point as the fire ball hit the great wolf right between the eyes. It howled in agony and tried to wipe the spreading fire away with its paw, but that only caused the fire to spread to the fur there too. With just those two blows, the Proud Great Wolf¡¯s health bar dropped down by a quarter and with the fire dealing constant damage while blinding it, we essentially had the fight in the bag.

    Like before, the blinded great wolf ran about the room in a mad frenzy, trying to rub itself against the walls and floor to quench the flames to no avail. It no longer seemed like it was even aware of us. Using that, Yua and I launched simultaneous attacks.

    She struck its other hind leg, breaking it in two and forcing it into a painful-looking sitting position. I used my sword to attack the front paw that wasn¡¯t already on fire as it lashed out blindly. My strikes delt it much less damage per hit than Yua¡¯s, but I sliced through its flesh without holding back.

    It tried to swipe at me after I took a couple of chunks of flesh out of it, but the paw it swung at me was the one on fire. Even if I couldn¡¯t see the paw move, I easily saw the massive fire ball surrounding it flying at me. So, I ducked as low as I could to avoid both it and the flames. I wasn¡¯t positive if a product of my own magic could hurt me, but since I could feel the heat emanating from its paw as it flew over my head, I thought it was best not to test it right now.

    In a last ditched effort, the great wolf lifted the paw I slashed to ribbons to slam it down on me. I put some strength into my legs, ready to jump out of its path, but there was no need. Yua came to the rescue and struck another Iron Fist-powered punch onto the center pad of the falling paw.

    The great wolf was launched to the side and collapsed to the floor. It showed no more interest in trying to fight back against its attackers and tried to roll around again to snuff out the flames. It was already losing what little remained of its health to the fire and bleed damage I had caused, so the fight was as good as done.

    Yua smiled fiercely, happily, but fiercely, as she readied herself for the final blow. I said a silent prayer for the wolf and stood aside to let her have at it.

    She dashed below the hulking beast as it raised itself up one last time and with one final Iron Fist aimed directly into the center of the Proud Great Wolf¡¯s ribcage, ended the fight with a third sickening crunch. It let out one last howl of pain and unceremoniously burst into a ball of light before dissipating. Yua raised her arms for a cheer while I let out the breath I had been holding and lowered my hand. While I trusted she could finish it off, I¡¯d prepared my magic just in case it tried to strike at her.

    ¡°Phew. Great job, Yua. You really did get stronger.¡±

    ¡°I know! It didn¡¯t even stand a chance against us!¡±

    Yua bent down, sweating more from the heat of the flames than the physical exertion and picked up the second Proud Great Wolf pelt we earned.

    ¡°Master, should I carry this?¡±

    ¡°No. There¡¯s no need for that. I¡¯ll just put everything we get today into my item box, so it doesn¡¯t weigh you down.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    She held out the large roll of fur with a smile and I put it away. While it would be suspicious if we came out with nothing, there was no point in walking around with dozens of pounds of loot when you didn¡¯t need to. It would be infinitely easier to just teleport straight back into our room than it would be to actually carry all of that around town, anyways. There we could easily just use the same tactic of pretending to reach into her bag to pull it all out once we decide to sell. Plus, after thinking back on how Adventurers typically had to wait for the General outside to teleport them back into the city, I felt that handling the teleportation myself was going to be faster.

    After putting away our prize, I checked our levels one more time before heading to the next floor.

    The boss had managed to level up my classes again, but not by the same amount as last time. Strangely enough, though, unlike last time when I thought that the experience gained from the boss¡¯s defeat only went to the person that got the last hit, I still got some experience. However, unlike how I usually received the full, boosted amount of experience even without getting the final blow, I only received half as much as I did last time, meaning 500 instead of 1000, while Yua gained the same amount she did last time.

    As far as I could tell based on this battle, it may be safe to assume that I¡¯m limited by how much experience I can get per boss fight, with it being halved each time I kill the same boss. Otherwise, since they respawn every hour, I would¡¯ve been able to sit next to the boss room for a day and use this easy fight to power level. And each successive fight would only be easier and easier thanks to the levels I would have earned. Makes sense, but it was a little disappointing to learn this when considering how this lost experience would have strengthened us up more for the lower floors.

    Not that I wanted to make this life an easy one, but easy was definitely warranted here.

    What still perplexed me, though, was that Yua¡¯s Monk class did not raise at all, even after getting the final hit using its ability. She most definitely did the most damage in the fight, while I more or less just blinded it and gave it a few papercuts while she literally shattered its bones, so this seemed completely unfair to me.

    I motioned with my finger to tap my menu to check if her class had some sort of other condition needed to level it up, but nothing appeared. However, when I pressed it, the box containing the label ¡°Monk¡± lit up and shifted, like it was being picked up.

    What the¡­

    Curious, I worked my menu like a touch-screen and slid the box up above the one containing her Beast Warrior class and let go. It snapped into place right where I held it, as if it belonged there the whole time. This new feature fueling my curiosity further, I decided to check her info box outside of the menu again by focusing on her and found that it now read that her main class was Monk instead of Beast-Warrior.

    Hmm¡­ I guess I can change her class or have her swap between them whenever we want.

    Unlike my classes, that all level up all at the same time as long as I use them at least once in a fight, hers might just need to be leveled separately. That might be a good thing. Or it might slow us down. Not only would this require constant monitoring on my end, her Monk class is now eight levels lower than her Beast-Warrior class. But if she preferred to fight as a Monk, it was immensely more important that we focus on it now and just put the numbers aside.

    I checked her stats page to see if they had been reset after the change, but they were just as I left them.

    ¡°Hey, Yua, do you feel any weaker right now?¡±

    ¡°Not at all,¡± she said with a hearty grin and a pump of her fist. ¡°I can keep fighting for as long as you like.¡±

    It seems like switching to the lower-level class didn¡¯t actually affect her physical strength at all. That must mean a person¡¯s strength is based mainly on their actual Strength stat, not the level of their class or how muscular their bodies were. Or in her case, how muscular they weren¡¯t. The same probably goes for the other stats as well. Furthermore, she has already shown that she can use the Monk skill Iron Fist even without having the class equipped. But then, what¡¯s the point of leveling up the class if she could still use its techniques?

    ¡°Yua, you have the Monk class, right? Can you learn other abilities if you level it high enough?¡±

    Even though the world was only partially based on a video game leveling system, it felt awkwardly strange to actually conflate learning techniques to leveling up, instead of practicing or studying to earn then. Yua, though, nodded respectfully, which was still an oddity for her, given how my question was probably about to be answered with basic world knowledge.

    ¡°Yes, but I don¡¯t know how long it will take. It¡¯s supposed to take most Monks years to learn and master new abilities. But with Master¡¯s ability to level us up faster, I have no idea what to expect.¡±

    ¡°So, you don¡¯t know when you¡¯ll get a new ability? Can you at least tell me some of them?¡±

    "Yes. One of the main abilities is Healing Punch.¡±

    ¡°Healing Punch? Interesting¡­¡±

    If that did what its name suggested and she managed to learned, we could save more on potions by just having her heal us. Though, it would still be best for us to maintain a steady stock of them.

    ¡°Wait¡­ You heal someone by punching them?¡±

    She laughed a bit at my apparently stupid question and waved her hands dismissively. I felt as though I should have been offended and embarrassed by her reaction to my blunder, but there was something about the way she looked at me that made those feelings vanish as they appeared.

    ¡°No, no, Master. You don¡¯t actually hit the injured person. That would just cause more pain. What you do is channel a bit of your strength into your palms and place them over the wound. Then you transfer your energy into the injured person.¡±

    Ah, so the name is just misleading. Seems like the Monk class in this world is just more meat-head oriented than what I was used to. The abilities were probably just named accordingly.

    ¡°Then it¡¯s a type of healing magic?¡±

    ¡°Not at all,¡± she said, shutting me down with a smile. ¡°Healing magic uses mana to heal wounds. The way Monks heal is by transferring some of their own energy and life force into the wounded to heal them. Oh, and the Monk can¡¯t use it on themself.¡±

    Right. Using it on themselves wouldn¡¯t make sense since they would be using their life force to heal their own life force. But still, does that mean they shorten their life span or just lose a little HP and sleep it off? Actually, can you even sleep off a little HP loss the way you¡¯d sleep off any other injury?

    While I didn¡¯t like the idea of her using up her own life to heal my injuries, there was no doubting how useful it would be to have a healer in times of need. I¡¯ll just have to carefully monitor her if and when she uses it. With the advent of my menu, unlike others in this world as far as I can tell, I¡¯ll be able to see her literal life force as she uses it. Then I¡¯ll be able to gauge how much of a danger that skill is and level her Vigor accordingly.

    ¡°Alright, it may take a while for you to learn that ability, but I want you to do your best to get it. I believe I may have just done something that might help you to do just that.¡±

    ¡°Eh? What did Master do?¡±

    ¡°Just something involving your stats. Don¡¯t worry about it. I can explain later if it works. For now, just focus on fighting.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master! I feel like I can beat up anybody you put in front of me now!¡±

    ¡°Good. I¡¯m happy to see you so motivated.¡±

    But was this motivation purely for the sake of the fight? Or was I just making her a more dangerous threat to my own safety?

    ¡°¡­ Let¡¯s head to the next floor.¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡±

    Yua spun on her heel and jogged over to the large stone doors hidden between the burning braziers that the boss had been guarding in order to keep up with how she¡¯s been going out of her way to open doors for me.

    As she ran, though, I suddenly remembered that pretty jogging neighbor of mine from back on Earth. Their bodies seemed to overlap as they moved, though their bodies were different enough in several places to leave Yua¡¯s presence still clear enough to not confuse me.

    She was just one of many aspects of that world that I left behind and yet, as I watched her back, I felt nothing. That sense of urgency I felt to talk to her the day I died was gone.

    The jogging girl, whose name even my now advanced memory couldn''t give me, continued past Yua and into the darkness beyond the boss doors as Yua pushed them open for me. Unlike the jogger who never so much as looked my way, Yua turned back to me with a smile so wide she looked practically giddy as her tail whipped through the air.

    ¡°Yua¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Nothing. Just¡­ You¡¯re doing great.¡±

    She tilted her head, ears twitching as if they were searching for some hidden meaning in what I said, but her smile quickly returned and she nodded.

    ¡°You too, Master. Blinding the boss with your magic was a good idea.¡±

    With that, she waited for me to join her before we headed downstairs, together.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 14

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    We left the first floor through the boss room and found a nearly identical set to those of the first floor¡¯s entrance leading downward the next level. It, like the rest of the dungeon looked almost uniform in every way. The only differences I could make out in the continuing inexplicable glow that lit this place, were all so minor that I was surprised to have noticed them myself. Whatever magical force rests this place every night really doesn¡¯t put much thought into the design, except maybe for where traps are placed.

    I had no idea how the General up on ground level was able to differentiate them, but assumed it had something to do with just wanting to open a portal to the specified location, rather than actually thinking of the image. While my own knowledge of the Dimensional step spell suggested that you needed to keep an image of the location in mind, maybe it really was as simple as just wanting it in this case, as each floor entrance looking the same allowed for easier memorization.

    At least, I thought so. Somehow, probably in no small part due to my Memorization ability, I was able to remember the exact location of each and every crack in the stonework, the placement of every crevice where two stone blocks met and where on the walls each little patch of mold clung. But here I noticed that all of these seemingly innocuous features were in entirely different places compared to the first floor as we walked. As usual, navigating this place would definitely have been impossible for me otherwise.

    ¡°This way, Master.¡±

    Yua had taken the lead again and had to force herself to walk a bit slower to keep pace with me after accidentally caused her to walk too far ahead a couple times without noticing. This was likely because I used the points she gained this time to level her Speed stat and round it off with her other main stats as we moved between the floors. While I was busy hoping she¡¯d get used to how it felt by our next battle, she had already set about mastering this new speed the only way she could, by focusing on keeping pace with me. Seems she knew the benefits of controlling her body, rather than just making use of the force she could put out with it. Still, she¡¯d have plenty of opportunities to use her speed to its fullest later, the thought of which I could already tell had left her excited.

    How could I tell? Her tail, of course. Although, with her strength what it was now, and with how fast it flicked through the air, I was a little worried what might happen if I were to let it hit me.

    ¡°Master, there¡¯s a monster right around that corner.¡±

    ¡°Alright, can you tell what it is?¡±

    Yua¡¯s ears twitched as she focused on the sounds of our next enemy shuffling about.

    ¡°It sounds like a Trent.¡±

    ¡°Trent, huh?¡±

    If I remembered correctly, a Trent was a type of living tree monster. If the Proud Great Wolf¡¯s fur was anything to go by, my Fire Ball spell should be able to burn it easily.

    I guess I might actually end up burning down a forest after all.

    ¡°Is there anything else you can tell me about it?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master. Trents move really slow, but they make up for it with longer ranged attacks. They can also sling their branch-like arms around like a whip, so it¡¯s best to get in close of you can¡¯t dodge its attacks.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll use my Fire Ball on it. Back me up.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master!¡±

    I definitely can¡¯t let our progress today make us get ahead of ourselves. While the first floor took less than an hour to complete this time around, we needed to get as far as we could as fast as we could. And in order to do that, we both needed to make it through this in one piece.

    After stepping around the corner, I found the slow, lumbering tree monster I was expecting. About seven feet tall and with its leafy hairdo scraping against the ceiling, it slowly slid its way across the floor by working its seemingly unnecessary roots like a couple dozen spider legs all wriggling about at the same time. Its hide of green, rotted bark looked hard and difficult to break through physically, but its skin being so tough must be why it moved so slow. Even the act of turning to face us when we made ourselves known looked incredibly labored, a far cry from the speed the wolves above demonstrated.

    So slow to greet its opponents. It¡¯s like it¡¯s asking us to kill it.

    I aimed my palm and threw a Fire Ball at it. Unable to move fast enough to avoid the spell, the Trent had no choice but to stand its ground and take it. At the same time, it lashed out with one of its branches, stretching all the way over to us. Its branch whipped through the Fire Ball, lighting itself on fire and empowering its attack with the flame it swathed itself in.

    I dodged its strike, but only barely, as I was expecting the concussive force of my spell to stop its attack. Its branch whipped the ground where I was, leaving behind a scorched dent in the stone. Thankfully, my mana was not wasted as my Fire Ball still managed to hit it center mass. Bright red flames traveled up its body and lit the leaves above alight. Bits and chunks of smoldering bark peeled off and fell to the floor.

    As if it felt nothing at all, the Trent launched another attack. However, perhaps sensing the danger I posed to it, this time it chose to aim for Yua. She dodged it easily enough, easier than I did, anyways. I sent another fire ball hurtling towards its center.

    The Trent burst into light and was gone right after my second spell hit. I was happy that the thing didn¡¯t seem to have a face, so I didn¡¯t have to listen to it screech from the pain of the fire. I had enough of that with the last boss.

    Once it and all its discarded bits of barky-flesh were gone, and while I was basking in the fact that the fight was so easy because I was right to take on the first floor again for a few free levels, Yua dashed over to pick up what it dropped. She held out the small vial of light brown liquid for me to appraise both as a Merchant and Apothecary.

    [Trent Tree Sap. 1 Silver. Can be Combined With ¡®X¡¯ to Brew Stamina Potions.]

    I reported this information to Yua and put the vial into my item box.

    ¡°Hmm. So, Trent Tree Sap can be used to make endurance potions? Isn¡¯t that great, Master? Now you won¡¯t have to buy more.¡±

    ¡°Yea, that¡¯s what I¡¯m hoping for. But it¡¯s not like we used the ones we bought this morning yet anyways. Also, it doesn¡¯t even say what I need to mix it with.¡±

    Come to think of it, I had the Apothecary class before finding our first Living Slime Goo and didn¡¯t find out what it could be used for until I found the second ingredient, Green Moss. If you don¡¯t know the recipe beforehand, finding the second ingredient must be the requirement. While that¡¯s a bit of a pain, at least it wasn¡¯t expecting me to randomly experiment and waste ingredients to figure it out like you often had to do in games. Unlike them, I couldn¡¯t just pluck these ingredients out of the soil, we had to fight for them. So, wasting was definitely a no-no.

    ¡°Speaking of, did you happen to see any more of that green moss on the first floor?¡±

    ¡°No, Master. I¡¯m sorry, but I didn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. We did find it in a hidden area, after all. Maybe there is another place it spawns that has more of it.¡±

    Maybe the second ingredient will be hidden on this floor as well. It was a common in for developers of games with a potion-brewing system to leave ingredients meant for a specific type of potion together in the same room, be it with some bundled together in a specially named bag while others were left out on shelves, all to subtly suggest to the player they should consider combining them to see what happens, thereby learning their effects in the process.

    Then again, more games also randomized locations. One ingredient may be found in a sunny patch of forest somewhere, while another might only be found in the deepest part of a cave a few miles away. If the dungeon ran on that kind of logic, then maybe we just had to search for it.

    We continued through the dungeon, looking for our next battle, while keeping an eye out for any and all plants, when a thought occurred to me.

    ¡°Yua, do you know if any plants grow in the dungeons? Not just hidden away like the, but just, like, in the ground?¡±

    I¡¯d already tried analyzing the regular moss I¡¯ve seen growing on the walls a dozen times, but it seemed to be of a different, more useless variety, as it didn¡¯t share the name or effect of the Green Moss I had in my item box. So, I had to wonder if there were other plants known to actively grow here in bunches, rather than finding the occasional one-off. Can¡¯t exactly start hording potions if the ingredients to make them are super rare, right? And Madame Turquesse did make it seem like getting ingredients from the dungeons was easy.

    Who knows? Maybe we¡¯ll find a floor that is just one big garden. One filled with endless potion ingredients for me to experiment with.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard of that being the case,¡± Yua said. ¡°But I never made it deep enough to find out for myself.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­ How deep did you go in the dungeon when you were on your own, anyway? You seem to know so much about it.¡±

    Her ears twitched a half-second before she clenched her fists. I wasn¡¯t sure if she had heard another enemy approaching or if I had touched a nerve by asking. My guess was the latter, considering how her giddiness suddenly faded from her expression. From this and the furrow to her brow, I got the impression that she just didn¡¯t want to talk about her past experiences in the dungeon past potential feats off her own strength for some reason. She was silent for a moment before speaking again.

    ¡°¡­ I only made it to the third floor.¡±

    The third floor? But she was only level three when we met. If she was able to make it that far on her own, actual skill at fighting must be even more important than the stats backing it up than I thought. And if she made it that far on her own, that means she beat a minimum of two floor bosses by herself. That¡¯s insane. If true, her skilled must really warrant all her bragging. The fighting prowess she¡¯s displayed so far must just have been the tip of the iceberg.

    No wonder why her price at the slave house was set so high. She was a top tier beauty and an excellent fighter. It made all the sense in the world now. So much so that I no longer doubted that the initial asking price Alphonse mentioned for her contract was true. I may be contradicting my earlier intentions regarding her, but while I hate the idea of actually owning her, she was worth every penny. Er, copper.

    When I noticed that she¡¯d gone silent again while I thought about these stupid things, I shook my head. Worried that I might once again fail to uphold a what this time looked to be an important conversation I actually wanted to have, I pressed on without thinking.

    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    ¡°Why did you stop there?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Because, that¡¯s when I was forced into slavery.¡±

    Shit. Oops¡­

    Guess it¡¯s a sore subject for her. Knowing how she fights, she¡¯s probably good enough to make it even deeper than the third floor. And that not even mentioning her love for fighting in general clearly being enough to propel her forward if just the thought of fighting in the dungeon was enough to get her to lighten up around me a little. I should have guessed something significant had happened to make her stop and just shut my mouth. Shit. And the mood between us was so jovial just a second ago.

    Wait. Wait. Wait! Actually, it may have been entirely unintentional, but I managed to lead the conversation to a place where one of my biggest questions regarding her might finally get answered.

    ¡°Could you¡­ Can I ask what happened?¡±

    I asked the question that had been boiling on the tip of my tongue since my pessimistic brain first pulled together all my idiocy and smashed it all into the shapeless mess that just fell out of my mouth. She stopped in her tracks, her ears not needing to give that usual cute flick to show she heard me. In the middle of the one of the second floor¡¯s many halls, she stared at her feet, looking just as dejected as she did when I first bought her.

    Remembering the guilt that I felt in that moment myself, I thought that, if it was only going to bring up negative memories for her, then I shouldn¡¯t prod. Maybe I should just leave it for if, no when, we turn in the full price for her contract and ask Alphonse if he knew what happened to save her the trouble. I¡¯d hate to ask him of all people to tell me, but I knew I wouldn¡¯t be able to rest easily until I knew the truth.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to tell me, you don¡¯t have to. I¡¯m not going to make telling your story an order.¡±

    ¡°No. It¡¯s fine. My master has the right to ask any question of me he wants.¡±

    I winced and, unsure of what to do with myself, scratched the back of my head. Her statement, mainly that title she insisted on using, stung. Probably more than she meant it to and more than it should have, but it stung.

    ¡°I¡¯m not asking as your master. I¡¯m asking as somebody that cares about you. If you don¡¯t want to tell me, then don¡¯t. I won¡¯t get mad and I won¡¯t ask again.¡±

    Despite myself and the potentially deep subject matter, I felt my cheeks heat up again at how easily my feelings for her graced the open air between us. She, however, bit her lip, held her hands together in front of her chest and looked into the distance, as if remembering an old, but deeply-rooted pain. Then she looked me directly in the eyes. Her emeralds weren¡¯t shining like they were a few minutes ago, but she persevered all the same.

    ¡°It was only my fifth day down on the third floor. I was training to fight the boss when I was beaten by a group of enemies. I¡­ got cocky and tried to round up a bunch of monsters and fight them all at once to save time, but they ended up circling around and overpowering me much faster than I thought they could. I managed to break free from them, but they chased me. Hurt and tired, I couldn¡¯t fight back anymore. So, I ran.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t able to focus on my ears and one of the monsters hit me hard enough in the head to make me forget where the exit was. I was scared. For the first time since entering the dungeon, I was scared. The blood from my head wound made it hard to see, but I happened to run right into an Adventurer. Out of breath and barely able to speak, I begged him for help. He heard me out and, after seeing the trouble headed my way, he said he would, but that I had to give him all the loot I had picked up so far that day as payment. I swore on my ears and tail that I would and we shook on it. He told me to wait for him outside the dungeon.

    ¡°I wanted to fight together with him, but did as he asked when my knees started to shake. So, I ran. I hated myself for being so weak, but I had no other choice if I wanted to live and come back to try again. That¡¯s all I wanted, so I did what I to to live.¡±

    She stopped to cover her mouth and tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. It sounded like a pretty basic story of someone biting off more than they could chew and paying for it, but it was clearly more to her than that. The first real bit of her true self that I got straight from her mouth and that didn¡¯t require me to abuse my powers to look into her personal information myself, was nothing more than the fact that she loved fighting. It wasn¡¯t something I could understand myself, since I was more or less a pacifist to a fault in the past. One whose sole experience in fighting was in his repeated daydreams of saving his classmates, friends or even random people from a crazed attacker. That was it. But I could see plainly how much it meant to her and by how her shoulders shook, that just the thought of being weak hurt her.

    If sharing all this was only going to upset her, then maybe I really shouldn¡¯t have asked.

    But it was too late to complain now. Again, like she did in the past, she persevered. Yua swallowed enough of her sadness to allow herself to continue.

    ¡°When I ran away to the sound of that man fighting to clean up my mess behind me, I got distracted when I heard him cry out in pain. He seemed to be doing fine when I turned back and saw him jab his spear straight through one of the monsters that tried to kill me, but because of that distraction, another monster attacked me. It tried to grab me by grabbing the bag I used to carry my loot. I tried to wrench it away, but I was so tired and weak that I couldn¡¯t get it loose. So, I had to abandon it.

    ¡°I left the loot behind and made it out of the dungeon safely. That Adventurer didn¡¯t follow me out immediately, of course, so I waited for him as we promised. When he finally came back out, just as hurt and just as tired, but also just as alive as I was, he smiled bravely. That smile was so reassuring that I felt like it pulled a great weight off my shoulders.

    ¡°I had been pacing around the dungeon¡¯s entrance, waiting for him to come back out and show that I didn¡¯t get him killed by my mistake. And when he did finally come out, he smiled through the blood and sweat. In awe of his strength, I gave him the potion I had on me and while he drank it, I asked what happened. He spared no detail when he told me all about how he heroically exterminated all the monsters I left behind and that he even managed to kill the few lunged at him after they were drawn in by the sounds fighting. I was amazed by his skill, since what he told me sounded like it would have been impossible for me even if I was at full strength¡­¡±

    She paused and the fond smile Yua had been wearing as she recanted the first part of her tale ended so abruptly that I almost felt myself fearing that it would never appear on her lips ever again when her expression took a sudden depressing turn. Again, with barely forced breath to amp herself up, she continued.

    ¡°But his cheerful smile suddenly changed when I told him what happened to my bag. He got mad. Really mad. Madder than I¡¯d ever seen a human be before. Seeing him like that, I thought he might turn his spear on me right then and there, but I couldn¡¯t understand why.

    ¡°Nothing I had in that bag was all that valuable and could easily have been replaced in a day or two of fighting in the dungeon and i would have gladly done so. But he didn¡¯t even give me the chance to finish explaining. Didn¡¯t give me the chance to go and try to find it after regaining some strength. Didn¡¯t even let me offer to make it up to him some other way. As soon as I told him I abandoned the bag inside, he went and told the guards that I broke our agreement. And technically, I did. And because of that, I was branded as a Thief from then on. I was arrested immediately and sold to Alphonse De Grave as a slave. That was three years ago.¡±

    Yua slumped against the wall, as if the memory of how weak her legs had been back then sapped her of all her strength again, like the levels she¡¯d just gained meant nothing.

    The story itself was easy to follow, if not messed up beyond reason, especially knowing that she really did spend three years in that slave house, but the circumstances of her becoming a Thief in the first place made no sense at all to someone not from this world.

    ¡°Why were you called a Thief when all you did was say that you would do something? It¡¯s not like you took something of his, right?¡±

    Wiping her tears, Yua shook her head. ¡°I didn¡¯t just promise to give that stuff to him, I swore by my ears and tail that I would hold up my end of the deal. Our ears and tails are immensely important to us, so when a beast-kin does makes a promise like that, it¡¯s just as powerful as when a human signs a contract. Meaning that my loot was already as good as his the moment we shook on it. So, failing to give it to him was considered stealing what was his.¡±

    Was it really that easy? Back on Earth, and any other world that should run on even a semblance of rationality, wouldn¡¯t count that towards anything other than a word-of-mouth agreement. From the sound of things, she didn¡¯t sign any sort of paper or use any sort of magic to agree to the terms he put up, but they instantly screwed her over before he even fulfilled his part? According to her, her things were stolen before he finished fighting the horde. How was it fair for her to be punished then?

    Why would the Goddess build this world that way? What was the point in making it so ridiculously easy to ruin someone¡¯s life? I mean, what if a pair of children, let¡¯s say brothers, made a similar pact and one brother offered the other a toy in return for taking over his chores, but their parents unknowingly took away said toy before the agreement could be finished because the first brother was caught lazing about? Did that mean they would be permanently labeled a Thief? Over a toy?

    There had to be more to it than this.

    ¡°Then how did the guard find out that he wasn¡¯t just making it up to frame you?¡±

    ¡°Because the guards held us there until they brought over a Scrying Orb. With that, they were able to examine me and found that I did have the Thief tag. So, they were forced to side with him. Nobody would ever believe a Thief.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s so unfair.¡±

    A tear ran down her cheek before she could wipe it away and she continued. I thought the story was over, but she continued.

    ¡°¡­ He tried to buy me. The man that saved me. I could tell what he wanted me for and it wasn¡¯t revenge. I could tell he thought of me like that from the moment I ran into him in the dungeon, but I had no choice but to beg him for help at the time. But I knew. I could tell by the way he looked at my body.¡±

    She glanced at me, as if to say ¡°the same way you look at me,¡± and I shrank back. But those words never left her lips.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Master. I know now that you aren¡¯t a bad person like he was. But because I knew what he was after and because I was mad at him, I started a fight with Alphonse¡¯s guards. When I saw that Adventurer standing there with that big dumb smile on his stupid face, I did all I could to make it abundantly obvious to him that I¡¯d attack him the moment I could. Eventually, he got the message and backed off, so I let the guards overpower me. I wasn¡¯t allowed to eat for three days after that, but it was worth it. That man ran away and never came back. As far as I know. And after seeing how well acting out like that worked on him, I started doing that every time someone showed interest in buying me, so that I wouldn¡¯t be picked. Being able to fight back on occasion felt great¡­ but I was punished severely every time.¡±

    After hearing her out to this extent, not only were my worries over her backstory quenched, I fully understood the reasons behind her actions both at the slave house and towards me after I bought her and I didn¡¯t blame her for it one bit. I could also easily understand why she was so concerned with me punishing her every time she mis-stepped. Though it would probably sound like it was somehow her fault, her obvious beauty likely caused her to catch the eye of many a prospective buyer in the slave house, meaning that her entire life since then has been punishment after punishment, all because she asked a stranger for help.

    And I was just the next punishment.

    I had various reasons for buying her, but I couldn¡¯t deny that my own sexual desires weren¡¯t one of them. And now, because of men like me, she had to choose to defend herself whenever a new buyer came by. And because of how she chose to do this, she was going to be killed if I fail to protect her and buy out her contract.

    No wonder why she seemed so eager to help me pay off Alphonse despite clearly hating me at first. She was probably just happy enough to not have to fight off people trying to buy her for her body anymore. Hell, maybe that was also why her personality did a sudden one-eighty this morning. After doing what I could to show her that I wasn¡¯t going to be like them, she probably saw me as just the lesser of many evils. But I couldn¡¯t allow myself to feel like some sort of knight in shining armor for saying it was also because she knew I wasn¡¯t going to force myself on her, because I wouldn¡¯t, but it was my years of loneliness that led me to her in the first place.

    Who knows, maybe if Alphonse didn¡¯t screw me over on the contract, my built-up lust and excitement over her might have led me to taking her back to the inn, instead of the dungeon yesterday. I¡¯d love nothing more than to say for certain that that wouldn¡¯t be the case, but if all those repressed feelings caused me to commit the sin of buying her in the first place, then I¡¯d be a fool to deny the possibility.

    I was just another cog in the shit show her life had become since her enslavement.

    Watching her stand there in the middle of a dungeon filled with monsters actively trying to kill us, I raised an arm to hug what looked like nothing more than a defenseless girl in need of some true, loving affection and a good shoulder to cry on, but I knew I didn¡¯t have the right.

    I can¡¯t believe I ever even considered using her like that. What the hell is wrong with me? What on Earth were those excuses I made for myself when buying her? Loneliness? Ha!

    When my arms dropped away before my hands could so much as brush her chestnut-colored hair back, she lunged at me. My heart nearly exploded from my chest. The thought that she¡¯d finally chosen now to attack me, right after telling me why she used to routinely beat the thugs in the slave house to a bloody pulp, sent my mind into a flurry of unease and panic.

    But she didn¡¯t do that. She didn¡¯t raise a fist. She didn¡¯t call out the name of her favorite ability. She didn¡¯t bare her fangs, throw a kick, sling an endless barrage of insults my way or anything else that I deserved. The impact her body made against mine caused no pain. None at all, whatsoever. All she did was bury her face into my chest.

    Surprised beyond belief that she could forgive a bastard like me enough to actually let me console her, I could do nothing else but let her weep and hold her.

    </main>

 Volume 1 - Chapter 15

    In what felt like a complete disregard for our own safety, our embrace continued for a long, quiet while. Me hugging the girl I know I didn¡¯t deserve and her crying into the arms of the man that originally meant to use her. Neither of us said a word and just held each other, right up until Yua¡¯s ears finally twitched, bringing a quick end to this moment of mourning. That twitch was the same sort I¡¯d become accustomed to seeing when she heard an enemy milling about somewhere nearby, so it was no longer safe to stay here.

    With a small sniffle, she withdrew from my chest and quickly wiped away the last lingering dregs of her tears. However, instead of heading off for the fight, she looked at me with determination so strong in her eyes, that those glossy emeralds looked to have caught fire all on their own.

    ¡°My family hasn¡¯t seen me since. They probably think that I became weak after living in the city for so long and died in the dungeons because of it. So, Master, please make me stronger!¡±

    Yua bowed so deeply and so fast that, had her legs not held firm, she might have drove her forehead through the stone flooring of the dungeon. It was as endearing as it was cute, especially the way her tail held its upward curve and pointed towards me, as if it too was awaiting my response. Seeing her slender back look so strangely sturdy as she made this plea so soon after crying her eyes out, I felt just a little bit of pride at being the one she asked for help.

    ¡°You got it. If we keep going at this rate, I¡¯ll help you get stronger than you ever imagined. And in return, I hope that you will help me get stronger, too.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master!¡± she said, jumping back into a standing position. Her smile all but completely hiding the fact that she had been crying just seconds ago.

    How it was that she managed to do this was beyond me. Just remembering the worst moments of my life filled me with nothing but pain and regrets so strong that using them to improve myself seemed like a pipe dream. Yet, here she was, doing just that, and after I bought her like an object. It was almost like her resolve to do better was overpowering mine, even though they were on the same track.

    If I didn¡¯t deserve her, then I could at least help her reach her goals and protect her the best I could along the way.

    Taking her story as the unedited truth after pairing it with our time in the dungeon so far, I came to the quick conclusion that Yua did indeed have a slight cockiness problem. It seems, for the most part, what happened to her three years ago did put a stop to it, but not completely. Now that she had me boosting her further and faster than the normal limitations of this world typically allowed, we¡¯d needed to be careful going forwards.

    And again, I was aware that I had the same problem. Thinking I could get the upper hand in trade has repeatedly screwed me over, so I probably needed to take things a little more slowly as well. Unfortunately, now wasn¡¯t really the time for slow.

    Seeing her smiling at me, I smiled back on reflex despite my growing negative thoughts.

    ¡°For now, I want you to take the next fight. What¡¯s the other monsters are on this floor?¡±

    Again, we should have discussed these details sooner, but the discussion regarding abilities and the battle with the trent took center stage. But it wasn¡¯t too late to fill in the gaps now. Besides, I¡¯m sure she¡¯s in need of a good fight.

    ¡°The only other monsters on this floor are Goblins. They use short spears or swords, but I can handle them no problem!¡±

    ¡°Good. Find one and take it down.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    It was nice that she was able to recover so fast, but I still felt like shit for giving into my curiosity and worries and bringing up her past in the first place. But if what she wants is to become stronger, then that is something that fits both of our goals. Thanks to my ability to boost the experienced she gained from fighting with me, I had no doubt my promise will be upheld. As long as we stuck together.

    Her energy restored, Yua stormed down the dungeon halls straight for her next unawares target. Without waiting for me to give her the go ahead, Yua took off running towards the first goblin she found and laid into it with a heavy kick that it barely had time to see coming. It slammed into the wall hard enough to make even me cringe a little, though the feeling of getting to strike something did wonders for Yua¡¯s smile. It looked dazed and immensely confused by the sudden assault, but it managed to use the short, crude spear it held as a cane to stand itself back up onto its now wobbling legs.

    The goblin, a dark brown creature about the size of a child, but with a thin, gangly body, along with the slimes from the first floor, were supposed to be among the weakest monsters one could fight in any given RPG. Although its existence on the second floor and the fact that it managed to survive an attack from Yua of all people suggested it was a fair bit stronger than I originally gave it credit for.

    Due in part to its hunched back, it was only about as tall as her hip-line. Because of this and its spear keeping her at a distance, she likely figured her legs were the better weapon in her admittedly limited arsenal when dealing with them, even though she so far generally preferred her fists. She must not have been able to put her all into that kick, but even after being paired up against the first of the dungeon monsters to use a real weapon, she jumped into the fight the best way she could.

    As for the goblin, the spear it used truly was short. Standing on its end, it looked to be barely taller than the goblin itself. Its length made it look like it would have been the perfect fit for a human to use one-handed along with a heavy shield to hide behind, but the goblin held it in both of its tiny, wart-covered hands.

    Glaring madly at her, as if she¡¯d slaughtered its entire family with that one kick, it thrust the spear at her the same way a human would with one of a normal size, but with a skill so obviously lacking that even I knew it to be untrained. It didn¡¯t put its body weight behind it. Its strike held no precision. And probably thanks to her kick, its legs were unsteady. It looked more like the goblin was attempting to poke an inanimate object, not a living person.

    I suspected that the goblin¡¯s lack of range compared to the trent was perfect for Yua, since the it clearly didn¡¯t have the skill to keep her away. She, however, kept smart and didn¡¯t recklessly charge at it. She let the creature jab at her again and again, searching for its weaknesses. It was almost as if she were taking the time to see if its attack patterns changed at all since the last time she was here. It surely thought that it was keeping her both at bay, but within a perfect striking distance as she nimbly dodged its attacks, but that doesn¡¯t mean it wasn¡¯t trying to gain the upper hand.

    Yua¡¯s first kick had taken half of its health, but it almost seemed to ignore the pain as it howled unintelligible words and thrust at her again. It aimed for her leg to both immobilize her and to take away the weapon she assaulted it with, but having tested it well enough to get the hang of its attacks, Yua slapped the spear away by striking the wooden shaft just below the blade and jabbed another kick straight into its gut. Her foot lifted it off the ground and pinned it against the wall, where it let out a large, wheezing gasp as its lungs collapsed. It burst into light before its head could even fall limp.

    ¡°How was that, Master?¡±

    ¡°As long as you don¡¯t kick me like that, I think you did fantastic.¡±

    ¡°Hehehe.¡±

    Glad to see that I was right in assuming a good fight would perk her up, I let myself smile for the positive mood change. When I stooped to pick up the goblin¡¯s dropped item, I decided to let her take the next few fights on her own so that she could put the rest of that conversation behind her.

    The Steel Goblin Spear it dropped looked like it was too small for anyone but a child to use effectively, which was probably why it was only priced at 2 silvers when appraised. Its only real value must come from its steel being smelted down and reforged into something else. The only person in the city that would be willing to take it would have to be a blacksmith and that meant we¡¯d have yet another stop to make when we were done. But still, I had no complaints as long as we met our goal.

    We continued on like this for a while until we found our fifth goblin. This one ran at Yua with a short sword when she approached to fight as if it were waiting for her all day. She readied herself to meet the goblin head on and dodged its first three swings, making no effort to close the already minimal gap between them.

    I watched on, content with the sight of watching her in her element as she practically embarrassed the goblin. Assuming the monsters here were even capable of such emotions, of course.

    Personally, I couldn¡¯t see how fighting could ever be so enjoyable, but after hearing her past, I felt comfortable in accepting the person before me now as her true self. The way she grinned so broadly as she side-stepped a hastily-made slash of a sword that left the goblin staggering forward a step when it didn¡¯t land, was so perfect, that it might as well have erased the snarky girl I bought and the thief waiting in the shadows that I assumed her to be.

    This was her. The real Yua. The one I¡¯ve been wanting this whole time to see. Standing right there in front of me, or rather jumping in front of me to dodge yet another poorly timed attack, was the same girl whose presence I should have noticed this morning. It almost felt like I¡¯d wasted this day so far for not taking notice of her.

    The goblin¡¯s third strike hit the wall as she dodged and it sent a metallic clang rocketing throughout the dungeon and sent its wrist wringing with the pain of the vibration. A sensation I was deeply familiar enough with to feel it in my own hand thanks to the last boss. It was almost like she had decided to toy with it.

    However, after she¡¯d had her fun, she lowered her stance to give the goblin her first and probably last punch of the fight. Right as she drew back her fist, her ears twitched and her eyes shot open.

    ¡°Master, there¡¯s something coming from¡­!¡±

    Just before she could finish, something heavy struck my arm and sent me hurtling through the air. Yua¡¯s gasp almost escaped notice as my field of view suddenly and violently became horizontal.

    Before I could get my bearings mid-flight and attempt to correct myself the way Yua did against the last boss, my back hit the wall. Where I should have come to an abrupt stop once the pain violated my body and stole my breath, I crashed right on through the wall itself. As if it were only as thick as a single row of bricks that had been lazily stacked together without the necessary mortar to glue them together, the wall crumbled easily against the same force that sent me flying.

    Even after I skidded to a stop, the bricks surrounding the hole I made in the wall continued to fall like rain once their structural support was gone. Pain lit up every inch of my body with a severity I¡¯d never felt before, in this world or my last. It was the closest I¡¯d ever wanted to come to saying that I now fully understood what the phrase ¡°hurt like hell¡± truly meant.

    Was this what my last moments on Earth felt like when I got hit by that truck? No, I suppose not. The Goddess was happy to report that I felt no pain back then. Remembering this ridiculously pointless fact, I could only grumble to myself and wish I could say the same now.

    Apparently, getting shoved through a wall wasn¡¯t something you could just shrug off like in the movies. Who knew¡­?

    I grabbed hold of my injured arm and grunted at the sharp increase to the pain that my attempt to comfort myself caused. I tried to make sense of what had happened, but my everything was hurting so much that I could barely think straight enough to check my status menu.

    Apparently, that single blow combined with my crashing through the wall was enough to knock out a whole third of my health bar. Instead of being in awe at how I took such a blow and managed not to die, something I was sure I couldn¡¯t have done with the body I had back on Earth, I immediately decided that I never wanted to experience the sort of pain a nearly fatal blow might cause me.

    Finally remembering that I had stopped breathing after hitting the wall when my lungs started to hurt on top of everything else, I was suddenly breathing very heavily. Sucking up buckets of dust with each and every breath I dared to take, every inhalation caused ripples of pain to shoot up and down my spine, bashing tiny spiked hammers against each and every vertebrae for each attempt it made to try and rob me of my consciousness as I laid atop the pile of broken bricks.

    A droplet of blood ran down my forehead, sticking to the side of my face as it ran south. I took this to mean both that I had hit my head at some point and that the damage it caused me wasn¡¯t enough to make me go dumb. Though, I could probably stand to have it make me forget a few of these broken abilities and traits that were forced upon me.

    However, when it suddenly became almost overwhelmingly difficult to keep my eyes open, I forced the pain back and force myself to sit up in the pile of rubble that became my temporary bed and looked for my attacker. But not for my sake.

    I had foolishly been standing in the middle hall that split off in three directions to watch Yua¡¯s fight. When I managed to refocus my vision, I found a single trent was approaching us from the path opposite the goblin. I couldn¡¯t tell if Yua¡¯s ears had missed it or not, but she hadn¡¯t said anything about there being a second monster nearby until it was already mid-swing with its attack.

    No, she only just heard it in the middle of her own fight. She was too busy focusing on the goblin to have noticed it any sooner. Or maybe this one was acting more like an actual tree and wasn¡¯t moving. Just hiding in a corner somewhere out of sight. She must have never heard it until the sounds of fighting drew its attention. In letting Yua take on every goblin we could find, we hadn¡¯t bothered to hunt down another trent just yet, so I didn¡¯t have a good idea on how they acted outside of battle, but this made a modicum of sense to me. I mean, trees weren¡¯t supposed to move to begin with.

    It didn¡¯t matter. Yua was caught in an impromptu pincer attack and I couldn¡¯t help. I could barely move. I tried to raise my arm to launch a Fire Ball at the trent, but the pain kept it from happening. Upon trying my other, less injured hand, I was forced to fall backwards onto the bricks again to avoid the trent¡¯s second strike. This time it aimed for my head but missing and striking the wall again. I didn¡¯t know if it was trying to keep me out of the fight on purpose or if it was just mindlessly attacking whoever met its fancy, but I couldn¡¯t just sit there and let it do as it pleased.

    It drew near to striking distance of Yua, but she was locked in the middle of dodging more of the goblin¡¯s sword strikes after the presence of its friend apparently caused it to become a little surer of itself. She missed her chance to end the one on one. The attack on me must have distracted her enough to make her forget the easy advantage she had over it.

    I had to do whatever I could to help. I could only imagine how much pain she suffered when she received that giant gash to her arm yesterday, but if it was anything like this, I didn¡¯t want to let her get hit again.

    Brainstorming as fast as I could, I came up with something that might just work. But I needed Yua to regain her focus, so I had to make myself known so that she knew I was alright.

    ¡°Yua!¡±

    ¡°Master! Are you alright?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, just try using your Iron Fist on the goblin as soon as you can! I¡¯ll deal with the trent!¡±

    ¡°Got it!¡±

    With those as my orders, I bit back the pain the best I could and forced myself to my feet once again. My vision swam and the ground beneath me suddenly felt very unsteady, but I moved my feet anyways. I fought off the urge to shake my head, as I feared aggravating the potential brain injury I received would only worsen the situation. I leaned out of the hole in the wall, both to let it act as my support and as my shield.

    As expected, the trent whipped its branch-like arms straight towards my face and without letting myself fall this time, I pushed myself back. Its whip crashed against the wall again, this time causing a miniature explosion of stone and rubble as it destroyed the shoddy brickwork. I hid behind what was left of it and primed a silent Fire Ball as its branch receded. The moment the ball of fire appeared in my palm, I leaned out again and immediately launched it at the trent the second I caught sight of it.

    The spell crashed straight into it and, like the last one, the trent¡¯s wood body began to burn and smolder as the flames encasing it slowly chipped away its health. As if it felt nothing of pain nor cared for the danger of its own situation, the trent snapped its arm towards me again before I could send another Fire Ball its way. I tried to fall back again, but my legs wobbled and I fell to my knees. Thankfully, the wall took the hit for me again, but the pain that erupted from my knee when it hit the ground surprised me enough to almost wish I¡¯d been hit instead and knocked out. I, however, fought off the urge to cry out so I didn¡¯t further distract Yua.

    After I collected myself as much as I could, I peered out from behind the safety of the wall as I tried to stand again and found Yua as she continued dodging the goblin¡¯s attacks until it finally made a mistake. Likely out of sheer aggravation for being entirely unable to hit Yua this even after the surprise attack, the creature started to grumble and shout more incoherent words and noises that likely meant nothing to anything on this planet but itself. Its tiny eyes burning with hatred, it pulled back its sword to wind up for a more powerful slash.

    It let loose with all of its strength, but Yua easily dodged it yet again, showing that she wasn¡¯t even remotely tired yet by using the goblin¡¯s failed assault and its forward momentum to jump freely over its head. She landed directly behind it and prepared herself, as if she was waiting for this exact moment. I felt the faintest smirk creep across my lips when I remembered what followed when she did this to the last boss.

    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    ¡°Iron Fist!¡±

    As ordered, her fist began to emit that beautiful silvery glow as she unleashed her ability. The goblin, unable to recover from its missed swing to defend itself properly, quickly spun around and lifted its short sword up to block the blow headed straight for it, but in its haste, it turned the blade¡¯s edge towards her, instead of using its flat to protect itself. As if she didn¡¯t notice and without pulling her punch, Yua¡¯s glowing fist struck the edge of the blade.

    However, instead of hearing her cries of pain where the blade should have buried itself into the flesh of her knuckles, all I heard was a metallic clang just as loud as when the goblin struck the wall with its sword earlier in the fight.

    I may still be a bit dizzy, but I think Yua had been using the Iron Fist ability incorrectly this entire time. While every time she used it, she did unleash a powerful blow upon her opponent, that was just her natural strength, not the ability itself. And I think this proved it. Her chanting the name of Iron Fist up until now must have been nothing more than the placebo effect making her think the strength was coming from the ability, but now that I had switched her main class to Monk, the ability¡¯s true power made itself known.

    Because of this, the silvery glow was much more vibrant than before and her fist seemed to have actually become as solid as the ability¡¯s namesake. I knew this because, when her punch struck the goblin¡¯s sword, instead of cutting into her, the blade bounced off of her fist from the force and gouged itself into the goblin¡¯s face, only for the follow through of her punch to then launch the goblin itself through the air and back down the hall towards the burning trent.

    Seeing this as my chance, I quickly leaned out one more time and launched another Fire Ball at the both of them. The trent tried to whip me again, but thanks to a bit of luck rather than timing, all it hit was the goblin¡¯s flying body, both finishing it off and allowing the Fire Ball to strike home in the trent¡¯s torso, where it exploded in a small burst of flame, embers and crumbling bark.

    I held my hand up, ready to fire again, until I saw both monsters disappear in a burst of wondrously familiar light, leaving behind just a couple measly item drops for our troubles.

    My knees wobbled and, once I was sure the fight was done, I let myself collapse again. Momentarily unsure of which injury to comfort, I tried to comfort the one that hurt the most and grabbed hold of it. Grabbing my arm like that caused another flare up of agony, but the slight warmth of my hand soothed it just a little.

    ¡°Master!¡±

    Yua ran up to me, looking to be nearly in tears. Given her personality, at least what I¡¯ve seen of her true self so far today, I guessed that she was already blaming herself for what happened. So, I stopped her after she leaned into me to support my injured body.

    ¡°Master, I¡¯m so sor¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, Yua. It¡¯s not your fault. That damn tree just snuck up on us. I should have been keeping an eye out for sneak attacks instead of just forcing you to handle everything while you were fighting.¡±

    I¡¯d gotten so used to having her ears both guide and protect us that I didn¡¯t even consider that what she was doing was too distracting to her. I should have guessed this might happen from when she mentioned how she was able to drain out all the white noise of city life by focusing on other things or outright ignoring the sensations her ears picked up, so the sound wasn¡¯t a constant bother to her.

    ¡°But¡­ But because I didn¡¯t hear it, Master got hurt.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. This¡­ is nothing.¡±

    I lied just about as unconvincingly as I could, given the blood still trickling down my face, and only made it worse when I tried to stand again to relieve her worries. My knees immediately gave way and I collapsed right into Yua¡¯s arms. While she caught me easily enough and I happily accepted the soft embrace of her bosom against the back of my head, now wasn¡¯t the time to sit there and enjoy it.

    For reasons I couldn¡¯t fully understand in the moment, I wasn¡¯t constantly losing health from the bleeding like she had against the last boss. But at this rate, I wouldn¡¯t be able to keep fighting even if I forced myself. My only option was to use a health potion whose price still felt too high considering our debt. But I needed to heal up so we could continue. The day was still young and we still had plenty of dungeon to burn through.

    Geez. I only got hit once and it nearly killed me. And I¡¯m at least ten levels higher than the monsters on this floor already. What the hell is the true value of the health bar if it doesn¡¯t actually reflect your true health?

    I raised a hand while Yua held me to open my item box to retrieve the potion, but as my hand disappeared into the miasma, I got another notification.

    [Slave Yua¡¯s Monk class reached level 5. New ability obtained: Healing Punch.]

    ¡°What the hell?¡±

    ¡°Did you forget the potion at the inn, Master? I can carry you back to¡­¡±

    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it. Yua, it looks like you got that Healing Punch ability you were talking about.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Really? Already?!¡±

    I held out my hand to her and without hesitation this time, she placed hers on top of it. I let her see her status page again and sure enough, just as the notification said, she gained the ability.

    She had been fighting on the second floor this entire time after I switched her main class to Monk. Which meant all the experience she gained went directly to that class. And because it started off so low, that experience allowed her to level up pretty quickly. We were just lucky that getting to level five was the requirement to unlock the skill.

    Yua looked more dumfounded than excited like she did the last time I told her about how she¡¯d developed in fighting beside me and it wasn¡¯t exactly hard to see why. But I guess her earlier determination to get stronger paid off sooner than she was expecting, even after learning of how my trait affected her.

    ¡°To obtain this ability already¡­ Master, is this real?¡±

    ¡°Haha¡­ Why don¡¯t you try it out? Seems like¡­ the perfect chance right now. Do you know how to do it?¡±

    ¡°Well, I think so. I¡¯ve seen it done to heal injuries after my people¡¯s sparring matches got out of hand. And it¡¯s been explained to me, but¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± I said, forcing a smile despite the pain. ¡°Just¡­ imagine what you want to happen while you use it. Do that and I am sure it will work out just fine.¡±

    I gave the same advice the goddess gave me on how to use my own abilities and, while I had no idea if it actually worked the same for the people originally born to this world, it sure as hell didn¡¯t hurt to try. And if it didn¡¯t, then we could at least learn what not to do next time. All we really needed to do was hope that she didn¡¯t need some sort of training to make it work and that she actually learned the ability as instantaneously as I did with my magic.

    That¡¯s not too much to hope for, right?

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Yua. I¡¯m sure you can do it.¡±

    She bit her lip. Still looking worried over a potential failure, she forced herself to reach for my injured arm anyway. I moved my hand so that she could touch the spot where the trent¡¯s branch hit directly. I didn¡¯t know if it mattered, but I didn¡¯t want my getting in the way to wind up making her think she failed. When I saw the bruising and truly concerning discoloration that was starting to spread there, I was glad she picked that spot first instead of multitude of other options.

    Even with hands as soft as hers, her touch still hurt like a bitch. Thankfully, the slave spell binding her to me didn¡¯t kick in and reflect the pain back onto her. She was trying to help me, not hurt me, after all. It brought back into question that whole point Alphonse made about it still working upon the slave accidentally injuring their master and them still feeling the rebound effect, but it really didn¡¯t matter now. I decided on my own to chalk up the fact that Yua didn¡¯t seem to be in any pain as being because I asked her to do this.

    Yua closed her eyes for a moment, propping me up into a sitting position, drew in a breath to steel herself the same way she did before throwing out the real Iron Fist skill. Then she opened her eyes and like magic, her worry was gone. The look she gave was just as sharp and was filled with just as much determination as her earlier promise to get stronger. Seeing this, I let a bit more weakness take my body and sank a little more into her chest.

    ¡°Healing Punch.¡±

    Be it from her renewed determination or just the effect of the skill, a pleasant warmth spread throughout my entire arm as soon as her hands emitted a bright green glow. Before my eyes could adjust to the light, the pain slowly started to fade. While she focused her efforts entirely on my arm, I soon began to feel my fingertips again. And I hadn¡¯t even realized that they¡¯d gone numb until the sensation of the stones my hand rested on returned to me.

    It took a few minutes before the effect really took hold and the pain in my arm faded completely. When she finished, she dropped her hand and fell forwards, shifting my body a bit painfully in the process. She managed to catch herself by pressing her hands on my thigh, but I could see a flood of sweat dripping from her forehead. When I was able to curl my fingers into a fist without the slightest hint of pain, I let out a sigh strong enough for the breeze my breath created to make her cat ears flick against it. Even with our best medicines, receiving an injury like that back on Earth would have taken months to heal properly. If it ever did.

    I was just starting to feel a bit giddy at the thought of her mentioning how this ability would save us on potions, then I froze almost solid. Not because her breasts had shifted from the back of my head to resting their full weight on my shoulder, but because I suddenly remembered her mentioning that the cost of using that ability was supposedly her ¡°life force.¡±

    Hurrying to make sure I hadn¡¯t accidently, and stupidly, ask her to trade her life for mine after getting hit hard enough in the head to think that could ever be a good idea, I willed her status window open to check and make sure she hadn¡¯t drained away her own health to fix my broken body.

    When I read that she hadn¡¯t even taken any damage during the fight or while using her ability, I let my head relax, and completely against my intentions, once more fell straight into her bosom when she shifted herself. She didn¡¯t even take damage when her iron fist hit the goblin¡¯s sword. Thankfully, the only part of her that had taken any damage at all was her stamina bar.

    I could hear her heart racing just a bit because of the strain and felt her every breath push her softness into my cheek, now that almost three-quarters of her total stamina had been consumed in one go. The sweat on her forehead dripped onto my pants as she tried to catch her breath.

    ¡°Did¡­ Did it work, Master?¡±

    ¡°Yes, it did,¡± I said, raising my arm back up and flexing my bicep for her. ¡°I don¡¯t feel any more pain in my arm at all.¡±

    ¡°Thank the gods¡­¡±

    I tried to stand up to test the rest of my body, but in my excitement, I had nearly forgotten the pain in my back. The pain was quick to remind me of its presence, though, as it rushed up my spine, forcing my back to twist, causing further pain, until I collapsed once more with a heavy grunt. This time onto my stomach.

    ¡°Fuck¡­¡±

    ¡°Master, I thought¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine¡­. My arm is fine. But my back still hurts from where I hit the wall.¡±

    Wiping away the sweat on her brow with her forearm, Yua sat up again and drew a heavy breath.

    ¡°Then¡­ I¡¯ll just¡­ heal you again.¡±

    Without my prompting her to, Yua stepped over me and straddled my legs. As much as I wanted to enjoy the wonderful pressure of a girl¡¯s weight as she mounted me for the first time, the pain in my back was just too much to find any sort of pleasure in what she was doing. Not to mention the fact that I was on my stomach and couldn¡¯t even see her. I pointed to where it hurt and she put both her hands there, as if all she was doing was leaning on me.

    ¡°Yua, take this Stamina Potion first,¡± I said, pulling a bottle from my item box. ¡°From what I can see, using Healing Punch looks like it only uses your stamina as its cost. That¡¯s why you feel so tired right now.¡±

    ¡°Eh¡­ Really?¡±

    I explained to her what I saw in the menu and she took the potion without complaint. I had meant to use them as a sort of fantasy-style improvement on energy drinks to allow us the energy needed to keep fighting for as long as we could, but if she could convert the extra stamina into health, then that was a worthy sacrifice. In her hands, each and every stamina potion we bought was effectively a backup health potion.

    ¡°If all it takes is a bit of energy, no wonder why my people never hesitated to use Healing Punch on minor injuries. Why didn¡¯t anyone tell me how it really worked before I left the village?¡±

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because they weren¡¯t expecting you to learn it so quickly?¡±

    ¡°Mmm¡­ Healing Punch!¡±

    Once more, a green light encompassed the room and the pain began to recede. I listened to Yua¡¯s breathing become more and more ragged, as if trading away the very air she breathed for the pain in my body. I could feel her sweat dripping onto and soaking into my shirt as she worked, but she refused to give up. She just continued to work without complaint.

    As if she somehow knew when the pain had completely left me and when my life bar maxed out again, Yua¡¯s strength finally gave out and she collapsed, falling face forward onto my back. Even after all of this, I still found it incredibly surprising to feel how light she really was after everything.

    Now thankfully and completely free from injury, I carefully turned my body beneath hers to keep her from falling onto the hard bricks scattered across the room and gently laid her down. I let her use my lap as a temporary pillow to spite the bricks I had been suffering. Again, another first I wished I had time to enjoy, but seeing her in that exhausted state was not pleasurable in the least.

    Her skin had gone a pale grey and was covered in a thick layer of sweat. I never knew the effects of running out of stamina, at least in this way, would be so severe. In just about every game I have played, all you had to do to recover your stamina was to stand still for a minute or two, but she looked like she might actually die if left like this for much longer. She didn¡¯t exactly tell me how I looked when I was going through mana exhaustion, but I surely didn¡¯t look this rough.

    I uncorked another Stamina Potion and lifted her head up so she would have an easier time drinking it. Placing it against her lips, I slowly tilted the bottle so she wouldn¡¯t drink too fast and spill it. I watched her gulp down the liquid almost greedily anyways and watched as the vibrance of life returned to her skin. By the time the bottle was half empty, Yua was able to reach up and put her hand over mine to tilt the bottle a little more.

    Once the potion was emptied, I put it back into my item box for later use and Yua started breathing much more steadily. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and helped her to sit up straight. Her status page showed that her stamina had been mostly restored, but she still looked tired. I guessed we were already reaching the point where the small potions weren¡¯t enough for us to recover completely. I suppose leveling up so fast has its drawbacks.

    ¡°You okay, Yua?¡±

    She let out a small laugh as she leaned into my chest.

    ¡°I should be the one asking you, Master.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m doing just fine thanks to you. That Healing Punch of yours really did the trick. I don¡¯t feel any pain at all!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m so glad.¡±

    I let Yua rest a while longer until she felt strong enough again. She hefted herself back onto her feet completely unaided and stretched her arms over her head as if she¡¯d just woken from a long nap. I hurried to follow her example, so she didn¡¯t feel the need to help me up. Vertical once again, I admired her handywork by turning my hands over and leaning to check on my legs as I truly felt no more pain.

    Yua swept her sweat-drenched hair out of her face while I moved to examine the portion of wall I had crashed through. I realized only then how utterly thin it was. By my estimate, only about an inch and a half thick. No wonder it collapsed when I was thrown into it.

    Out of curiosity, I walked across the hall and took a chunk of stone out of the wall opposite us using Material Destruction and saw that the wall there was several times thicker. I did the same to a different wall and got the same result. So, I dug a little deeper and saw the walls there were as thick as the entire space between the separate hallways, meaning that there was continuous stone filling the gaps. Unlike them, the thin wall I was thrown through lead only to a single empty room that looked otherwise pointless.

    Something wasn¡¯t adding up. Scanning my memories for possibilities, I came up with something after remembering a series of games I obsessed over a while back.

    ¡°Yua, have you heard anything about illusory walls existing in the dungeon? Like, walls that are fake?¡±

    Straightening her disheveled shirt, she shook her head.

    ¡°No, Master. I have not. Why?¡±

    ¡°Because look how thin this wall is. None of the other walls were made like this.¡±

    She looked around us and her tail gave a curious flick, as if she had only just noticed that the room we were standing in didn¡¯t exist before our last fight and tilted her head, silently asking me why it mattered.

    Instead of answering her, I gave into curiosity and took a closer look at the walls in the small room. I started to search for differences in stone quality compared to the ones in the halls. Weak ones. Cracked ones. Ones that were a different shade of grey than the rest. I walked along the walls of the room, looking close at each and every brick I passed, until I noticed that the wall to the left of the entrance my body made was a slightly darker shade.

    ¡°There we go¡­¡±

    Pressing my hands against the wall only made it feel solid, but a strong tap against it felt a bit different than the rest. Almost like the space behind it was hollow.

    I was about to ask that Yua use her Iron Fist ability on it to see if she had become strong enough to break down a wall with her bare hands, but considering how her stamina had yet to fully recover, I thought it would be smarter to just use Material Destruction like someone who wasn¡¯t an idiot. So, I held my hand in front of the wall.

    ¡°Master, what are you doing?¡±

    ¡°Just watch.¡±

    I cast my ability and one by one, the stones vanished. Carving out a hole big enough for two people to fit through at the same time, I uncovered another hidden room. A hidden room within a hidden room, how fun.

    Yua watched in amazement as a gold-trimmed treasure chest about the size of the stone blocks I removed from the wall came into view. It and the rest of the room was shrouded in a deep blue light just like the before.

    ¡°Oh?! Master, how did you know that was there?¡±

    ¡°The stones were a different color. That always means there¡¯s a secret behind them in video games.¡±

    ¡°In video¡­? Huh?¡±

    Feeling my cheeks flush a bit at the accidental slip of my Earthly knowledge, I pressed forward without clarifying. Being extra cautious, I put up a hand to stop Yua from stepping into the room and cast my Detect Trap ability. Luckily, nothing indicated that the room or the chest was booby-trapped in any way. So, free of worries, we stepped into the room together to examine what we found.

    Wanting to skip the fanfare and with my fingers crossed, I popped open the already unlocked chest with ease and felt my jaw drop when I saw what was inside.

    A pile of tiny gold coins stacked high enough to almost reach the chest¡¯s rim appeared and our eyes sparkled at the sight. I¡¯d never seen so much gold in one place and I doubted Yua had from the way her tail whipped about so excitedly, so it almost felt like we were suffering from some sort of shared hypnosis, but a quick check of my status page suggested what we saw was true.

    The ring we found was expensive, sure, but actually seeing this much gold all together was staggering. Almost too scared to even handle that much wealth at once, I picked a single coin up from the lot just to be sure and further prove the truth of our find, and when I felt the cool metal of the coin against my thumb, I nearly jumped for joy.

    Hoping against all odds that this was a gift from the Goddess herself, I set the coin back down and cast Appraisal over the lot.

    [Gold Coin x 2,400]

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    I shouted and Yua looked at me excitedly, wagging her tail and waiting for the verdict.

    ¡°There¡¯s almost enough gold here alone to pay off the difference when the auction house takes their cut!¡±

    ¡°Really?!¡±

    She leapt into my chest and hugged me, her cat ears twitching happily against my chin. When she nuzzled her cheek against my chest, I was dumbfounded, embarrassed and unsure of how to respond to the softness she pressed against me, but I was grateful for her happiness. I wasn¡¯t even sure if that was what I was supposed to feel as I hugged her back, but I did. I quickly stored both the gold and the treasure chest into my item box before it could disappear and prove that this and everything that came after the trent¡¯s attack was some sort of pain-induced hallucination that I was seeing.

    With this much gold, there was no way I could say my little belt pouch was carrying it all, so we were definitely going to need the chest when we took Alphonse his payment. Plus, this may be just a guess, but it looked like the excess space in the chest might be large enough to hold whatever we got from the auction once the ring sold. So, we should be able to carry it all straight to him in one go! Hard to believe that I hadn¡¯t even considered how we were actually going to physically present him with that absurd amount of gold until now, only to have the solution slap me across the face.

    ¡°With this,¡± I said, reconfirming the coin¡¯s existence with my menu. ¡°I think we have a really good chance at meeting our goal.¡±

    ¡°Really?!¡± Yua exclaimed again, looking up from my chest with the happiest smile I had seen on her yet.

    ¡°Y-Yes, but we can¡¯t let our guard down just yet. There is still the chance that the ring might not sell. So, we have to keep fighting as long as we can, just in case.¡±

    ¡°Understood, Master. Then let¡¯s go!¡±

    Grabbing my arm and pulling me up to my feet where I had been kneeling, Yua dragged me out of the hidden room and back into the hall and towards the next monster. If judging by nothing more than her enthusiasm, it would have been impossible to tell that she was deathly exhausted only a few minutes ago. Then again, I could say the same about my health.

    As we ran, I considered dumping even more points into my Luck stat to keep this train of good fortune running.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 16

    We fought our way through the floor amped up by a new enthusiasm after our chances of success had increased by leaps and bounds.

    Paying closer attention to our surroundings as we fought to prevent a similarly costly mistake, we tore through the enemies one after another. With all the trents we faced quickly falling victim to my magic the way the forest nearly did yesterday, eventually I leveled my Mage class and Magic stat to the point of being able to destroy them with only one cast of my Fire Ball spell. As for Yua, she had already started off strong, but now that she had a better understanding of how her ability worked, she beat down her opponents so fast that I thought she might start looking bored.

    However, that feeling never came to pass within her. She was so overjoyed with her strength and increasing levels that that alone was enough to keep her happy, absurdly happy. Happy enough to look like she wanted to jump into my arms and squeeze me in a breath-stealing bear hug me each time I gave her an update on her status, even though our lives were literally on the line.

    While the monsters were of a much lower level than us by the time we finished off the last of what this floor had to offer, their strikes were still deadly. Given how I was over-leveled compared to that earlier trent and how its strike was enough to leave me on the floor, unable to even cry out as I gasped for breath, I made sure we favored safety over quick kills. When we were unable to sneak up on an enemy, we purposely let them make the first move so we could dodge or counter their attacks and retaliate when appropriate. Thanks to this, I got relatively use to dodging a trent¡¯s attacks and, for better or worse, Yua had more time to show off and enjoy herself.

    This way of fighting ate up more stamina than was strictly needed, but it was best to tackle the dungeon as safely as possible. We did have spare health and stamina potions on top of Yua¡¯s ability to keep us healthy, but the potions would run out if we acted recklessly and the time it¡¯d take to go back to the city to buy more would be costly. Likewise, and for much the same reason, trading Yua¡¯s stamina for my health would just slow us down in the long run. So, better safe than sorry was the name of the game as we progressed. I wasn¡¯t proud to say that I still couldn¡¯t move as easily as she did, so this mindset was mainly on me to maintain.

    ¡°Phew!¡± Yua exclaimed, wiping a bit of sweat off of her forehead after finishing her thirty-fifth goblin.

    I made sure to watch her back as she fought, but when it was done, my job became making sure we were truly alone before joining in her momentary break. As I walked to her, I had to force my eyes away from her sweaty, glistening cleavage. The strain it took to do so was difficult, but done so willingly and out of respect. Primarily, anyways. It was just as much for my sanity and both of our safety. She couldn¡¯t help the way she was dressed and distractions in the heat of battle were always dangerous. Her physically jumping into each and every fight she was confronted with had to be taking its toll on her, even with all the extra points I put into her Endurance. Way more than the occasional cast of a spell did me, so I didn¡¯t want to bother her when she was working so hard.

    ¡°Yua,¡± I said to distract myself and she turned her emeralds to me as she caught her breath. ¡°Are you sure that was the last one?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master. The only other presence I can hear is coming from the boss room.¡±

    While there was the chance that there may have been some monsters lurking about the dungeon still, since she didn¡¯t hear the trent that snuck up on us until it was too late, I was a bit apprehensive to just take her word for it. I did trust that she was telling me what she honestly felt, but one can never be too cautious. It was more or less still a guess at this point, but we did confirm that the trents made very little noise when standing still when we snuck up on a few ourselves. Though, that only mattered if they were standing still. And I¡¯d rather not turn the corner, only to walk into a face-full of spear or whip-branch.

    Still, we¡¯ve come this far. Going back through the dungeon in search of stragglers would just waste time. Better to press on.

    ¡°Good. I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t think to bring any water for us.¡±

    ¡°Hehehe¡­ It¡¯s fine, Master. I can handle this much no problem.¡±

    She spoke with a brave, happy smile, but I wasn¡¯t sure how much she knew about the human body. Well, beast-kin body, in her case. But my world was much more advanced when it came to biology to the point where even the dumbest person around knew that there were no exceptions to the fact that everyone needed water to survive. And given how long society seems to have existed in this world, they had to know this as well, if not to the same extent.

    And Yua was surely not an exception. Even if beast-kin had a higher tolerance to such things, she was sweating up a storm. Her forehead, arms and exposed cleavage all glistened in the soft white glow that magically lit the dungeon. All of which suggested that she was in great need of a drink. Since I, for the most part, only had to deal with the occasional burst of heat from my Fire Ball spell while standing mostly still, I wasn¡¯t as sweaty as the physical fighter Yua was.

    Despite this and the fact that Yua actually soloed thirty-five goblins, she was still shockingly energetic. Meanwhile, I barely killed eleven trents. I mean, we chose to divide up the monsters that way, but if I had known that the numbers would have been so heavily skewed towards her, then I would have taken a few of the goblins myself. Though, that would just be to ease her burden a bit, as my absurd trait still allowed me to gain experience from her efforts even when I didn¡¯t lift a finger to help.

    The number of enemies on this floor was astonishing. Since the total was about double of what we faced on the first floor, not taking into account that someone may have stopped by this floor before us and took a few for themselves, I could only hope that the number of enemies didn¡¯t continue to double the further down we went. If that really was how the dungeons worked, clearing floors would take forever. It would lend credence to why nobody¡¯s even made it to the fiftieth floor, though.

    However, the massive number of enemies did have a couple of rather nice benefits. While boosting my Adventurer and Mage classes up to 19 and 11 respectively and Yua¡¯s Monk class all the way up to level 6, we also got a sizeable amount of loot to show for our efforts.

    11 Trent Tree Sap, valued at 1 silver a piece. 4 of the rarer drop of a Trent Tree Root, valued at 2 silver a piece. 20 Steel Goblin Spears, valued at 2 silver a piece. 15 Steel Goblin Swords valued at 3 silver a piece and finally, 3 rarer Goblin Ears at 5 silver a piece.

    Adding it all up, we were sitting on a whopping 3 gold and 6 silvers worth of total loot so far. We were absolutely nowhere near the safe-zone in terms of money, even after adding in the 2,400 gold coins we happened upon. That means we needed a bare minimum of 94 more gold coins. I had raised my Luck stat up to an even 60 points today and it did seem to help, but we still only managed this much.

    Even after clearing the floor in only an hour and a half, we still weren¡¯t earning money fast enough. My best hope for now was the boss of the second floor dropping something good enough to make up the difference. However, since the boss of the first floor only dropped an item worth 10 gold, that likely wasn¡¯t going to happen.

    Hell, at this point, I wouldn¡¯t mind getting launched through another wall if a friendly leprechaun was waiting on the other side with pot of gold for me. My Luck stat got me this far, but I couldn¡¯t base my every decision on it activating. I may be stupid in a lot of ways, but I refuse to let leaning on that possibility be one.

    Considering our next actions while Yua plopped down on the floor to rest, I started running back through everything I knew about the dungeons before I came up with something that might work.

    ¡°Hey, Yua, you said the bosses respawn every hour, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master. They do.¡±

    ¡°I thought so...¡±

    If we failed to earn enough from the next boss and the next floor, then we could spend the rest of the day waiting in front of the first-floor boss room to repeatedly kill the Proud Great Wolf to farm its pelt. By that point, we should be so over-leveled that fighting it would be a breeze. In fact, judging by how long it had been since we last beat it, it was probably already revived and waiting for its next opponent.

    ¡°If we needed to, after we finish with the next floor, would you like to fight the first-floor boss a few more times for some easy money?¡±

    ¡°After we finished the next floor? Master, we haven¡¯t even finished this one yet.¡±

    ¡°I know. I¡¯m just thinking ahead.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ I don¡¯t mind, but I think it¡¯s important to focus on this boss first.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough. We¡¯ll need our heads in the fight in order to beat¡­ Uh, what was the boss on this floor?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t recall asking beforehand, but Yua smiled and explained as if gently reminding me of something I forgot.

    ¡°It is a larger type of Trent called Elderwood Trent. It mostly looks like the regular ones, but instead of having one whip arm, this one has four. It¡¯s also much bigger.¡±

    ¡°But it should still be weak to fire, right?¡±

    ¡°Maybe? I only ever fought it with my fists. So, I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Right. Then I guess we will have to find out.¡±

    In order to make up for past mistakes, I made sure to talk over possible strategies with her, but since she didn¡¯t know the boss¡¯s weaknesses, she couldn¡¯t tell me how things would really go. Since this was a trent we were talking about, we decided it would probably be best to repeat the strategy that worked on the Proud Great Wolf, but leaning more on my magic this time than her raw power.

    After a short break to cool down and for Yua to catch her breath, she led us straight to the boss room. Thankfully, probably due to my improved Luck once again, we encountered no traps this time around. And this time, without stopping to see if I was ready, Yua pushed the nearly identical boss doors open and went in. So I didn¡¯t get too ahead of myself, I stopped only for a second to take in what I saw.

    Much like the last floor boss room, the room we found here was just as big and empty. The lack of any real sort of decorations to liven the place up made noticing the gigantic tree she promised would be waiting for us all the easier.

    Standing at the back of the room directly in front of the door down to the next floor, was a massive trent. At a sizeable level 8, four levels higher than the regular trents, the branches that made up the top of its head stretched so far up into the air that its leaves scraped against the ceiling. Beneath its abnormally thick trunk, was a mass of thickly tangled roots extending that pierced straight through the stone flooring, as if to suggest that the boss grew out of the floor naturally instead of spawning there by magic as everything else had. These roots held its lumbering frame in place, rendering it unable to move like the other trents. It would be a stationary target for sure.

    Though, that is not to say that it would be an easy fight, as four thick, limb-like branches coiled around its lower body like a set of wooden armor. Aside from its sheer size, which exceeded even that of the Proud Great Wolf¡¯s, the biggest difference between the Elderwood and its smaller brethren were the large, jagged holes gouged into its bark. Three in total, they took on a humanoid face that looked to be forever shaped into the fa?ade of a cackling mad-man. But this looked more like a sort of protective camouflage, rather than a functional face, because it didn¡¯t move. Sort of like how an otherwise harmless creature might have evolved to wear poisonous colors to ward of the sorts of creature that might take it for their next meal.

    Its frightful visage of bark and leaves was clearly meant to intimidate, but it didn¡¯t bother me in the slightest. I¡¯d say most trents in fiction had faces of some sort, so if anything, the ones we fought so far were the outliers. Still, upon seeing just how thick its branches were, my once injured arm twinged with pain.

    Yea¡­ There was no amount of gold in the world that would allow me to let myself get hit by that thing. If the smaller ones hurt as much as they did, getting hit by that¡¯d definitely be similar to getting hit by a truck. And that wasn¡¯t exactly something I wanted to try doing again, either.

    When the large stone doors closed behind us on their own accord, the Elderwood Trent shifted and the first two branches wrapped around its trunk began to unfurl.

    I immediately leapt into action and started chucking Fire Balls at it without an incantation to speed things along, while Yua quickly prepared herself and ran for its center. The balls of flame burst against its torso and, contrary to my assumption, its jagged mouth widened and howled a pained screech so loud that Yua had to stop in her tracks to clutch at her ears.

    Despite the spreading flames already having dealt a third of its health thanks to my much higher level, the Elderwood Trent started wildly slamming down its four thick arms in an almost panicked fury. Unlike the easy to dodge whips of the smaller ones, these failed around so erratically, that they bent and changed direction mid-swing. It was as if their tips had minds of their own and reacted according to our movements. Not expecting this, apparently, Yua almost got hit by the first two as she tried to recover from the boss¡¯s screech.

    She jumped back to my side to avoid its continued rampage as the flames continued to spread across its body, burning it for that same continual damage we had been relying on in the last two boss fights.

    ¡°Sorry Yua, but I think it¡¯s best you just let me handle this one. I think it¡¯s already blind. It¡¯s attacks aren¡¯t landing anywhere near us. So, just focus on dodging for now.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Understood.¡±

    Looking only mildly disappointed, Yua agreed without question. She may have handled it neatly on her own the last time she faced it, it looked like the advent of my fire blew her expectations for the fight out of the water.

    The Elderwood Trent¡¯s branches continued to whip about blindly, but as I hit it with another Fire Ball, I noticed that its strikes were starting to leave deep cracks the floor.

    Yup. Nope. Not getting hit by that. I would pay not to get hit by that.

    We took several cautious steps backwards into the back left corner of the room to maximize the distance between it and us. Sensing what I thought to be our quiet repositioning, or perhaps regaining some of its vision, the Elderwood turned its massive trunk towards us as if it had been keeping an eye on us the entire time.

    ¡°Ach!¡±

    Just then, Yua began to cough violently. She clutched at her throat like she suddenly couldn¡¯t breathe and fell to her knees.

    ¡°Yua, what¡¯s wrong? You didn¡¯t hit me or anything. Why is the slave spell activating now?¡±

    ¡°No¡­ It¡¯s not that,¡± she said through a fit of coughs. ¡°Look.¡±

    She pointed up and I saw that the room had been filled with smoke from the Elderwood Trent¡¯s burning body.

    Of course. If there¡¯s fire, there¡¯s smoke. I confirmed as much when I nearly burned down the forest upon my arrival in this world. If the boss¡¯s body burned like a real tree, then smoke building up in the room should be the next logical step. The only reason I hadn¡¯t considered this was because the lower-level trents died so fast that smoke never really had the chance to materialize. But with the Elderwood¡¯s larger pool of health, its body was sure to continue to burn and fill the place with smoke in the process. Which meant we now either had to beat the boss as fast as we could, or we would both die from smoke inhalation, if not its attacks. And Yua¡¯s extra sensitive nose already seemed to be hurting her from the overpowering smell of burnt wood.

    In my haste, I had jumped into the fight slinging what I was sure would be super-effective spells at the boss, only to end up making the fight harder before it even started. I should have guessed something like this might happen after seeing how the Proud Great Wolf reacted to its fur being set on fire.

    ¡°Master! Iron Fist!¡±

    Reeling from my own lack of foresight, I had forgotten to keep an eye on the boss. One of its limbs was already hurtling towards me by the time I noticed it, but Yua leapt into action to save me.

    Using her iron-hard fist, she punched the flying branch as hard as she could, the same way she¡¯d blocked the goblins¡¯ swords and spear numerous times now, and deflected it away from me with a screeching metallic clang. But unlike with the goblins, the force behind the Elderwood Trent¡¯s attack countered her force and sent her flying backwards instead. Spinning through the air, she managed to land next to me without issue, coughed again, but smiled strongly to show she was otherwise unharmed.

    I was not only surprised by the strength of that ability of hers, but by her own accuracy when using it. As far as I could tell, the only thing the ability did, unlike my initial thought of it, was that it made her fist as hard as an actual block of iron, meaning it was up to her to aim where she threw it. Meanwhile, I could barely see the Elderwood Trent¡¯s attack when it was coming right for me. It was moving too fast. And yet, she hit it without looking like she put any real effort into doing so.

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    ¡°Good job, Yua. Change of plan. You work on defending me and I will hit it with my magic.¡±

    ¡°*cough*¡­ Understood, Master.¡±

    A small cough of my own burst from my throat as the smoke filling the room finally started affecting my human senses. Knowing that it was going to make the smoke worse, I threw out another Fire Ball. Considering how the first few did a third of its health and the lingering burning damage was taking it even lower, my spell was still the best weapon we had at our disposal.

    Another ball of flame burst against its body. It screeched again, but this time Yua covered her ears as soon as its mouth moved. Seemingly furious at being unable to move from it spot guarding the door whilst being burned alive, the Elderwood Trent lashed out at us again with all four branches at the same time.

    ¡°Iron Fist!¡±

    Yua jumped between it and me, its target, and swiftly punched each of the branches out of the air as they came at us. From the looks of it, controlling all four branches at once made each individual strike weaker, because she didn¡¯t budge from where she planted her feet this time.

    Not wanting to waste the multitude of chances her skill had given me, I continued the magical assault all on my own.

    The Elderwood Trent screeched again once my spells took its health to the halfway mark. Yua continued to throw out her iron punches to protect me, coughing intermittently as the smoke filling the room grew thicker and thicker with each successive spell.

    Soon the black smoke permeating the upper half of the room grew to be so thick, so dense, that when I looked up, I could have mistaken the sight of the deep dark swirling clouds as having removed the ceiling to let me stare into the void of space on a clear, starless night. But there was no beauty in this and no moon to light the way. By then, even I was coughing regularly and both Yua and I were having a hard time just trying to breathe.

    My head started to ache, but I kept up the attack the best I could. For the first time, I was truly grateful for my ability to cast magic silently, as speaking would have only increased the amount of smoke I let into my lungs.

    Down to the final third of its health, the Elderwood Trent screeched yet again, this time sounding as though its fury had reached the breaking point. But instead of immediately lashing out immediately as it had before, it twisted its branches around one another, creating two, coiled spears of living bark. I didn¡¯t even have time to contemplate how much damage a hit from one of those would do as it swung the first branch that was now as thick as a tree trunk all on its own at us.

    ¡°Iron Fist!¡±

    Unperturbed, or at least still willing to face this new danger head on, Yua launched another strike at the attack headed our way. To my surprise, she still managed to deflect it, but not by much. All she was able to do was kill its momentum as she herself reeled back and shook away the pain that clearly lit up in her wrist. The boss didn¡¯t give her enough time for her to recoil fully, as its secondary mass of branches flew at her backside.

    Her ears caught onto this before her eyes did, but when she turned, nothing happened.

    ¡°Iron¡­ Iron¡­*cough*¡±

    Yua tried to activate her ability again, but fell into a powerful fit of coughing just as the boss¡¯s second empowered attack closed in on her.

    ¡°Yua!¡±

    Coughing myself, I ran to her side as fast as I could and grabbed hold of her. Without even thinking on what I meant to do once I put myself between her and the boss, I threw my hand up and used Material Creation to materialize a thick wall of dungeon stone in front of us.

    The Elderwood Trent¡¯s branch slammed so hard into the new stone wall that it gouged out a thick chunk of it, turning it to dust. The concussion of the hit alone knocked the both of us to the floor despite us not being hit by it directly. Surprised to see that my impromptu defensive barrier actually worked, I hurried back to my feet to prepare a comeback.

    Yua continued to cough uncontrollably. With her being unable to stand and fight anymore, I made sure I stayed close enough to protect her while I launched as many Fire Balls as my mana would allow.

    None too happy about my continued attacks and its so far failed attempts to strike us down, the Elderwood Trent lashed out again by raising both of its paired limbs up high into the air, as if trying to empower them with the smoke weakening us, before slamming both down in a vertical strike that was meant to end us for good.

    Using the chance its own hesitation bought us, I reached up and added a roof to what was left of the wall I built. Seeing the damage the first hit did to the structure, I made the addition twice as thick as the and extended it to cover both of our bodies. Thankfully, the speed at which I was able to do this even allowed me to add in more supports to keep the mass of stone from collapsing on us when the boss finally slammed itself against it.

    I heard the stones above crack, split apart and explode all at once. The attack sent debris scattering in every direction hit with a terrifying force that reminded me of a shotgun blast. I watched as the tiny pebbles that had once been our only line of protection hit the floor, filling my line of sight with dozens of tiny explosions.

    It felt like my heart stopped for a second or two due to the intense vibrations the impact caused. I had no idea how much longer that hastily put together structure would last against a continued barrage, so the only option I allowed myself was to get out of there as fast as I could to distract the boss while Yua tried to catch her breath.

    Seeing that the structure should be able to hold out against at least a couple more hits and gritting my teeth, I jumped out from behind our hiding place. I launched another wave of Fire Balls at the Elderwood Trent as I ran around the room, putting as much distance between me and Yua as possible in the process. As I predicted, it was much more interested in revenge against the one inflicting so much pain upon it that it completely ignored Yua and aimed all of its attacks at me.

    But its health bar was already almost empty. It swung at me, this time much, much harder, the flames spreading across its trunk now stretching across its branches to add to the danger. Somehow, it must know that this was likely its last chance to at least take me down with it as the raging fire continued to eat away at the last slivers of its health.

    The fire raged on. Burnt leaves and chunks of bark fell to the ground as I jumped as far away from its final attack as my body would allow, grateful at how the thing had to guess at my location from where my spells landed, as its strikes all either missed me completely or were easy to dodge. After briefly consulting my mana bar to see if the slight weight I felt dragging my eyelids down came from the smoke filling the room or from the effects of mana exhaustion, I fired my last shot at it.

    The Fire Ball was swallowed by the ever-burning cloak of flames now surrounding its entire body. For a moment, I thought that the fire turning its flesh to ash somehow managed to stop my projectile, as it didn¡¯t seem to do anything when it disappeared, but then all four of its branches flopped lifelessly to the ground like there was never any sort of force holding them up to begin with. The Elderwood Trent¡¯s face and body drooped forward, almost like it had resigned itself to death once it saw there was no way out.

    Concerned that its hulking mass might fall on us after my fire weakened its roots, I ran back to Yua¡¯s side and quickly built an arrow-shaped wall between us and the boss. As I thought, it collapsed to the floor with a concussive thud that tossed up all of the ash and embers that had built up on the floor around its body.

    Yua continued to cough in my arms. Her skin had turned almost the same shade of pale it did when she used up her stamina to heal me, but the second the Elderwood Trent died and burst into light, not only did its flaming body disappear, but it took all of the smoke and ash permeating the room with it. The same way the Proud Great Wolf¡¯s blood disappeared upon death.

    Almost instantaneously, and as the ash she¡¯d already inhaled was stolen from her lungs too, Yua¡¯s breathing became much smoother and her coughing had all but stopped. Thankful for this, I wrapped my arm around her shoulders to give her some support.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I caused you so much trouble. If I had thought that burning it would cause so much smoke, I would have come up with a different plan.¡±

    She looked at me, coughed one last time, and shook her head.

    ¡°No, Master¡­ I still think this was the best way. I¡¯m just a little disappointed that I was mostly useless this time.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about? Useless? You could have died from breathing in all that smoke!¡±

    Probably in part to the adrenaline still coursing through my veins, I spoke a bit too forcefully when she once again tried to absolve me of my mistakes by turning the problem back onto herself, despite how she was still trying to catch her breath. She winced and twitched her ears beneath the force of my voice.

    ¡°Master, the last time I fought it, I was all alone. All I had was my fists and its body was so hard, that it took me over an hour of constant fighting before I finally beat it. This way may have been riskier, but it wasn¡¯t more dangerous.¡±

    And once more she hits me with the logic of someone that has spent most of their life fighting. And she was right. Dodging its attacks for over an hour sounded like an amazing feat she should definitely be proud of enough to warrant bragging about, but one miss-step could have ended both that fight and her life. All my fire did was shorten the total time the fight took to a few minutes at the cost of not being able to breathe properly.

    But still¡­

    ¡°Even if that¡¯s the case, you almost got hit because you couldn¡¯t breathe.¡±

    ¡°And Master saved me,¡± she said with a smile, putting her hand on the one I wrapped around her shoulder. ¡°The wall you made saved us both. If master wasn¡¯t so amazing, we¡¯d be dead.¡±

    Come on. Looking at me with that lovely smile isn¡¯t fair. Stop it, or I¡¯m going to misunderstand.

    ¡°I-If I was so amazing, I wouldn¡¯t have put you in that kind of spot to begin with.¡±

    She shook her head and laid it against my shoulder. Her breathing noticeably calmer now.

    ¡°No, Master is amazing because we wouldn¡¯t have been able to get this far if he wasn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°But you said you got here by yourself.¡±

    ¡°I did, but that was only because other adventurers had already cleared the floor. All I did was run into the boss room. It took me a whole month of showing up to the dungeons as soon as dawn struck, just so I could clear some of the monsters and beat the boss all on my own. And this floor took me three months. But today we¡¯ve already fought through two full floors and did so in only a couple of hours! The thought of continuing to fight after that shouldn¡¯t even be something we could dream about seriously without laughing at ourselves.¡±

    One to three months per floor? I don¡¯t know how many of the monsters she had to fell herself first before she could count beating the boss afterwards as beating the floor, but that¡¯s absurd! Aside from the various dangers we¡¯ve faced, the actual act of progressing through the dungeon was mostly easy fighting our way to this point. Not counting the bosses, it was almost too easy. Knowing her love of fighting to be just a few steps before fanatical, she must have jumped into the dungeon before she was actually ready and took longer because of it. I mean, sure, my EXP boost helps, but she was able to handle the monsters just fine when we first met.

    Still, if she¡¯d been fighting in the dungeons for months if not years until she was taken and was still only level 3 when we met, then leveling must be insanely slow for normal people in this world. No wonder why she was so shocked to see her progress.

    While I took a moment to think this over, Yua closed her eyes for a second, as if she meant to take a nap right then and there. So, I reached into storage to take out our second stamina potion. Her eyes popped right back open at the sound of the bottle being uncorked by my teeth.

    ¡°Oh, Master, I don¡¯t need¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, you do. We¡¯ve been fighting for a few hours now. Even if you say you are fine, you should still drink this. You said it yourself, continuing like this shouldn¡¯t even be possible, right? If we¡¯re going to continue, you¡¯ll need energy to make sure you¡¯re awake and aware that this all isn¡¯t some dream.¡±

    ¡°But it would just be a waste.¡±

    ¡°Alright then, how about this, you drink half and I¡¯ll drink the other half. That way, we¡¯ll both feel better. If you won¡¯t do that for me, I¡¯ll just take you back to the inn and keep going on my own.¡±

    She may be strong, she may be nimble, she may love fighting, but I won¡¯t continue letting her risk her life if she¡¯s not in peak condition. Regardless of why we¡¯re here. Unlike me, she doesn¡¯t have the stamina regeneration trait, so she needs this a hell of a lot more than I do.

    Yua pouted rather cutely at my offer and blushed as she looked up at me. To be honest, despite the heat radiating off of her body, she really didn¡¯t seem all that tired. I could see in her eyes that she still really wanted to keep on fighting, but it didn¡¯t matter. She just spent the last couple of minutes struggling to breathe and, even if the smoke was gone, it¡¯s better safe than sorry for us right now.

    ¡°Well?¡±

    ¡°A-Alright.¡±

    Satisfied with her compliance, I drank down roughly half of the bottle, taking in the slightly bitter flavor of what could have been mistaken as a cheap tea if it were hot, before holding it out for her to finish off. She reluctantly placed her lips where mine had been just seconds ago and drank. I watched as the small portion of her stamina bar she¡¯d depleted in the fight refilled itself. It wasn¡¯t much, but again, better safe than sorry.

    Once we both had our share, I stuffed the empty bottle back in the item box.

    I grunted as I stood, but Yua hopped to her feet with all the speed of a Jack Rabbit, as if to show that the potion did its job, and offered me a hand and, much to my heart¡¯s content, a radiant, blushing smile. I took the offered hand with only enough hesitation to allow myself a moment to memorize the wonderous curl that took to her lips. Once I got to my feet, she turned to put a hand on the stone wall I made. Then she punched it.

    ¡°Master, the wall you made is amazingly strong.¡±

    ¡°Yea, I¡¯m glad I thought about trying that ability out in a fight.¡±

    While the stones did appear to be exceedingly durable, after checking on the damage it took from the boss¡¯s attack, I realized full well that they are clearly not indestructible. They no doubt had several uses that I could think of now that my head was clear, but I shouldn¡¯t rely on them tanking too many hits for us. I compared the boss¡¯s attack to getting hit by a truck and that didn¡¯t seem all that inaccurate, seeing as the damage it¡¯s strike left in the stone blocks was reminiscent of what it¡¯d look like if a car rammed into a cement pole at full speed.

    ¡°Well, let¡¯s see what the boss dropped then get out of here.¡±

    Her tail swishing, Yua ran over to the only thing the boss left behind and came back holding a stick about half as long as she was tall. A little less than three feet, by my guess. Its thicker end bulged in a circular pattern similar to that of a knot in a tree trunk¡¯s surface. While the rest of it was so thin and crooked that it might snap in half at the slightest bit of pressure. All in all, it didn¡¯t look any more interesting than any other random tree branch you could pick up anywhere in the forest floor.

    Yua stood there with it in her hands, wagging her tail while waiting for the verdict.

    Easy there, girl. Keep acting like that and I¡¯m going to be forced to think you¡¯re secretly a dog-kin.

    Smiling back at my own stupid thoughts, I Appraised the stick.

    [Elderwood Staff. Value: 50 gold coins.]

    ¡°What¡­¡±

    ¡°What is it, Master?¡±

    ¡°Yua¡­ you beat the boss before, right?¡±

    ¡°Yup!¡±

    ¡°Did it drop one of these then too?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? No. It dropped a larger vial of Trent Tree Sap. Why?¡±

    ¡°Because Appraisal says that this is a staff. Does it mean magic staff? Don¡¯t Mages use wands here?¡±

    Among the groups of what were likely adventurers roaming the city upon my arrival in Amoranth, which I first mistakenly assumed to be a group of city knights out to get me for smuggling myself in, I did notice that the ones dressed in stereo-typical mage robes all carried some sort of wand with them in place of a sword. In fact, some of them even had leather scabbards specifically made for their wands resting on their hips. But not once did I see someone carrying around a staff.

    ¡°Maybe,¡± Yua said. ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell what Mages use. Since they can hide their wands in their pockets, you rarely see them holding one unless they are fighting. When they aren¡¯t, they just walk around like regular people.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I guess I will just have to try it out then.¡±

    I took the staff from her and, after checking its description again, I saw that its only effect was ¡°magic empowerment.¡± So, because I could cast magic freely without any sort of conduit, I figured that all staves and wands existed to boost your magic¡¯s power a bit. Considering how I started off only being able to cast a few spells within a minute or two before I wiped out my mana stores, I figured something like this would have been extremely beneficial to any other mage around my level, as it would make those few spells that much more powerful and therefore more useful. But with the aid of my Mage class leveling so quickly and boosting the total amount of mana at my disposal right along with it, actually exhausting my mana was only getting harder and harder to do. The boosted power would be nice, but it wasn¡¯t strictly needed.

    With this in mind, I aimed the staff¡¯s knotted tip towards the door leading to the next floor. I imagined casting Fire Ball again, but instead of thinking about it coming from my palm, I imagined it coming from the tip of the staff and the titular red glow of the spell appeared.

    Since I saw that it was actually working, and the thought of using a staff to cast magic like the wizards of older fantasy stories, I decided that it wouldn¡¯t be so bad to abuse my boosted mana regeneration to see what this thing could do. So, I fired off my spell and a Fire Ball easily three times the size of the ones I had been summoning until now shot out from the staff. And at twice the speed, no less. It exploded against the door with an impact almost as loud as if I had thrown a boulder at it. I didn¡¯t even feel a kickback when using it. Judging by its price, I didn''t think this would count as an enchanted weapon, but its effect was pretty powerful.

    ¡°Wow! Master, that was so amazing!¡±

    Bending over next to it as she clapped, Yua examined the staff as if it were a work of priceless art found in a world-class museum that specifically catered to magic aficionados. Her ears twitched happily and her tail swished about, unintentionally whipping my thigh repeatedly as she ogled the thing. It was easy enough to see from the reaction of both these appendages and by her expression that she was exceedingly impressed by its power. However, there was a small problem with this thing that she was sure not to like.

    ¡°Yea, it¡¯s really strong,¡± I said, ready to disappoint. ¡°But I¡¯ll have to sell it when we get out of here.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Why?¡±

    ¡°Because Appraisal says it¡¯s worth 50 gold coins. That would put us only 47gold away from our goal. As much as I would like to keep it, we don¡¯t have much of a choice.¡±

    Looking dejected, her cat ears drooped. Not that said dejection lasted long, as her ears perked back up faster than she did after taking the stamina potion. She clenched her fists on either side of her chest to excitedly plead her case. Had her sizable breasts not been unintentionally squished together in the prosses, the pose she made would have given her a child-like aura of impatience.

    ¡°But I want to see Master use it!¡±

    Looking at her beautiful face so eagerly begging me to do something for her while her tail swished about so fervently that she might have achieved liftoff had it been spinning in circles, I felt a pain in my chest at just the thought of turning her down.

    Really, this girl makes me too wishy-washy.

    ¡°¡­ Fine. I¡¯ll try it out on the next floor. But if things look like the staff might end up damaged, then I¡¯ll have to play it safe and put it away. Alright?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master! I will definitely make sure that doesn¡¯t happen!¡±

    Trying not to enjoy the sight of her eager happiness in acceptance of my choice, and thereby narrowly avoiding a sugary heart attack in the process, we started for the next floor. Smiling broadly, Yua¡¯s head suddenly cocked to the side and a brief confusion took her smile away.

    ¡°Master, why is it that you can cast magic without saying anything?¡±

    ¡°Oh, uh, that too is one of the traits you saw. Remember? The silent casting one?¡±

    ¡°Oh. I see,¡± she hummed, her smile flitting back into existence.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t bother you, does it? I mean, without my speaking the words, to you it must feel like my spells come out of nowhere in a fight, right? I hope it¡¯s not too distracting.¡±

    ¡°Not at all. I just thought it was odd, since none of the other Mages I¡¯ve seen fight in the dungeons can do that.¡±

    I didn¡¯t know how I felt being compared to other Mages with her smiling like that, especially not when I had the benefits of that Goddess¡¯s blessing on my side, but it wasn¡¯t unpleasant. I imagine that, if she spent all that time fighting in here, she must have seen various forms of combat put on display.

    ¡°Speaking of other adventurers, Yua, is it common for the first floors to be so empty?¡±

    The way she spoke about it before our first trip to Amoranth¡¯s dungeon made it seem like we¡¯d be fighting against not just the monsters here, but against other the Adventurers also trying to eek out a living. But we¡¯d yet to find even one other person down here, Adventurer or otherwise. There were clearly more monsters on the first floor during our second trip here than there were yesterday night, so there were people here at one point. Now that I thought about it, it was odd to see this place so empty.

    Yua¡¯s tail gave a single curious flick as she put her hand against the boss door to push it open.

    ¡°Now that you mention it, it really is weird. This place is usually fairly packed.¡±

    ¡°Is there maybe some holiday where adventurers choose to stay home and relax?¡±

    I don¡¯t think adventuring, at least working in the dungeons, is the same as a regular day job, but putting a stopper on their exploring for a good vacation would make great sense of their absence here. If adventurers were so important to the city as everyone seems to think, then I could easily imagine them creating some sort of holiday meant to give them thanks. Like, maybe they get free drinks at the bar, or something, and most of them got too drunk or too hungover to want to work. But would they do that against the threat of the monsters breaking free?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Yua said, shoving the door open. ¡°I¡¯m not very familiar with most human customs and traditions. Just what I learned in the slave house and from speaking with Adventurers. Maybe it¡¯s just luck?¡±

    ¡°Luck¡­ yea. That must be it.¡±

 Volume 1 - Chapter 17

    Seemingly more excited to see me test out my magic with the Elderwood Staff against something other than a door, Yua practically skipped her way down to the next floor. I followed close behind her, enjoying the view of her tail giddily swishing about, hoping all the while that my magic had become strong enough to impress her while I could.

    More importantly, I hoped to accomplish something on this floor. Aside from making money, of course.

    ¡°What types of monsters are on this floor?¡±

    At my question, Yua¡¯s ears perked up wearily and she stopped skipping so suddenly that you¡¯d think she¡¯d forgotten how to keep going. Even if she was excited to see what the staff could do, now that we both knew that she shared what happened to her here, the happiness wasn¡¯t allowed to last. It was thanks to this, if I could even be grateful for such a thing, that we were allowed to meet, but I hoped she didn¡¯t make much of that connection. I may have bought her, but I didn¡¯t want the first thing she thought of when she thought of me to be the imaginary collar around her neck.

    However, where I thought that the tears she¡¯d shed earlier meant that she was going to find facing the monsters that beat her bloody on the same floor where she then met the man that ruined her life, she instead clenched her fists without so much as looking back. If I weren¡¯t mistaken, she looked even more fired up than before.

    ¡°Master, the monsters on this floor are Goblins and Gremlins.¡±

    ¡°More goblins?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but on this floor, they travel in groups of two. Their strength is about the same, but they are still more dangerous.¡±

    So, this level trades power for numbers? That¡¯s fairly understandable. If there was any truth to the story she told me about the monsters here being part of the so-called demon king¡¯s future army, then just a hundred floors worth of what we¡¯ve been fighting so far wasn¡¯t going to be nearly enough. Especially not when I was capable of one-shotting the first floor enemies before my cheats even kicked in. The bosses would no doubt be a danger, but they¡¯d still be lacking in numbers. And if one were to tack on the Adventurers fighting the dungeons on top of any king¡¯s army, then the number disparity would only increase in severity. It wouldn¡¯t be much of an army.

    Even if the lowest level monsters were about as strong as or even a bit stronger than your average human, which they didn¡¯t seem to be since any citizen can fight in the dungeons, that strength would mean nothing if they didn¡¯t have the numbers to overwhelm much of anything before the high-level Adventurers and knights fought them back. Overrunning the city would be impossible with just a few handfuls of monsters. So, some floors were probably specifically meant to bolster their numbers with what would essentially be cannon fodder, rather than add new true soldiers to the mix.

    I imagined a floor much like the one containing potion ingredients we assumed to exist, except instead of a vast field cultivated with various plant life, there would instead be a farmland growing goblins by the hundreds, their tiny misshapen heads poking out the soil and snarling only when their ready to be harvested.

    However, none of this meant all that much unless they actually managed to break free of the dungeon and as things stood, I had a hard time believing they would. Again, barring sneak attacks, only the bosses have managed to put up any sort of a fight so far. The lower floors were still a mystery to me, but I had to hope that the first few weren¡¯t the sort of easy tutorial area I once assumed the forest to be and that the difficulty wouldn¡¯t ramp up past what our levels could handle from here on out.

    I did ask the Goddess if I had some other purpose for being here, but she basically brushed me off so cleanly that I assumed I was free to do as I pleased, like she herself suggested. So, I was under no obligation to use my abilities to plow through the dungeon to clean up this mess. As long as the Adventurers currently delving into this place could handle it, then everything should be fine. Yua may have enjoyed the challenge, but that wasn¡¯t much of a reason to continue deeper inside.

    As for us, killing two enemies back-to-back would just increase the rate at which we could collect loot and level. That alone was already enough to press forward, but the thought that I could help Yua make up for her past mistakes by forcing our way through the third floor was too good a chance to pass up. Being that I had first-hand experience in what it felt like to dwell on your own mistakes for years, I didn¡¯t want her to have to go through that as well.

    If anything, helping her to reclaim the strength she felt lost back then would be a good start to making up for assuming she was any sort of a bad person. She seemed happy now, but I still felt as though I wasn¡¯t seeing the full picture.

    ¡°Alright then. Take us to the nearest group and I will see what I can do.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master!¡±

    In less than a minute, as if all our walking up to that point had been Yua letting me taking the long way around to give me a minute to think, we found ourselves in front of yet another forked path, one of many in the dungeons, it seems. This one split off in three different directions and there, in the center halls was a pair of goblins, as promised. I guess the luck we had going in not having to compete with other Adventurers was still going strong.

    These goblins looked so similar to those we fought on the second floor, that I could have claimed they were copied and pasted here and nobody would have been able to deny it. They didn¡¯t seem to have any distinguishing features that could suggest that they were at least stronger than their lower-level counterparts as their levels suggested, let alone that they were of a slightly different species.

    As if noticing my disappointment, both of the monsters gnashed their teeth at us. The sudden hatred that fueled their beady eyes once they found us got me wondering if the monsters here really do retain the memory of those that killed them. Or in their case, their family.

    I mean, goblins weren¡¯t exactly known for their kindness, but the sheer, raw hatred exuded from them didn¡¯t feel even remotely natural. They didn¡¯t¡¯ stop to question themselves on who we were or what we were doing like a wild animal might. Or, hell, like any sentient thing might. They just jumped straight to bloodlust like a robot set to kill anything that crossed its path. Raising the Elderwood staff, I tried to work out how it was that these two were somehow lesser than a wild animal, but more intelligent than one.

    Unlike these goblin¡¯s hypothetical family, though, these two raised their spears and cautiously approached us instead of barreling towards us like a pair of rabid animals. Maybe being forced to work together actually made them employ what should¡¯ve been a basic battle tactic for fighting in a narrow corridor such as this, as they stood side-by-side, taking up almost the entire width of the hallway they guarded. This gave us no room to circle around them, except for someone like Yua jumping over their heads, which she has done before. But in the same way that was a bad idea for the wolves that tried it on us, it could easily go wrong for Yua if they were to jab their spears into her mid-jump. She may be good, but blocking or parrying two spears at once would be difficult for anyone. Better avoid that.

    Maybe when they were alone, the crazed way they would run at us was just them working themselves up in a frenzy to try and get the drop on the naturally larger enemy they were suddenly faced with. All to try and survive. But now they were confident, cautious and organized. They were the soldiers all the enemies before them should have been.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see what this thing can do.¡±

    I pointed the staff at the rightfully cautious Goblins and cast a Fire Ball at them. Just like before, a flaming orb three times the size of the ones I cast without the staff shot out of its knotted end. I aimed at only one of them to make sure it hit, but when it did, the ball of flame exploded just like it did against the door earlier.  The flames expanded to engulf both goblins at once. Amidst the searing heat, their cries of pain lasted only for a second before their lives ended.

    Their bodies remained motionless inside the fire, blackened to a crisp until they and the flame disappeared in a burst of life.

    ¡°Wow! Master, you beat both with only one spell!¡±

    ¡°Yea¡­ I guess I did.¡±

    After that, after seeing what the staff was truly capable of, I was already starting to regret that I would need to sell it as soon as we were done for the day. The clearing power this thing possessed was too good to let go. The way it made that fight so easy irked me a little, but in the name of making as much coin as fast as I could, this thing would be nothing but helpful.

    ¡°Yua, I¡¯m sorry, but would you mind if I just blast all of the Goblins this time? I don¡¯t want to take away your fun, but this way would be faster.¡±

    Her ears stood straight up at attention and her tail wagged both unashamedly and excitedly against her feline nature, but the second I asked her that, her ears drooped and she started pouting.

    ¡°I¡­ If that¡¯s what Master wants, then I don¡¯t have the right to complain.¡±

    You say that, but you clearly want to.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s just for this time. As soon as we have all the money we need, I¡¯ll let you fight all you want.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    Thankfully, she perked up a bit and her tail resumed its light swishing motion.

    ¡°Yup. Don¡¯t worry about it. Besides, I like watching you fight.¡±

    ¡°I-I like watching Master fight too. Your magic is amazing!¡±

    You say that, but with you dressed in such tight, form-fitting clothes, I feel our reasons for enjoying the sight of the other fighting is more than a bit different.

    ¡°Right. Beast-kin can¡¯t do magic, right?¡±

    ¡°Nope. We don¡¯t need to either. We have our strength, after all.¡±

    She patted her bicep, which was only about as thick as any other girl¡¯s her age, like it was proof of that same strength that she held so dear.

    ¡°But isn¡¯t your Healing Punch kind of like magic?¡±

    ¡°Not at all,¡± she insisted. ¡°Magic uses mana and Master himself saw that my Healing Punch didn¡¯t.¡±

    I feel like that¡¯s still basically magic¡­ but I guess I¡¯m not the Monk here.

    Supposing that was enough of a reason to call them different things entirely, I decided not to question her and just nodded until she was happy. Still, mana or stamina, you are trading one life source to achieve something that, regardless of how you label it, was magical to me.

    Satisfied with the results of my little test, we proceeded through the level with relative ease. The Goblins all mistakenly used the same tactic as the first two, so blowing them away became as easy as pointing a stick at them. And thanks to my constant mana regeneration and my increasing levels, I never quite seemed to run out of mana. As long as I only needed one shot per pair, the time between fights was almost always enough to regenerate what I lost. Maybe I was just getting to the point most video games reach where combat was supposed to get easier now that I wasn¡¯t stuck with newbie stats.

    By the time I had finished around twelve Goblins, Yua was starting to look a little bored. So, I reminded her that just being with me was making her level, and therefore her Strength, go up.

    ¡°I know, Master. Master¡¯s abilities are amazing, but I still want to fight.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Whenever we come across one of those Gremlins you were talking about, you can take them. They don¡¯t come in pairs, do they?¡±

    ¡°No, Master. They prefer sneaking around and stabbing people in the back instead of fighting out right. It would be more difficult to do that in groups.¡±

    ¡°Fair enough¡­¡± I said, looking over my shoulder.

    Yua giggled.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry yourself, Master. I am keeping my ears open for them this time.¡±

    This time?

    Does that mean that a Gremlin is what stole her things and got her arrested last time? It did happen on the third floor. If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯m surprised she isn¡¯t hunting them down one by one for the sake of revenge. Were I in her position, I can at least the temptation to do so would be enough to make me go mad.

    Then again, she wasn¡¯t able to detect that trent that was standing still. So, maybe she just has a hard time detecting enemies that are good at stealth. Then again again, as a concept, I felt as though I should have been myself across the face for questioning her ability to detect an enemy adept at sneaking, since that was sort of the point. With her ears and how shitty my own Sneak ability was right now, I felt I was justified in assuming such monsters were likely her weakness.

    That or she just had a hard time noticing things that weren¡¯t moving. Either or.

    I looked over my shoulder again, feeling as though there was already a shadow lurking about, waiting for me to turn my back to it so it could drive a knife into my back.

    ¡°Besides those cute ears of yours, do you know of any abilities or traits that would alert us when someone is trying to sneak up on us?¡±

    ¡°C-Cute¡­ No, Master. I don¡¯t know of anything like that. As a beast-kin, I never felt the need for that sort of thing, so I never thought to look into it.¡±

    If there¡¯s a Detect Trap ability, then there had to be something like that available to obtain. If so, I needed whatever class it was attached to. But if she doesn¡¯t know, I¡¯ll just have to gather information about abilities and traits from somewhere else, so I can figure out what I would like to try and get. Might as well make the most out of my ability to have multiple classes and get all their best abilities, right? Unfortunately, I no longer have a computer, so I can¡¯t just look up a cheat-sheet of how and where to get everything I would want to maximize the potential of my build. Whatever that may be at this point.

    Luck Mage? Is that even a thing? I have other classes, but with most of my points having been dumped into my Luck stat while most of the rest went to Magic, what else could I be?

    Anyway, enough with the pointless tangents. Speaking of abilities, Yua was able to gain the Healing Punch skill by just leveling up her Monk class. So, shouldn¡¯t I be able to gain more spells by leveling up my Mage class?

    I decided to try it out and moved to set it up as we walked. While I could move the Mage class to the top of my class list like I did for Yua, I wasn¡¯t sure it was going to make a difference. Unlike her, any class I use in a fight, regardless of whether or not it was set to be my main or not, still gains the same amount of experience. I haven¡¯t gained any new spells by leveling so far and my Mage level is already higher than Yua¡¯s Monk level was when she got her new skill.

    Different classes must gain abilities at a different rate. Or maybe Mage abilities and spells were just more powerful and, because of this, they take more time to learn. Either way, until something happens, all having it at the front will do, maybe, is cause it to absorb the experience from battles that Yua solos.

    At least I¡¯ll be able to catch the Mage class up to my Adventurer one that way.

    Actually, wait. My Adventurer class not only hasn¡¯t gained any skills despite already being at level 23, it doesn¡¯t even seem to start with any the way Yua¡¯s did. Was it because her starting classes were more battle-oriented, while mine could just be a name for someone that travels?

    No, that wouldn¡¯t make sense. Even the Merchant and Apothecary classes started with a skill all their own. It should be entirely reasonable that I should have gained some sort of ability, trait or spell the moment I first gained the Mage class, but I didn¡¯t. And I only gained the Fire Ball spell because it was a freebee given to me by the Goddess.

    Speaking of her, had that Goddess changed the conditions for how I gain abilities compared to others. If so, maybe this was the Goddess¡¯s way of to rebalancing the fact that I can level up much faster than everyone else. If so, it¡¯s possible that I can¡¯t even gain abilities normally. Maybe it¡¯s tied to me needing to actively see one being used in action or try it myself, like I did with the Dimensional Step and Force Sleep spells.

    But then why didn¡¯t I learn Healing Punch when Yua used it? Or Iron Fist, for that matter.

    Deciding it best to test this out as soon as possible before I reached some sort of level-cap that would prevent me from learning anything in general, I left Mage as my default class while we continued through the dungeon to see how things go.

    After a few more uneventful fights that had yet to prove or disprove my earlier thoughts, Yua stopped mid-stride and leaned in to stare at one of the walls like something of great importance were written on it that only she could see.

    ¡°Hey, Master, doesn¡¯t this wall look like the one you crashed through earlier?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    Checking it for myself, I saw that the brick that made up a significant portion of the wall in question was indeed a different, darker shade of gray than the rest. These darker stones encompassed enough of the wall to suggest another hidden room lay in wait, but the color difference was so slight, that I was honestly impressed she even noticed. Hoping that meant another piece of rare loot, I stepped back.

    ¡°Yua, go ahead and try out your Iron Fist on that section of wall. Let¡¯s see if you can break it.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master!¡±

    If the Elderwood Trent was capable of smashing chunks out of the stone here, that meant all one had to do to get the same results was to hit it just as hard. While I was worried that she might hurt herself, I figured that her Iron Fist would absorb most if not all of the damage for her. Plus, since all she¡¯s done on this floor so far is lead me around, she¡¯s had plenty of time to rest up. She was practically itching to punch something. I did bring her here in part to help her get over her past trauma, so I really shouldn¡¯t be hogging the limelight just because it makes things easier.

    She took a step back and adopted her signature fighting pose, for some reason. Staying like that for a few seconds, I got the feeling that she was trying to decide where and how exactly to hit the immobile target the wall made of itself, like it needed to be struck in just the right way, instead of by the right amount of force, but the wait didn¡¯t take long.

    ¡°Iron Fist!¡±

    With a silvery glow and a loud crash, Yua¡¯s hardened fist broke through the brick wall with ease. Well, I suppose it would probably be more accurate to say that she demolished it. In comparison, and the reason why I stood there like a stunned idiot ogling the shattered brickwork, was because the impact of her fist made against the stone made the force it took for my body to crash through a similar wall feel more like a love-tap. Hers, however, sent the bricks rocketing back into the room she uncovered, either embedding themselves into the surrounding walls or outright shattering upon impact like a cheap china pot would after being dropped onto a hard floor.

    While I tried to do my best not to imagine being on the other end of that punch, Yua looked at her own fist with pure glee. It was almost as if she wasn¡¯t expecting that result herself and just did it to try.

    ¡°Master, I¡¯m so strong!¡±

    ¡°Haha. Yea, you are,¡± I said patting her on the shoulder. ¡°Now, let¡¯s see what we can find in there.¡±

    Unlike the previous hidden rooms, this one had no glowing lights and only a long, thin treasure chest shoved into a corner of the room. Unlike those before it, this one was made of a plain brown wood instead of the flashier red and gold ones from earlier.

    Careful not to let the proof of our good luck get the better of us, I made sure to check the chest for traps before I popped it open. The lid creaked when I lifted it up, as if it had been hidden behind this wall for decades and its hinges were covered in invisible rust. Inside I saw the dull glint a metal sword the moment its blade caught the light leaking in from the main hall.

    Yua let out a disappointed ¡°Hmph¡± when she saw it, but money was money. I cast Appraisal and saw that it was a simple Steel Longsword worth 10 silver. Not the best, but it¡¯s something.

    ¡°It¡¯s not worth much, but I¡¯ll hold onto it for now.¡±

    I picked up the weapon and pulled its blade out of the attached scabbard to check if it was still sharp enough to cut after being down here for who knows how long. Not that I felt I really needed to, though, since its info box and my Appraisal ability didn¡¯t suggest it was damaged in any way.

    Using my Item Box, I swapped out the bronze sword the Goddess gave me for the new steel one, I hoped that the change in metal really did increase its damage output like it always did in video games, for whatever reason. As soon as it appeared on my hip, I felt a heftier weight tug on my belt. Being that the steel sword was longer than the bronze, I even felt its scabbard scrape across the ground where I knelt down.

    Unlike the ring, I didn¡¯t mind making use of this find if I needed to. I''d just take this as an opportunity to up our fighting potential with better equipment like I planned to do from the start. But carrying around a longer sword like this would take time to get used to.

    ¡°Mmm,¡± Yua hummed, her ears flicking, finding interest in something else once our prize turned out to be mostly worthless. ¡°Master, I can hear someone on the other side of this wall.¡±

    Someone? If she meant another Adventurer, I really had to hope that he last of our luck wasn¡¯t wasted on finding this sword.

    She pressed her ear against the wall opposite the one she destroyed, expertly avoiding the extra bricks her punch embedded in it, and gestured for me to come over. I went ahead and pressed my ear against the wall right next to her, mildly amused that even a cat-girl like her had to do this to hear through walls and equally impressed that she could even hear anything there to begin, as I didn¡¯t hear anything myself.

    But by the time I noticed this, I had only just begun to realize that I was only a few inches from her face. She¡¯s really too pretty. I didn¡¯t even need to look down at the softness she pressed into the stone for a closer listen for her visage to leave me so enraptured.

    Stolen story; please report.

    ¡°Master, slow your heart down. I can¡¯t hear them properly through the wall.¡±

    ¡°Oh, uh, sorry¡­ I can¡¯t hear as well as you. Can you tell me what they are doing?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Sounds like they are fighting goblins.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, well let¡¯s take a peek.¡±

    I put my hand to the wall and thought to try out Material Destruction again. If I could make a small peephole instead of just taking out a big chunk of wall, since that was the only option available in the game it came from and how I¡¯d been using it so far. Succeeding here would mean I could endlessly increase the number of things I could do with this ability.

    I tried not to get my hopes up, but using the Goddess¡¯s advice to just put my mind to have the ability do exactly what I wanted, it worked. Just as expected, a hole about as wide as a quarter bored all the way through the wall. Apparently, all I had to do was will a smaller hole appearing while using the ability and it did. I guess if I don¡¯t think too hard about the shape and size of material I remove, it just defaults to a large block.

    Smirking to myself, I put my eye up to the wall to make use of another of my senses since hearing was useless. Yua continued to listen, seemingly a bit easier now that my hole gave her a direction connection to the other side as well.

    Just as she said, there was another duo of Adventurers over there battling it out with a pair of goblins. The strange part was that they were only about half Yua¡¯s highest leveled class. A pair of their level shouldn¡¯t have been able to fight on this floor, given how much trouble the last few bosses gave us. Even if Yua had managed it on her own down here well enough to think she could handle a horde of these monsters by herself, that was more or less a fluke where levels were concerned. Her skill in fighting was just that high.

    Unlike her and unlike the flaming massacres my new spell casting power created when facing off against the goblins, these two looked to be having trouble getting their short swords anywhere effective enough past the range of the goblins¡¯ spears to deal any lasting damage to them. From my point of view, it almost looked like they were just failing their swords around wildly, but my Swordsman class suggested they were trying to knock away the goblin¡¯s spears the same way Yua could with her bare hands. Guess these two were short on both level and Strength. So, why come to this floor?

    Seeing that it was useless, they took a few steps back and started speaking to each other. I could heard them speak now, but they were too far away for any of it to be intelligible.

    ¡°Yua, what are they saying?¡±

    ¡°¡­ The one on the left said: Maybe we can beat them if we just rush them. If we¡¯re fast enough, we can stab ¡®em before they can jab at us.¡±

    Wow, she can even tell which is on the left and right? Wait¡­

    ¡°What? Are they stupid?¡±

    There was no way a pair of level 5 adventurers were going to be able to pull a stunt like that off. I¡¯m not exactly a melee combat specialist, but if they couldn¡¯t win with range, then they should try to bait an attack, dodge it and slip in close to them where the range of the goblins¡¯ spears would be useless. Trying to just run at them would be suicide.

    I focused on them as much as I could through the tiny hole, instantly regretting having made it so small since there was really no need to be sneaky, and checked their info boxes again. Leaning down to see their names a little better, I saw that neither were actually Adventurers. Both held a combat class, Swordsman, but both were only level 1, since it was their side-class. Their main classes were actually Merchant and Letter Carrier.

    ¡°Agh!¡±

    Jeremy, the one who¡¯s class suggested he was a glorified mailman, cried out an obvious but inaudible protest. Just as I expected, the Merchant, Devin, tried to rush the goblins and quickly and brutally punished with a spear through the shoulder.

    Watching that crude weapon pierce right through a living person made me wince and grab at my own shoulder. Until now, the worst we¡¯d had to deal with was bludgeoning damage and a flesh wound. There wasn¡¯t even that much blood, as the movies taught me to expect. The spear itself just plugged the hole it made, refusing to let Devin¡¯s life juices escape the fate he signed up for. I could only imagine the pain he must have felt, even though I was desperately trying not to. The thought of actually getting speared like that almost made me want to head back to the inn and crawl into bed.

    As I was cowering from the fight I wasn¡¯t even a part of, the second goblin tried to finish the wounded Merchant, but his friend managed to smack the spear away similarly to how Yua did earlier, but he managed the feat with a heavy, if not barely accurate, swing of his sword.

    However, with his friend crying out in pain and the goblin¡¯s spear able to out-reach his sword still, he didn¡¯t look like he was able to think of a way out. His friend bravely managed to hold onto the spear embedded in his shoulder, but all that did was partially immobilize it and cause him more pain every time the goblin tried to yank it out.

    ¡°Yua¡­ let¡¯s help them.¡±

    ¡°But, Master¡­¡±

    ¡°No buts. At this rate they are going to die and I¡¯m not going to just sit here and let it happen.¡±

    I used Material Destruction to open a hole in the wall for us to get through and keeping low enough to activate my Sneak ability, ran towards the battle.

    Honestly, I had no idea why was trying so hard to save them. In my old life, I wouldn¡¯t have even been able to summon up enough courage to talk to them, let alone risk my life for theirs. Yet, here I was drawing my new sword.

    It would have been easier to just blow them away with my magic like I have been, but with the two idiots standing so close to the monsters, I feared they might get caught up in the blast. So, I used my one and only sneak attack, assuming the goblins somehow didn¡¯t see me approaching them, and lunged at the one that speared Devin and stabbed it straight in its unguarded chest. It cried out in a pained agony that my magic had so far saved me from hearing.

    Surprised by my sudden appearance, Jeremy let himself get distracted and the second goblin, not caring for its partner in the least, tried to lunge at him, but Yua caught its spear with her bare hands, surprising the man even more.

    ¡°Now¡¯s your chance,¡± she said.

    Nodding in disbelief at his luck, he pulled back and drove his sword into the goblin a few times, again and again until it finally died. Seeing how mine was still alive, wriggling in agony on my blade but still refusing to let go of its spear to try and escape, I pulled my sword back out and brought it down on its head.

    The vibrations against my hands when I struck its skull was more severe than it was when I slashed the forest wolves. So much so that it left the muscles in my hand ringing and made me wonder if going for a head strike was the wrong choice. It obviously softer body likely should have been my target. I suppose that I got just the tiniest bit careless since the Proud Great Wolf, the last enemy I fought with a sword, was just as hard no matter where I struck. Regardless of my ultimate choice, both goblins vanished at about the same time before I or my Swordsman class could come to a conclusion on the matter. With a sigh, I sheathed my sword and checked on the injured man.

    The spear that was embedded in his shoulder disappeared along with the Goblins, opening up the wound to the stagnant dungeon air and reigniting the pain. Gritting his teeth, Devin grabbed his shoulder to staunch the bleeding while his friend supported him.

    ¡°Thank you. We would have been dead if not for you two.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    ¡°No, really. Thank you. It¡¯s not much, but as thanks, you guys can keep our loot. Come on, let¡¯s get out of here before more of them show up.¡±

    Worried that it didn¡¯t seem they had any potions on them, I watched as Jeremy helped his friend to his feet and as we were given a weak smile and wave as thanks. Due to the blood loss the man could barely stand, so that was likely all he could manage. It may not have hit a vital spot, but a wound that serious could still end up killing him if they didn¡¯t treat it quickly.

    When they started back down the path they presumably came from, I checked his info box and saw that, just like Yua yesterday, he was constantly losing more and more health thanks to the continuing blood loss.

    Do they not have a healing potion? Why would anyone come down here without at least one? They aren¡¯t even that expensive.

    ¡°Hey, wait a second,¡± I said.

    Jeremy turned back, looking worried. And I remembered Yua¡¯s promise to that Adventurer all those years ago when he spoke.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we don¡¯t have anything else to offer you as thanks.¡±

    I waved them off.

    ¡°Not that. Just wait a second, will you. Yua, could you heal him? Even if it¡¯s just to stop the bleeding.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master.¡±

    She bowed her head to me, showing a bit more respect than usual, possibly because there were other people here, and ran to them. I could tell they were just as attracted to her as I was, but neither made a move that would disregard their sincere thanks. So, I let it pass without bringing it up. If anything at this point, I would be a little offended if they didn¡¯t think she was beautiful, since it would make me feel as though I was hallucinating her very existence.

    Yua placed her hand over the man¡¯s wounded shoulder and he cried out in pain. His buddy was about to complain, but when Yua called forth her Healing Punch, he quickly shut up and watched her hand emit a green light.

    The man¡¯s cries of pain stopped soon after the treatment started and I went to stand next to Yua, just in case she needed the support after she finished. As expected, doing this caused her to break out in a sweat again, but she remained on her feet. I¡¯ve been periodically pumping up her Endurance stat ever other level or so, since she needed so much stamina to use this ability and I was grateful that I did.

    The three of us men watched as the wound slowly began to close in on itself. Unlike when she healed my internal injuries, this time I was actually able to watch the skin and muscle tissue slowly repair itself and connect back together, almost like time itself was reversing for his shoulder and only his shoulder. Just like when Yua used that healing potion yesterday, it didn¡¯t even leave a scar when she removed her hand.

    ¡°Wow. So, your slave is a Monk? That¡¯s really lucky.¡±

    ¡°Slave?¡± I asked, wondering how he knew.

    ¡°Yea, she called you Master, didn¡¯t she?¡±

    The previously injured Devin rolled his shoulder to test it out and smiled cheerfully. He seemed to be much less amazed to see such a serious flesh wound heal so fast than he was by the fact that Yua had healed him, but that was probably because he¡¯d seen it several times up until now. With as cheap as health potions were, or as cheap as they felt to me, I felt as though I wouldn¡¯t have to go too far out on a limb to assume that most families kept at least one in their homes for a rainy day.

    Only just taking notice in him after finding it curious that a Merchant like him wouldn¡¯t have enough coin to spare for a single potion, I took in the full sight of Devin¡¯s thick, braded beard and that he looked to be around thirty years old or so. That combined with how long Yua said it usually takes to level up, he must really suck at the Merchant game if he¡¯s still only level 5 there as well.

    Maybe they were down here trying to level their side classes instead? At least, they didn¡¯t seem to be doing this recreationally like Yua would.

    ¡°Yea. Yua¡¯s pretty great, isn¡¯t she?¡±

    ¡°M-Master¡­¡±

    Her face grew a little pink at what I thought to be an obvious statement of fact, but her tail continued to swish despite her fatigue. I checked her status to make sure she wasn¡¯t doing too bad and saw that she had drained about half of her stamina bar again. Since the man¡¯s wound was way worse than mine what the trent gave me, I figured that skill must take roughly the same amount of stamina to use regardless of the damage. Which sounded about as beneficial as it was a hinderance. For now, anyways. Just need to get her more stamina. But I should be able to mitigate that for the time being by not having her heal every little scratch I get in here.

    ¡°That aside, why are you two down here anyway? You don¡¯t really look¡­ like Adventurers.¡±

    Wanting to keep them from feeling insulted by my word choice, I steered rejection of their fighting competency right back to their classes. While Devin looked sturdy enough to be an Adventurer, he clearly didn¡¯t have the skill required of one down here. The Apothecary more or less confirmed that your classes do give you some innate knowledge regarding their practice, but his Swordsman class clearly wasn¡¯t picking up the slack after that foolhardy move.

    Perhaps coming to the same conclusion about himself, Devin grimaced behind his beard. However, it was Jeremy that answered.

    ¡°I, uh¡­ I was sent to deliver an important letter to Devin here. It was penned by his supervisor and I was told it was exceedingly important. So, I chased him into the dungeons to deliver it.¡±

    ¡°You followed him into the dungeon, just to deliver a letter?¡±

    ¡°Yea, he did,¡± Devin answered. ¡°And a lot of good it did us.¡±

    Devin slammed his meaty fist into the wall, doing significantly less damage to it than Yua. Jeremy flinched, almost as though he felt the punch should have been aimed at him and was fully prepared, but reluctant to take it.

    ¡°Why? What letter could be so important that you¡¯d end up fighting goblins just to deliver it?¡±

    ¡°Like he said, it was from my supervisor. As a trainee Merchant, I have to do as he says or I¡¯ll lose my only chance to learn from a pro.¡±

    ¡°But I lost the letter,¡± Jeremy said. ¡°I was attacked by a gremlin. It stole the letter before I could deliver it.¡±

    Why the hell would a dungeon monster steal a letter of all things, is what I¡¯d like to ask, but the way Jeremy hung his head and with how Devin punched the wall again out of frustration, I ventured to guess that this wasn¡¯t some ridiculous joke to them.

    ¡°We¡¯ve been trying to track it,¡± Jeremy continued. ¡°But neither of us are any good at that sort of thing.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­ I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t understand why this letter was so important. Can¡¯t you just go back and ask your supervisor about it directly?¡±

    ¡°Ha. If I could. He wouldn¡¯t have sent this fool if it wasn¡¯t time-sensitive. If I don¡¯t follow his orders¡­ Gah! You just don¡¯t get it! He¡¯s one of the most respected Merchants in all of Amoranth. And what¡¯s more, he doesn¡¯t have a son and I¡¯m his only apprentice. If I play my cards right, I may one day be given the keys to his shop. But all I¡¯ve done is mess things up!¡±

    One of the most respected Merchants in Amoranth¡­ After hearing that, one very influential name popped into my head that I¡¯m sure Yua and I both didn¡¯t want to appear here. But just in case I was right and asking would somehow give us a leg up on him, I pressed forward.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind my asking, who is your supervisor?¡±

    Without needing to lean in to hear his answer, Yua just flicked her ear to show she was listening and following along. Devin, however, just shook his head, as though the question or the way I asked it didn¡¯t matter.

    ¡°It¡¯s Morin. Of Morin Imports.¡±

    Yua and I breathed a collective sigh of relief. While I didn¡¯t exactly want this man harmed, I didn¡¯t want to head further into the dungeon knowing that I helped one of Alphonse¡¯s goons. Though, I have no idea who this Morin is. Since my current assumption of Amoranth is that it looks to be some sort of trading hub, the place was probably filled to bursting with merchants I didn¡¯t know.

    I was sure that, even if he failed here, he could find work somewhere else. Maybe somewhere less prestigious, but his lacking level wasn¡¯t exactly something to brag about. Hell, for all I know, maybe this Morin isn¡¯t letting his apprentice actively buy and sell, leaving him to do nothing but watch the shop for him so he doesn¡¯t level up. That way, he¡¯s still gaining the knowledge of the art of mercantilism, but isn¡¯t actually putting it to use in a way that would eventually overshadow him.

    Nah. I think the more likely explanation is just because this Morin guy owns the goods they are selling, so the EXP doesn¡¯t count towards him when he makes a sale. Makes more sense this way when you take into account the way trade works in this world works. While I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever be able to fully trust a Merchant again, I was still pretty sure they weren¡¯t all bad people.

    My own Merchant class must be lacking even more than I thought if I put any real thought into that first option. I shook my head.

    ¡°Sorry about the letter, but you might still have time to just go ask him directly.¡±

    ¡°Yea¡­ Might as well try. I don¡¯t think I have much fight left in me to keep up the ingredient collecting anyways. Come on Jeremy, maybe if we both explain what happened, Mr. Morin will go easy on us.¡±

    ¡°R-right¡­¡±

    ¡°You guys going to be okay getting out of the dungeon on your own?¡±

    ¡°Yea. We know the way. There wasn¡¯t much fighting on the way here. So, it should be clear still.¡±

    They waved goodbye and left, both of them now able to walk on their own, albeit a bit unstably due to the blood loss.

    While I wondered if we should have told them we were the reason why there weren¡¯t all that many monsters left by now, Yua waited until they were out of sight to speak.

    ¡°Master is really kind.¡±

    ¡°What? Isn¡¯t helping someone in need just something you¡¯re supposed to do?¡±

    Not that I could really believe that myself. Sure, in my old world, it was commonly accepted that you should help others when and if you could, but that didn¡¯t mean everyone did. I certainly didn¡¯t. At least, not most of the time. The few times I tried, I either ended up getting yelled at for not helping correctly or for making the problem worse. So, eventually I just stopped trying, save for doing little things like helping the more vertically challenged elderly by grabbing products off the higher shelves in the supermarket.

    She shook her head and gazed up at me, a faint pink tinge still coloring her cheeks.

    ¡°Master, there are a lot of people in this world that need help. People who are hungry, who are sick, who are hurt, but most people just turn their heads and ignore them. They think, it¡¯s not me, so it doesn¡¯t matter. Not many people go out of their way to help, because if they do, they themselves may end up like those they tried to help.¡±

    I suppose it¡¯s true that people that actually go around spending their own money trying to help those less fortunate may end up spending more than their means could actually allow, only to bankrupt themselves if they aren¡¯t careful, but that¡¯s something else entirely. There¡¯s helping someone when you can and there¡¯s putting yourself too far out there. I think people are just overly cautious of that happening.

    Then, of course, there¡¯s the innate human cautious distaste for shoving your nose where it doesn¡¯t belong. I can¡¯t begin to say how many times my good intentions got me in trouble back on Earth, specifically because the thing I tried to help out with either wasn¡¯t meant for my eyes or because the person was stubborn enough to refuse help.

    What I did was nothing special. I just didn¡¯t want to bear witness to a death that I could prevent. I didn¡¯t feel myself so lost in my own self-pity that I couldn¡¯t help someone else in dire straits when I had the means to easily solve their problem. Besides, ignoring that I could help so easily would just be sheer laziness. And lazy was one thing I just could not allow myself to be anymore.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I said. ¡°You and I can handle Goblins easily, so it¡¯s not like we were in any danger. If anything, this was a slight detour that just so happened to lead to helping someone. We even got paid for our efforts, so it¡¯s not like we did this out of the goodness of our hearts.¡±

    I picked up the two spears the goblins dropped and shook them in front her before disappearing them into my item box.

    Yua¡¯s lips turned up into a smile, like she didn¡¯t understand what I said and continued to gaze at me. Feeling a bit embarrassed by her unflinching eye contact, I felt my cheeks get hot.

    Then her eyes grew sharp, angry. Without so much as a word of warning, she bared her fangs in a snarl and lunged at me. The turn was so sudden, it reminded me of the way the goblins filled with hate so instantaneously.

    ¡°Iron Fist!¡±

    Before I could think of what to do or muster up the brain power to tell my arms to throw themselves up in front of my face self-defense, Yua called out her favorite ability and let her glowing fist fly. My eyes could barely follow the trajectory of her fist as it flew, not towards me, but towards something right behind me. Just when I realized this, I heard the sickening crunch of bones being pulverized and then something heavy being slammed into the wall so hard that it split the stone.

    Gulping back a flinch, I spun around to see what it was and found her fist rammed so far into the chest of a creature that she might have punched straight through it were it not for the wall stopping her fist¡¯s momentum. The creature was a bit shorter than the goblins and unlike them, it wore proper clothes. Baggy and tattered ones, but clothes nonetheless. If you didn¡¯t count the ugly wrinkled face and the jagged teeth, half of which were scattered across the floor, it would have looked almost human.

    But I hadn¡¯t seen it until it was already dead. Where had the damn thing come from? I turned on my heel, facing the hole we made in the wall and found that there was a path running perpendicular to it that I hadn¡¯t noticed when I raced to help the others.

    Shit. I didn¡¯t even think to check for other monsters when we jumped in. Am I relying on Yua too much? Her ears are strong, no doubt, but she¡¯s still just a person. She can mess up and get distracted too.

    Still. To think this thing could have caused Yua¡¯s expression to suddenly become filled with a bloodlust so palpable that it almost made me forget that she was truly on my side after clearing up that whole thief thing. I checked its info box to see what it was before it could fade away and tugged at my collar.

    ¡°S-So, this is one of those gremlins you were talking about?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master,¡± she said, clenching her fist at it, as if daring its corpse to get back up. ¡°It snuck up behind you and was about to steal your staff.¡±

    ¡°My staff? I don¡¯t think something that small would have been able to tear this from my hand. I¡¯d be more concerned if it came at me with a knife or something.¡±

    Tearing her glare away from the Gremlin, she shook her head disapprovingly at me.

    ¡°No, Master. When you aren¡¯t prepared for a fight, your grip on your weapons loosens a little. It happens to everyone. Gremlins wait for that moment to strike because they¡¯ll be able to get away right after without having to worry about getting hit as soon as they¡¯re noticed.¡±

    I nodded, unable to refute that at all, since I hadn¡¯t noticed the quality of my grip at all. I had no problem taking her word for it, but since I was still shaking a bit from the sound of the impact. I¡¯m just glad that punch wasn¡¯t aimed at me.

    I checked what it dropped when it finally burst into light and faded away and found only the burlap sack it had apparently been holding. That must be how it was planning on stowing away whatever it stole. However, when I picked the thing up, I felt a light, but definable weight inside it.

    ¡°Hmph. Trying to steal Master¡¯s things after he went out of his way to help someone. Unforgivable!¡±

    I chuckled to myself.

    While I was sure that Yua could have handled the twin goblins here with relative ease, the gremlin was clearly even weaker than them. Even if it managed to get my staff, I could have just blasted it with magic and still probably killed it in one hit. Or Yua could have chased it down before it even reached the corner. My spell and Yua¡¯s fists would have put the staff at risk of breaking, since it was only made of wood, but unless the gremlin used the thing as a shield, it would have been fine.

    I put my hand on her head between her perky cat ears, amused at how worked up she got on my behalf and tussled her hair a bit. I had done so without thinking, but instead of getting mad, she just smiled at me. She even pressed her head against my palm to increase the pressure I put on her just a little, sort of like a cat begging for more petting when you try to pull away.

    Why is she so cute? Come on!

    ¡°Th-Thank you for protecting me.¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡±

    I wondered if her happiness was because of my praise, or because she thought of it as getting revenge on the monster that caused her to get arrested and then enslaved all those years ago. I¡¯m sure it was the latter, but I hoped it was both as I stuffed my hand into the burlap sack and felt the corner of a stiff piece of paper prick my finger.

    Realizing immediately that the existence of paper in this dungeon, and in a gremlin¡¯s bag no less, could only mean one thing, I tore the envelope out and looked it over. As expected, on the front was written simply ¡°To Devin,¡± but the back held a wax seal that had been pressed with the symbol of a fish weighing down one side of a scale. Taking this seal to mean that he and Morin ran some sort of nautical-themed shop, it only brought into question why he was down here farming goblins, when the only ingredients that I knew them to drop were their ears. I silently swore not to eat any fish in this city for fear of what they might be seasoning them with, but it didn¡¯t matter.

    I flipped the envelope so Yua could look at who it was addressed to. She smiled up at me and, without my asking her to do a thing, she took off running for the two idiots. I followed close behind as her nose led us straight to them. Naturally, since our levels were much higher and our Speed greater, we reached them in no time.

    ¡°Devin, wait,¡± I called, holding out the letter. ¡°I think we found your¡­¡±

    ¡°Give it here!¡±

    Before I could even get the words out, the bearded man snatched at the letter as soon as he saw it. I made sure to let go before he could be considered a Thief for taking it, assuming it even counted as mine after Yua killed the gremlin.

    Without so much as wasting a breath to wait and show Jeremy what we handed him, Devin tore the seal off the envelope with that same greedy smile Merchants seemed to enjoy wearing so much and flipped its pages open to read its contents. While we watched him silently run his eyes over the paper, we explained to Jeremy what happened.

    When our brief retelling of the already brief  encounter with the gremlin was done with, he sighed and palmed his forehead.

    ¡°To think we were so close to finding the bastard.¡±

    ¡°Yea, but think of it like this,¡± I said. ¡°The gremlin was probably waiting to sneak up on you during your fight with the goblins to take something else.¡±

    If the little shits were smart enough to wait until you relaxed your grip on your weapons to jump on you, then surely they were smart enough to know when you were too distracted with battle to notice their approach. Our sudden appearance probably just gave it pause. It then changed its plans when it saw these two leave while Yua and I stayed.

    ¡°Probably,¡± Jeremy sighed again, but when he looked to the paper in Devin¡¯s hands, he looked relieved.

    ¡°Ha. That¡¯s it?¡± Devin laughed. ¡°I took a spear for this? Hell, this won¡¯t take but an hour at best.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡±

    ¡°Hahaha. Mr. Morin wishes for me to deliver a message to an old friend of his. Apparently, the Amoranth Auction House has some interesting enchanted items for sale tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t see why that was worth risking your life to learn.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha! Because that¡¯s not all! He also wants me to use this chance to get in good with his friend. You know, build a business relationship and what not.¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s only going to take an hour?¡±

    ¡°Of course! I have a way with words, you know? How else do you think I got this fool to stay and fight with me to find the letter? With a goblin¡¯s sword, no less!¡±

    He laughed again, but I hadn¡¯t even noticed Jeremy was using a goblin¡¯s sword until he pointed it out. I thought it was just a short one. Now that I look at it, it looks more like a long dagger, than a short sword. Devin must have given it to him from his own loot when he asked him to stay.

    Jeremy didn¡¯t seem to find the moniker of fool to be all that impressive despite the jovial laughter of what I assumed to be his friend lighting up the dungeon a little. He shot Devin a glare and crossed his arms, almost stabbing himself with the goblin sword in the process.

    ¡°And I believe you promised me a gold piece for my troubles. I hope you didn¡¯t forget. I¡¯m a courier, not a fighter.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t. I didn¡¯t! You¡¯ll have your coin once we make it out of here.¡±

    Still beaming with joy, but looking like he only just remembered he was in a hurry, Devin turned to us.

    ¡°Thank you so much for finding this. I¡¯m sure it means nothing to you, but this right here is just another step towards my future.¡±

    ¡°I understand. Glad we were able to catch you.¡±

    ¡°As am I! Oh, what luck that you managed to find this for me when I¡¯d already given up!¡±

    ¡°Yea¡­ well, you better get going. Now that you know what to do and all.¡±

    ¡°Will do! Come, Jeremy. No more dawdling.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re the one that stopped to read in the middle of the dungeon...¡±

    ¡°Oh, quit your griping. Help me get out of here in one piece and I¡¯ll make you my official courier once I take over the shop!¡±

    ¡°¡­ I look forward to it. But if you¡¯re¡­¡±

    As their backs receded into the distance on their way out of the dungeon, their conversation drew further than my ears would allow me to listen. Yua, of course, could likely hear it all and if her smile was anything to go by, Devin was likely fostering a second business relationship today. Good for him. I guess.

    Yua¡¯s ears gave a flick, but when I looked over my shoulder, prepared to end another gremlin, she giggled. Seemingly, though, her laugh wasn¡¯t aimed at my misinterpretation of her involuntary act.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    ¡°Nothing,¡± she said, failing to hide even an inch of her smile behind the finger she touched to her lip. ¡°Master really has been lucky today, hasn¡¯t he?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Yea. I guess so. And I hope to get lucky again later¡­ Oh, uh, I didn¡¯t mean it like that!¡±

    Yua tilted her head. Still smiling, she didn¡¯t seem to understand why I got flustered at my own words. Meanwhile, my heart was dancing all over the place at the implications.

    Of course. ¡°Getting lucky¡± probably wasn¡¯t a common phrase in this world.

    ¡°Master?¡±

    ¡°Oh, uh, it¡¯s nothing. I just¡­ Have a good feeling about tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Hehe. Me too!¡±

 Volume 1 - Chapter 18

    We continued through the dungeon at the same easy, but quick pace that we first started at today. After our last surprising encounter with a pair of casual dungeon explorers, I had Yua keep an ear out for more on top of her monster spotting duties so we could avoid getting in each other¡¯s way. After every other fight or so, she would assure me to the best of her ability that we were indeed the only people still exploring the third floor. Probably because anyone that teleported down here from the outside realized we wiped out most if not all of the monsters and left as soon as they could to explore elsewhere. But it was due to the fact that we were alone that gave us a plethora of monsters to loot and level off of.

    While I wished I could let Yua enjoy herself and fight to her heart¡¯s content, getting through here as fast as possible was still our top priority. She understood this and accepted it without hesitation. She even came back at me with an ¡°I know I¡¯m strong enough to beat them, anyways,¡± and patted her biceps when I tried to apologize for sucking up all her fun for what I found to be near-mindless monster farming. In the end, even if it seemed we had most if not all of what we needed to pay off her contract, it was still safest to push forward as fast as possible.

    Rounding off the floor, we exterminated a total of 30 goblins, but only 5 gremlins. Apparently, gremlins were so easy to kill once you found one, that most people that visited the third floor just killed a few and called it quits for the day. So, most of what was available, if any more than this was likely already exterminated by other Adventurers in the time it took us to complete the first two floors. Still, with the supposed point of this floor being to bolster the monsters¡¯ numbers, I had to wonder how many we missed out on. I wanted to spend a short while this morning doing some easy-leveling, but maybe we should have skipped repeating the first floor all together.

    Adding up the value of the loot we were holding, including the Elderwood Staff, we had gathered about 53 gold, 79 silver and 15 coppers worth of goods. So, we barely made a dent. Seems like we really will have to farm the bosses to get what we needed. That or maybe we should check on the fourth floor and see what we can get there, since it was new to even the more experienced Yua.

    Huh¡­ In terms of floors, if not time spent down her, I¡¯m actually about as experienced as she is now. Weird.

    ¡°Yua, do you know what the boss on this floor is?¡± I asked as we walked up to yet another waiting room right outside the large stone doors indicating the presence of a boss.

    ¡°No, sorry, but I never made it this far before. And I didn¡¯t ask anyone else, either.¡±

    ¡°I see. That¡¯s unfortunate.

    I really don¡¯t like the idea of going in completely blind, but if she didn¡¯t even ask, maybe she preferred it that way? Maybe she just wanted to make it more of a challenge, for the sake of the fight, rather than the goal of actually beating it, or something. Regardless, having her knowledge of what was ahead all this time must have spoiled me a bit, because I would really rather have known and was honestly disappointed that she couldn¡¯t give me any details. Our lives are on the line down here.

    I considered just having her open the door just far enough to get a peek at the boss, learn what we could about it and then retreat before it noticed us. At least that way we could back off and wait until we came up with a plan to fight it. Hopefully, we could do this without it breaking free of the boss room and forcing us to square off against it in the narrow halls now at our backs. Every boss so far had been huge. Absurdly huge when compared to the other monsters. If we ended up forced into a situation where our only option to damage the boss was to run in a straight line towards it¡­ Well, I couldn¡¯t exactly see that going well. Especially not if the boss had some sort of front-facing area of effect attack that we couldn¡¯t dodge.

    Thinking it best that I start working up ways I could work around such a fight using my magic and abilities, but before I could even properly weigh the pros and cons of this approach, Yua strode right straight over to the door. When I saw that there wasn¡¯t even a hint of nervousness in her gait, I gave up on my caution. She was ready for a fight after essentially getting blue-balled this entire floor. Be it the fierce look plastered to her face or how her fist remained balled up the entire time, right up until she relaxed her fingers to reach for the door¡¯s handle, something was telling me that I didn¡¯t want to get in her way right now.

    I may be one of two parts wanting to progress the dungeon as fast as possible, but this was her fight, not mine. She proved herself more than capable against both the goblins and the gremlins, so all that was left was the boss.

    Seeing as how I didn¡¯t make the best use of her knowledge regarding the bosses up until now anyways, we might as well just go at this as we have been.

    ¡°We weren¡¯t going to be able to know everything ahead of time anyway,¡± I said to myself. ¡°Just keep your guard up, Yua.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master. I¡¯ll make sure we win. No matter what.¡±

    She pushed the big stone doors open for us and her fierce look turned into an equally fierce grin that left no room for second guessing ourselves.

    Following her swishing tail and clenched fists, we entered into a boss room much like the last two, being that it was significantly larger than every other part of the floor and that it was mostly empty. This time, the only difference of note was that there was no giant wolf or tree waiting for us, but a much larger goblin. The boss, whose info box named it as a ¡°Hobgoblin,¡± was about six-times larger than the one¡¯s we¡¯d been fighting all morning. Or so it appeared, anyways, as it separated itself further from the last two bosses by sitting on a pile of stone shaped into what almost looked like a throne where it waited for us, its cheek resting on its knuckle as the doors to the room slowly closed all on their own.

    We were sealed in with it, the only reliable light source saving us from total blindness being the two large burning braziers on either side of the throne. The Hobgoblin didn¡¯t jump into attack mode the moment it saw us like the others did, either. The red, flickering hue of the flames calmly lit up both sides of its face as it stared. It just stared straight at us, its beady eyes almost calculating as they moved between us. It felt like it was trying to sum up our fighting potential to see if it needed to bother to stand.

    Aside from the dense muscles that covered its entire body, it looked a lot like its smaller counterparts. If I didn¡¯t already know that these monsters were born from the dungeon¡¯s magic, I¡¯d say that they might have actually been this one¡¯s children. And, if this were true, given how many of them we slaughtered on our way here, we¡¯d have given it a good reason to try and kill us now. Hopefully it didn¡¯t make this connection by us standing before it, as it seemed to be the most intelligent of the bosses so far.

    Finally sensing that we were worthy, or perhaps only just taking note of Yua¡¯s battle-ready stance and my raised staff, it stood. The ground at its feet almost seemed to quake beneath it, like its muscle was denser than it appeared and the stone struggled not to crack under its pressure.

    The Hobgoblin, roughly the same level as Yua, glowered down at us again before reaching behind its throne for a weapon. What it pulled out wasn¡¯t a short sword or spear similar to the goblins, but a greatsword about half as tall as it and was as thick as four of the regular goblins¡¯ swords stacked together. When it gripped the hilt of what was clearly meant to be a two-handed weapon, it only took one of its thick hands to cover it entirely. It almost looked like it had stolen the weapon from a particularly sturdy Adventurer that fell against it in battle, rather than the blade having been forged specifically for it.

    The simple fact that it was able to hold such an unwieldy sword in one hand spoke volumes about its true strength.

    ¡°Master, it looks like the bosses are all just bigger versions of ones waiting outside.¡±

    Spoken with a confident smirk, her observation was much the same as mine. When we were three-for-three on that idea, it was hard to argue. But this one definitely wasn¡¯t like the others.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s going to be that simple...¡±

    The Hobgoblin prepared itself for battle. Not by howling like a wolf or screeching like a Trent. It was deathly quiet. Instead, it raised its sword. It didn¡¯t take the unsteady, untrained stance the goblin¡¯s put up to defend themselves from our assault. They didn¡¯t know how to use their weapons, only that they could kill with them. This one, though, pointed its sword at us, as if specifically asking for a duel between blades that I wanted no part in.

    When it didn¡¯t receive the response it wanted of me drawing my own sword to meet its challenge, it drew its blade back and held it behind itself, ready to slash at us in a moment¡¯s notice. It held the professional stance of a trained swordsman as it faced us.

    Or at least, the way it held itself felt skilled. For all I knew, it was copying the person it presumably stole that sword from. I was no expert, either. My Swordsman class and my own eyes just warned me that this monster wasn¡¯t as unskilled as the others. This one looked oddly dignified, intelligent and, probably worst of all, patient.

    Not all the bosses were just beefed-up versions of their smaller counterparts. Some had real skill to back up their title as floor boss.

    Yua must have noticed this too, as the easy-going grin she had upon seeing the boss disappeared and she adopted her own tried and true fighting stance herself by bringing her fists up to her face. Not wanting to fall behind them, I readied the Elderwood Staff. It wanted a sword fight, but I wasn¡¯t about to weaken myself to fight on its level.

    Even though it showed no signs of knowing human speech, I got the strangest sensation that told me I shouldn¡¯t just shout out my plan of attack or it might understand me and counter it. So, we were just going to have to wing it using our experience fighting together to back us up.

    Waiting, the three of us staring each other down. It faced us, its gaze unflinching. Yua, from the corner of my eye, looked to be as calm as ever. I, however, was surprised to see that I wasn¡¯t shaking from the anticipation.

    Nobody made a move. With me seemingly being the only one unwilling to participate in a movie-esque eyeball showdown until the crack of thunder coming from a non-existent cloud kicked things off, it looked like it was going to be up to me to make the first move.

    I cast a Fire Ball, aiming for its chest, and watched as it jumped to the side to avoid it, only to land a few feet to the side as nimbly as Yua would have. The ball of flames flew right past it and hit its throne, doing little more damage than scorching its rocky surface.

    ¡°Shit...¡±

    As it¡¯s demeanor so far suggested, it proved me right in assuming it had a fair bit more intelligence than the previous bosses, who basically just allowed the fire to hit them. Unfortunately for us, it clearly understood the danger possessed within a fire ball hurtling towards it.

    Seeing that I was the one to attack first, the Hobgoblin stepped forward with one of its massive feet to strike at me with its sword in retaliation. I ducked down, narrowly avoiding the horizontal slash aimed for my neck. Feeling as though I almost went prematurely bald from how close the blade flew over my head, I vowed to start putting more points into my Speed stat. Its brawny muscles held clearly a great deal of power, but not enough to completely mitigate the weight of the greatsword as its attack was slowed enough for even me to react. The Elderwood Trent¡¯s attacks were much sharper.

    While I was trying to think up a was we could use that fact to our advantage, it swung at me again, as if my initial attack offended it for not flying at it in the shape of a sword. This time, a diagonal slash bared down on me, so I ducked and leapt to the side under where the slash had started to avoid it. Sensing the Hobgoblin¡¯s distraction as its greatsword bit into the stone flooring, sending up chunks of debris instead of dust, Yua used the brief delay it had to suffer to pull its sword out as her chance to run at the Hobgoblin.

    Easily finding the cat- girl running straight towards it in a mostly empty room and choosing to avoid rather than meet her head on, the Hobgoblin retreated to widen the distance. The immense pressure exerted by its legs to jump backwards was all the power it needed to rip the blade out of the stone. There, the moment its foot touched stone again, it swung its sword horizontally at Yua, forcing her to stop her charge.

    Apparently, it intended on maintaining the advantage its longer blade gave it by refusing to let her close the distance, as she obviously intended for a fist fight. As was probably understandable given how large its blade was, it didn¡¯t want someone like her getting too close or it wouldn¡¯t have room to swing it.

    ¡°That¡¯s it¡­ Yua, just keep attacking it after I do.¡±

    ¡°Got it!¡±

    I launched another Fire Ball at it, this time aiming for its left arm. It easily dodged the projectile by sliding to the right. Yua charged at it again. It swung its sword to ward her off and she dodged it even easier than I did. Following up with her charge, I cast another Fire Ball, once more aiming for its left arm, forcing it to dodge again. Yua charged at it right after, as if she¡¯d truly taken my simple order and extracted all my meaning from it. The boss swiped at her, but missed. I charged another spell.

    This accomplished two things. Yua¡¯s charges caused it to leap backwards to avoid her, while my Fire Balls forced it to move in the direction I wanted by aiming at its body in the opposite direction. Want it to move right, aim for its left shoulder. An easy trick. While I wouldn¡¯t have complained if one managed to land, I wasn¡¯t actually trying to hit the boss.

    The Hobgoblin was intelligent enough to be cautious, so we had to use that against it.

    It was the only plan I could think up on the spot, but it proved effective as, aside from the swipes it made against Yua¡¯s relentless chargers, the boss wasn¡¯t given the chance to properly fight because of our constant repetition of this pattern. We were letting it dodge our attacks to make it back itself into a corner. A literal corner. One where it hopefully couldn¡¯t swing its greatsword with impunity. At least, not without accidentally striking the wall the way the earlier goblin on the second floor did.

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Each successive combination we launched at it forced the Hobgoblin closer and closer to the right-most corner of the room, just what the Proud Great Wolf tried to do to Yua yesterday. Only, unfortunately for the Hobgoblin, it didn¡¯t have a partner to come bail it out.

    Without needing to be told this, possibly because she noticed my attacks landing in the same place each time, Yua kept charging at the boss without fail the second my spells created an opening for her. No doubt, getting it locked in a corner with her was exactly what she wanted.

    The Hobgoblin¡¯s heel slammed into the corner just as expected and it momentarily lost its balance. I used the chance it gave me when it shifted its gaze off of us to confirm that it just hit the wall to launch another Fire Ball. This time I aimed right for its face. So far, blinding the bosses was a good approach to making the boss fights easier.

    As if sensing my intention, the Hobgoblin snapped its neck so hard to the side to avoid the spell that it slammed its head into the wall. The strength of its own attack on itself did around ten percent of its total health, which showed plainly on its face when it pulled back after the flames dispersed behind it. There was now a large, bleeding gash on its temple.

    The Hobgoblin glared at me with a murderous intent so thick that it nearly stole my breath. It was like it intended on an honorable duel between the three of us, but my trick, which was essentially no better than throwing a fist-full of sand right into its eyes, ruined any plans for honor it may have sought from us.

    However, even if my attack missed, Yua was still charging straight for it. With each set of our combination attack, Yua was able to inch closer and closer and now that the Hobgoblin¡¯s anger was directed at me, she was able to get within striking distance.

    ¡°Iron Fist!¡±

    She shouted and, with all her strength and perfect form backing her up, threw a glowing punch straight into the Hobgoblin¡¯s right knee. The sound it made when her fist connected with it was reminiscent of a swinging wrecking ball colliding with and splintering a thick tree trunk.

    Its knee bent backwards into such an awkward angle that it genuinely made me feel a bit sick. But Yua wasn¡¯t finished.

    Bending her knees for a jump, Yua was about to aim for its torso or head with her next strike, but the Hobgoblin somehow managed to put its pain aside in favor of its anger and, without so much as a grunt to show the obvious agony it was in, tried to bring its blade straight down onto her head.

    She dodged it by abandoning her jump mid-squat, but the sword buried itself into the ground so close to her body, that she probably could have counted the number of chestnut-colored hairs it shaved off in the reflection of the blade¡¯s steel.

    The Hobgoblin tried to pull the blade out of the ground, but it was stuck. It tried again, this time putting more power into it with both hands, but Yua used this chance to jump above the blade.

    ¡°Iron Fist!¡±

    Instead of aiming for the boss, she instead punched the center of the greatsword, burying it further into the ground. She then landed on the edge of the blade, wide enough to support her, and stayed there only for a second before running straight up the steel to launch herself directly at the boss.

    ¡°Iron Fist!¡±

    For some reason, the Hobgoblin refused to let go of the sword and swat her away, even though it had plenty of time to do so. It met Yua¡¯s full-forced punch head on and it connected. And, oh, did it connect.

    With the force of her punch ringing out like a gong as it tore through its flesh, its head was suddenly and forcefully whipped to the side. The hit shattered the Hobgoblin¡¯s jaw. Almost completely torn away and now dangling limply against its neck by a single strand of flesh, its jawbone sparkled in the light of the braziers, showing its crooked teeth now caked in thick red blood. Bleeding profusely, its long black tongue became a rather unfashionable sort of tie where it fell out of the new hole in its neck.

    The concussion that a punch like that should have caused should have been enough to wipe out its health bar, but it managed to on by about twenty-five percent of its max value. And still, it made no noise. In the face of what likely should have been a mind-breaking amount of pain, it didn¡¯t so much as grunt in discomfort. It just glared, its beady eyes burning more now than ever.

    In a state of freefall after her attack, Yua was utterly defenseless. Full of blind, wordless rage, the Hobgoblin finally surrendered its sword to the ground and launched a punch at her. She blocked it by striking back with another Iron Fist, but all it did was protect her from the initial damage. The force of the Hobgoblin¡¯s punch still overpowered her and sent her flying backwards.

    Quickly correcting herself midflight, she managed to land on her feet, though not without taking a bit of damage in the process. Without removing her eyes from the boss¡¯s movements, she gripped the wrist the took the blow for her, squeezed and shook it to match with the boss¡¯s tenacity.

    With the distance between them restored, the Hobgoblin grabbed the hilt of its sword once more and ripped it out of the ground. However, instead of taking it up again, it used it as a crutch to support its broken leg. Its first mad howl came out as a gurgled cry of anger through its jawless mouth as it pushed off the ground towards Yua, the true threat. After what she did to it, I was no longer of any concern. She got to her feet once more and readied herself.

    Impressed and shocked by this true display of her strength, rather than just seeing the number next to her stat, I thought that I better not leave this all to her and decided to help out.

    Now that the Hobgoblin seemed to have completely forgotten about my existence, it its furious glare was only for Yua as it dragged itself towards her. So, I launched another Fire Ball at its still working leg the second it touched the ground. The flames exploded against its shin, but with no fur or bark to cling to, the fire did not spread. I hit it with another, this time aiming my spell for its sword hand, forcing it to let go.

    Not that it had to. Yua used the distraction the Fire Ball caused and the moment the Hobgoblin closed its eyes in continued agony, she closed the gap. Making full use of the points I had been putting into her Speed stat now that it couldn¡¯t use its sword to stop her, she was on it in a fraction of a second.

    ¡°Iron Fist!¡±

    This time, she jumped directly into its body and placed a well-timed punch directly into the Hobgoblin¡¯s stomach. The boss lurched forward, fell to its knee and had to put a hand out in front of itself to keep from hitting the floor completely. An act of surrender that this thing somehow refused despite no longer having a jaw and at least one broken leg.

    Not that it mattered. The second Yua¡¯s feet touched the ground again, she unleashed several powerful punches into every inch of the Hobgoblin¡¯s body her fists could reach.

    Her last Iron Fist was already enough to nearly kill it, so as she continued with punch after punch, it quickly became clear that the boss had gone completely limp and was probably knocked unconscious after that gut punch, as the only reaction it showed to her attacks was the jolt of force her attacks moved it with.

    Her pummeling and forceful battle cries continued relentlessly right up until the boss finally burst into light as it died, leaving her to only stop her flurried fists once she failed to connect with the flesh that suddenly disappeared. She punched straight through the empty air, her punch carrying her forward until she caught herself by stomping her foot on the ground before she could fall like the boss did.

    With a look of astonishment overpowering the labored breathing her heaving chest made all too apparent, she stood amongst the particles of light signaling the boss¡¯s defeat. Almost like she was in a battle-induced daze, she looked all around the room, as if she thought the boss had used its broken leg to jump out of sight to try and hit her when she let her guard down, but nothing was there. The boss was dead.

    Sweat dripping from her brow, Yua looked down to her hands with an expression of sheer disbelief that completely countered the confident smirk she started this fight with. Gazing at her own open palms, she fell to her knees the moment they started shaking. Tears started streaming down her cheeks.

    ¡°Yua, are you alright?¡±

    I ran over to her, health potion in hand. I hadn¡¯t thought to check on her actual health bar after she met the Hobgoblin¡¯s punch with her own, but apparently, she did take a bit of damage from it. Not much. Not enough to make her cry, but I held out the potion to her all the same. She smiled through her tears and shook her head.

    ¡°Master, I did it. I really did it! After all this time, I beat the third floor!¡±

    ¡°Yea, you did¡­¡±

    The second I confirmed what she said, content on giving her the vast majority of the credit for that fight, both her tears and smile doubled. Like an idiot, I only just then realized that her idea of revenge wasn¡¯t just killing the monster that ruined her life, but that she desired to beat the boss of the floor she had failed on. To prove to herself that she wasn¡¯t weak.

    ¡°It was a good fight, Yua. You were the one who was amazing this time. You¡¯ve gotten so much stronger since we started.¡±

    ¡°¡­Thank you, Master!¡±

    Wiping her tears, she cried out happily and jumped to embrace me all on her own. Flustered by the full-body hug she granted me, as if I was the one deserving of a prize for winning the fight, all I could do was hug her back.

    ¡°I¡¯m so glad I met you, Master!¡±

    ¡°M-Me too.¡±

    Hey¡­ While I¡¯m happy that you¡¯re so happy, shouldn¡¯t you still be mad at me? It¡¯s only been two days.

    For a reason that, to me, was entirely understandable, she should have every right in the world to hate me for buying her. Regardless of whether or not the world says she had that right. Yet, here she was, crying so happily into my arms. Like we were nothing more than friends or maybe¡­ lovers. That there wasn¡¯t a slavery spell binding her to me at the cost of every freedom she¡¯d ever had or ever will have. We were nothing more than two people that just overcame a serious life-or-death situation together. And she was happy.

    Why? She¡¯s supposed to hate me. Why doesn¡¯t she hate me? I felt like the answer should have been obvious. It was obvious, but I couldn¡¯t see it. I couldn¡¯t let myself see it.

    ¡°Master?¡±

    She unburied her face from my chest long enough to shoot me a concerned look. Apparently, the worries racing around my mind in endless loops were written on my face. Weary of ruining her success with my pessimism, I forced a smile and, unsure of what else to do, plopped my hand on her head to pet her between the ears. She gave me the cutest smile yet and buried her nose right back into my chest again.

    How can I deserve this? How can I deserve such happiness knowing I¡¯ve done something evil?

    This girl. This person is literally my possession and she is this happy. How? Shouldn¡¯t I complain that her obsession with her strength has clouded her judgement of me? Would she hate me if I called her out on it? I don¡¯t want her to hate me, but she should. I don¡¯t want her to, but she must. This happiness is not for me, but because she herself righted a past mistake of hers.

    What is the point of the Confidence Boost ability if it is useless here? I out leveled her ages ago. And we were doing just fine together not even an hour ago. Why did these thoughts come back when she finally, truly, showed me some affection?

    ¡°Master, let¡¯s see what the boss dropped!¡±

    ¡°Yea¡­¡±

    As if we weren¡¯t in a life-or-death battle just seconds ago, Yua happily ran over to where the boss¡¯s body disappeared and bent down to collect the item. I could tell from where I stood that it was a smaller version of the greatsword the boss used, as if it had been scaled down for an actual, normal human to use. Well, normal relatively speaking, as it was still large enough for me to feel a bit concerned that I wouldn¡¯t be able to hold it and that I¡¯d only embarrass myself for trying. Yua, though, lifted its weight so easily that it might as well have been as heavy as that twig I burned when I first arrived in this world.

    Still full of smiles, she ran it straight over to me. I won¡¯t comment on the actions of her tail, but I will say that I was skimming through a mental catalog of dog breeds that had pointed ears like hers to see if any lined up.

    ¡°Hurry, Master. How much is it worth?¡±

    Said pointed ears stood on end, twitching endlessly in wait for my answer. Her tears were already gone. Long gone. It was as if they only existed in my imagination. Bathing in the happiness she shared with me, I felt I already knew the answer. And as luck would have it¡­

    ¡°Appraisal.¡±

    [Hobgoblin Greatsword. Value: 50 gold coins.]

    ¡°Really?!¡±

    Yua exclaimed so loudly that it shook me out of my stupor when I told her. She wrapped her arms around my neck to embrace me in another hug. Two dangerous mounds of softness pressed against my chest so hard that I wouldn¡¯t have been surprised to find an imprint of them there the next time I took my shirt off. But at my back, was something just as dangerous. The sword she might ought to have stabbed me with dangled from her hands as if it were nothing but a byproduct of our embrace.

    Finally, she let go and held out the sword in front of her.

    ¡°That means we have enough, right, Master?¡±

    ¡°Yea¡­ We do.¡±

    That means that tomorrow, she will become completely mine in the eyes of the laws that govern this world. We could spend the rest of our lives together. Waking up to her at my side every morning. Giving her every happiness her years of captivity deprived her of. Getting to see that smile even one more time already sounded like a blessing directly from the Goddess herself, but the thought of seeing it every day from here on out warmed me enough to almost forget everything else. The happiness I longed for myself was right around the corner.

    And it could all be ours if she continues to forget her hatred.

    ¡°Th-That is, if the ring sells.¡±

    No. I couldn¡¯t let myself daydream such happy thoughts. Not knowing that I didn¡¯t deserve them. I just needed to keep a level head and correct my past mistakes so that I can better myself.

    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t get our hopes up so soon.¡±

    ¡°But with Master¡¯s luck, we are sure to¡­¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t bet everything on that! We need to keep¡­¡±

    We needed to keep plowing our way through the dungeon. If the ring didn¡¯t sell, I could try to trade it to Alphonse instead of the gold I owed him. But if he didn¡¯t accept it, then we¡¯d be screwed. And she¡¯d be killed.

    But if I had all the luck in the world and the stars aligned themselves just right, if he accepted that trade¡­ then what?

    Yua¡¯s ears drooped as my outburst stole her happiness away. I felt even more horrible for ruining her moment, but we couldn¡¯t get cocky and stop here. She grasped the sword against her chest like a child clinging tight to a puppy as she begged her parents to let her keep it.

    ¡°But, Master, we have the minimum of what we need now. If we keep exploring the dungeon now, we will never be able to make up what gold we need with how much time we have left. I think it¡¯d be best to just wait and see about the ring at this point.¡±

    ¡°¡­ That¡¯s not necessarily true. We¡¯ve gone through three floors in the last two days and two of them had something valuable hidden in them. If we keep looking, I¡¯m sure we can find something else that we can sell.¡±

    ¡°Master, wouldn¡¯t we just be relying on your luck at that point as well?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡±

    She had a point. My initial Luck boost and all of the points I had been dumping into it so far were most likely the reason why we got the things we got. You could argue that we only found the steel sword because Yua was being observant, but the other finds had to have been based on luck.

    ¡°That may be true, but¡­¡±

    ¡°Then shouldn¡¯t we take a break from fighting for the day, Master? That way, we can save the rest of your luck for the auction.¡±

    I doubted it worked like that. If it did, then I would have blown all of my luck already just finding the ring in the first place.

    Why couldn¡¯t the auction have been today? At least, that way I¡¯d be able to plan ahead in the event we failed there too.

    Yua continued, once more holding the sword out to me.

    ¡°If Master wants to keep exploring the dungeons, then I will too. We have stamina potions, but those will only take us so far. The mind can¡¯t last forever when constantly fighting for your life.¡±

    ¡°¡­ A-Are you sure? Do you really think we should take that chance and just stop?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m worried Master is pushing himself too hard.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m pushing myself too hard? You just threw yourself at a boss three or four times your size!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m a Monk. It¡¯s just how we fight. Besides, Master was helping me with your magic by backing him into a corner.¡±

    So, she did notice my plan.

    I pinched the bridge of my nose. Half of me was telling me that I didn¡¯t deserve her now that I was so close, but the other half refused to quit because of the ever-present chance that I might lose her if I don¡¯t press on.

    But I knew she was right. With the tiny sums the monsters have been giving us, there was no way in hell just farming them would get us far enough. Even if the monsters on the lower floors dropped loot that was more valuable. I already did the math on that and came to the same conclusion a while ago. And if what the Merchant Albert said was true, it was unlikely we¡¯d be able to instantly sell off anything of high value we might find anyways. And I doubted the auction house would accept any new items the day of the auction.

    With a sigh, I put the greatsword into my item box so Yua wouldn¡¯t have to carry it.

    ¡°I guess¡­ All we can do is hope now.¡±

    She smiled, albeit sympathetically.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Yea¡­ Let¡¯s sell off what we got today and take a break.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master!¡±

    With her cheering on my decision, I cast Dimensional Step to take us back to our room at the Lazy Cat Inn.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 19

    If I were to combine the heights of all the boss rooms, we had been at least six stories beneath the surface of Amoranth, if not more. The relatively short walk between the dungeon floors didn¡¯t suggest we¡¯d gone so deep, but it was hard to argue with what I saw and what I felt. When the teleportation portal created by my Dimensional Step spell formed, a strong breeze that could never be present so far underground blew past us, ruffling Yua¡¯s long chestnut hair and cooling my sweat-stained body. Feeling its sweet embrace relax my muscles, which apparently had been tight with tension for a while now, it alone was enough to win the argument of whether or not we needed to stop fighting for the day.

    The second we set foot in our room back in the Lazy Cat inn, I felt a powerful urge to just call it quits for the day, plop down on the bed and shut my eyes. Unfortunately, we still had work to do.

    ¡°Could you turn around? Sorry, but I need to put some stuff in your bag. With all we need to carry, I doubt we¡¯ll be able to pretend you¡¯re actually carrying it all at once, like we did earlier. It¡¯d look too suspicious.¡±

    ¡°No problem, Master. Carrying the loot won¡¯t be a problem for me!¡±

    Still in a good mood herself, she did as I asked and, braving the need to step closer to her swishing tail, I unlatched the belt holding the bag shut and dropped all of our pelts into it before fastening the Proud Great Wolf pelt on the top like last time.

    ¡°Master, we won¡¯t be able to fit it all in there, will we?¡±

    ¡°No. I¡¯m not even going to try and cram it all in there. After we make our first trip, I¡¯ll just refill when I have the chance.¡±

    ¡°Understood!¡±

    No point in making her carry all that heavy crap, anyways. She may not look it, but she had to be tired on some level too. She did all of her fighting with her body, after all. Her stamina bar may have completely refilled itself by now, but given how our health bars were a little finicky in that they didn¡¯t seem to directly tie themselves to their owner¡¯s overall health, just their current physical condition, I had to assume that it was the same for our stamina bars. Yua may well be putting on a brave front.

    She may have spent most of the third floor just walking around with me, but after that last boss fight, I decided to keep an eye on her condition as well as her numbers.

    As if wanting to share in some friendly solidarity with us, the Sun was starting to show its own fatigue by basking the city in the early night¡¯s comforting mixture of orange and red hues. The blue magic torches acting as Amoranth¡¯s street lamps weren¡¯t quite lit yet, but I knew they would be soon thanks to the hour displayed on my HUD. People still filled the streets despite the late hour, so at least we weren¡¯t going to be alone out there as we hurried through the city to finish our errands.

    We sold off all the pelts easily enough, if anything, the shop keeper was happy to have another Proud great Wolf pelt so soon. According to him, most Adventurers don¡¯t repeat that particular boss fight. And most choose to keep its pelt as a sign of their own strength and their success at beating the first floor. I would have liked to do the same, but we could always go back once everything was settled.

    After this we stopped by the Apothecary shop, dealt with her snide jokes, all of which were naturally aimed at me, and sold off all of the ingredients we earned today. There was no point in keeping them if I didn¡¯t have what I needed to make use them right now. They didn¡¯t exactly take up much space in my bottomless item box, but I¡¯d rather turn them in for the coin for the time being. In all our time in the dungeons, we never managed to find any more of that Green Moss, but since Madame Turquesse managed to keep a good stock of potions, I had to assume that there really was some sort of farming level in the dungeons. Unless there was some other ingredient you could substitute for that specific brew, there was simply no way to keep up her stock if the main component was so rare.

    Lastly, I filled Yua¡¯s bag with as many of the Goblin weapons as it could fit. Due to their length, we were forced to let the spearheads jut out of the bag¡¯s top, which made it visibly uncomfortable, if not dangerous, to wear. I was weary of the sharp ends of the spears accidentally cutting someone as we walked by, but we didn¡¯t have much choice in the matter. We couldn¡¯t exactly flip them around, or the bottom of the bag would get cut to ribbons.

    Regardless of how it looked, Yua didn¡¯t utter a single complaint from the weight or the uncomfortable position of the spears. She actually offered to carry the rest of the goblin swords in her hands since they couldn¡¯t all fit in the bag despite their small size, but I decided to hold onto them myself. And I was glad I did. Even if she was stronger than me, it would have been unnecessarily cruel of me to make her carry all that steel on her own.

    Given how we had to sell off our goods to those that would actually use them for the best profit, Yua took me straight to the blacksmith she used to sell to before I could so much as suggest another shop. Not that I knew any. As we closed in on it and I heard the familiar clanging of a hammer on steel, I was reminded of my very first visit to Amoranth. Even though it was barely more than a day ago at this point, it felt like a distant memory when I compared today¡¯s fatigue and my earlier hopes for the sights this fantasy world was supposed to impress upon me. Unlike that first visit, however, this time the clanging was accompanied by a cloud of black smoke billowing up into the amber-colored sky from what looked to be an overworked furnace.

    The smithy itself consisted of a building whose aesthetics were of about the same quality as the rest of the surrounding buildings, being that it was made primarily of neatly-carved stone, but it had the notable difference of a large furnace sitting beside it painting the side wall black with its smoke, along with the several scraps of bent and twisted metals, tools, and weapons, scattered about, all of which looked like they would be a gigantic pain in the ass to clean up every night before closing.

    ¡°Welcome ta Amoranth¡¯s one and only Smithy. We don¡¯ sell enchanted items, but we can make ya a set of plate mail just as strong if ya got the gold.¡±

    The second we set foot within range of the Blacksmith¡¯s shop, a human woman wearing a pair of dirty, oily and very baggy pants and a plain white tank-top began her sales pitch right from her seat only a few feet away from the large, burning forge that took up almost the entire storefront.

    Vaguely confused by this sight, and assuming she might have actually been the blacksmith¡¯s wife or daughter, I checked her info window and found that she really was a blacksmith. Not just in name or profession, it was her birth class.

    Usually, the blacksmiths in video games were muscular men or heavily bearded dwarves that were capable of swinging a massive hammer non-stop, but the only thing massive about this woman was her breasts. While she, this greasy red-head named Larloll, indeed held such a hammer, likely the very same that had been making all that noise, her arms were about as thin as Yua¡¯s. I knew Yua¡¯s strength firsthand, but seeing it on someone else was a little jarring.

    And, as if that wasn¡¯t enough, given the situation after noticing the condition of her body as she used her forearm to wipe at a smudge of grease on her cheek, I couldn¡¯t help but notice that her white tank-top had become a little see-through due to the excess of sweat permeating her body. No doubt, the heat of the forge behind her had something to do with this. There beneath the fabric of that thin top, were two pink tips that almost looked like they were trying to poke through to introduce themselves. With the light of the forge at her back and her upright posture lifting them, they were as noticeable as the lamp of a lighthouse on a foggy day. I literally could not help but notice them as they noticed me.

    Noticing where my gaze was aimed, Larloll looked down at her own breasts and back to me with an expression that was more confused than annoyed.

    ¡°Why does everyone always look at me like that when they come here? Is there something on my shirt?¡±

    Starting from her stomach, she peeled the sweaty fabric away from her body to inspect it, thereby ending its translucent effect. Instead of being upset at me for staring at her chest, she showed an impressive amount of naivete. From how honestly confused she looked; I got the impression she didn¡¯t know what happens to white clothes once they get wet.

    Immediately more concerned with how Yua would react if she noticed that I noticed, I quickly apologized. Yua, however, just smiled throughout the interaction as if nothing was wrong.

    ¡°S-sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to stare.¡±

    ¡°Eh. It¡¯s alright,¡± she said with a shrug and a casual flick of the heavy-looking hammer in her hand. ¡°What can I get ya? Like I said, I don¡¯t sell enchanted armors.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, but we aren¡¯t here to buy. We were looking to sell the things we found in the dungeon.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Why didn¡¯ ya say so, kid? Show me what ya got.¡±

    Trying not to let my line of sight fall back onto Larloll¡¯s chest once she let go of her top, I had Yua set down her bag while I dumped the swords, including the Hobgoblin Greatsword at the woman¡¯s feet. It felt a little rude to do so, but since she clearly didn¡¯t mind the dirt and since they were made of metal, she probably wouldn¡¯t count it against me. And, I mean, they were made of metal. A little dirt wasn¡¯t going to hurt them.

    She picked up one of the goblin swords first, cast Appraisal on it, nodded to herself, then picked out one of the thirty-two spears we brought. When she looked it over, she sighed way too dramatically, like we handed her a hefty bill she forgot she needed to pay, instead of a cheap weapon. Without showing the slightest hint of decency towards her customer, she made her disappointment known with a furrow to her brow that the bandana she wrapped around her head couldn¡¯t quite hide. Then, as if that wasn¡¯t enough, the way she lazily tossed the spear back into the bag was more than anyone would need to say that she didn¡¯t like what she saw. Then without pause, she picked up the Hobgoblin Greatsword almost as easily as Yua did. This time she gave a moderately impressed nod.

    ¡°Alright, I can give ya 50 gold for the Hobgoblin Greatsword, 45 silvers for all the Goblin Swords, but I can only give ya 1 silver each for the spears. That¡¯s a total of¡­¡±

    ¡°Wait, what do you mean only 1 silver for the spears? I had them Appraised for 2.¡±

    She raised her hands up to stop me, as if preemptively trying to calm me before I got as heated as her forge, and continued.

    ¡°I can only give ya 1 silver because these spears are useless and can¡¯t be resold. I can sell the Goblin Swords as short swords just fine after a bit of sharpenin¡¯ and cleanin¡¯, but these spears are way too short for anyone but a child ta use. They also can¡¯t be made into arrows. The heads would be too big and they wouldn¡¯t fly right. Meanin¡¯, I have ta cut the spear heads off, smelt them down and reforge them into something more useful. I¡¯m sorry, but all that extra work is gonna cost ya.¡±

    Doing some quick mental math, that meant that everything we¡¯ve sold today would add up to only 53 gold, 64 silvers and 15 coppers instead of the 79 silvers I was expecting. Not all that much of a difference, but we needed every penny¡­ er, copper of it.

    I drew a deep breath through my nose and reached behind my back to make it look like I was pulling out a sword from a sheath on my back that was clearly not there. Yua looked concerned, but the Blacksmith just tilted her head with a condescending smirk.

    ¡°Kid, the guards would be all over ya the second ya tried.¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not trying to threaten you. I just wanted to add these to the bundle.¡±

    Using my item box, I drew my bronze sword out and turned it so that the hilt was facing her. She took it, eyeing me all the while. I pulled out my new steel longsword for her to inspect next.

    ¡°Master, you can¡¯t! Those are your only¡­¡±

    ¡°Yua, stop.¡±

    I hated shutting her down like that, but if selling all this would get me what I needed, then I was perfectly fine sticking to just my magic for the time being. My Mage class was already significantly higher than my Swordsman class, so I didn¡¯t really need it. Having the protection of a blade in the event I ran out of mana while fighting would have been reassuring, but I had so much mana by this point that the time between fights was usually all it took for it to refill anyways. Might as well try to make a profit while we could and while we needed to.

    The blacksmith flipped the new blades over in her hands one at a time, examining the metals they were made of as thoroughly as the clothing store owner did the pelts. After casting Appraisal on each of them, she set them down with the rest of the swords.

    ¡°I can give ya 10 silvers for the steel one and 1 for the bronze.¡±

    Furrowing my brow, I crouched down to check the bronze one myself after hearing the price, as I only just realized I never bothered to check. After a silent Appraisal of my own so she didn¡¯t know I was doubting her, I saw that the price she gave was actually accurate and honest.

    ¡°That¡¯s a pretty big difference between bronze and steel.¡±

    ¡°Yup. Bronze ain¡¯t as durable and it bends easy. So, it¡¯d be damned useless in a real fight. Only low-level Adventurers and Swordsmen would even bother ta look at it,¡± she shrugged again as if to say that¡¯s how it is. As if the gift of a literal Goddess wasn¡¯t even worth as much as what she herself could forge in a few hours.

    I couldn¡¯t argue. I knew the price as well as she did and she had very compelling reasons to back it up.

    ¡°Ya gonna take my offer or what?¡±

    Fed up with my indecision, Larloll slovenly rested her chin in her palm. She looked up at me like she was already bored of my very presence and was waiting for me to leave so she could get back to hammering. Not the best customer service in this world so far, but not the worst either.

    ¡°Yes. Thank you.¡±

    With a huff, she shot up out of her seat, which was apparently just a small barrel, and headed inside the shop. She came back a few minutes later carrying a bag resting atop the same silver tray every other major vendor in the city had, except where hers was regarded, I had to wonder if she made it herself.

    She nearly tossed said tray at me when she offered it, causing the bag of coin to drop off and fall into the dirt. Not surprised by her poor business manners in the least, I cast Appraisal on the bag to make sure it was all there and picked it up. She clearly didn¡¯t want us there and if it would get us back to the inn where we could relax faster, neither did I.

    Then again, if she was going to act like this, maybe she did realize what I was looking at earlier. If so, then I suppose I deserve her rudeness to an extent.

    ¡°Thanks again.¡±

    ¡°Yup. Feel free ta come by when ya need some steel and I¡¯ll fit ya with the best gear in all of Vierre!¡±

    I was about to turn away when I remembered I actually had one more thing to sell.

    ¡°Excuse me. Sorry, but could you tell me where I can sell a magic staff?¡±

    ¡°Master¡­¡±

    I ignored Yua¡¯s small voice of concern and stood firm. I didn¡¯t need it to cast magic. Even if it tripled my power output, the gold we¡¯d get for it was of much greater use right now.

    Instead of happily checking my wares like before, the Blacksmith laughed and crossed her arms in front of her breasts. Apparently, she was unaware of how this further accentuated them.

    ¡°Pfft, ya got a staff? A kid like ya? What are ya, level 2? If I ain¡¯t armored ya yet, ya can¡¯t be strong enough to get that far inta the dungeons to get yerself a staff¡­ Unless ya stole it. Ya ain¡¯t a Thief, are ya? I don¡¯t do business with thieves.¡±

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t¡­  But, speaking hypothetically, if I had one, where could I sell it?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s hypertheticly mean?¡±

    I pinched the bridge of my nose to suppress a rising frustration.

    I had put the staff into my item box so I didn¡¯t have to carry it around town and now I realize that might¡¯ve been a mistake, since I couldn¡¯t just magically equip it out of nowhere to prove I was telling the truth of its exsitence. Still, I was this close to finishing out work for the day and after all that fighting, this woman was about to give me a headache that I would really rather avoid since I was sure aspirin hadn¡¯t been invented yet.

    Hell, maybe it¡¯d be fine if she did. Might be nice to see if Yua¡¯s Healing Punch worked on headaches as well.

    ¡°It just means that I want you to pretend I had one,¡± I answered, trying not to sigh. ¡°If I did, where could I take it?¡±

    ¡°Oh, okay. Why didn¡¯t ya say so? Just take it ta the Mage¡¯s Guild down the road. Them book lovers might want it. Now if you ain¡¯t gonna buy any steel¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes. Thank you. We¡¯ll be leaving now.¡±

    I stuffed the bag of coin she gave me into Yua¡¯s backpack before covertly pushing it into my item box for safe keeping. The moment we turned to walk away, the clanging of metal on metal returned to Amoranth. I wondered if Larloll¡¯s forge was a sort of magic item like a cauldron, as she didn¡¯t seem to heat anything up before hammering away, but I didn¡¯t want to stop her again to ask a pointless question.

    As we made our way through the gradually darkening city, Yua turned a pair of downcast, emerald eyes in my direction more than a few times. I may not have been much of a conversationalist myself, but even I wasn¡¯t so dense that I wouldn¡¯t realize she had something to say. So, I decided to ask to prevent her from having to stew in whatever was on her mind.

    ¡°Something wrong?¡±

    ¡°Master, why did you sell all your things?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Because we needed the money.¡±

    ¡°But, the staff aside, shouldn¡¯t you have at least kept one of your swords?¡±

    I shook my head.

    ¡°No. I¡¯d rather have you by my side and if selling my weapons is how I get to keep you there, then I don¡¯t care. I can always just use magic without the staff anyway.¡±

    Yua gulped and out of the corner of my eye, I thought she might have blushed a bit, but the sky was flushed with enough of the dusk¡¯s amber hue to make it impossible to really tell.

    ¡°But Master, it¡¯s not safe to go into the dungeon without a weapon. Even if you have magic.¡±

    ¡°Then where¡¯s your weapon?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m a Monk. I use my fists.¡±

    ¡°And I use my magic. For now. We¡¯ll save up some money once all this business with Alphonse blows over and replace my sword as soon as we can. How¡¯s that?¡±

    Yua chewed this over as we walked for a minute or two, her ears twitching all the while. I had no doubt that she was mildly concerned that me entering he dungeon without an actual weapon would only weaken me and therefore make me more of a burden to her, but it shouldn¡¯t matter too much. For the most part, I barely used my sword to being with.

    ¡°If that¡¯s what you want,¡± she said. ¡°Then I¡¯ll handle all of the fighting until you can get a new sword.¡±

    I laughed a bit at her show of bravery and how she pounded her chest to show it. She may have been concerned, but I could tell that the thought of actually handling all the fighting herself had excited her a bit. A tiny bit. Just enough to leave a small, perky smile to her peachy lips. Gone was the girl that complained over me potentially using her as a meat-shield. She had been perfectly replaced with this girl who loved fighting more than anything else in the world.

    ¡°Then I will be in your care.¡±

    Unfamiliar with it herself since beast-kin had no need to visit a place focused on magics, Yua wasn¡¯t able to guide us to the Mage¡¯s Guild, so we had to stop and ask for directions a few times. Eventually, after following the directions we got and after only getting lost once, we came up upon a small building made, shockingly, of stone and wood nestled between two much larger buildings. I was about to say we messed up the directions we were given, but the sign hanging from the building in the middle did indeed say ¡°Mage¡¯s Guild.¡± This podunk little building was not what I was expecting in the least.

    The building itself didn¡¯t look all that bad. In fact, it actually looked to be well made and well maintained, almost like the stone it was made of was cleaned and polished monthly, but with it trapped between two buildings of obviously higher quality, I had to wonder if the Mage¡¯s Guild in this city was something people looked down on. Like, maybe most people didn¡¯t like magic? It was hard to imagine, if not because of my own love for magic, but because the people relied on it to keep the monsters in the dungeons and because enchanted armors were status symbols. Still, hopefully I wouldn¡¯t have to deal with any sort of ¡°S*lem witch trials.¡±

    Still, Mage¡¯s Guilds were supposed to be large, elegant buildings that could be easily mistaken as small universities or cathedrals or something else grandiose when viewed from a distance. And they were always in the nicest parts of town, save for the ones that were meant to be hidden or that taught more evil-inclined magics, of course. But even those still looked impressive in their own rights. This place, however, looked like it could pose as your average middle-school library.

    So many of the little things that I¡¯ve seen since coming to this world left me feeling an almost childish sense of awe, but this was just disappointing. And right after I swore to Yua to rely heavily on my magic for the time being, too. The hopes I had in starting some magic-themed questline here had been stomped into the dirt upon arrival.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°Well¡­ let¡¯s go in.¡±

    Tired and ready to be done with walking for the day, we went inside.

    Like opening that portal connecting the dungeon to our room back in the Lazy Cat, as soon as we opened the Guild¡¯s front door, a rush of refreshing wind chilled both of our sweaty bodies enough to make the hairs on Yua¡¯s tail stand on end. Not only this, but the air inside felt impossibly cleaner. Coming from a city where smog was a constant hinderance to my lungs, I could say for certain that the air quality here in this world, where smoke-producing machinery was nowhere to be seen, was perfectly clean, but the oxygen that filled my lungs now was noticeably purer.

    It was like stepping into another world. Not only was the interior of the building much cooler than the temperature outside, but the interior of the building itself was impossibly large. Circling around the building was a large staircase that wound up into the sky by at least five stories, yet the outside of the building suggested that, at best, it was only supposed to be tall enough for two.

    The width of the building also surpassed expectations as it was nearly three times as wide as its exterior counterpart. I couldn¡¯t see how far back the building went, but I could see people on the same floor dozens of feet away from the entrance.

    ¡°Amazing,¡± Yua said for the hundredth time today and this time I had to agree.

    Almost as the building¡¯s name would suggest, along with the impressively elegant d¨¦cor, there were dozens of people, all labeled Mages by their info boxes, that were wearing either expensive-looking sets of light armor or leatherworks cloaked with a robe. None of them looked to be wearing a pointed hat like the Apothecary shop owner, but all those that weren¡¯t talking to one another or doing some other sort of work were reading thick, beautifully bound tomes. Going by the runic bindings of the books, these were no doubt spell tomes.

    Except, not all of the Mages presently reading were hunched over their books at a table or sat in a comfy chair in front of a cup of tea. Some were stopped here and there in the middle of the room, where they stood stock-still, unmoving except to occasionally turn a page. Each of these Mages were pouring through one tome or another, but they looked to have stopped moving and started reading wherever they happened to first open their books. It was almost like they ceased all other non-essential brain functions, including those needed to move their bodies to somewhere comfortable to study, all so they could pour every ounce of focus they had within their bodies entirely on their books.

    With some of these people just a few feet away from what looked to be the Guild¡¯s designated reading area and more so looking tired enough to fall asleep the second they closed their books, I had understood why Larloll called them ¡°book lovers.¡±

    I wanted to say this was just the sort of diligence I failed to exert for anything in my old life back on Earth, but the only word that popped into my mind after seeing this was ¡°fanaticism.¡±

    I hadn¡¯t even seen a book since I got here, let alone someone reading one with this much dedication. In this world, one that I doubted had a printing press, just owning one such book seemed like a luxury the vast majority of people couldn¡¯t afford.

    Maybe that was why Yua looked so impressed when I showed off my magic?

    ¡°Can I help you?¡±

    From behind the desk at the center of the massive room, stood a woman with a sharp nose and even sharper eyes wearing a plain black robe. While her hands were placed patiently on her desk, her eyes did not look so calm. Judging by the open tome on her desk, I guessed we were interrupting her reading time.

    ¡°Uh, yes. Sorry. Could you tell us where I can sell this?¡±

    I handed her the Elderwood staff and this time, Yua didn¡¯t protest.

    The woman¡¯s half-lidded eyes stared at me instead of the staff for a moment as I held it out for her to take. I was starting to get the idea that this was the wrong place to try and make a sale, but she eventually sighed and took it.

    ¡°An Elderwood Staff, yes?¡±

    ¡°Yea¡­ Wait, how did you know that without casting Appraisal?¡±

    Checking out her info box, I saw that she was indeed both a Mage and Merchant named Beth. But she sighed, as if offended I needed to check.

    ¡°If I couldn¡¯t tell and Elderwood staff from a simple stick, nobody would trust me to run this place.¡±

    ¡°R-Right. Then, would you be willing to buy it?¡±

    ¡°Buy it? You should keep it. It may not be a very powerful staff, but its rarity alone makes it a collector¡¯s item.¡±

    A collector¡¯s item? Wouldn¡¯t that mean it¡¯s worth comes more from its rarity than its power? Happy to finally have some good news, I turned the idea down.

    ¡°Thanks, but I¡¯d rather sell it.¡±

    ¡°Well, if that¡¯s what you want¡­¡± Beth held the staff up to the light of what looked to be a magic chandelier that worked like the magic candle back at the inn. With a diligent eye, she examined it from knotted tip to pointed end, probably looking for cuts or dents left in its wood after fighting in the dungeon. While I was certain no such abrasions should exist, I felt a little antsy until she scratched her chin and spoke again. ¡°I can offer you 53 gold for it.¡±

    53 gold? Wait, then the rarity of an item like this increases the base value? Then why didn¡¯t my own Appraisal reflect this? Was she adding to its worth herself, instead of going with what Appraisal said? More importantly, shouldn¡¯t I have gotten more for the rarer item drops from regular monsters, then? Not that I¡¯m really in a position to complain at this point. If she¡¯s willing to take it off my hands now, and for more than I was expecting, then who cares?

    ¡°53 gold sounds fine to me.¡±

    ¡°Alright, then. One moment please.¡±

    When she disappeared into another room to collect the money, I gave Yua a thumbs up and she responded with a weak smile, still apprehensive to let me unarm myself. Especially after enjoying the power up the staff gave my magic. But that extra three gold was more than enough to make up for what I lost with the Goblin Spears.

    The woman came back with the same silver tray as everywhere else and five stacks of 10 gold coins with the extra 3 tossed carelessly beside them. Thanking her, I put the lot in my pouch. Figuring now was my best chance to get some more information, I went ahead and asked before she could get back to reading.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind my asking, could you tell me where I can learn some more spells?¡±

    She practically glared at me for once more interrupting her reading time, though she hadn¡¯t even gotten back to it yet.

    ¡°You¡¯re a Mage, then?¡±

    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡±

    ¡°And you just sold a valuable staff without a moment¡¯s hesitation?¡±

    ¡°Er¡­ Yes?¡±

    The woman pinched the bridge of her sharpened nose and sighed. Looking at me like I were just some child trying to do something way beyond my capabilities, she answered, ¡°If you want to learn magic, you must read and memorize a spell book like this.¡±

    She pointed to the thick tome I had stopped her from reading and I understood a bit of why she was so annoyed. She wasn¡¯t reading, she was studying.

    ¡°I have to memorize it? The whole thing?¡±

    That must be why Yua was so impressed at the sight of my magic. Even if she can¡¯t perform magic herself due to her race, she must have known a little about how it works. But, memorizing an entire book? Regardless of whether she meant word-for-word or just memorizing the concepts, that one book looked to be over four-hundred pages long!

    ¡°Obviously,¡± Beth said. ¡°If you can¡¯t memorize how the spell works, how are you going to use it?¡±

    ¡°Right, right. Sorry. Then could you tell me where I could buy spell books? Do you sell them?¡±

    ¡°¡­Yes. If you¡¯d like, I can show you¡­¡±

    She was about to stand up again, but I quickly stopped her.

    ¡°No, thanks, but right now I¡¯m just asking for information. Could you tell me more, please?¡±

    ¡°I see¡­ The only ways to use a spell are to either memorize its spell book in its entirety, or use its corresponding scroll.¡±

    In its entirety? Damn. There goes my hopes for just memorizing the summary of a given book. No wonder why all the Mages here seemed are so focused on their reading. In order to increase their magical repertoire by just one spell, they have to spend, well, who knows how long just to memorize one damn spell. This does not bode well for me. I really should have studied more back on Earth, because I am sure as hell not experienced enough to spend that much time on a single book.

    Hopefully my Memorization trait helps me out some. I may not want the easy way out, but if it¡¯s for the sorts of magic that I was going to need to survive after surrendering my weapons to my coin purse, then I needed all the help I could get.

    ¡°Spell books come in three different difficulties,¡± she continued. ¡°Novice, Intermediate and Master. The more difficult a spell is to learn, the thicker the book. The book¡¯s thickness is the easiest way to tell how difficult it is to master, so you don¡¯t have to dirty its bindings by picking it up. A scroll, however¡­¡±

    ¡°Then if I get a Master level spell book, can I learn its spell right away?¡±

    Usually, in games, spell availability was based on your character¡¯s level, just like enchanted gear. This may just reflect in what spell vendors have for sale or were automatically unlocked by leveling your character, but either option stopped you from obtaining super powerful spells right off the bat. For the same reason as the Life Regeneration Ring, having something like that too early on would just break the game. However, she made it sound like the only thing holding a Mage back from learning something overpowered was their ability to read and memorize a large book. But with my Memorize skill, I think I might have an easier time with that.

    I have been pointlessly memorizing all sorts of useless information since I came to this world, from the exact contents of the crap on Albert¡¯s counter the first time I stepped in his shop, to the exact number of people on the street between De Grave Imports and the Amoranth Auction House during our walk between the two. I hadn¡¯t been putting much stock in memorizing these little details, but I might be able to master new spells at least a little faster than was considered normal here.

    Beth, however, was not so amused by my prospects.

    ¡°Young man, please don¡¯t interrupt when someone is answering the question you yourself posed.¡±

    ¡°S-Sorry.¡±

    ¡°Ahem¡­ Yes, if you are able to manage memorizing such a spell, then you should be able to use it as long as you have the necessary mana such a spell requires. But I very much doubt you can. If you don¡¯t know how spells work in the first place, how do you hope to learn Master level spells?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m just asking questions, ma¡¯am.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t about to reveal my little cheat ability to anybody in here. If it worked the way I thought it did, I¡¯d have a building full of jealous Mages after me. And with a world full of magic I hadn¡¯t had the chance to explore yet potentially being used against me, that idea sounded terrifying. I seriously doubted they¡¯d limit their jealous attacks on me to just bashing me over the head with the spell books they studied so laboriously.

    ¡°Fine¡­ As for scrolls, they come in the same levels of difficulties. Novice, Intermediate and Master. Unlike the spell books, their difficulties are based on whatever spell the scroll is enchanted with. However, unlike memorizing a spell, scrolls are one-time use items that can be cast by anyone, regardless of if they have the Mage class.¡±

    That¡¯s definitely useful. Judging by how it works, since the spell is contained in the scroll itself, there may be no mana requirement to actually use it. So, having a few of those in case I ever manage to run out of mana would be a big help. They could tide me over until my mana regenerates. And if that worked, then maybe I wouldn¡¯t even need to replace my sword.

    ¡°Is there anything else you wish to know?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ How does one join the Mage¡¯s Guild? Is there some kind of discount on spell books if you join up?¡±

    She snorted a bit, but quickly corrected herself, returning to the stiffly professional air of an ultra-strict teacher.

    ¡°A discount? Gods, no. This place is just a hub for mages to gather, learn and share what they know. We offer our services and magic to those that can afford it, but otherwise, we don¡¯t offer anything to our members¡­ Except, maybe, first pickings when new spell books hit our shelves.¡±

    So, in other words, this place is just a glorified book shop combined with a magic-focused Adventurer¡¯s Guild?

    ¡°Then the requirements?¡±

    ¡°One looking to join the Mage¡¯s Guild needs to be at least a level 10 Mage to even be considered. From there, ranks within the guild are as follows; Mages ranked 10-20 are considered Novices, level 21-50 are Intermediate and 51 and above are considered Masters. What missions you are given to perform on behalf of the guild are based only on your rank. Assuming, of course, you are given one in the first place. Most mission requests go to the Adventurer¡¯s guild, where you may accept them at your leisure. Other than that, the only other requirement is that you must perform one spell of any kind. If you can¡¯t do that much, you¡¯ll be asked to leave. And no, using a scroll doesn¡¯t count.¡±

    ¡°I see. Can I join then?¡±

    If this place was nothing more than a fancy bookshop, then I might as well take advantage of the first pickings they might offer members. Buying spell books may not be an option for me just yet, but preparing for the future a bit can¡¯t hurt.

    ¡°¡­ You don¡¯t know how spells work, but you want to join the Mage¡¯s Guild?¡±

    ¡°Er, uh¡­ I know how spells work. I¡¯m just not from around here, so I was curious to see if magic worked the same here as it does back home.¡±

    Thinking on my feet, assuming the process that allowed me to come up with the word vomit that just fell out of my mouth could be called thinking, I went with the same half-truth I had been giving everyone else.

    Geez. Maybe instead of worrying about magic, I should be focusing on learning more about the world before someone calls me out on my bullshit.

    Beth sighed. She looked at me with an obvious twinge of sympathy, as if she realized all on her own that I, Alex, was in fact an irredeemable idiot and that she couldn¡¯t expect too much from me. But the look lasted only a second.

    ¡°Magic works the same everywhere in the world.¡±

    ¡°I-I see. Then I¡¯d like to join, if I may.¡±

    ¡°If you must¡­¡±

    Apparently, she was not very welcoming to new members.

    She took out a glass orb filled with a swirling cloud of blue smoke fixed atop of a golden-ringed tripod from beneath the counter, carefully moved her spell book to the side so as not to lose her page, and set the orb next to the silver tray.

    ¡°Place your hand on the Scrying Orb so I may see your class level.¡±

    So, this is that Scrying Orb thing Yua was talking about? For some reason, I was expecting something more ominous, considering what it did to her. Or rather, what it helped the city knights and that Adventurer to do to her. But this thing looked like your average witch¡¯s crystal ball.

    After thinking back to when I first bought Yua and the slave spell made my info box appear besides hers, I took a moment to confirm that my top two classes were arranged to read Mage and Adventurer, as only two of my classes showed up at the time. Assuming it worked the same way here, I didn¡¯t want to screw up and not show that I had the Mage class, as I would have no way to explain why it would have shown up during a second try. Given how Yua was so adamant that everyone else was capable of having only two classes, I¡¯d be outing myself as an anomaly if I tried.

    With my classes in order, I did as she said and set my hand on the crystal ball.

    While the orb itself did not feel any different than any other glass ball, as soon as I touched it, the smoke inside began to swirl faster and a small information window popped up between Beth and I, just like I thought it might. Thankfully, it showed her little more than my name, top two classes, their levels and what spells I knew.

    Wait¡­

    ¡°Impossible!¡± she nearly shouted, her eyes widening at the window''s display. A few of the others in the room pulled their noses from their books to observe the commotion before deciding it wasn¡¯t worth the distraction and turning their attention back to their studies. Beth continued. ¡°How can a level 17 Mage already know any sort of teleportation spell?!¡±

    She looked up at me, not impressed but angry, as if she had been upstaged. I had no idea what difficulty my Dimensional Step spell actually was or how long it should have taken me to learn it, but from what she said, it didn¡¯t seem to be the only type of teleportation magic there was.

    ¡°I, uh¡­ The spell book I learned it from was the only thing my mom left me when she died,¡± I lied.

    Beth blinked at me, her expression as blank as a newly crafted sheet of paper. Like the only emotion she was capable of at the moment was the purest form of skepticism, but Yua excitedly swished her tail about like she was happy to learn more about my past.

    Come on, Yua¡­ I already told you the real way I learned that spell.

    Sensing my lie wasn¡¯t strong enough to convince this seasoned Mage, I continued.

    ¡°My mom, who was a Mage, used to make me study it every day before she passed away and before I knew it, I was able to use it.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense,¡± Beth growled, looking at my information again. ¡°The Scrying Orb says you are only eighteen years old. How could you have learned a Master level spell already?¡±

    I know a Master level spell? I suppose that means my theory on the importance of levels regarding what magic I can learn was a waste of brain power.

    ¡°I¡­ Like I said, I studied very hard.¡±

    Sounding every bit as convincing as a student hiding a cheat sheet right under their skeptical teachers nose after already getting caught with it during a test they definitely didn¡¯t study for, I tried my best to keep a straight face.

    As long as she didn¡¯t know the real way I learned spells, I didn¡¯t feel like I should worry all that much. It may have been an oversight on my part, but the spell was there for her to see. I can¡¯t exactly deny it now.

    ¡°Unacceptable. I must have you show me this spell immediately or I¡¯ll be forced to send this faulty Scrying Orb in to be destroyed.¡±

    ¡°If I show you, can I join the guild?¡±

    ¡°Obviously. But only if you can actually perform a teleportation spell.¡±

    What the hell? I thought I could show any spell!

    ¡°Alright, ma¡¯am. But could we go into another room? I don¡¯t want to do it out here.¡±

    The fewer that saw, the better. And if with her screaming out her denial, I didn¡¯t want my knowledge of this spell to reach too many people. The Mages here reading their books may look like they¡¯re focusing on the pages in front of them, but showing off what is apparently a master level spell might draw their attention my way. Better to do this out of sight if at all possible.

    ¡°Fine,¡± she scoffed, as if expecting me to pull some sort of trick on her once we were alone and was fully prepared to beat me down if I tried. ¡°Follow me and be quick about it.¡±

    Practically stomping her feet as she walked, Beth led us into another nearby empty room that looked sort of like it was meant to be a tea room, given the sofas and coffee tables strewn all over the place. I nearly suggested we use the room she disappeared into to retrieve the coin, since she¡¯d have to take the silver tray back there anyways, but figured she of all people would know that teleportation magic depended on the caster being able to remember the location they¡¯re trying to teleport to. So, she clearly wouldn¡¯t want me to see where she kept the guild¡¯s money. It¡¯d open up too many chances for me to break in and steal from them, assuming anyone would be dumb enough to break into a place run by Mages that could light you on fire as soon as look at you.

    Making sure nobody followed us inside or came to listen, Yua closed the door behind us. Thankfully, Beth didn¡¯t seem to mind her presence.

    ¡°Alright. You may show me the spell in here. Just open a teleportation door to anywhere you wish. If you can prove it works, I will believe you.¡±

    Thinking about it briefly, I didn¡¯t have many places I could go. Besides the various dungeon floors, which presented a potential danger to us, almost everywhere else I could think of was in a public place. Trying to minimize the number of people that knew I could teleport, I had only a few options to choose from.

    Making up my mind, I faced the wall and raised my hand in the usual manner.

    ¡°Dimensional Step.¡±

    I went ahead and actually added the chant to it, so Beth here didn¡¯t get any more on my case than she already was by learning about my silent casting trait as well.

    Sure enough, a doorway made of blue swirling lights appeared on the wall in front of my outstretched palm. Keeping in mind the location I wanted to go, I held the pose until the lights settled into their final positions. Satisfied with my work, I turned to see Beth¡¯s mouth hanging open and her arms dangling limply by her sides, stunned. Apparently, she really was favoring the idea that the Scrying Orb was faulty.

    ¡°How¡¯s this? Want to try it out?¡±

    With a cough to reform her dignity, Beth nodded and strode towards the door of light. First, she stuck a hand through, like testing the water of a swimming pool with as toe to see if it was cold before jumping in. Seeing as it was safe and that it wasn¡¯t going to bite her, she stepped through.

    ¡°Wait here a second, Yua. We¡¯ll be right back.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master.¡±

    Leaving behind that smiling girl, I followed Beth through my portal.

    We stepped out into our room at the Lazy Cat Inn, same as when Yua and I left the dungeon. When I entered the room behind her, I found Beth looking around, her mouth agape like she truly couldn¡¯t believe what she was seeing. It was almost like she thought, assuming my spell even worked, that I¡¯d only be able to put up a portal linking to the other side of the wall I cast it on.

    Showing much more energy than she even seemed capable of until now, Beth ran over to the only window in the room and looked outside when I let portal disappear. I didn¡¯t have to go over to know that what she saw was the backyard, the water well and the streets behind the inn as I had already seen them myself.

    ¡°How is this possible,¡± she muttered to herself. ¡°Is this¡­ This is the Lazy Cat, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Yup. Is this enough to pass your test?¡±

    Blinking several times to test if her vision had gone bad, she coughed again and faced me.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how you managed to learn such a powerful spell already, but yes. You passed the test. I cannot deny the results when they are in front of my eyes.¡±

    ¡°Great. What happens now?¡±

    ¡°What happens is you opening a portal back to the guild. I don¡¯t see the point in walking all the way back there if you can do this much.¡±

    Satisfied with her acceptance, and the knowledge that she probably just wanted to see the spell again, I went ahead and cast it. It¡¯s not like I wanted to leave Yua waiting for us to walk back anyway.

    We entered the back room at the Mage¡¯s Guild to find Yua still there waiting for us, her tail wagging happily. Having experienced the spell already herself a few times now, she clearly expected me to pass with flying colors. When Beth followed me through the portal, she turned back to watch it fade away.

    ¡°Well, we¡¯re back. What now?¡±

    Beth spun around, looking beyond surprised, like seeing it a second time hadn¡¯t convinced her enough to completely be rid of her skepticism. She even went as far as pinching her cheek to check if she was asleep. Causing enough pain to her cheek to turn it red, but without flinching, she looked to us.

    ¡°How can you two just stand there like this is nothing? Mage¡¯s four times your level struggle for years to learn magic this strong.¡±

    Really? Now there was no way I was going to tell her I learned it by accident after seeing the General by the dungeons entrance use it only once.

    ¡°Master really is amazing, isn¡¯t he?¡±

    While Yua sang my undeserved praises, Beth looked stared at us, uncapable of forming any more words as her lips floundered. So, I broke the silence.

    ¡°Um, ma¡¯am. Can I join the guild now?¡±

    ¡°Why¡­ Y-yes. Of course. A prodigy like yourself would be most welcome to join our guild. However, despite your knowledge of this spell, because of your level, I can only offer you Novice level membership.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine by me.¡±

    ¡°Then, please, follow me.¡±

    Beth led us back out to the front of the Guild and I put my hand back on the Scrying Orb at her suggestion. Grimacing and only looking slightly annoyed at needing to touch something so dirty, or perhaps out of jealousy, she placed her hand on top of mine and my info box appeared again. After a brief moment of silence, a tag denoting me as a member of the guild appeared beneath my name and she removed her hand to wipe it on the hip of her dress.

    ¡°Is¡­ Is that it?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s it. You, Alex, are now a member of the Mage¡¯s Guild.¡±

    Well, that was¡­ uneventful.

    ¡°Great. Thank you. Is there anything else I need to know about being a member? Do I get some kind of fancy robe for joining, or something?¡±

    I doubted they had some kind of letterman jacket with Mage¡¯s Guild printed across the back in bold letters, but I wouldn¡¯t turn it down if they did.

    ¡°No, Sir. There is no such thing.¡±

    Oh, so now I¡¯m a Sir?

    I know next to nothing of this woman, but how snobbish she seemed in regards to magic, I had no reason not to assume that she treated non-members like garbage. She definitely seemed the sort to prefer accompanying herself with full-fledged Mages, rather than those of the non-magical sort. Hopefully, becoming a member myself will change her attitude a bit.

    ¡°However, if you wish to purchase clothing befitting a mage,¡± she said. ¡°Then I can accommodate you.¡±

    She eyed my mostly leather outfit with a disgusted sneer, immediately disproving my thoughts. If she was going to be picky about even my clothes, I had to wonder if she was as in to magic as Madame Turquesse was potions, but was okay with being infinitely more rude about it.

    ¡°Thanks, but I¡¯ll have to think about that. Although, I may be back soon to look at what spell books you have.¡±

    ¡°Our library is always open to members of the guild,¡± she said, then looked to Yua with another sneer. ¡°Only to members, though.

    Showing much more respect now that I was one of them, Beth bowed slightly as we left the guild. Yua didn¡¯t seem all that perturbed by Beth¡¯s attitude towards her, but I guessed that she only meant that I wouldn¡¯t be allowed to send my slave to fetch books for me, since she didn¡¯t seem to actually have a problem with Yua¡¯s presence during our visit, despite beast-kin being unable to perform magic.

    Once I paid off Yua¡¯s contract, I really planned on coming back after getting some more gold. Just imagining all the spells I could learn made me happy enough to almost start skipping down the road. With a good arsenal of powerful magic at my beck and call, and if master level spells only require about as much mana as Dimensional Step does, then I might not even need to replace my sword. A full magic build was now a definite possibility for me.

    I couldn¡¯t wait to see what other types of magic this world had in store for me. Who knows, maybe learning something else flashy would even get me on Beth¡¯s good side. Not that I particularly wanted to be there, mind you. I was just tired of all the vendors in this city acting like dicks.

    ¡°Master looks so happy,¡± Yua said carrying on with a smile of her own.

    ¡°Sorry, I was just thinking about learning some new magic to help us clear the dungeons.¡±

    ¡°Well, because of Master¡¯s amazing¡­ abilities, you¡¯ll be able to learn new magic in no time, right?¡±

    Being that we were out in public, Yua respectfully danced around the exact reason why I learned spells so quickly.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m hoping for¡­ Still, it¡¯s kind of strange that they have a Mage¡¯s Guild with no real benefits, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    From the sound of things, you didn¡¯t actually need to be a member to buy books. And, unless I just didn¡¯t ask enough questions, there didn¡¯t seem to be anyone that could help me learn magic. Since all it took to do so was studying a spell book, then I doubted anyone could really help in the first place.

    And that¡¯s not even mentioning the fact that I don¡¯t seem to have started a mage-themed questline after joining. Part of the questlines for the video game versions of the mage¡¯s guilds were supposed to give the player some overpowered items or enchanted gear to finish out their playthrough with. So, in a way, if all joining up with them got me was early access to spell books, the rewards were a little lack luster.

    Not that I minded, though. Were this a game, I¡¯d be complaining online to forum of other players non-stop. But with magic being so real here, I truly didn¡¯t care.

    ¡°Well, that lady did say that most requests meant for mages are sent to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, right Master?¡±

    ¡°Right¡­ Speaking of which, the entry level for the Adventurer¡¯s Guild is level 10 too, right?¡±

    ¡°I believe it is.¡±

    ¡°Then how about we stop by and join them as well. Maybe we can start earning some coin through them as well.¡±

    It was a bit late to start now, since it was highly unlikely we¡¯d be able to complete any quest with what time we had left, but it wouldn¡¯t hurt us in the long run to get joined up now.

    ¡°If Master wishes, I don¡¯t mind joining with you!¡±

 Volume 1 - Chapter 20

    On the surface, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild looked about the same size as the Mage¡¯s Guild, but the differences between the two were readily apparent. This place so poorly held itself up to the same level of upkeep the other promised, that it looked to be straddling the fence on whether or not it was about to fall into disrepair. It was to the point where, had Yua not worn that confident smile of hers the whole walk here, I would have assumed she¡¯d been mistaken. That this place was something else entirely removed from the sort of organization that housed those supposedly guarding the city from the dungeon monsters. Ripe with the stench of alcohol and noise that filled the streets, it looked closer to a tavern.

    The sounds of drunken merriment bore down on the almost lyrical strumming of what I could only assume were the strings of a bard¡¯s lute. In the face of this alcohol-addled distraction, the soft and joyous tune still managed to dance its way out the Guild¡¯s swinging half-doors to envelope those walking the street in the early night. The laughter inside was so fresh in the air that it felt like your one and only thought you should have had regarding it was that it¡¯d be a fun place to bring your friends for a good time, rather than to work.

    It didn¡¯t seem the sort of place one would want to bring a book, let alone read it. And I doubted this building had whatever enchantment the Mage¡¯s Guild had that allowed its interior to grow so huge. So, if the number of horses tied down in front and around the building was anything to go by, the place was packed.

    ¡°You sure this is the place?¡± I asked, knowing her answer already.

    ¡°Absolutely. I never went in myself, but I know this is where all the Adventurers go after fighting in the dungeons.¡±

    ¡°So, you¡¯re just assuming this is the guild?¡±

    It didn¡¯t exactly have a billboard with rotating lights circling around to make it stand out from all the rest, but its exterior, like the Mage¡¯s Guild, wasn¡¯t what I was expecting. Though at this point, I guess I should stop expecting anything. Most of my expectations were wrong, anyways.

    Yua shrugged and said, ¡°I¡¯m not assuming. I¡¯ve heard Adventurers talk about it several times. Both in the dungeons and in walking past it.¡±

    ¡°Right. Well, it¡¯s not like I have a reason not to believe you. But I guess it¡¯s hard to deny.¡±

    Several well-armored men and women came and went like clockwork, never leaving it free of the need to keep the booze flowing. But it wasn¡¯t just those clearly geared for battle that visited, as more dressed in more casual fair who, judging by their flushed cheeks and staggered steps as they waddled out of the building were only there for the booze. Regardless, each and every person I checked entering or leaving the building were Adventurers. Either on duty or taking a break, possibly for one of those holidays I imagined, I noticed no less than a dozen of these sorts confirm the Guild¡¯s existence while we milled about to observe the place we may well be working for soon.

    What intrigued me about them was not their dress, though the two women wearing more of that skimpy bikini armor did catch my attention for a second or two. It was the variety of video game-esque characters that felt standard issue in a Guild. Rough rugged brutes who, even by Earth standards, looked to large enough to lift you up over their head without breaking a sweat. Those that looked gentle and cunning on the outside, but who held themselves with the sort of dangerous air that suggested you truly didn¡¯t want to fight them. More so were elderly, clearly learned in their respective fields and were out giving advice to their younger compatriots for the low low price of a drink to grease their lips. Then there were those robed fellows that looked to have been sent directly from the Mage¡¯s Guild to take on a quest for themselves or to party with another team. And more. So much more that even those just carrying their party¡¯s gear had a place at the table.

    These Adventurers, varied in level, ranging from below my own to well above General Bertol¡¯s. Though it quickly became apparent that Yua¡¯s surprise at our quick leveling was very much earned, as the info boxes of every single person here above level 30 were already at least forty-years old. I hadn¡¯t done all that much with my stats outside of leveling my Luck just yet, but seeing the effort these people put into it made me feel a little guilty for squandering all that potential on something that might as well have been RNG-based. Only a little, though. Since it seemed to be working, the ends most definitely justify the means in our case.

    As we let ourselves inside to join throng, we had to step carefully around an Adventurer that stood by the door to enjoy his drinks, one in either hand, as he already looked to be so lost in his mug glass that he hadn¡¯t noticed us at all. Avoiding the pointed tips of the morning star he kept slung over his shoulder, I took in the sight of how many different weapons those around us kept at their sides. Obviously, swords weren¡¯t going to be the only weapons, but they did seem the most popular choice when we were at the dungeons, but here the choices felt nearly endless.

    The ones that stood out to me were, naturally, the more common ones I had actually expected to see a lot more of, such as spears, axes and bows. But it wasn¡¯t their collective appearance here that alone stood out to me. Each of the Adventurers holding such weapons also held classes that were named accordingly as Spear Warrior, Axe Warrior and Bowman.

    I didn¡¯t bother to hide the small smirk that crossed my lips when I noticed how on the nose the class naming system was in this world. My Swordsman and Mage classes were equally as guilty on that end, but for some reason, they felt more acceptable.

    In short, this was damn near exactly what I was expecting an Adventurer¡¯s Guild to look like. And yes, that includes both the alcohol and the full-fledged bar serving drinks in the back corner of the room. This place, one of the few exceptions that I¡¯ve discovered in this world, was what it was supposed to be.

    Men and women imbibing their listener in tales of strength and valor as they slew fearsome opponent after opponent. Adrenaline-addled warriors drinking off the day¡¯s attempts on their lives. A small window cut directly into the back wall where a woman dealt with Adventurers returning to turn in their quests and finally take in the rewards that they worked so hard for. And so much more, wrapped up into one, small building that somehow looked to be both entirely intimidating, but also oddly welcoming.

    Even if you set aside the all the deadly weapons scattered about, it was definitely the sort of place I would have never dared set foot in back on Earth, but here and now, it just felt right.

    ¡°¡­ I wish I started here instead of that forest.¡±

    ¡°Master?¡±

    ¡°Huh? Oh, nothing.¡±

    After getting caught up in my new surroundings, I noticed that Yua looked vaguely uncomfortable behind the smile she forced herself to wear. Unfamiliar with the Guild beyond where to find it, Yua looked about as lost as I must have, right up until her ears shot to attention and someone bumped into me.

    ¡°Ah, sorry, friend,¡± whistled a burley man through a recently broken nose. ¡°Stopped here fer a bit of drink to ease the pain ¡®fore I head to the Apothercary, but me thinks I had too muches.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I laughed. ¡°I was the one standing around.¡±

    ¡°Heh. Well, ain¡¯t you a kind one? Whatcha standin¡¯ fer, though?¡±

    I blinked at the strong scent of booze on his breath as he leaned in, eager for a bit of gossip. Were I a drinker myself, I had no doubt I¡¯d have been able to tell exactly what he was drinking by the unpleasant air seeping out from between his unbrushed teeth, but I kept cool as best I could so I didn¡¯t wind up insulting the man needlessly.

    ¡°We¡¯re new,¡± I said. ¡°Could you tell us how to join the guild?¡±

    ¡°Ah. Oh! Yea. Sure. Just go o¡¯er there.¡±

    The man threw a thumb over his shoulder so hard he nearly lost his already unsteady footing, but he didn¡¯t point to the window where the fabled large breasted guild girl was helping out another Adventurer to count out his coin. Instead, he aimed his finger to the muscular bald man running the bar, holding several bottles between his fingers as he served them up to a group of men that looked to have been waiting a while, given how they tore up the bowl of nuts set out for customers to munch on. They barely had their coin on the silver tray the barkeep offered to them before they started on their drinks.

    Really hope join the guild isn¡¯t a type of drink here.

    I turned to thank the man, only to find him already stumbling out of the building. Hoping the cool night air might sober him up a bit, but still confused by the man he pointed out, I checked the barkeep¡¯s info box and saw that he held both the Adventurer and Axe Warrior classes, both of which were in the fifties, as was his age. Not that his physique gave the impression of seniority, mind you. The man looked even more fit than I did now.

    I approached the bar, slightly worried I might get turned away because of my apparent age, but the bartender greeted me with a hearty smile that seemed out of place on his heavily scarred face.

    ¡°You look new here, kid. Least, I ain¡¯t seen you before. What can I get ya?¡±

    He started wiping down a glass cup with an already heavily stained towel in preparation for my order. But since I wasn¡¯t a drinker, I had no problem turning him down.

    ¡°Thanks, but we¡¯re not here for a drink. I wanted to inquire about joining the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡±

    He nodded respectfully and with an openly honest smile, like just hearing that made him happy. A far cry from how Beth treated us. And unlike the other merchants in the city, he didn¡¯t look at all bothered by the fact that I wasn¡¯t buying.

    ¡°Then just step over here and we¡¯ll see what ya got. Name¡¯s Cade, by the way.¡±

    ¡°Oh, uh, Alex. And this is Yua.¡±

    Prompted by my late greeting, Yua gave the man a respectful bow that felt a little too out of place here, but none called her out for it. Especially not me. It was probably just something she was trained to do and did out of habit.

    ¡°Nice to meet both of ya. Now, come on.¡±

    Without further ado, and while he calmed his other patrons that had been spurned of his attention with a dismissive wave that he mixed with a grin, he led us to the far end of the bar. Clapping his hands, he squat down and pulled out a Scrying Orb much like the one used in the Mage¡¯s Guild, though the metal base looked a bit rusted and the glass ball on top looked like it was covered in fingerprints.

    ¡°You know how this works?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Sir.¡±

    ¡°Oh, look. An Adventurer with manners. Good on you. Have at it when you¡¯re ready.¡±

    Lightly amused by the fact that, out of all the merchants I¡¯d dealt with these last few days, the scariest-looking one appeared to be the nicest, I discretely rearranged my classes so that Adventurer appeared first and Mage second. When I was sure everything was in order, I put my hand on the orb and like last time, my status window appeared between us with the same limited list of details. He started reading it and not five seconds later, his lips cracked into a toothier version of the same grin as before.

    ¡°Level 25? At that age? Geez kid, were you born in a dungeon?¡±

    ¡°Haha, well¡­ my father used to make me train in the dungeons when I was young. It was that or I didn¡¯t get to eat for the day.¡±

    Surprised that he was more amused than surprised at the level Yua said should have been impossible, I followed up my lie from earlier by adding to it. He looked like he believed it instantly, but Yua looked a little excited to learn about what she should know by now wasn¡¯t my actual past.

    Mom, Dad, sorry for telling the people of this world that you were tyrants. I hope you can forgive me, as I need to keep my reincarnation and abilities secret for Yua¡¯s and my safety.

    ¡°Is it that odd?¡±

    ¡°Odd? No? But it definitely ain¡¯t common. Lots of people are brought up fighting in the dungeons. We get a few like you from time to time. But still,¡± staring at my status page, he rubbed at the back of his neck. ¡°That makes placing you within the guild difficult.¡±

    ¡°How do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Well, usually Adventurers at level 10 are placed at C-rank. That¡¯s where most start, since they try and join up right when they hit that level. And aside from leveling your class, if you want to rank up, you need to complete a certain number of quests at your current rank. Reach Level 20 with thirty quests completed and you can become B-rank. Level 30 with fifty quests becomes A-rank. And those level 40 and above with one-hundred quests completed are S rank. Like that bunch over there.¡±

    For reference, instead of pointing to himself, he pointed to a table filled with five adventurers, still suited up in their expensive-looking armors. As suggested, all of them were level 45 or higher. And amongst them was a woman wearing what looked to be a more traditional fighter or brawler¡¯s garb, in that it left a fair bit of skin exposed, but not nearly as much as a set of bikini armor might. One of the men sat next to her, who looked like he had a few too many, started flirting with her rather forcefully, but the woman, old enough to be someone¡¯s mother, though still quite good looking, had no qualms putting an end to his unwanted advances with a well-placed kick in the¡­

    ¡°The thing is,¡± Cade said. ¡°You may be high enough level to start at B-rank, but I don¡¯t know if you should since you have no missions under your belt.¡±

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t mind starting at C, if that makes things easier.¡±

    ¡°Really? The B-rank missions pay more, you know? And you can¡¯t accept missions of a rank higher than yours.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine with me. Gotta start somewhere, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the kind of spirit I like to see in newbies,¡± he said, his hearty smile pulling taught the scant wrinkles on his face. He looked like he¡¯d lean over the counter to smack me proudly on the back, had it not been covered in empty beer mugs. ¡°Alright then, you ready to join?¡±

    ¡°I have a few questions first, if you don¡¯t mind.¡±

    ¡°Ask away. But try not to take too long. These brutes like to get rowdy when I don¡¯t get them their beer on time.¡±

    He pointed again, this time to a table filled entirely with men either grumbling at their empty beer mugs or glaring daggers at me for wasting their time. The drunken hatred in their eyes was very real, not so much that I felt the need to worry about them drawing their weapons, of course. But it was real enough to remember a story I heard just this morning involving people with the same class we all shared, but also the dark eyes of the man that told it to me.

    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    ¡°Does the guild ever force Adventurers to take on quests?¡± I chewed over my next words for a moment before deciding it unlikely he¡¯d know who I was referencing and continued. ¡°I heard about some Adventurers that were hired to kidnap a woman and rough up her husband in the past and I¡¯m not¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright, kid. Lemme stop you there. I don¡¯t know what you heard, but we don¡¯t accept quest postings like that in the first place, so don¡¯t worry about it. What you heard was either a lie or some Adventurers just happened to be hired as mercenaries. Amoranth¡¯s Adventurer¡¯s Guild works for the city. We don¡¯t go around beating people up.¡±

    ¡°Not unless we don¡¯t get our drinks on time!¡± shouted a man from the same table he pointed to earlier. The man turned the same drunken hatred he aimed at me on Cade, but unlike me, Cade sneered right back, grabbed one of the empty beer mugs and chucked it full force at the man. Showing some admittedly impressive reflexes for a drunk, he caught the mug before it could touch him and slammed it on the table impatiently.

    ¡°¡­ That¡¯s good,¡± I said, half expecting to have that same mug fly into the back of my head if I don¡¯t hurry this up. ¡°What about thieves? Will I ever be required to hunt them down?¡±

    I felt Yua tense up next to me. She may have inadvertently cleared up my suspicions of her, but after spending so much time with the other slaves back in DeGrave Imports, I wouldn¡¯t put it past her if she found she had a soft spot for thieves. At least those in a situation similar to hers.

    Regardless, I just didn¡¯t want to windup forced to basically kidnap someone on their wedding day just because they made a tiny mistake. I¡¯d really not make another Alphonse in this world just to fill my pockets with gold.

    ¡°Nah,¡± Cade said easily, shaking his head. ¡°There are sometimes quests to capture Thieves, but those are accepted only at your leisure. We don¡¯t force our members to do anything. Well, if you want to keep your membership open, you do need to complete at least one quest every other month, but that¡¯s it.¡±

    If there are quests like that, but they aren¡¯t forced, then it was just as likely that Alphonse only got beat by those Adventurers because he got in their way. And, though I hate to say it, I can¡¯t blame him there. At least I won¡¯t be forced to participate in anything distasteful like that.

    Yua sighed, possibly finding some relief in that as well.

    ¡°Anything else?¡± Cade asked. While those waiting for his attention weren¡¯t getting any quieter, he didn¡¯t really seem to care.

    ¡°Are there any missions available right now? Preferably ones in the city that could be finished quickly.¡±

    We may have finished with the dungeons for the day, but if it meant earning some more coin, then I wouldn¡¯t mind some of the more beginner friendly quests typical of guilds like this. If getting that much closer to our goal meant we had to pull a few weeds or track down a lost pet, then I would do it. I¡¯m fairly sure Yua¡¯s nose could make the latter fairly easy, anyways.

    ¡°Mmmm¡­ Maybe. You can always check the quest board over there, but being this late in the day, they¡¯ve probably all been snatched up. Quests set within the city are always the first to go, since they usually don¡¯t require much traveling.¡±

    So, missions are first come first served here? Makes sense. This isn¡¯t a video game where the player is the only person accepting quests.

    ¡°Do people compete for quests?¡±

    ¡°Not usually, no. On the rare occasion that people fight over a quest, a guild mediator is brought in and the person or party best fit to carry out the mission gets it.¡±

    ¡°Alright, then¡­ How do I get paid for completing missions?¡±

    ¡°You go to that window over there,¡± he pointed towards the window where the guild girl had been counting coins earlier. ¡°You must turn in proof of your quest being completed. This can be anything from the head of a monster or animal you are asked to slay to just turning in your quest slip after it¡¯d been signed by the person that originally posted it. Please keep in mind, though, that the guild takes a ten-percent cut of the rewards. Gotta keep this place running somehow, ya know?¡±

    ¡°Yea, I get that...¡±

    Not that hearing that makes me happy.

    But how the hell do normal Adventurers bring in animal heads if they disappear after death? Does accepting a quest help to temporarily meet the requirement of being a Hunter somehow?

    ¡°Oh, and one more thing. In order to accept the quest, you must pay the guild a sort of down payment.¡±

    ¡°Wait, I have to pay the guild to accept the quest and then pay again once I finish it?¡±

    ¡°Now, now, now. It¡¯s not like that,¡± he said with a wave of his hand, like he was shooing away my complaint. ¡°You pay us something of a deposit. That way, if you happen to die during your quest before it¡¯s completed, or if you just fail it, the Guild doesn¡¯t lose out our cut of the reward or on the customer. You see, more often than not, by the time we receive word that an Adventurer failed their mission, it¡¯s too late to send someone to replace them. So, the mission either gets revoked or the customer takes their request somewhere else¡­ Oh, and you¡¯ll get your deposit back in full upon completing your mission, by the way.¡±

    I had never heard of an Adventurer¡¯s Guild working like that, but since my only experience in the matter existed within the realms of video games where you could accept a quest and never bother to actually complete it regardless of how many in-game days you spent playing, I had to admit that it made some sense. If this place were a regular business like the one owned by Larloll the blacksmith and she were given an order for a large number of swords to be forged, only to wind up having to tell the customer they ran out of ore half-way through, then said customer may refuse to deal with them in the future because of the hassle in trying to get what they paid for or a refund. Something like that could ruin reputations and prospects for future work.

    Except, in this case, nobody is running out of material and people are dying. And that booze-hungry Adventurer is gripping that empty mug pretty hard.

    ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll check the board later, then. Can we go ahead and join the guild for now?¡±

    ¡°Huh, oh. Sorry, I already added you. Hope that¡¯s okay!¡±

    Without my even noticing the change, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild Member tag appeared in my info box, right beneath the one for the Mage¡¯s Guild. And I hadn¡¯t even thought to ask either if being a member of both would cause problems.

    Wait, doesn¡¯t he have to touch my hand to do that like Beth did? Don¡¯t tell me this ball of muscle is just so fast that I didn¡¯t notice.

    ¡°Uh¡­ Thanks.¡±

    ¡°No, thank you,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯re always happy to have more help. Just make sure you complete at least one quest every other month. Just accepting one doesn¡¯t count. If you fail to do so and you lose your membership, you¡¯ll be banned from the guild for life.¡±

    ¡­ Shouldn¡¯t you say something like that before sneakily signing me up?

    ¡°Anyway, now that you are all set, how about your friend there?¡±

    He turned his gaze to Yua. I was half-expecting her to look a little shy at being called out like that after being so thoroughly left out of the conversation, but instead, she straightened her back, unintentionally thrust out her bustline and nodded. I noticed a few of the half-drunk men near us check her out and quietly moved between her and them.

    ¡°Put your hand on the orb, Miss.¡±

    Yua did as she was bid and touched her dainty hand to the orb, but unlike the hearty smile he showed when reading my status window, he frowned and rolled his jaw when hers appeared.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Miss, but I can¡¯t let you join.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯re a slave. Slaves can¡¯t be adventurers. You are free to travel and complete missions with your master here, I assume, but you can¡¯t become a full-fledged member.¡±

    Her ears drooping a bit, she slipped her hand off the Scrying Orb without so much as a complaint. She knew this world better than I, but it didn¡¯t take a genius to know there wasn¡¯t a point in arguing just because she got her hopes up. If slaves aren¡¯t allowed to own the clothes they themselves wore on their backs, then there was probably a multitude of things she wasn¡¯t going to be able to do from here on out.

    I had no doubt that, because of her love of fighting, she may have ended up joining the guild had her past been happier. Hell, that was probably why she knew where it was, even if she never set foot in it the building.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Cade said. ¡°But rules is rules. If we had people letting their slaves run around completing or failing quests in their master¡¯s name, we¡¯d look bad. Besides, if slaves can¡¯t own money, how would we pay you?¡±

    ¡°I understand,¡± Yua said. ¡°Thanks anyway.¡±

    Watching her try her best to hold onto a weakening smile, I took her hand and led her away from the bar before it could faulter altogether. If we weren¡¯t already effectively done here, her rejection would have ended our business with the guild for the day. Out of spite or not, there was no point in lingering here anymore.

    ¡°You can still take her with you on missions!¡± Cade shouted back and immediately turned to catch the mug thrown at his face along with a call for a refill.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just see what quests they have,¡± I said, trying to cheer her up. ¡°Even if you aren¡¯t a member of the guild, as long as you are with me, you¡¯re like an honorary member, right? You¡¯ll still be able to help out with all the fighting.¡±

    It felt endlessly weird to try and use fighting as a way to pick up the mood, but I¡¯ll be damned if it didn¡¯t work. And I was sure it only would with her.

    ¡°Yes, Master!¡±

    We shoved our way through the crowded room, past the adventurer still clutching at his unmentionables after the woman he was making a pass at refused him and towards the quest board. I made sure to keep hold of Yua¡¯s hand so we didn¡¯t get separated. And I tried not to think too hard into the fact that she squeezed it back.

    There was a small crowd in front of us studying the papers. The bard¡¯s continued melodies must have lulled them some, because not even the alcohol-flush to their cheeks riled them up whenever someone snatched the quest they had been looking at.

    Wanting to keep the mood pleasant because we were new to the guild, but needing the money, Yua and I pressed our way through the crowd until we were within reading distance of the couple dozen or so quest slips still pinned to the board. A few of the other adventurers plucked a slip or two off the board and went to go accept them, giving us more room to stand comfortably. Others scoffed and walked off, annoyed that there wasn¡¯t anything at their level or worth their time.

    By the time we were able to actually read the contents of the quests, there were only a few still available for my rank. They all seemed easy enough, collect this many herbs in such and such forest, deliver a letter to someone in another town, carry this over there and so on. All basic quests anyone could do, really. They didn¡¯t have very appealing rewards listed, but given the lacking difficulty, who could complain?

    Guess I¡¯ll have to do a bunch of these to level up and start earning the big bucks.

    Wondering what the reward for higher ranks could promise, I checked the board for the cream of crop in S-rank missions, only to come up emptyhanded. There were plenty of C and B quests, but only a few A¡¯s, but no S-rank¡¯s. Without knowing what the quest board looked like this morning before the other Adventurers got to it, it was probably safe to assume that the higher the rank, the fewer quests there were. For all I knew, there weren¡¯t any S-ranked quests posted today anyways. Those must actually be pretty rare if they require Adventurers be such a high level just to accept them.

    Still, after checking the lower ranks for their rewards, I had to say that leveling within the Guild would be worth it.

    ¡°¡­ Maybe if I pushed to start out as B-rank, I could have accepted one of these.¡±

    The rewards for the B-rank missions added up to a little more than the total our dungeon diving got us from the last two floors, staff included. I didn¡¯t recognize the name of the city any of the quests were set to take place in, but we could have just asked around and teleported our way there.

    Not much point complaining about the past, I suppose. Asking for a higher rank when Cade was already apprehensive probably wouldn¡¯t have been a good idea anyways. The others here may seem nice, if not drunk, but if it took them the completion of at least thirty quests to get the rank, I could easily imagine some bad blood brewing between us if I tried to jump the line.

    It¡¯d be worth it for Yua¡¯s sake, but the limited time already had us beat.

    ¡°I guess the auction really is our only hope,¡± I said with a sigh.

    We let the other Adventurers still looking over what scraps the quest board had take our place and left the guild without accepting any quests. Making our way outside beneath the gradually darkening sky past the lively folks still heading inside for a drink, I decided to start checking the quest board on occasion. It honestly felt strange to have joined two guilds today, only to have nothing to show for it other than a couple tags in my status page. Normally, were this a video game, I would have taken something, even if I didn¡¯t plan on completing it, if anything to save myself a later trip, but I suppose progress is progress even when you can¡¯t see it being made.

    It¡¯ll be too late for our current needs, but we can always come back another day.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Master,¡± Yua said, looking down at her feet again.

    ¡°Sorry? Why are you apologizing? You haven¡¯t done anything wrong.¡±

    She shook her head.

    ¡°If I had thought about joining the guild yesterday, you might have been able to accept a mission and completed it already. You don¡¯t know much about the city, so this was my mistake.¡±

    I understood where she was coming from, but not why she chose to blame herself. Part of why she didn¡¯t think to bring it up may have been because she hated me at the time and it may have helped, but that thought wasn¡¯t any less based on luck than hoping we¡¯d run into something valuable in the dungeons. There would be no guarantee that there¡¯d be a quest worth the effort, even if we got there early in the morning. Cade didn¡¯t exactly exude confidence when I brought up the question of local quests, anyways.

    Luck aside, it seemed like the guild actually gave meaning to the ¡°Adventurer¡¯s¡± name as the vast majority of the quests were would take us to destinations outside of Amoranth, from my rank or higher.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry yourself about that,¡± I said, then whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t you remember, I was only level 1 when we met yesterday. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to meet the level requirement to join the Guild, anyways. Even if we did, there¡¯s no telling if we would have been able to travel to the quest¡¯s destination and back before your contract¡¯s time ran out.¡±

    Yua shook her head again. Leaning in close to whisper back, she unintentionally buried my arm between her breasts. But before her softness could fully register, a pair of older women that looked to be the sort to enjoy themselves some gossip happened to see this, quickly got the wrong idea and, much to my embarrassment, giggled to one another.

    ¡°No, Master, I meant that if you used your teleportation magic, we could have made it there and back in no time. We could have done a quest or two and then gone to the dungeons. And if we did, you wouldn¡¯t have needed to sell your weapons.¡±

    ¡°Ah, right, well¡­ I hadn¡¯t thought of that.¡±

    Yua¡¯s ears drooped like she thought I was agreeing that it was her fault, so I quickly corrected her.

    ¡°I¡¯m not blaming you. Really, I¡¯m not. If anything, that is actually a good idea. But I still wasn¡¯t a high enough level to join the Guild then, anyways.¡±

    Her ears perked up a little when I praised her idea, but she didn¡¯t look fully convinced. I tugged on her hand and led her back to the merchant¡¯s district.

    ¡°Where are we going, Master?¡±

    ¡°Well, you said it yourself. There¡¯s not much point in trying to push deeper into the dungeons right now and the Adventurer¡¯s Guild was a bust, so we have nothing else to do but pass the time until tomorrow. So, I thought we could just look around the city for now. That okay with you?¡±

    The Great City of Amoranth was, as its name suggested, a very large city with plenty to see. Aside from my missed opportunity after stowing away on the back of a spice Merchant¡¯s cart when I first made my way through the city gates, and because of all the fighting in the dungeon, I hadn¡¯t had much of a sight-seeing experience at all. A rather sad fact, considering that this was the first bit of civilization I managed to find in this world.

    And if she¡¯s been locked up in the slave house for three years, I figured she might like a chance to look around for a while without having to worry about something jumping out to attack her.

    Finally, her smile returned. Then she blushed just before the light blue glow of the street lamps brightened the area. It was 6:00pm and no amount of magic, no matter how flashy, would have prevented me from seeing the cute flush that took to her cheeks right then and there.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy to walk with you, Master, but¡­ won¡¯t this send the wrong idea?¡±

    She pointed between us, to our hands still holding onto each other. Hers squeezed mine when I looked. I must have been so lost in thought after joining up with the guild that I forgot to let go after pulling her through the crowd. Feeling my face get hot, I quickly let go.

    ¡°S-Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean¡­¡±

    ¡°N-No. Master, I don¡¯t mind. It¡¯s just¡­ Masters don¡¯t usually act this affectionate towards their slaves. Especially not in public.¡±

    Like the gossipy women earlier, we were surrounded by an endless stream of people that might get the wrong idea. Although, I wasn¡¯t sure if just holding hands was something couples even tended to do in this world. I haven¡¯t seen a single pairing of people doing so, at least.

    While my intentions were to keep us from being separated in the bar crowd, I didn¡¯t want her to feel like I was just dragging her around for the sake at pretending to be something more.

    Still¡­ Affectionate, huh?

    I repeated the word on loop in my mind, letting it fuel my fantasies for a brief, but very warm moment before reality came crashing back down on me.

    I was still holding her hand. It wasn¡¯t the same as hurrying her along through the dungeon or city or when trying to keep us from getting separated in a crowd. She¡¯d pointed out the fact that there could have been more meaning to it, and I still didn¡¯t let go. And that was because both consciously and subconsciously, I knew I didn¡¯t want to.

    As she looked into my eyes, her cheeks a maidenly shade of pink that the street lamps couldn¡¯t quite cool, she smiled. That was it. That was all. And it was all she¡¯d ever need with even the moon up above doing its very best to illuminate the truth behind that lovely curl to her lips. Her big emerald eyes almost looked to be burning with words left unsaid, but for fear of what they might¡¯ve been, I let go.

    ¡°I see,¡± I said, withdrawing my hand. ¡°Sorry if that made you uncomfortable.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t say¡­¡±

    ¡°How about we go look over there first? There are some shops I still haven¡¯t seen yet.¡±

    I pointed to a group of open-front shops and single stalls lined up along the street.

    ¡°¡­ If that¡¯s what Master wants to do.¡±

    Still blushing slightly, but also looking a little dejected, Yua gave me an okay with a nod and let me change the subject. If this were one of the anime I used to watch, the heroine would have slapped the protagonist because of the public misunderstanding they caused. Or perhaps because of a misunderstanding that was all my own. Either way, I was happy she at least didn¡¯t get mad despite all the people looking our way. Aside from generally not wanting to upset her, getting slapped by her as strong as she was now would be dangerous.

    Regardless, the public¡¯s interest in us faded soon after we let go of one another and we were free to while away the night with a tour of the city.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 21

    Now that we had some time to actually look around, I realized that dubbing this part of the city as the ¡°merchant¡¯s district¡± was truly right on the money. There were stalls for just about everything one could want. Food, weapons, house wares, kitchen wares, camping supplies, jewelry, clothes and various imported goods that I wouldn¡¯t have been able to name without my info box holding my hand the whole way. There was even a traveling merchant set up among the rest with several intriguing potions spread out on a carpet he laid carefully atop a board, rather than the ground. A few of the potions caught my eye, but since the vendor himself wasn¡¯t an Apothecary, I cautioned away from them.

    Everything had its own stand or section of the district made specifically for each group of items. All the food stalls were lined up together along the main thoroughfare. All the fighting equipment was settled into a corner in the market. And so were all the imported goods carried in by yet more traveling merchants come to trade in the city for a while, each one dressed in the garb of their homelands that looked utterly foreign when compared to the people of Amoranth visiting their stalls, despite the fact that they all spoke the same language.

    It was an earthen shopping mall of sorts and I¡¯d been all but oblivious to its charms.

    While we perused the various stalls that had yet to pack up their things as night settled over the city, I made a mental note of what and where to find just about everything I thought we might need later. From basic necessities to tools that would make living in this medieval world just that much more tolerable, I took great care to check the real names of the items so we weren¡¯t scammed, checked their prices and even went so far as to organize my list in order of importance so my want to better myself didn¡¯t lose out to the nagging need for my easy life to return to me.

    Meanwhile, Yua completely disregarded the jewelry and clothing stands, the ones I shamelessly thought she might want to look to the most, in favor of the weapon and armor merchants as well as, surprisingly, the ones selling various kitchen goods. Seeing how her love for fighting hadn¡¯t diminished in the least, this felt just like her. So, we spent a little extra time letting the armor vendor enchant us with all the reasons why his people¡¯s smithing process was superior to the one used in Vierre, because Yua, who was most definitely not a smith, was enjoying his speech so much.

    Well, up until he realized we weren¡¯t there to buy and shooed us away. But what can you do?

    I didn¡¯t buy anything, of course, and neither did she, but I decided to come back another time when coin wasn¡¯t so tight. All of the shopkeepers were happy to help us browse their wares until we mentioned we were only looking, where around a third of them started to ignore us entirely in favor of their actual paying customers, while the rest just kept a cautious eye on what we were doing with our hands.

    I could almost laugh at their flippant attitudes, but I quickly decided that it was probably best we didn¡¯t keep screwing around and anger them by wasting their time. So, I started making it clear we were only there to look to avoid getting their hopes up.

    After a while of looking around and Yua showing me all the shops she could think of, the Sun had finally fully set and the night completely taken over. The blue glow of the street lamps lit the city anew and colored Yua¡¯s chestnut hair in their oddly warm hues. Her eyes shone whenever we passed under one of the lamps her big, happy emeralds took reflected their light. Repeatedly. Again and again, as if she never once closed her eyes for fear of missing out on the vendor still cheerily shouting the praises of his fine craftsmanship, despite the fact that his stall hadn¡¯t a single customer. The intensity of this reflection only seemed to sharpen whenever she¡¯d look my way to point out another interesting set of goods.

    My heart panged. Her hands dangled by her sides, looking almost lonely as she walked closer to me than she had in the dungeons. Stealthily steadying my nearly ragged breathing, I crammed my hands into my pockets to avoid another gossip-worthy incident that might sully her mood.

    Seeing as how we weren¡¯t planning to buy anything just yet, I thought it best to stop looking at all the odds and ends for sale here, lest I end up actually wanting them. But I made sure not to stop Yua¡¯s tour until her own interest seemed to wane.

    As we walked back down the road towards the inn, we caught the delightful scent of one of the food shops. Or rather, Yua did. Her ears perked up and her tail swished about happily, even though it was her nostrils that were set alight with what looked to be a barely-repressed sensory overload. It took a while longer for the scent to hit my nostrils, but when it did, I smelled something I thought might have been freshly baked bread easily stand out amongst all the other food stalls that were now closing up for the night by selling off what little they had left for dirt cheap prices.

    Once its scent fully caught my attention, my stomach gurgled loud enough for even a human¡¯s ears to have heard, let alone Yua¡¯s. Setting aside the heat I felt in my cheeks when she turned a sympathetic smile to me that suggested she¡¯d pretend she hadn¡¯t heard a thing, I suddenly remembered our hasty retreat to the dungeon after our talk with Alphonse. But more importantly, I remembered how it ruined our plans to eat a quick breakfast out in the city before we got to work. That and the unfortunate fact that, because we¡¯d spent the whole day fighting in the dungeon, we hadn¡¯t eaten a thing since we woke up. I was starving and I knew Yua was too, as I caught her lifting her nose high into the air, likely grasping at a much more intimate whiff of the bread¡¯s scent than I could ever hope to have.

    Amused by how cute she looked walking towards the scent on her tiptoes, I fell back just a little and pretended that I was following Yua herself and not her animal-like nose as it led us straight to a bakery in the more well-to-do section of the merchant district. Though she was silent, her happily wagging tail spoke volumes to what she really wanted. I was fully prepared to let her openly lie to me and say that she just wanted to show me one of the city¡¯s bakeries to save face. Not that she would have needed to. Whichever of the baked goods in there that hooked her by the nostril must be something good, if it had enthralled her so.

    From the front window of the aptly named Bakery, we could see the baker, a hefty man with a thick, short beard that had no shortage of white powder, flour, mixed in with the whiskers. Like the majority of the vendors outside, he was already working on closing up shop for the night. Most of the tables and shelves in his shop were already free of the breads that must have been freshly baked that morning, leaving behind little more than what I assumed he¡¯d sell tomorrow morning at a steep discount.

    I had always wanted to try freshly baked bread, but was much too lazy to try and bake any myself and I didn¡¯t dare wake up early enough to make it happen unless absolutely necessary, so now that I actually found a place that could have fulfilled that tiny wish, only to realize it was already too late, I was a little disappointed.

    Sighing to myself as I considered braving an attempt to wake up extra early tomorrow to be first in line here, I happened to notice something else sitting on the counter that the baker had been scrubbing with a rag. Something that was utterly insignificant to me, but that Yua was gazing at almost lovingly.

    While she was distracted, I used my menu to discretely check how much spare coin we had.

    ¡°Hey, Yua. Could you run back to the inn real quick and ask when dinner is to be served? I want to make sure we get there before we end up eating it cold this time.¡±

    Snapping out of the daze the bakery had sent her into, Yua nodded dutifully.

    ¡°Yes, Master. But if I may ask, are you not coming back too?¡±

    No doubt she was trying to be discrete and not outright ask why I didn¡¯t just teleport us back, or at least go myself if I was so worried, but I had other plans.

    ¡°I¡¯m just going to buy us some bread. Been a while since I had some. I¡¯ll catch up soon. If they haven¡¯t started cooking dinner yet, please ask them to.¡±

    With a quick nod of understanding and a bow to accept the easy order I had given her, Yua took off for the inn on my behalf. Although, she took me a bit too literally and actually started running the second she stepped away from the light spilling of the bakery. I was about to call out and tell her she didn¡¯t have to, but the sooner she was out of ear shot, the better.

    With her now impressive Speed stat moving her legs, it didn¡¯t take long until she was far enough away for me to know I was safe, though I did keep a tab on her by watching her outline recede into the distance through the bakery wall once I stepped inside. With all of the time we had spent in the dungeon, I had a fairly good idea of how far her ears could reach. On top of this, even though the amount of people out on the streets had dwindled once the night took over rule of the sky, there were still enough people out and about making noise that I was sure she couldn¡¯t hear me anyways.

    Wouldn¡¯t be much of a surprise if she heard it coming, right?

    ¡°Excuse me, is the bakery still open?¡±

    Content with the dull shine of his now freshly cleaned countertop, the baker had moved over to the row of traditional brick bread ovens that were lined along the wall for maximum bread-making output. While the fires that had once burned in them had already long since gone dark, I had no doubt the scent of fresh bread would continue to linger in the shop for a while yet. When I called out to him, the baker turned to me and wiped his hands on his apron almost reflexively.

    ¡°Sure, kid. I¡¯m in the middle of closing up, but you can take your time.¡±

    A surprisingly jolly smile appeared on the man¡¯s face, despite his apron being caked in enough flour dust to suggest he¡¯d had a long day. Which is probably why he hadn¡¯t noticed that him smearing his hands all over it was only making them dirtier. His welcome was a fair bit more real than the merchants we passed today, who all just tried to usher me towards their shops to get me to buy something. Delighted to finally experience some real customer appreciation outside of someone trying to get me to drunk, I decided to be quick with my look around the shop so I could get out of his hair.

    As one could probably expect from a medieval bakery, most of what the man sold here was just various types of bread. There was the traditional white flour bread along with several other types I couldn¡¯t quite place, but were clearly not what you¡¯d typically find on the shelves in a supermarket. Some looked like they might have been made out of differing kinds of wheat if I could split apart the loaf to check. Others looked like oats had been mixed into the dough to toughen them up. There was even a hard, dark brown bread that didn¡¯t look all that appetizing, but the shelf it sat on was almost empty, suggesting it sold fairly easily. Probably because it was the cheapest and could be bought without bankrupting yourself.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take a loaf of flour bread, please.¡±

    ¡°Sure thing. Hope you don¡¯t mind it¡¯s been sitting out all day.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine with me. Also, do you have anything sweet for sale?¡±

    I asked, even though I already knew the answer, just so I didn¡¯t give off the idea that I was only there for a snack.

    ¡°Sweet you say? Why, yes, I do! I still have a half a cake here and a few cookies,¡± he gestured towards the cake sitting on the counter, the reason I was here, and to a tray of what looked like plain cookies right next to it. ¡°My wife might even have a pie waiting in the back if you¡¯d like a slice.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine, thanks. How much for two slices of cake and, say, four cookies?¡±

    ¡°A slice of cake is 1 silver and the cookies are 5 coppers a piece.¡±

    ¡°1 silver for a piece of cake? Isn¡¯t that a bit much?¡±

    I had still yet to fully grasp the worth of most things in this world, but considering what we had to fight in the dungeon just to get that 1 silver, it felt like a rip off. Even if the slices were fairly large.

    The baker shrugged sympathetically.

    ¡°Sugar is hard to come by these days thanks to those greedy fellows over in Dragma. Actually, recently I¡¯ve only been taking orders for sweets, instead of having them ready like I used to. Otherwise, it¡¯d be a waste of what sugar I have left in stock. Takes too long to ship it in from the other countries, you know?¡±

    ¡°Then why did you make these?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, really,¡± he said with an honest shrug. ¡°I just woke up today and felt like baking some sweets. You know, like the passion for the job suddenly kicked in and kicked hard. Guess it¡¯s your lucky day that there is still some left.¡±

    ¡°Ya, lucky.¡±

    I could almost laugh at the thought. Did it really count as honest-to-Goddess luck if I was the one choosing to level my Luck stat?

    ¡°If that¡¯s all you¡¯re wanting, your total comes out to 4 silver pieces.¡±

    I paid the man by piling my coin on the silver tray he slid over the counter to me. I then had to throw in a few extra coppers to buy one of the small baskets he kept on hand so I could carry my lot of baked goods out of the shop without fumbling all over myself to keep from dropping them. Without Yua and her backpack, I had no way to discretely access my item box, so this was an unfortunate necessity and a small oversight on my part, but this seemed like a fine alternative. I could probably reuse the basket for something else later, anyway.

    Completely lost in a part of the city I had never been to without an escort, I went ahead and used my right as her master to search for Yua¡¯s outline again. Even though I wasn¡¯t looking in the correct direction at first, I got a tickle in my head that told me where to look, so I turned. There the small white outline of the girl in question appeared, tiny, but very much there. And growing bigger as I approached. She had already made it to the inn by the looks of it and, by how she moved her lips, I guessed she was speaking to someone, likely asking the innkeeper about dinner.

    I thought back to how she¡¯d practically been watering at the mouth as she ogled the cake and, wanting to see her expression when she had it in her hands, I quickened my pace.

    ¡°Master, the innkeeper says that dinner will be ready in about an hour.¡±

    Yua was dutifully waiting under the inn¡¯s crooked and dilapidated-looking awning with a small, but honest smile on her lips and a swish of her tail. By the looks of her, I didn¡¯t think she had noticed the real reason why we separated. I had no reason to believe otherwise, but I was sure my item box hid the scent of the cake.

    ¡°Great,¡± I said. ¡°I got us this loaf of bread to share. Hope you¡¯re hungry.¡±

    I had managed to slip into a deserted alleyway, which was easy due to the hour, and hid the treats I bought. So, all she saw when I showed off the basket was the lone loaf of white bread. And when she saw it, the emotions fueled by her empty stomach had started to slip and she let out a small squeal of delight.

    But really, her hunger was completely my fault. And this time, that was not me taking myself further down a peg. I should have at least brought some kind of food with us into the dungeon since I knew we were going to be there for an extended amount of time. So, even if she saw fighting as fun and exciting, I essentially made the both of us fight for several hours without so much as a glass of water to keep us going.

    ¡°S-Share?¡± she repeated, as if she thought she¡¯d be left out, but still celebrated anyways at just the thought of getting to eat it.

    ¡°Yea, obviously. You don¡¯t think I can eat all this myself, do you?¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    ¡°Although, just to warn you, I had to buy an old loaf of bread since that¡¯s all that was left. It won¡¯t keep for long, so let¡¯s eat as much as we can tonight, okay?¡±

    Yua bit her lip and squeezed her palms together in front of her hips like she was trying to offer up a discreet prayer that I wasn¡¯t messing with her. And I very much wasn¡¯t.

    The last time we shared a meal, she told me that most slave masters only give their slaves gruel to eat, if anything more than table scraps. Because I gave her more than this for our first meal together, and off my own plate no less, she was so happy that not even the devil himself could say without blushing that he was intending to trick her here, even if he really was. It just wouldn¡¯t do. So, I figured some real, hot food and some good bread would make her all the happier.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just go upstairs and wait for now. I¡¯ve been on my feet all day and, I don¡¯t know about you, but I¡¯m tired.¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes, Master.¡±

    Once more without being asked, Yua hurried to hold the door open for me. Even at this hour, the innkeeper was still standing at the front desk waiting to greet potential patrons and by the furrow of her brow, she didn¡¯t like the fact that I was carrying bread up to our room. I couldn¡¯t tell if they have a cockroach problem or if she just saw it as some kind of insult to the food her inn was preparing for us, but she didn¡¯t stop us from heading up with it.

    I plopped down onto the bed the second Yua closed the door behind us and instantly felt like I could like my eyelids would have welded themselves shut for the night if I so much as blinked too slowly. The fatigue accrued during the day had made itself known once more, but it didn¡¯t seem like it was going to let me forget it a second time.

    Yua began to take off her backpack, which she had been wearing since we left the inn this morning, despite it being empty for the vast majority of the day. Matching her want to relax, I reached toward my belt to send my sword into storage, but my fingers only touched leather.

    Oh, right¡­ I sold it. Guess that means I have nothing but the clothes on my back for the time being.

    After pulling off her bag and stuffing it back into the chest at the end of the bed as she had the night before, Yua stretched her arms over her head. Then, still holding her arm with a rather insecure look about her, she looked at me, then at the bed, before her tail whipped the air unsurely.

    ¡°Come on, Yua. You can sit on the bed, too. You¡¯re tired, right?¡±

    ¡°But for a slave to sit on their master¡¯s¡­ I can just sit on the floor. If Master allows¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. You can sit on the bed. It¡¯s not like we have a chair in here and besides, I told you last night, remember? No floors.¡±

    Regardless of status, hell, regardless of whether or not I even liked her, I wasn¡¯t about to make a girl sit on the cold floor while I took the only comfy seat in the room. Not after all she¡¯s done for me today. I wasn¡¯t so daft that I couldn¡¯t see how incredibly rude that would be.

    ¡°B-But, Master, you only said when sleeping¡­¡±

    ¡°I meant it for sitting too. I want you to be comfortable. Although, when dinner¡¯s served, we should probably eat on the floor so we don¡¯t make a mess on the bed... Now come on.¡±

    I pat the far end of the bed to make sure she didn¡¯t get the wrong idea.

    Once more looking torn between trusting in my kind-meaning gesture and her own relaxation, she gave into the latter and reluctantly climbed onto the bed. She sat down not too far from me, straightened her posture and sat on her knees like she was expecting to need to get up the second I myself felt uncomfortable. Not that I would.

    ¡°Now what¡­ Master?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Well, you said the food will be ready in an hour. So, all we can do now is wait.¡±

    Yua bit her lip again and I laid back, using my forearms as a make-shift pillow so my gaze didn¡¯t further unsettle her. However, to keep from actually falling asleep while she sat there hungry, I forced my eyes open and counted off the number of planks that made up the roof.

    In these idle moments, various thoughts of the day¡¯s events sped through my mind, mostly my various mistakes, our triumphs in the dungeon and the fun we had in the city after everything else was taken care of.

    We¡¯d only meant to walk around the city for a little while to pass the time and we did just that. We ended up out and about for a couple hours. Yua may not be from Amoranth, but I could tell from her enthusiastic tour that she really liked the place. And to be honest, aside from the near-constant screwups on my part, I did too. In hindsight, starting off in a big trading hub like this, instead of some rural village as was common in video games, we should have had various opportunities to find work and have fun, but all we did tonight was have fun. Maybe we should have been searching for more work to fill our purse, instead of skipping our way through the city as I fought off the urge to take her hand in mine.

    Choosing to let my thoughts lean more on the fun we had, instead of all the negativity that had been brewing in my mind, I felt a grin that might have looked a bit creepy were I to see myself from the outside as I thought of what it¡¯d feel like to call tonight¡¯s trip through the merchant¡¯s district a date and mean it.

    But now probably wasn¡¯t the time to be thinking such things.

    *Sniff*

    Trying to keep the hopeful wishes at bay for the time being, I once again tried to think up some contingencies for what we could do if the ring didn¡¯t sell, but my brain was too tired to come up with anything coherent against the backdrop of everything else I¡¯d taken in today. I suppose the downside to this Memorization trait was that I was quite literally forced to remember every little detail of the day¡¯s events. You¡¯d think that would make coming up with a backup plan easier, since I now had a plethora of information at my beck and call, but it was actually just more confusing.

    I seriously doubted that knowing the exact number of coins the woman put up to trade at the stall next to the one Yua and I were looking through an hour ago would be of any help save for, maybe knowing that a head of cabbage cost exactly 3 coppers. Same goes for the equally pointless knowledge that I now knew roughly the percentage of city-dwellers that preferred sandals to more conventional shoes. I wasn¡¯t even looking at their feet, but now the number was stuck in my head.

    Like this and with me unable to use my new abilities for anything of actual use at the moment, we sat in silence for a few minutes as I watched the seconds on my HUD¡¯s clock tick away.

    Man, this time period is tougher than I was expecting when it came down to keeping yourself entertained. No TV, no video games, hardly anyone can afford books, including myself. We already took a trip around the city and were too tired to venture out again. What did people in my world use to do at times like this?

    *Sniff*

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    I mean, I used to trudge home after work, sit myself down in front of my computer and spend the rest of the night filling my eyes with just about anything and everything the internet had to offer. And on the rare occasion when the power was out or I otherwise wasn¡¯t in front of my monitor, I had my music playing in a constant loop in my earbuds and/or a book in hand. There was pretty much never a time when I didn¡¯t have something going on. Even if boredom struck, I could just waste away the hours by playing on my phone. But now¡­

    Hell, this wasn¡¯t the sort of thing I should be thinking about either. As much of a conversationalist as I could pretend to be, I was sure I should be using this quiet moment between us to think up something fun to talk about, instead of wallowing in what I lost in coming to this world.

    *Sniff*

    Opening my eyes, which had apparently shut themselves at some point without my noticing, I temporarily gave up the thought of asking Yua about her homeland and searched for the source of the only noise either of us had made since I laid down. It didn¡¯t take long to find the source of the sniffling, as I found Yua scrunching up her nose every few seconds before straightening her expression back out into the same bored look I had. Though, when she caught me looking, she pulled on a smile and stiffened up a bit more.

    ¡°Something wrong Yua?¡±

    ¡°N-No, Master. It¡¯s nothing.¡±

    If she tried to make her back any straighter, she¡¯d snap her spine.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. You can say whatever you want. If you need it, you have my permission to speak your mind.¡±

    She bit her lip again. Then she looked me in the eyes before quickly looking away.

    ¡°I¡­You see, Master¡­ It¡¯s just that¡­ the cat-kin may not have as strong a nose as the dog-kin, but ours is still stronger than that of a human so¡­ I¡¯ve been fighting all day and got really sweaty and¡­¡±

    Ah.

    I held up a hand to tell her she didn¡¯t need to finish, but she looked down at hers as if I was telling her to shut up, which couldn¡¯t be further from the truth. I just didn¡¯t want to make this girl admit that she smelled bad. And with that nose of hers, it probably wasn¡¯t something she could put up with without any suffering.

    Actually, now that she mentioned it, I picked up a bit of a stench on me as well now that we didn¡¯t have the breeze outside to whisk away the smell. It¡¯s not exactly like leather protects against bad smells. Add in rigorous exercise such as, oh I don¡¯t know, fighting in the dungeon, and you have yourself an instant recipe for a bad time that was probably torture for someone like her. Even if she claimed to be used to the various smells that came with living in the city. And leather made up about fifty-percent of both our outfits.

    ¡°Okay, Yua. We both worked up a sweat. So, how about we go wash up before dinner?¡±

    The words fell out of my mouth before I could even recognize how they could have meant to her, which seemed like it was starting to be a bad habit of mine. I was just trying to do something nice by telling her it¡¯s okay to clean up, but given my knowledge of how the bath at this inn works, I may have just stepped on a landmine by unintentionally suggesting we go together.

    ¡°Yes, please!¡±

    However, she either missed that concern of mine or she was just so happy to have a chance at getting rid of the smell that she didn¡¯t care. Unwilling to take back that offer once she gave me a big smile, I got up first.

    ¡°L-Let¡¯s go then¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master!¡±

    Without further discussion, which might have been for the best, we went downstairs. While Yua took a minute to procure us some towels and wash rags from the innkeeper, I couldn¡¯t stop the image of the dog-girl stripping down in front of me like it was nothing from reappearing in my mind. And like with all the other pointless information I had collected today, my memories spared me no detail when it came to that woman. The way she unabashedly showed me her everything as if it were entirely natural to be seen like that would have been unforgettable even if I hadn¡¯t committed the image to mind on purpose.

    As I understood it, save for the nobility and probably the people that had other options for collecting water, public bathing really was seen as something completely natural, if not uncommon. The complete opposite of where I come from.

    But¡­ Doesn¡¯t that mean Yua would¡­ In front of other people? In front of other men? Would she even mind?

    Thinking back to last night, when she was reluctant to so much as change her clothes in front of me until I turned away from her, maybe she did have a bit more awareness of her body than the other women here. I mean, of course she would. We had only just met. I couldn¡¯t expect her to strip in front of me so easily. And I¡¯m sure we are still within the parameters of ¡°just met¡± even now.

    Then again, I had only just met that dog-girl, too. And unlike Yua, I never even got her name.

    ¡°Master, I have our towels.¡±

    Yua held up a pair of dingy-looking towels that looked like they had been in use for years and that likely couldn¡¯t absorb water to save their lives.

    That wasn¡¯t the problem, though. The problem was that her tail was swishing about as happy as could be. She¡¯s too cute, but also too unconcerned with what we were about to do. Does she not know that the bath is outside? I don¡¯t want anyone else to realize how truly beautiful she is, but even if I technically own her, I don¡¯t own her.

    Whatever the hell that means.

    As if smacking my doubt across the face, she started towards the backdoor I knew lead to the back garden. Damn innkeeper must have told her where it was.

    Shit. What if someone else sees her?

    ¡°Uh¡­ Um, Yua. Could you wait a second?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? What is it, Master?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­¡± I didn¡¯t want to come right out and say it, but she¡¯d know better than I could. ¡°Can you tell me if there is anyone else out there right now?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    As easily as when I was asking her to scout out our next enemy, Yua lifted her chin to listen to the world. She brought it back down with a smile and shook her head.

    ¡°There¡¯s nobody out there right now. Does Master prefer to wash alone?¡±

    ¡°No¡­ Well, yes and no¡­ But¡­.¡±

    She tilted her head in confusion, her cat ears twitching curiously in the silence. For some reason, have all her attention on me while this particular group of thoughts were running through my head made me feel small. Almost childish.

    Shit¡­ Now that I made her check, I might as well just come out and say it.

    ¡°Um, Yua¡­ Would you mind if I made a selfish request of you?¡±

    Her ears perked up, this time from a sense of obvious surprise that colored her face pink before she looked away. From the side, I watched her bite her lip, but only slightly this time. Her tail gave a sudden, sharp jerk that made it thud against the wall, shaking the placard marking the room we stood beside as the Lazy Cat¡¯s kitchen. Holding her towel out in front of herself like a shield, she then rubbed her knees together for some reason that made her look mildly uncomfortable just standing there. Finally at the end of her oddly silent, but very physical reactions to my question, she put a hand to her chest and drew in a long, deep breath to steady herself. When she let it back out, and only then, did she look me in the eye again. Whatever discomfort she had been reeling from only a moment ago vanished into thin air.

    When she spoke next, she did so with a clear tone, a gentle smile and with the composure of someone completely at peace with the world.

    ¡°Master, I will obey any order you have for me.¡±

    ¡°O-Okay. Great¡­ Then, from here on out, I-I don¡¯t want you to allow anyone else to see your naked body. C-C-Consider that an order!¡±

    I could feel my face growing hot, but likely not as hot as the blushing girl in front of me that nearly dropped her towel once I gave voice to my ridiculous, unearned request. Confusion spread across her face like a wildfire.

    ¡°B-But, Master, if we¡¯re washing outside¡­ What if¡­¡±

    ¡°If someone else comes, I-I want you to cover yourself with your towel. Just keep an ear out for people. I just¡­ don¡¯t want anyone else to see you like that, okay?¡±

    While I made my selfish request for her to keep her truest appearance to herself, she didn¡¯t seem like she actually minded the request any more than she did the absurdity of the request itself.

    The bath was outside. People staying here wash themselves outside. This was an inn where many other people were staying. The odds of someone else coming out to bathe at this hour were definitely not zero. And, as even Beth from the Mage¡¯s Guild knew from her brief visit, we could easily see the bathing area from our room, which meant those in some of the other rooms could, too.

    It may be her body, but I just couldn¡¯t stand the idea of another man looking at her the way I do. A few tried back at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, and tried openly, so I know I am at least not hallucinating her beauty. I don¡¯t deserve that right, but neither do they. And that is a hill I am willing to die on!

    Now that my memory had improved and I could clearly remember what happened the day I died, I felt as though the situation was not too dissimilar to why I finally built up the courage to confess to that old neighbor of mine. Only this instance felt immensely more dire.

    Blushing, eyebrows still raised up high in surprise, she just looked at me as though she couldn¡¯t believe I had actually said the words that her exceedingly adept cat ears just heard clear as day. To combat her confusion, I tried to emphasize the seriousness of my request by straightening my back to at least pretend at the sort of confidence needed to say that I was somehow in the right for asking this, but it probably came off as too forced. I couldn¡¯t have felt more ridiculous if I were unironically striking a super hero pose right here in the hall.

    Yua blinked, but it was the seemingly involuntary twitch to her ears that got the gears in her head moving again.

    ¡°If that is what Master wishes, then I will make sure that nobody else sees me without my clothes on anymore.¡±

    Much to my surprise¡­ No, my bewilderment, instead of going off on me the way she probably should have for making such a ridiculous request, the corners of her lips turned up to softly dimple her blushing cheeks.

    Yes, she smiled at me. It was utterly unmistakable, beautiful, natural and, dare I say, loving. But most of all, it was very present.

    How it was that that so easily became her response, I could never know, but it was a smile nonetheless.

    ¡°G-Good¡­ Then please keep an ear out for other guests while you wash.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master!¡±

    Without waiting for a secondary order or for me to collect my jaw where she left it on the ground, Yua swung the backdoor open stepped out into the magically soft blue glow of the night sky once more. I hurried behind her, fearing that the smile she just showed me would prove to have been a lie if I let myself lose sight of her now.

    The night air was cool as it blew against the sweat already dried against my skin. The leafy foliage lightly rustled in the gentle pressure of the very same breeze that felt like it would have blew me over had I not stopped to hold onto the doorframe first. Water from deep within the well filled the yard with a pleasantly damp scent that seemed to cling to each and every blade of grass, giving the yard a perpetual coating of morning dew that sparkled under the moonlight. And just as she said, there wasn¡¯t a single other soul out here, save for the bed of flowers that would neither judge nor ogle.

    We took our boots off by the door so the wet grass didn¡¯t spoil their leather and stepped into the yard together. I made my way over to the same bench I had borrowed the last time I cleaned up out here and felt with my toes the squishier spots in the grass where an unknown amount of other people had washed at some other point today. Trying not to imagine who that might have been, I reached to pick up a bucket to collect my water when...

    ¡°Wait, Master,¡± Yua called out to me, grabbing the bucket before I could. ¡°It¡¯s a slave¡¯s job to fetch their master¡¯s bath water. Please, let me handle this.¡±

    ¡°¡­O-Okay?¡±

    Yua gave me one of the towels and a rag and ran off to the well with two buckets. Standing there now with nothing to do, I began to sink into a quiet panic as I forced myself to look away from Yua to seek advice from the flowers.

    Should I undress? I mean, I have to in order to wash, but shouldn¡¯t I wait until she got back? She may claim it¡¯s her duty to handle things here, but her coming back to find me naked would be a pretty big ordeal for the both of us. Or would waiting to expose myself to her when she was close just make her hate me again? Maybe. Probably. After all that convincing I had to do just to reassure her that I wouldn¡¯t attack her in her sleep, I was sure that would be several steps too far.

    Or¡­ D-Does she think I am expecting her to wash my body? Is that why she got flustered a moment ago?

    I shook my head. I dared not think of that sort of scenario any more than I already had.

    As she finished collecting the first bucket of water, she let out a small, almost effortless grunt as she set it in the grass. Following was a soft clunk of wood against the stone of the well¡¯s rim as she started on the second bucket. The hand crank she turned squeaked as it spun the collecting bucket back into the water. Drawing water from a well was a mildly amusing experience for me just yesterday, but now each crank felt like another tick of a time bomb waiting to blow.

    Hate was the last thing I wanted her to feel for me. But at the same time, if she so willingly accepted bathing at the same time as me, then what if she just sees this as normal? Perhaps masters often ask their slaves to wash their bodies because of the same laziness that lead the master to buy them in the first place. Then again, if I couldn¡¯t put up with the norm of her eating gruel or sleeping on the floor, then shouldn¡¯t I be rejecting that norm too?

    But if she were willing¡­

    I shook my head again, this time fast enough to make myself dizzy. If I was unable to keep my mind off of any dirty thoughts, it would be best if I just waited to see what her own intentions were. After that, I could just respond accordingly.

    ¡°Master, here¡¯s your water.¡±

    Startled by how the soft grass and her lack of boots allowed her footfalls to paced towards me entirely without sound, I flinched as Yua appeared behind me. She moved so swiftly that it was as if she never left my side. With her towel slung over her shoulder, she held in her hands two buckets filled to the brim with water. Offering one to me with an upturned palm and a courteous smile, she almost looked like a waitress bringing their customer their meal.

    She was still smiling. She doesn¡¯t hate me yet, despite what we were both going to have to do here.

    Is she really this interested in taking a bath? I understood the issue of our day¡¯s-worth of fighting leaving us smelling rather unsavory, and I was certainly desperate enough to embrace my own discomfort, strip down and wash myself outside here where anybody could have seen me, but Yua? A girl, especially one as alluring as her, most definitely had more to lose if she gave into such desperation in such a public way.

    Standing there in the middle of the yard, gazing like an idiot into the wavering surface of the water that she herself gave me as if begging my unrecognizable reflection for answers, I realized she was still standing there. While I nearly flinched again at the sight of her, her tail continued to swish through the air calmly, as if she were only waiting for me to give her the okay to start. If so, this could be my way around the issue of how we would conduct this little wash-up.

    ¡°Uh¡­ Yua, if you want, you can wash up on the other side of the bench. W-With the bushes and tree between us, I won¡¯t¡­ I mean, if someone else comes out here, they shouldn¡¯t see you.¡±

    There. I gave her an out. I made it her choice. No need to make this awkward. Now whatever she did was up to her. I wasn¡¯t making her do anything.

    ¡°O-Okay¡­¡±

    Yua said, sounding a little dejected for some reason.

    As expected, she wondered off to the other side of the bush, completely out of sight as she fled to hide her body from my lecherous gaze. I knew this was for the best when I unconsciously gulped at the sounds of her disrobing.

    I quickly undressed after deciding that I didn¡¯t want to be in this tempting situation any longer than I needed to be. Now really wasn¡¯t the time for embarrassingly weighing the pros and cons of washing half my body at time to spare myself the embarrassment. Stuffing my clothes onto one of the tree branches to keep them from getting wet as I had the day before, all I could do was hope that the darkened sky would hide her well enough to let myself keep calm. More so, I hoped that the cool night air would act the same way a cold shower might once I was cleaned.

    ¡°Ahhh¡­¡±

    Yua let out a soft, relaxed sigh when I heard the tell-tale sound of leather sliding over flesh as she dropped her pants. Understandable. Yes. Being dressed in leather that tight all day had to be as exhausting as it was uncomfortable. I found my own equally as dissatisfying, despite them not being nearly as tight¡­ But why did she have to sigh like that?!

    Already feeling a reaction stirring where said pants used to be thanks to the softness of her voice, I splashed several handfuls of cold water on myself and started scrubbing. Anything to be done faster.

    By the time my chest and arms were cleaned, practically polished to a mirror shine in my fervor, I just barely heard the soft rustling of a much lighter fabric rustle the leaves of the tree separating us. Apparently, she was so in favor of ditching her pants that she abandoned them before her shirt. Trying not to imagine the pure white subtleties of her natural form as it soaked in the moonlight, my ears were once more tempted by the soft sound of and even softer fabric sliding over skin. If she¡¯d already taken off her shirt and pants, this had to have been her¡­

    I dumped more water on myself. I may have been the first to strip, but why did this seem so easy to her? Was it just because she was born in a world where this was normal? Doesn¡¯t matter. I just need to calm down.

    ¡°Ooh, cold¡­! Aah.¡±

    Yua let out another soft sigh after she splashed a generous amount of the chilled water over herself. Splashed water on her naked body. Naked, beautiful body out here in public. Right behind me.

    No. Calm down, my son. Now is not the time to rise! Remember your promise to her!

    We were only out here because she requested it. Don¡¯t take advantage of that. I mean, sure, I needed a bath too, but how could I not notice the fact that the beautiful girl I came out here to wash with only had one set of clothes to her name and that they were currently hanging on a nearby branch, including the simple pair of white panties I had once promised to feign ignorance of when last I saw them, when their existence amongst the leaves now proved the completeness of her nudity?

    Just wash. Wash your body and clear your mind. Geez, the well water is even colder than it was yesterday and I¡¯m still half¡­

    Wash, wash, wash.

    I didn¡¯t think I would be able to do a very good job washing myself, and how could I without soap, but since I was able to wipe off all of the dried sweat, I figured I at least shouldn¡¯t stink anymore. I¡¯m sure Yua was being nice and saying it was her own body that stank, but I¡¯m a man. If she stank from the sweat, I must have offended her nose twice as much.

    I scrubbed myself the best I could, given the circumstances, and raised the bucket up over my head to dump some more of the cold water over myself, both to wash away the grime and to strengthen my resolve. Then I washed some more.

    I could hear the soft sound of wet cloth slapping against bare, smooth skin behind me. While I was in a hurry to finish up, Yua seemed to be taking her time as she hummed a tune I never heard before. She was clearly enjoying her wash, despite the circumstances being what they were. Although, if her clothes were anything to go off, I guess most slaves may not get many opportunities to wash up, save for when they were about to be presented to a prospective buyer. So, maybe this was a happy chance for her.

    For all I knew, this could have been a moment as special for her as when we shared that meal last night. And here I was doing nothing but thinking about how naked she was. If that was the case, then how could I not be called a piece of trash? No, I pretty much am for even having this debate with myself. I was probably a little crazy for it, too.

    There was a loud splash behind me and, on reflex, I looked back to source the noise. There I found Yua¡¯s hands holding her bucket over her head as she let its contents rain down in a carefully controlled, glistening stream over her weary body. Thankfully, the bushes had done their job and guarded her important bits from my line of sight, but I was able to see her cat ears twitch cutely to shake off the water when the localized downpour of hers stopped.

    I snapped my attention back forward towards the inn fast enough to nearly break my neck, instantly reminding myself of how the Hobgoblin did the same before accidentally slamming its face into the wall.

    What if she had seen me looking? I mean, I couldn¡¯t see anything important, but that didn¡¯t mean she wouldn¡¯t be embarrassed. Or, maybe she wouldn¡¯t? We did kiss, after all. She didn¡¯t reject me in the slightest when I pressed my lips to hers. So¡­

    No. No. She, we, almost died right before that and she was so exhausted after that she couldn¡¯t stand for several minutes after. I might as well have taken advantage of her.

    But ever since this morning, she still smiled at me whenever she caught me looking at her. If she had thought of that as me taking advantage of her, why would she smile? Matter of fact, why did she so readily accept it when I asked her never to show her body to anyone else like it belonged to me?

    Well, I mean, it technically does, but that¡¯s not the point! This and that are totally different!

    ¡°Master!¡±

    See? Even Yua disagrees with me!

    ¡°Master!¡±

    ¡°Huh...?¡±

    Feeling a hushed seriousness in the voice that suddenly sounded a lot closer to my person, I looked over my shoulder. Once more entirely on instinct. And once I took in the eye-widening sight that instantaneously enraptured my very soul, I realized I could only ever thank my Luck stat for allowing such a sight to be seen. For not even the Goddess up above could have willed this into existence.

    With the fullness of the moon casting a heavenly halo over her, and with her face a bright shade of pink that was no doubt a reaction to the cold water she poured over herself, Yua stood directly behind me. She was close enough to say I could smell the dampness of her hair. That in and of itself was only something that would have sent my heart a flutter on any other given day, but the impossibility I was faced with now gave my heart a pummeling so severe that I was sure it stopped altogether.

    Standing there in the same open garden we both had been washing in, she wore nothing over her body but a short towel that barely managed to cover the most important aspects of her curvature. Even as she pressed the thin cloth against her breast to at least try at the concept of modesty, I could still see the beginning of a lighter, perkier pink just barely slipping out from beneath the edge of the fabric, tempting me to notice. And more, to look.

    Down below, as she bent forward, I couldn¡¯t see her most maidenly of places, but her towel was clearly short enough to say that all she had to do was stand up straight and I would have been able to see her everything. With her chestnut hair wet and clinging to the sides of her face, shoulders and back, she was unbelievably, unbearably beautiful.

    As if none of the sight before me was enough, she leaned in closer, unintentionally pressing her breasts and the bare pink buds poking out against my back, which had the immediate effect of causing every muscle in my body to stiffen to the point of tearing. Before my mind could implode entirely, she whispered directly into my ear.

    ¡°Master, I¡¯ve been trying to get your attention. You asked me to warn you when someone was coming.¡±

    Ripped out of my stupor brought about by seeing her freshly bathed body, I quickly got to my feet.

    ¡°Uh¡­ Oh? Oh! Right. Um. Here, get behind me. I¡¯ll hide you while you get dressed.¡±

    I turned, but only to give her a reassuring thumbs up and a thankful smile for actually having listened to my selfish request and definitely not to take another look of what she¡¯d yet to hide. However, the only reaction I got from her was a widening of her already large emerald eyes when something caused her to look down.

    ¡°Hurry,¡± I pressed.

    ¡°S-Sorry, Master!¡±

    Yua scrambled back over to grab her clothes off of the tree. Her towel hit the floor just as she left my line of sight. Knowing what this meant, I steadied my resolve once more. She was already prepared to obey my order to hide her body from the sight of other lecherous men, I didn¡¯t want to break that feeling of trust by ogling her now.

    She rejoined me at my backside and quickly started dressing. Despite my human ears, I could hear every movement she made with an unrepentant clarity. From the snap of her panties¡¯ waistband clapping down on her hips to the small grunt she gave in stepping back into the same tight leather pants she was quick to peel off earlier, nothing escaped my notice. But for fear that someone else might hear the same momentarily, and to focus on hiding her, I tried talking in hopes my voice would mask the sound of her dressing.

    ¡°Do you know who is coming?¡±

    ¡°No, Master. I can only tell that it is one person.¡±

    ¡°Damn¡­ I didn¡¯t think anyone else would come to take a bath this late.¡±

    I listened to Yua pull her shirt on over her shoulders and as she untucked her wet hair from its collar. Just as she did, the door finally opened and someone stepped outside to join us in the night.

    ¡°Oh, hey! It¡¯s you again!¡±

    The absurdly sensual dog-girl I met just yesterday stepped out into the night, wearing what looked like a looser, less restrictive version of the dress I¡¯d seen her in the day before, though it was of a much lesser quality than that one had been. If I had to guess, I¡¯d say that this was what she was intending to wear to bed and that she was just here for a quick wash. But that guess was based on nothing more than the fact that she was a slave herself and that Yua¡¯s nighttime outfit had a similar cheapness about it.

    ¡°H-Hi¡­¡±

    Realizing I hadn¡¯t responded to her yet, I mustered up a casual greeting that failed on launch, but she smiled back at me anyways. Without pause, she looked down at my groin and as she did, and as I only just now realized that I had been so worried about Yua¡¯s nudity that I hadn¡¯t covered my own at all since I coming out here. The dog-girl giggled behind her hand and thankfully, her laughter came without an antagonistic flair to it.

    Then, with the same casualness she showed me yesterday, she bent down to grab the hem of her dress before pulling it up over her head in one smooth motion. Once more, like last time, that woman was wearing nothing but a pair of panties beneath her dress. I gulped loudly when those came down as well.

    Catching myself blinking repeatedly and rapidly as my brain tried to compile all the sensory data in front of me into something visually coherent, I felt Yua press her palm to the center of my back. She left it there for only a second or two before she pulled away.

    ¡°M-Master, maybe we should go¡­¡±

    As if trying to catch my attention and to hurry me along, Yua pressed her body against mine as she spoke. When she did, and before my brain could fully register her softness, I realized her tone was what was important as it came out as an odd mixture of both concern and a slight annoyance. I nodded rapidly to show I¡¯d heard her. It was the only way I could think to respond with the world becoming so suddenly chaotic.

    ¡°R-R-Right. It¡¯s nice to see you again, miss, but we just finished here. We¡¯ll be going now.¡±

    The dog-girl tilted her head with a sympathetic smile before she bent over to pick up the same personal bucket she brought out yesterday, showing off her nicely rounded ass and her fluffy tail in the process. Tearing my eyes away from the dangerous sight she unintentionally forced upon me, I reached for the clothes hanging from the tree branch above me while trying (and failing) to nonchalantly cover myself.

    ¡°Oh, is this your slave?¡± the dog-girl asked, sharing her smile with Yua now. Yua smiled back, but I think I saw a slight irritation in her brow, but didn¡¯t dare look to confirm.

    As attentive as my ears had become out here in these last few minutes, I know hadn¡¯t heard the sounds of her buttoning up her blouse yet. Was she mad at me for making her hide her body when this slave¡¯s master didn¡¯t request the same?

    The dog-girl then looked back to me, her tail wagging about as she smiled mischievously. Clearly, she was thinking that her little talk with me inspired me to go out and get a slave of my own. I mean, she wouldn¡¯t be wrong for thinking so, but I sure as hell wasn¡¯t going to admit to it.

    ¡°Y-Yes. I am Master¡¯s slave.¡±

    As shocking as it was unbelievable, Yua was the one to step up and confirm the woman¡¯s suspicions. The woman smiled back, delighted to have been proven correct without ever asking the question by what might have been a territorial flick of her cat ears.

    Maybe the very slight animosity I was feeling from Yua had something to do with this being a bath time showdown between a cat and a dog, a pair of eternal rivals.

    ¡°I-I¡¯ll just get dressed now.¡±

    I pulled my pants off the tree and, apparently unperturbed by the situation or Yua¡¯s half-glare, the woman walked right past us to go collect her water. My male biology demanded that I look at her as she passed that I just couldn¡¯t disobey no matter how hard I tried. Her breasts bounced openly as she walked by, juggling the hardened pink tips at their center with each and every step. As close as she was when she passed me by, I couldn¡¯t help myself from noticing the faint red outline of a bite mark around her right nipple.

    I forced myself to look away after noticing. And the woman clearly stifled a giggle.

    Why was she doing this? And with Yua right here! I could practically hear her glare shift over to me for having looked. Though, contrary to this feeling, she was still smiling.

    I needed to dress and get the hell out of there. So, I slipped on my underwear, as difficult as that simple task had now become thanks to my condition, and hurriedly pulled my pants back on. Yua reached over my head, once more unintentionally pressing her chest against my back to grab for my shirt. After I slipped that on, I grabbed Yua¡¯s hand and made for the door. Instead of stopping to put our boots on, I just grabbed them and rushed inside.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 22

    The moment we were back in our room and away from the prying eyes all other living beings, I fell onto the bed, now exhausted for another reason entirely. Even though she should have been apprehensive now more than ever given what happened while we washed, Yua quietly closed the door and, obeying the past order I meant for her own benefit, she climbed up onto the bed a short distance away from me to avoid sitting on the floor.

    She didn¡¯t say anything for a while. Wondering if she was upset with me, and every prolonged second of silence between us was making it harder to tell myself that she wasn¡¯t, I chanced a peek at her. What I saw was her blushing cheeks as she looked down, not to her feet, not to the floor, but at me. Directly at me. The moment our eyes met, my heart panged and signaled my eyes to retreat to fight another day. Naturally, I made sure to lay on the bed facing down to avoid any further unwanted guests from rising up on the off chance my mind fell back on the sight of her covering herself with that tiny towel, but this effort must not have been enough for her.

    I may not have seen all of her, in fact, I really hadn¡¯t seen anything that would have been censored on public television, but I had essentially seen Yua naked. That incident only came to pass because she warned me exactly like I asked her to. But it was mainly because I was so lost in thought that I hadn¡¯t been cognizant enough to have heard her repeated warnings, prompting her to move closer to get my attention.

    If I had known that the person she heard coming was a woman, I would have worried more about myself. Then again, I suppose I didn¡¯t specify men when I gave her the order to hide herself.

    ¡°Master¡­ Who was that woman?¡±

    Breaking the silence by asking the question I knew was coming, but still hoped wouldn¡¯t, Yua finally met my eyes. Her cheeks were still flushed as she twiddled her thumbs. Without another word, for anymore would have been too painful, she awaited my response.

    ¡°Uh, her? Well¡­ she¡¯s just a random slave I happened to run into outside yesterday.¡±

    ¡°You ran into her¡­ outside? Back there?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yea,¡± I said and I had no reason to lie. That woman more or less said the same thing. ¡°B-But nothing happened!¡±

    Yua¡¯s cat ears perked up at my sudden shout and she bit her lip. She looked away, contemplating something with a roll of her chin and let the silence steal our voices again for a minute or two before looking back.

    ¡°I understand. Master was washing himself when that woman just happened to come out to do the same, right?¡±

    ¡°Right!¡±

    That was exactly what happened, but¡­ why does it feel like I¡¯m being interrogated?

    ¡°I-I sorry for looking at her¡­¡±

    Deciding to preemptively apologize before she really got mad, I put my hands together to pray for her forgiveness. Her eyes widened at the sight of her master making such a pleading gesture in front of her. Shocked enough to gasp, she waved her hands dismissively.

    ¡°Wha¡­ Master doesn¡¯t need to apologize for that. I don¡¯t mind at all. It¡¯s just¡­¡±

    She doesn¡¯t mind? How? Did I just imagine her glaring at the back of my head?

    ¡°Th-Then is it because I asked you not to let anyone else see you naked?¡±

    ¡°No... I am happy to obey Master¡¯s orders.¡±

    ¡°Th-Then was it because I saw you¡­ Naked?¡±

    ¡°N-No.¡±

    Yua pinched her knees together, as if trying to strangle her own hands as she pressed them between her thighs. She bit her lip again. Her eyes started to wonder all over my body, lingering here and there for reasons I couldn¡¯t so much as guess at. Her face flushed a deeper shade of pink when her eyes stopped moving. Just when my brain was about a half-second away from registering which part of me she was looking at so intently, I reflexively opened my mouth.

    ¡°Wait, then you aren¡¯t mad I saw you? I-I mean, I really didn¡¯t see much because of the towel and all, but¡­Sorry.¡±

    Yua¡¯s cheeks darkened again, but she shook her head.

    ¡°N-No. I am Master¡¯s slave. I-I am not scared of Master looking at my body. It¡¯s just¡­¡±

    Yua put a tentative hand to her chest, as if to slow her heart beat, but it was me that needed to about a heart attack right now. Those were some dangerous words to a guy like me.

    ¡°Then why did you¡­¡±

    A knock at the door interrupted our conversation before I could finish. Probably seeing it as a chance to avoid my next question, Yua shot out of bed. Making decent use of her elevated Speed stat, she made it to the door quite literally in the blink of an eye. Well, I¡¯m sure if my brain had been running at full capacity, it wouldn¡¯t have seemed so fast, but my Memorization trait was playing all sorts of dirty tricks on me every time I my eyes lingered on her.

    After a moment to compose herself that lasted longer than her trip to the door, Yua pulled it open and greeted the our surprise guest as politely as possible. The innkeeper sneered openly at Yua, then to me as she stood there, holding a tray with two plates of piping hot food as well as two cups of tea that she no doubt wanted to be rid of.

    When her sneer returned to Yua and the poor girl forced a smile, I got the feeling that she may have misunderstood something between us. She was no doubt close enough to notice Yua¡¯s flushed cheeks and could easily see that I was sitting on the bed, just as flustered.

    ¡°Oh. So, you¡¯re here this time,¡± she said, choosing to avoid the topic herself. ¡°Guess the food was plenty cold by the time you got back yesterday, wasn¡¯t it?¡±

    She practically shoved the tray into Yua¡¯s arms before thumping her hands onto her hips to increase the reprimanding effect of the glare she aimed at the both of us. It was as if we¡¯d wronged her by letting her cooking get cold before eating it.

    ¡°Sorry about that,¡± I said, happy myself to have the conversation changed. ¡°We were in the dungeon and sort of lost track of time.¡±

    She scoffed and waved me off.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care. You already paid for the meal anyway. Once more, dear guest, here is the two meals you ordered. When you are done, leave the dishes in the hall and they will be collected later.¡±

    After showing that her disdain for me had not faded in the slightest, the innkeeper once more flicked her eyes between us, scoffed and left the room.

    ¡°What was all that about,¡± I asked as soon as the door was closed and I was sure that the sound-muffling enchantment of the room was in effect.

    The flush that had been brightening her face quickly disappeared and her ears flattened themselves against her head, though she tried to keep up the already clearly forced smile she¡¯d been wearing since answering the door. She stared down at the plates of food without any of the longing she¡¯d showed before our late dinner yesterday, even though she had to be at least as hungry as she was then.

    ¡°Master, I told you that slaves don¡¯t eat the same food as their masters, right?¡±

    Ah. That nonsense again.

    ¡°Yes. And like I said, I¡¯ll be giving you real food from now on. So, don¡¯t worry about that.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Master really is too kind. It¡¯s not that I am worried about it. The innkeeper knows that I am your slave, so she looks down on me. Thanks to your kindness, instead of giving me gruel, she had to cook this nice meal for someone she thinks doesn¡¯t deserve it.¡±

    Yua was torn between smiling in the face of the hot meal waiting for her to dig in and the sadness of being hated for no other reason than simply existing as she was. That was something I understood a little too well from my life on Earth. I got off the bed and took the tray from her.

    ¡°You do deserve it, Yua. I don¡¯t care what anyone else says or thinks. That woman and people that think like her are just hateful. Don¡¯t let her get to you. I say you are fine to eat what you please. If she doesn¡¯t like that, then she can go jump off a bridge. You worked hard today. You deserve a good meal to build back up that impressive strength of yours.¡±

    She sniffled a bit, but the side of her that wanted to enjoy her meal started to win out and a little more honesty weaved itself back into the smile still on her lips.

    ¡°I can¡¯t tell you to forget everything you¡¯ve been taught about being a slave, but what I can tell you is that I won¡¯t allow you to be treated the way she wants me to treat you.¡±

    ¡°Master is too kind¡­¡±

    ¡°And why shouldn¡¯t I be? If being nice is all it takes to make you smile, then I want to be nice,¡± I patted the top of her head to reassure her. Something my old self never could have done. ¡°Come on, it¡¯s time to relax now. Let¡¯s eat before it gets cold.¡±

    Nodding, now with a smile brighter than the magic candle that lit the room, Yua sat down on the floor to eat, likely assuming I meant to make a repeat of last night. Once she was good and settled, I handed her portion and sat down beside her, feeling all the more heated by the fact that she didn¡¯t so much as flinch when I did, but I chose to pretend the hot tea I gulped down was the one responsible.

    The meal wasn¡¯t anything special. Not any more than last night¡¯s was, anyways. The unknowable meat was still bland without any seasonings to jazz it up, but Yua chewed every bite of it as thoroughly as though she somehow thought she¡¯d get back at the innkeeper by enjoying every second of it. She even went so far as to carefully examine each bite she cut off with her knife before taking it into her mouth. And, if I were being honest, from the looks of her, had I not been present, she would have licked the leftover fat and grease off the plate were I not there.

    Fuck that bitch of an innkeeper. This smile is worth every copper I put into this meal.

    Once we had cleaned our plates, Yua got up to take the now empty dishes out into the hall while I stuffed what was left of the bread we couldn¡¯t eat into my item box. When she came back in, holding onto her stomach like she was truly satisfied, I smirked and pat the floor where she sat next to me. Without so much as a question as to why I was calling for her to sit down again, she happily returned to my side.

    ¡°That was really tasty, Master,¡± she said with a small bow that left her chestnut hair to dangle over her shoulder. ¡°Thank you for letting me have some.¡±

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t thank me yet. You see, while I was at the bakery, I got us something else.¡±

    Her cat ears perked up, but not before her eyebrows did the same. I saw her cute little nostrils flaring slightly, repeatedly, like she was trying to sniff out my secret. Instead of joking around and letting her search for the thing that might as well be hiding in another dimension, I flipped over the bread basket to use it as a miniature table, hovered my hand over it and called upon my item box.

    Along with the usual purple miasma effect my item box insisted upon, a white and yellow slice of cake fell out onto the basket, where it gave a spongey bounce before settling into place. I didn¡¯t yet know how my item box handled food, so I wrapped the thing in a napkin for safe keeping. Though, while letting the food repeatedly touch the miasma was of middling concern, Yua inhaled sharply as her nose couldn¡¯t have possibly failed to catch the sweet scent of the cake when it was so close.

    Yua clapped her hands over her mouth, failing completely to hide her gasp as her tail started swishing about faster than ever. I felt I was going to need to apologize to the bedframe because of how her tail pummeled it, but I wasn¡¯t done yet. I followed the cakey reveal by pulling out the second slice of and then the cookies. After seeing these, she didn¡¯t seem to notice that her tail had switched from beating the bed to thumping against my leg, as though trying to get my attention so she could show me the very foods I was already well aware of.

    ¡°I got these as a thank you. As a reward and as thanks. I couldn¡¯t have gotten this far without you and without you, I wouldn¡¯t have had a reason to even try.¡±

    Setting out in this new world with the intention of rebuilding myself into something better may have just been wishful thinking on my part when I still had the mindset of a cowardly shut-in, but I can say for certain that finding Yua and us getting stuck together in our attempts to earn money was the primary reason why I could say for the most part that I was accomplishing that goal. Even if just a little.

    ¡°But Master¡­ Weren¡¯t they expensive? I thought you wanted to save. You even sold your¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Thanks to the bonus we got from the Elderwood Staff, we have some extra money.¡±

    ¡°B-But¡­¡±

    Just like last night, the thought of eating something so extravagant caused tears to spill down her cheeks and this time she didn¡¯t fight them. I could tell the smell of the pastries was just as intoxicating to her as it was when we walked past the bakery, yet her hesitation wouldn¡¯t let her actually touch them. Like she thought they¡¯d vanish from existence the moment she even tried.

    I ushered her on by sliding the basket closer to her. She covered her mouth and let out a small cry through her lips. I leaned in and wiped the fresh set of tears from her face.

    ¡°Go ahead Yua. I got them for you. No games. No tricks. Just my thanks.¡±

    She looked at me, reverence in her eyes before her peachy lips quivered behind her fingers and more tears fell. When she uncovered her mouth, she had a full toothy smile that I could tell was trying to thank me, but that couldn¡¯t quite form the words to do so. Despite the want in her being so obvious, Yua hugged her knees to her chest and just stared at the cakes for a minute or so until she found something to say.

    ¡°¡­ When I came to Amoranth five years ago, I had a really hard time getting used to all the noise. There¡¯s just so many people here. All of them talking, arguing, working and playing and I could hear it all. I just couldn¡¯t focus. My ears were almost constantly hurting. Being inside the dungeon was just about the only time I had any quiet and could think straight. You know, I think getting used to all the humans¡¯ noise was part of the test.¡±

    ¡°A test?¡±

    Yua nodded.

    ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m here. It was a test of strength set by my people. The dungeon, I mean. But after coming here, I¡¯ve come to think that forcing myself to get used to all the noise was meant to be a part of it. My village wasn¡¯t exactly quiet, but there is nowhere near as many of us there. I definitely wasn¡¯t ready for this.¡±

    A test of strength, huh? No wonder why she was so happy to beat the third floor. And if her ears were sensitive enough to literally hear my heartbeat from a foot or two away, then I could only imagine the torture her first visit caused her.

    ¡°Sorry we humans are so noisy.¡±

    ¡°Haha. No, Master, I¡¯m not complaining. If it meant I was able to get stronger, I was happy to have struggled. It¡¯s just¡­ whenever I¡¯d leave the dungeons for the day and walk back into the noise, I¡¯d smell the bakery I brought you to and the smells coming from it were just overpowering enough to drown out the noise. I-I¡¯m sure that doesn¡¯t make any sense and I¡¯m probably not explaining it right, but it¡¯s true.

    ¡°We didn¡¯t have anything like that in my village, so when I smelled something sweet, I ran to check it out. The baker was nice and explained to me what the smell was without laughing. I think he understood that I¡¯m not from Amoranth or any of the other human settlements from just that, but when he told me how much they cost, I couldn¡¯t help but feel defeated. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to buy them for a long while. Not until I was strong enough to make the dungeons easy, anyways.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I said softly, not accusing her in the slightest. ¡°One slice of cake was only 1 silver. You could buy a whole cake with the reward for just one Proud Wolf Pelt.¡±

    Wiping her tears again, Yua looked at me out of the corner of her eye and smirked.

    ¡°Hahaha. Master, there¡¯s no way I could. I think you¡¯re underestimating how¡­ unique you are.¡±

    ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t follow.¡±

    Yua let go of her knees to recross them. Sitting up straight, she held up a finger, looking like she was about to delve into a long lecture, but the gentle smile spread across her lips was anything but disparaging.

    ¡°Since we started fighting yesterday, we¡¯ve had a pretty easy time dealing with the monsters, but things don¡¯t normally go so smoothly. Remember when I told you most people just fight one or two monsters before they leave the dungeon? I was serious. For most people, unless they are visiting a floor way below their own level, fighting the monsters is dangerous, difficult and stressful. It was slow.¡±

    ¡°But you handled the wolves so easily. And that was before I started leveling you.¡±

    That aside, if what she was telling me now was the full truth, just what sort of hell did she put herself through to be able to clear an entire dungeon floor on her own?

    As if agreeing with my thoughts and finding the memory of her struggles to be a happy thing, Yua nodded.

    ¡°I had a lot of experience fighting them. And like I said, those pups don¡¯t stand a chance against me¡­ anymore.¡±

    ¡°Then why couldn¡¯t you afford to splurge a little and buy yourself something sweet?¡±

    ¡°Because I didn¡¯t have the coin to do so. I didn¡¯t have Master¡¯s help in the dungeon, so I had to fight all the monsters by myself. And just so I could keep fighting, I had to buy a lot of potions. Health Potions, Stamina Potions, Cure Poison Potions incase the slime¡¯s goo got in my mouth while fighting.¡±

    She started putting up more and more fingers the more she listed her past expenses. And I started to worry that she might not have enough fingers to list them all as she continued.

    ¡°Then there was the food and water I needed to buy. Bandages so I didn¡¯t have to waste potions on small cuts and bruises. Spare clothes for when mine got ruined in the fighting, since I didn¡¯t bring any extra from home. I had to pay rent for the room I was borrowing every night. And, just, there was a lot more. I could fight the monsters easily enough, but I couldn¡¯t make money fast enough to cover my expenses and buy things like this. We only have it so easy because Master made us so strong.¡±

    Pointing to the cake still waiting for her to devour it, she smiled lovingly.

    ¡°But what about the boss loot? You said you sold that, right? The Proud Great Wolf pelt was worth 10 gold. That should have kept you going for at least a few weeks, right?¡±

    I could understand how the potions would cost her quite a lot, since she¡¯d need to constantly keep up her stamina with potions so she didn¡¯t get too tired and mess up in her fights, but when those were gone or she just slipped up and bit off more than she could chew and got hurt, then the health potions would be even more of a necessity than I thought they were myself.

    But they weren¡¯t so expensive that 10 gold couldn¡¯t keep her going for a while. Hell, Madame Turquesse even seemed to pride herself a bit on how cheaply she was able to sell these necessary potions, despite the quality she imbued them with.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    At my question, Yua flinched and raised her shoulders defensively. She blushed, pressed her lips into a thin line and after spending the next few seconds mulling over whether or not to tell me and then, after she likely decided it was best to do so, she spilled the beans.

    ¡°I, uh¡­ When I first came to Amoranth, I didn¡¯t really know what I was doing or where to go, so I asked around for a place I could stay the night and accepted the first offer that was made to me. They told me they may not have many rooms left, so I hurried to the inn as soon as I got directions. I didn¡¯t realize it at first, but that inn was really expensive. It took all the coin my parents gave me just to pay for the first week. And at first, I thought that making the coin needed to stay here was part of the test of strength, so I struggled to keep paying, but I did so without fail.

    ¡°Then one day after about a year and a half of this, when I made it to the second-floor boss room for the first time, I found another Adventurer waiting there. The boss hadn¡¯t respawned yet and he was waiting for his turn, so I waited with him. We got to talking and he complained about how hungry he was because the inn he was staying at was so cheap that they didn¡¯t even offer any food. When I asked where his inn was and how much he was paying for it, I felt like I had been tricked. I ran straight back to my inn and tried to get my coin back, but since I paid ahead of time for the week, they wouldn¡¯t give it back. So, I finished out that week and switched to that other inn.¡±

    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    ¡°You¡­ You spent over a year renting an inn you couldn¡¯t afford? Didn¡¯t you look around for other options.¡±

    ¡°Haha¡­ The human world is kind of confusing, I guess.¡±

    Scratching my head, I felt as though I shouldn¡¯t be judging her for that particular failure, since I more or less did the same thing when I got here. I was just a little lucky that this inn ended up being somewhat cheap, but I suppose I still should have looked around to weigh my options. Then again, given how the incident that happened here eventually led me to Yua, it¡¯s hard to say I wouldn¡¯t have stayed here again if given a chance to redo the last couple of days.

    I suppose we¡¯re just a couple of impulsive idiots that jumped at the first chance to get what we thought we needed without thinking it through. When I thought of this similarity between us, a small smile spread across my lips.

    Possibly thinking my smile had something to do with her admittance of how hard she had it back then, after berating me for not knowing the same things she didn¡¯t herself just yesterday, Yua pressed her palms firmly onto her thighs like she was about to explode off the floor to continue ranting on her feet to hide her shame, but she didn¡¯t. She stayed put. And she stared longingly at the cakes.

    ¡°I always wanted to try one of these, Master.¡±

    ¡°Then do it. Like you said, we can handle the monsters easily now, so a couple silvers really isn¡¯t a problem right now.¡±

    Feeling as though I was a hypocrite for saying something so flippant when I had been causing fights with shopkeepers and selling my own things just to scrimp and save money, I stayed quiet.

    Sniffling back the tears that hadn¡¯t quite faded yet, Yua nodded before carefully picking up the first cake with her bare hands. The slice was barely larger than her fist, but she held it so gently that you¡¯d have thought she was scared of breaking it. She squeezed it lightly, testing its consistency with a happy grin. I hadn¡¯t had the forethought to have her keep hold of our dinner forks and I certainly wasn¡¯t going to ruin her fun by moving to go get them.

    She looked at it closely, examining each and every little airy pocket of sweetness in the sponge. She smelled it again and again, her nostrils flaring as if she meant to remember its scent more than its flavor. Then, as if she couldn¡¯t fully believe in the existence of the thing she was holding in her hand, she smelled it again. When she finally held it up to her mouth, she looked to me, using nothing but her glossy eyes to ask yet again if it was really okay to eat something so extravagant.

    I nodded and, without further hesitation, she bit down.

    ¡°Mmmm!¡±

    The second the sweet pastry greeted her tongue, she squealed with so much delight that I was almost concerned she¡¯d hurt her throat. With a hand to her cheek as she chewed slowly, savoring every bite, still more tears started down her cheeks. Watching her enjoy something I had known to be so easy to obtain that you could stop by just about any gas station and pick up a cheap, factory-made piece on a whim, I almost felt like joining her in crying over our dessert.

    ¡°It¡¯s so squishy and sweet!¡±

    The baker had said sugar was scarce, but for her to not even know what cake tasted like was just heartbreaking. Seeing the one I bought for myself just sitting there untouched while she enjoyed hers so much that it literally brought her to tears was just unfair.

    The cake was only 1 silver. 1 damn silver. All she would have had to of done to earn a slice herself was beat a single monsters in the dungeon, turn in it¡¯s loot and buy a piece. She could have done that every day if she wanted had things been different. The things they made her eat at the slave house must have been so tasteless that even a slice of unaltered white bread must have tasted like heaven to her. So, this must have tasted like¡­ Well, I don¡¯t know if the heaven I visited had a second heaven above it, but if her expression was anything to go by, there was.

    Yua smiled at me through a mouthful of cake, her eyes sparkling now that the tears were gone. She quickly took on a questioning gaze when she noticed that I wasn¡¯t eating with her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. All of this is for you. Just enjoy it.¡±

    Deciding that something I had taken for granted for so long should belong to her, to someone that could truly enjoy it, I offered her my share. Hearing this, she gulped down the bite she had been working on, only to briefly look remorseful at not having chewed it longer, before speaking.

    ¡°But, Master, I can¡¯t take yours¡­¡±

    ¡°I said it¡¯s alright. I¡¯m full from dinner. You go ahead and take it.¡±

    Seeing how I wasn¡¯t going to back down despite my dinner being just as big as hers, Yua blushed all the way to her ears. But just when I thought she was going to give in to my offer the way she did last night, she set her cake down, spun on the floor to sit facing me and looked me dead in the eye. Her beautiful features weren¡¯t twisted into anger or rejection, instead, she looked somewhat concerned. Like she thought that what I was giving her wasn¡¯t just a piece of cake, but a life-saving potion while I was already bleeding out.

    However, she didn¡¯t even look at her cake again. Though, I did catch her mouth moving like she was tonguing the bits of it stuck to her teeth before she spoke.

    ¡°Master, may I have permission to say something? Something that you might find rude?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ Sure. And, um, you really don¡¯t need to ask. If you ever have something to say, just say it.¡±

    Yua nodded. Gripping her knees over her pants, she let her emerald eyes linger on mine for a good while. There was an apprehension to her now, but I could tell she was struggling to work past her slave training to say what she needed to. I felt as though I had already made it clear that I wouldn¡¯t hurt her, but maybe knowing what she had in mind was rude made her worry. Hard to say given her attitude yesterday, but this version of her was so different that she might as well have been another person entirely.

    ¡°Master,¡± she said finally. ¡°¡­ Is there something wrong with you?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    She paused again, but this time the hesitation lasted only a second. The relief that washed over her after giving voice to her question was enough to spur her on.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been watching you all day and you¡¯ve been acting really weird.¡±

    ¡°Weird how?¡±

    We¡¯d only know each other for two days now. How can she say I¡¯ve been acting strangely when I haven¡¯t noticed anything myself?

    ¡°I thought you were worried about your debt,¡± she said. ¡°But that wasn¡¯t it. So, then I thought it was because you were carrying that enchanted ring and you were worried someone might steal it or something, but then you left it with the auction house. You shouldn''t have needed to worry about it anymore, but you¡¯re still acting weird.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ Uh, haha. I guess I¡¯m just nervous about tomorrow, is all.¡±

    Yua shook her head without letting her emeralds leave my person.

    ¡°No, Master, it¡¯s not worry. I¡¯m worried too, but you¡¯re¡­ I don¡¯t know. You seem almost¡­ sad.¡±

    For some reason, her concerned comment sounded almost like an accusation. Something in my chest panged, but I brushed it off with a shake of my head.

    ¡°Sad? Am I sad? Wait¡­ Is that why you keep praising me for doing the same things I¡¯ve been doing all of the last two days?¡±

    While it was nice to have her do so every time I did or said something moderately interesting, it felt out of place. To the best of her knowledge, I was born with the traits and abilities I¡¯ve shown her so far. She knows that me gaining a teleportation spell was a fluke, but she looked so excited every time I used it, even when I was just proving I could to the Mage¡¯s Guild. Then there was my combat magic. Fire Ball was the same spell I had been using all day yesterday and for most of today. The only difference in it was the staff.

    Had she goaded me into using it just so she could praise me?

    ¡°Were you trying to make me feel better because you thought I was sad?¡±

    Yua nodded quickly, as if she couldn¡¯t quite explain her actions herself until just now.

    ¡°Yes. I know Master is sad. I can hear it in your heart and I can see it on your face. So, I tried to make you happy.¡±

    ¡°By saying I was amazing?¡±

    She nodded again, this time with a big smile.

    ¡°When I was living in the slave house, every time I¡¯d complete a task or learned what they wanted me to learn, they¡¯d say wow, someone like you actually managed to do it, amazing. So, I thought that was just how humans praised each other. It made me little happy, at least.¡±

    Yua pumped her fists, apparently proud to have made that connection on her own, but I felt stuck. I truly did not know how to respond to her or the way she smiled so assuredly at me now.

    She had yet to say anything good about her time at the slave house, but was it really so bad that a back-handed compliment like that actually made her feel good?

    No, I suppose that shouldn¡¯t matter. If she¡¯d been trying to cheer me up, be trying to parse out what her past was like. I should just be grateful. But¡­

    ¡°Do I really look sad to you?¡±

    She stopped pumping her fists and returned to the more dignified posture she took up before she started. This time, she didn¡¯t nod.

    ¡°Yes, Master. All day yesterday and again today, you spent the whole time looking down at your feet. When we¡¯re walking in the city. Between fights in the dungeons. When we were looking around the all the shops earlier. It¡¯s like, um, you never looked at anyone unless they talked to you first or if you needed something from them. It makes you look sad.¡±

    ¡°¡­ I feel like I¡¯ve been looking at you a lot, though.¡±

    In the light of the magic candle sharing a bit of light with the room where the moon¡¯s shine didn¡¯t quite fill the window just yet, I could swear she blushed just a little. But her worried expression didn¡¯t so much as twitch.

    ¡°Yes. You have been. But it¡¯s only me you do that with. Nobody else. It¡¯s just¡­ sad watching you hang your head all the time.¡±

    Hang my head? Staring at my feet? How can she say that when she herself once complained that I ogled women too much? How when she was one of those women?

    I¡¯m not sad. I¡¯m just a socially awkward idiot that doesn¡¯t know how to talk to people correctly because I spent most of my life trapped behind a computer screen.  She doesn¡¯t know what she¡¯s¡­

    ¡°Master¡­ Won¡¯t you please have some cake with me? You may not think it¡¯s all that much, but I think it¡¯ll make you feel better. At least, a little bit. Besides, you keep saying I¡¯ve been working hard, but so have you.¡±

    Apparently willing to let this sadness thing go, she grabbed hold of my hand and pulled it over to the extra slice I had already decided to give to her. And, for all her strength, I couldn¡¯t have ripped my hand away from hers if I tried. But she wasn¡¯t forcing me. A slave forcing her master to eat sounded so ironically hilarious that I would have been laughing had the worry marring her once beautiful feature not been so very present in the moment.

    Forcing the most reassuring smile I could, I copied her and scooped up the cake with just my hand and only then did she let go. Seeing that I gave in, she scooted closer. Close enough for her arm to press against mine. Leaning against me, she took up her piece as well. With nothing but her smile urging me forward, we both took a bite.

    She was right. It was sweet. The cake was sweet, soft, moist and if it¡¯s color and my own tastebuds had a say in it, it tasted like it had a slight vanilla flavoring to it. It was everything you¡¯d want in a cake. It wasn¡¯t the best I¡¯d ever had, but sitting here with her, it was up there.

    Yua squealed with delight again as she worked over her second taste of the food she longed for. Her tail had already resumed thumping against my side and I said nothing for it. It almost felt like there had to be something wrong with my tongue if I wasn¡¯t enjoying it as much as she was.

    After her fourth bite, she excitedly pointed to the small pile of cookies that had so far gone untouched.

    ¡°Master, what are those? They smell sweet.¡±

    This just isn¡¯t right.

    I know I needed to tell myself that not everybody in this world had easy access to this kind of stuff, but to not even know what they are?

    ¡°Those are cookies,¡± I said, swallowing down the last of my cake. ¡°Why don¡¯t you try one?¡±

    While the cake¡¯s overall lacking presentation made it look like it could have passed as some sort of extra sweet bread that happened to have a thin layer of icing on it, the cookies looked exactly like the chocolate chip cookies I would have expected to find piled into boxes in the sweets section of just about any supermarket, except that there were no chocolatey bits baked into these ones.

    I don¡¯t know if chocolate exists in this world, but if I find some, I¡¯m definitely giving it to her.

    She carefully set the cake down again, probably wary of dropping it, and picked up a cookie. After examining it with all the same enthusiasm she did the cake, she slipped it into her mouth and bit down. At first, she looked a little surprised to feel that it was a tiny bit tougher than the cake, but once its flavor flooded her mouth, she nearly jumped. Or rather, she did.

    Yua leaned hard into me, pressing her soft body against mine as if asking for help trying to contain the sweetness of the cookie. I laughed, glad that I managed to finish off my piece of cake instead of slowly enjoying it like she had, because I definitely would have dropped it.

    ¡°Master, it¡¯s even sweeter than the cake!¡±

    ¡°Sure is.¡±

    ¡°Mmm. It¡¯s hard to explain, but¡­ I think the cake is sweet but it makes me want to drink something. But this cookie just makes me want to eat more!¡±

    ¡°Yea, that¡¯s usually how people feel. They can be hard to put down.¡±

    Considering how the sweetness of cookies and such were a large factor in why I used to be overweight, I knew full well how hard they could be to put down when you had nothing else to occupy yourself with and a will power so lacking that just the existence of junk food in your pantry felt like a taunt you had no other choice but to bow to.

    ¡°Master, don¡¯t you want some?¡±

    She held out her half-eaten cookie to me and, seeing as how she nearly forced me to enjoy the cake with her, I gave in and took one for myself. If she was going to let me share my food with her, I should let her share her sweets with me.

    She grinned widely when I bit down this time, bits of cookie stuck in her teeth.

    ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re really good. Definitely going to have to get more later.¡±

    Maybe I should have gone ahead and splurged a bit more and bought a slice or two of that pie the baker mentioned. I was happy enough to have received this fit and healthy body, but a couple sweets here and there weren¡¯t going to be a problem as long as I controlled myself. So, while I shared in her joy, I quietly let Yua take the rest of the cookies once her sweet tooth really kicked in and she stopped talking.

    With her still snuggled up against my arm, switching between nibbling away at her cookies like a chipmunk and squealing every time she took a bite of cake, I instantly gave into the urge to wrap my arm around her back the moment it appeared within my mind. She didn¡¯t so much as flinch at my touch, but she smiled warmly to show she knew I was there. I held her close and watched her as she spent the next hour savoring every single crumb.

    After a good long while of sitting on the floor together, of Yua leaning on my shoulder looking both thoroughly satisfied and full, the mana I had funneled into the magic candle dried out. The burning light faded away and a reminder of the late hour appeared when the moonlight filtering in through the window suddenly became the only thing that allowed my eyes to continue working.

    ¡°Yua, we should head to bed now. I think we ought to head to the auction house and be there when it all starts.¡±

    I wanted to trust in my luck and say I was sure the ring would sell as I had earlier, but I needed an answer as soon as possible. If we found it didn¡¯t sell, we would need to run to the dungeons as soon as we could. We only had one more day.

    ¡°Yes, Master.¡±

    I stood up first this time and offered Yua a hand. She took it with the same smile that hadn¡¯t left her lips since she finished eating and she went over to her suitcase. With a flick and a snap of the metal clasp, it popped open and she started digging through it. When she came back up holding the same incredibly loose-fitting rag of a shirt she wore last night, set it on the bed and began to untie the leather strips holding her shirt together, I turned around to give her some privacy as well as to take off my own shirt.

    While she had said earlier that she wasn¡¯t scared of my looking at her body, the change from how timid she was last night was too sudden. I didn¡¯t want to take advantage of her good mood by sneaking a peak.

    I flung my shirt to the floor, pulled off my belt, pushed my boots aside and hopped back into bed. Once the nearly torturous sounds of Yua undressing and then re-dressing right in front of the bed ended, she moved to stand beside me, her now unguarded backside repeatedly exposing itself to the room¡¯s side wall thanks to the swishing tail that wouldn¡¯t let the hem of her top settle.

    To spare her the discomfort she didn¡¯t even seem to have, I lifted up the blanket for her. She crawled over me to get beneath it and to get away from the chill she no doubt must have felt changing into such a revealing outfit. More astonishing than how I didn¡¯t need to remind her that sleeping on the floor was no longer allowed, was how she cuddled up next to me and rested her head on my bicep without complaint and, this time, with a smile.

    She closed her eyes and by the moonlight, I watched over her. Feeling her softness press against me and with her showing me such a cute smile even as she started to drift into unconsciousness, it honestly felt like it was mine and mine alone. And when silence returned to the world, I hated myself all over again.

    Even if I could say that all it took to win her over was some sweets, I can¡¯t get over the idea that she is only here beside me now because I bought her. I hated the thought of being alone in this world even more than I did on Earth. This was my one and only chance to start over, to do things the right way and to live a better life and the first thing I did was fund the fucking slave trade?! The hell?!

    I could still smell the sweetness of the cookies on her breath as she balled herself up next to me. Unlike last night, there was no tenseness in any of her movements or in the way she lay. I suppose she might have just gotten used to this since I just spent the last hour or so with my arm around her. But, was she only letting me do this because she still thinks I¡¯m sad? Or, maybe, did she want me to?

    No. How could that be? A girl this perfect, with me? If I hadn¡¯t bought her, she wouldn¡¯t have given me the time of day. I know it and, most importantly, I can prove it. And I can do it right now. Prove once and for all that this is all just a long-winded dream. That my wishful thinking had just gotten the better of me and that my years in seclusion had truly just destroyed my sanity.

    I¡¯ll prove it, so that I can finally stop worrying over the inevitable.

    ¡°Hey, Yua¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master?¡±

    Her sweet voice came from under the blanket where she should have been sleeping. She sounded tired, but there was no hint of annoyance in her tone for rousing her.

    ¡°Can a master give a slave their freedom back?¡±

    Her ears flicked up as if she were startled by a explosion and she rocketed up into a sitting position atop the bed. Under the moonlight enveloping her, I couldn¡¯t help but notice that her rag-shirt had slipped off her shoulder ever so slightly and the deep cut in its side had suddenly left just a tiny bit of pink to filter into view like it had back in the bath.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ You¡¯ve been so good to me that I thought you might like it if I gave you your freedom back once I paid off your contract.¡±

    Even under the dim light, I could tell she was looking at me skeptically, not hopefully.

    ¡°Well, no Master. Once the slave spell is cast on a thief, they will remain a slave until the day they die. No matter what. It cannot be undone.¡±

    ¡°So, if I gave you your freedom, you¡¯d¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d still be your slave.¡±

    ¡°No, I mean, symbolically. I¡¯d let you go back to the life you had before you became a slave. I suppose you¡¯d still be a slave, but you¡¯d never need to worry about me ordering you around ever again.¡±

    ¡°I know what you mean. And I¡¯d still stay with you even if you tried to let me go.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ why turn away your freedom for me?¡±

    ¡°Because Master is the kindest person I know. Master has shared his food with me, let me eat meat, gave me sweets and ate them all with me as an equal. You even let me sleep in your bed, just so I wouldn¡¯t have to sleep on the floor.¡±

    ¡°But those are all things that anybody¡­¡±

    ¡°No! They aren¡¯t!¡±

    Yua shouted, lifting herself off the bed so that her face was hovering over mine. The blanket slipped further down her back and the all-too-loose shirt she wore dangled too far down for me not to notice the pink tip that entered my line of sight. I gulped. I felt my notice was too obvious, and yet, she didn¡¯t seem to care as she glared at me, as if I were offending her by not believing in her every word.

    ¡°This is what I was talking about! You¡¯re sad, so you want me to leave so you can keep being sad!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m telling you, I¡¯m not¡­¡±

    ¡°Slaves are nothing but trash that society has thrown away,¡± she said, cutting me off. ¡°Nobody cares if a thief is taken by a slaver, because we broke the laws of the world we were all supposed to share. Slaves are meant to be used whenever and however their master sees fit and no matter how hard we are worked, we¡¯d never have the right to complain. Not anymore. Not after what we did. Even if it was just an accident, because nobody else would see it that way. To the rest of the world, we¡¯re not people anymore.

    ¡°But my Master, you, you see me as a person. We barely met and you¡¯ve been trying so hard for my sake. Me, a slave! And you don¡¯t even try to hide it. You risked your life to save me multiple times.¡±

    Tears started down her cheeks once more tonight as she struggled to make her feelings known, and this time, I only had myself to blame.

    ¡°I know you don¡¯t like fighting the way I do, but you still stayed with me and we grew stronger together. And you helped me prove I was still strong when we beat the third floor of the dungeon. Together. Even if I never met you. Even if I never became a slave, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to go back home for failing in the dungeons the way I did.¡±

    ¡°But I bought you¡­¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯m glad you did,¡± she said with so much sureness in her voice that I couldn¡¯t dare refute her. ¡°If you didn¡¯t, I would have either been killed for all the trouble I caused. Or I would have been sold to someone that would¡¯ve treated me like dirt. I¡¯m happy with you, Master. I know that I can only be happy with you¡­ Aren¡¯t you happy with me?¡±

    ¡°Of course, I am. I have been alone all my life!¡± I said and her expression suddenly lost its strength. ¡°But ever since I met you, despite all the danger and worry and problems I¡¯ve caused us, I couldn¡¯t be happier.¡±

    ¡°Then why are you hesitating to accept me? Why are you still so sad when you¡¯re trying so hard to keep us together?¡±

    ¡°Because I don¡¯t deserve someone like you!¡±

    ¡°Says who?¡±

    ¡°Wha¡­¡±

    ¡°Says who? You say I shouldn¡¯t be happy because you bought me as a slave, but I am happy because it is you that bought me. Even if Master didn¡¯t buy me, I¡¯d still be a slave, you know?¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    ¡°Master, you may not see it this way, but you¡¯re the strongest person I¡¯ve ever known. Why shouldn¡¯t you deserve what you want? Or¡­ don¡¯t you want me?¡±

    ¡°I do. I want nothing more in this life than you. But I don¡¯t deserve¡­¡±

    She clapped her hands over my cheeks, causing the both of us a twinge of pain, and forced me to look her in the eye. There was a strength in her gaze, but also a softness that I couldn¡¯t pull away from no matter how my pessimistic mind tried to force me.

    ¡°I accept Master for who he is. Can¡¯t you accept that?¡±

    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m a bit of a pervert, you know? Wouldn¡¯t standing next to someone like that bother you?¡±

    Her cheeks flushed a bit, but she maintained that strong gaze of hers.

    ¡°I know. You were staring at my butt the entire time I was leading you through the dungeon. And I noticed you looking at my breasts quite a bit throughout the day. You did it again right when I sat up just now.¡±

    ¡°Y-You noticed¡­? I-I mean I¡¯m really a pervert.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡±

    ¡°A-And you¡¯re okay with that?!¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s Master, I don¡¯t care if you look. I belong to you and only you. You say you want my everything, but you haven¡¯t realized that you already have it. Look at me how you want. Look at me whenever you want. Touch me whenever you want. As long as it¡¯s you, I don¡¯t mind it at all, because...¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯re my slave?¡±

    ¡°Because I want you to. I want to be wanted by you!¡±

    ¡°I¡­I¡­¡±

    I couldn¡¯t think of anything to say. Time and time again I had tried to remind her that she was a person all her own and now she was turning that sentiment against me. These were her honest feelings. There was nothing forcing her to say this. I gave her no orders. She said it because she wanted to say it.

    Unable to force my brain to come up with something to say to deflect, to reject, to doubt, or to spite this, I watched as Yua collapsed back into bed. However, instead of just balling up next to me, she brought her face closer to my chest, rested her cheek there and wrapped an arm around my abdomen. She was shaking.

    This time, I was the one that bit my lip. My hesitation was starting to look like a rejection of her feelings.

    ¡°I-I¡¯ll believe you, Yua. I¡¯ll make you a deal, if in the morning you still feel this way¡­ I want you to wake me up with a kiss. And I want you to do the same every morning from then on out. If you truly don¡¯t feel this way come morning, I¡¯ll release you without question. You can run away wherever you want. You can run to another city. Another country. Go back to your village and to your parents if you want and I won¡¯t track you down. And I¡¯ll make sure Alphonse doesn¡¯t either¡­ H-How does that sound?¡±

    She was silent for a minute, then the pressure she exerted around my stomach tightened and she pulled herself closer.

    ¡°Master¡­ In the morning, when I kiss you, can it be in the same way you kissed me in the dungeon?¡±

    I gulped.

    ¡°Y-Yes. But only if that¡¯s really what you want.¡±

    I felt Yua exhaled a long breath against my skin, as if she had been holding it back this entire time. She settled into place in my arms and I realized that I was the only one that was tense. Refusing the temptation to look upon her further, I pulled the blanket back over her shoulder and held onto her. Just holding her like this was all my heart could bear.

    Soon after, the heat of the conversation died down and I grew listless. The remnants of the day¡¯s fatigue finally caught up with me and, this time, they wouldn¡¯t let go. I slowly began to give myself over to the darkness of sleep.

    Despite the truly blissful feeling of being able to fall asleep with such a beautiful girl in my arms, I got the feeling that I may have just made a huge mistake. That rotten part of me wanted to just make her stay, to force her to stay by my side forever, but every other part was telling me that, if I didn¡¯t give her this time to think about it, nothing between us in the future would ever be real. She may have decided that my purchase of her wasn¡¯t a sin, but because of it, I had to give her this out. Regardless of how I felt.

    All I could do was wait for morning to rise.

    I really wish I had put some more points into Luck when I had the chance.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 23

    The blaring glow of the morning sun stung the backs of my eyelids, forcing me back into consciousness. My arm was freed of the excess weight of her sleeping form and I was left without the warmth that just two nights together had left me accustomed to. Unable to open my eyes once I noticed this, and with my heart screaming in my ears, I blindly reached beneath the sheets to where I remembered Yua sleeping just a few hours before. But all I felt was the smooth cotton afront to my wishes as I was greeted with nothing but the bedsheets we once shared.

    I gripped them, clenched them, squeezed them until it hurt and thought to use every ounce of strength I¡¯d earned in the dungeons with her to rip the sheets off the bed out of anger, but my limbs fell limp. I¡¯d slept well enough, but I hadn¡¯t the energy to move any more than what it took to press my forearm over my eyes to blot out the sun, just so I wouldn¡¯t have to see the other half of the bed be empty.

    I waited and waited. Thinking that she¡¯d just gone downstairs to request the innkeeper to start breakfast early so we could get a jumpstart on our day. Pondering if she¡¯d gone to fetch us some water since the tea we had with dinner wasn¡¯t enough to replenish what we lost sweating so much in the dungeons. Or, maybe, I was just hoping that she¡¯d gotten uncomfortably sweaty sleeping next to me after our heated conversation last night and left to take another bath so she wasn¡¯t scrunching up her nose from the smell all day long.

    It wouldn¡¯t have been hard to confirm any of these wishes. All I¡¯d need to do was get up and go downstairs and search for her. I could even just use my right as her master to search for her outline through the walls. I¡¯d find her, or I wouldn¡¯t, and I¡¯d have my answer. But it didn¡¯t matter. The sheets where she¡¯d been laying were already cold with the morning chill.

    She¡¯d been gone for a long while¡­ and I¡¯m the one that gave her the right to leave.

    ¡°I guess she was right¡­Maybe I am¡­ sad? Wish she picked a different word for it. Sad just doesn¡¯t really compare to this.¡±

    It was impossible to continue denying it now. I don¡¯t even know why I was trying in the first place. Maybe it was just me trying to look tough for her, the girl that loves strength? My heart was still gripping at my throat from the inside, trying to wring my neck to get up and go looking for her, but in truth, I didn¡¯t feel much different. I felt worse, that much was certain. I knew without a shred of doubt that I was in love with her, but her loss didn¡¯t make me feel empty. The emptiness was already there. It was always there. Just waiting for her to fill it. I thought the black void inside me had already bottomed out years ago, but the empty bedspace beside me just dug a little deeper.

    The alarm I¡¯d set on my smart phone went off, stealing away with the morning silence and my chance to grieve.

    I was always too cheap to buy a dedicated alarm clock and overly relied on my phone¡¯s alarm function, even though it failed me fairly often. It was due to my own cheapness that I had to pick out an incredibly annoying alarm sound just to wake my ass up, because no matter how much sleep I got, it was never enough and, unfortunately, my job demanded punctuality.

    With the well-trained reflex of a man that hated getting up in the morning more than just about anything else in the world, I smacked the touch screen icon to shut it up. Naturally, it took three attempts to end the alarm for good. Feeling its smooth glass against my fingers, I was struck with a sudden, overbearing thought that I couldn¡¯t have ignored if my very life depended on it.

    My smart phone wasn¡¯t reincarnated into the new world with me.

    Shooting up in bed fast enough to almost jettison my blanket into orbit, I immediately scanned my surroundings. This clearly wasn¡¯t my room at the Lazy Cat Inn. The pointless wardrobe in the corner of the room was replaced by a couple of tightly packed bookshelves, each lined with the various anime figurines I¡¯d collected over the years. The window overlooking the outdoors bathing area was nowhere to be seen, as the only permanent fixture in that part of the room was the doorway leading to what was clearly a bathroom that most definitely wasn¡¯t there the night before. I recognized it by the light switch on the wall next to it that only seemed to work half the time you flipped it and whose plastic covering had been burned a dark shade of brown due to an electrical mishap before I even moved in.

    But the most noticeable change was the familiar computer sat on a desk in the corner of the room, right next to the bed. Its monitor was still aglow with the light of a game that had been left to run overnight.

    I was back in my apartment on Earth.

    That same lonely place where not even those I could barely call friends would ever visit. My apartment was small, maybe three times bigger than the room I had been renting at the inn, but it didn¡¯t matter since I was the only one that lived there. Other than my cat Lucy, of course, but she was nowhere to be found. She hadn¡¯t set out upon her morning duties of making sure I woke up in time to feed her, as she usually did.

    I was back on Earth. The fact that all I needed to do to prove this as an irrefutable fact was to get up and run all over my apartment to check if I was truly alone conversely kept me rooted to the bed. The one person I wanted to be next to me was gone. And she was even further away than I thought.

    ¡°Yua¡­ Was all of that a dream?¡±

    I tried to use my right as her master to locate her, but nothing happened. No inkling in the back of my mind told me which way to look and no outline appeared on any of the four walls surrounding me. I couldn¡¯t even open my menu. There was no HUD, no list of abilities I could use to fight my way out of here and no stats to be leveled up. And the only thing telling me the time was the mocking glow of my smart phone.

    ¡°My dreams must have run wild after gaming all night again¡­ Guess getting a chance to start over really was too good to be true.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that.¡±

    I was just about to rub the lingering remnants of that dream from my eyes when a soft, amorous voice rang out next to me. I froze, my back stiffening with the knowledge that I should¡¯ve been completely alone. Carefully balling my hands into fists to fight off the intruder that shouldn¡¯t have been, I readied myself to jump out of bed, only to find an absolute goddess of a woman sitting in my desk chair that had most certainly been empty not even a minute before.

    She was a goddess, not just in terms of looks, but a literal Goddess. She was the same aethereal beauty I met only days ago now. And she was here, in my bedroom. Her long, wavy blonde hair floated up, never to touch her bare shoulders, as if each and every golden strand of them were light enough to float in air. She wore that same provocatively sheer dress that left so very little to the imagination and that openly ensnared me as she hid nothing. Regardless of how she looked or where I looked, the gentle smile painted over her lovely lips was that of a concerned mother figure above all other mother figures in existence. That smile alone was enough to sooth the tears that had built up.

    ¡°But how? If that was a dream, then why are you¡­ Did I die again?¡±

    She stood and walked over to me. The contents beneath her dress becoming clearer as the distance between us closed.

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t a dream,¡± she said, her voice echoing throughout my mind as if to remind me that she could read my thoughts. ¡°That world is your reality now.¡±

    ¡°Then why am I¡­¡±

    ¡°Why are you back in your bedroom from Earth?¡± she smiled, somehow looking mischievous and sympathetic at the same time. ¡°Because I thought this would be a nice place where we could talk privately.¡±

    ¡°B-But I thought you said you weren¡¯t going to talk to me anymore.¡±

    I distinctly remember her only being able to give me a few points of advice when she first brought me to the new world, because she didn¡¯t want to interfere too much in the realms of mortals.

    ¡°That is true, but I don¡¯t see this so much as interfering. Just speeding things along, so to say. I am just here to talk.¡±

    ¡°Talk about what?¡±

    She sat on the bed and turned her voluptuous chest towards me, as if tempting me to look. Yet, the expression on her face was so gentle, that that simply couldn¡¯t have been what she was after. However, none of this mattered as that same expression took a sudden turn for the worse as it was instantly overtaken by a frown so impactful, that it might as well have fractured reality itself.

    ¡°At first,¡± she started. ¡°I would have wanted to commend you on a job well done. For taking the path I asked you to take and finding your happiness. But you didn¡¯t, did you?¡±

    ¡°I-I did! I went exactly where you wanted me to. I went East. I found Amoranth. And I¡­¡±

    ¡°And you what?¡± she echoed, raising a brow. There was nothing accusing about her expression or body language, but I gulped anyways.

    ¡°¡­ And I found the slave house.¡±

    ¡°And what did you do there?¡±

    ¡°I bought a sla¡­ Yua.¡±

    The Goddess, an ephemeral being that should have been excused from all the bodily functions that we humans required to survive, inhaled sharply through her nose. But it was when her silvery pupils focused on me that any of the burgeoning complaints I had for following her directions died out before the thoughts had the chance to fully form. The disappointment exuding off of her was so tangible, so powerful, that it felt capable of bringing about the destruction of an entire world.

    Fearing that she, as a goddess, might actually do just that and wipe out the world she mad and where I met Yua, I jumped in to try and dissuade her.

    ¡°I-I only bought her because I was¡­ lonely. And I was¡­ Um¡­¡±

    ¡°Your excuses sound pretty weak now that you want to give voice to them, don¡¯t they?¡±

    That word, excuses, stung like a thousand poisoned daggers to the heart, but I couldn¡¯t refute her. I knew what they were. And I let them excuse my wicked actions anyways.

    She nodded, affirming my thoughts before she looked me in the eye again. Her silvery pupils were no less sharp, but her tone was anything but accusing. It almost felt warm. Like she was nothing more than a loving teacher trying to set their student back onto the correct path right when they noticed them slipping.

    That said, what she said didn¡¯t hurt any less than it would were she to have yelled it at me.

    ¡°Do you think that a bit of loneliness and an out-of-control sex drive is all you need to commit an act that you yourself view as a sin? You¡¯re lying to yourself. If that¡¯s all it took, you would have assaulted someone years ago. You¡¯re better than that, you just refuse to let yourself see that.¡±

    I opened my mouth, feeling a dozen or so of the excuses my mind conjured up teetering on the tip of my tongue, but she held up a hand and forced my mouth shut. She didn¡¯t cover my mouth with her palm, nor was her action so intimidating that it stole my breath. It was an unseen forced that clenched my jaw shut for me and that pinned my tongue to the bottom of my mouth, rendering me incapable of speech.

    She continued.

    ¡°Do you remember what I said happens when a good person dies? I know you do, because I gave you the power to remember.¡±

    With my Memorization trait nowhere to be seen, but apparently still active enough to remember our last conversation, I nodded and the pressure holding my jaw shut loosened. Even though it didn¡¯t really hurt, I rubbed it and recited what I remembered her telling me back when we first met.

    ¡°You said that if they were a good person, they¡¯d get reincarnated into the arms of a loving family, and that if they were a bad person¡­ Well, I guess you never finished that part.¡±

    I distinctly remember her voice trailing off, as if she, the very being that overlooked all of reality, found that little factoid to be too painful to mention out loud.

    ¡°So, what, was I rotten enough back on Earth to warrant all the trouble I¡¯ve found in the new world?¡±

    I knew I wasn¡¯t the best person back then. I¡¯m still not. But I kept mostly to myself. I don¡¯t recall hurting or wronging anyone enough to say I deserved any of this hair-tearing trouble.

    The Goddess shook her head with a rueful smile, her wavy hair flowing through the air in little ripples as she let out an ephemeral sigh.

    ¡°Not at all. And that¡¯s not why I brought it up. You clearly don¡¯t understand. That¡¯s why we¡¯re having this conversation now. For all that intelligence you claim to have, you sure don¡¯t seem to want to use it. Look at me, Alex,¡± she said, cupping my cheek in her palm. ¡°Your life on Earth was your reincarnation.¡±

    ¡°¡­What?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Just two short life time¡¯s ago, you were a magnificent person that did many great things that would have earned you a permanent place in what you call heaven. You were reincarnated into what you call modern day Earth because your past self earned a peaceful, easy life. So, as a reward, I gifted you with a pair of loving parents, a good strong and healthy body and an intelligence that was well above average. Only, something went wrong. Some decision you made twisted these gifts against you. You forsook them all and you shut yourself off from everyone instead of using them to your advantage to build that better life.¡±

    ¡°H-hold on, I¡¯m still trying to wrap my head around this reincarnation business.¡±

    ¡°What, did you think it was your first time meeting me when you were hit by that truck? That you were the only one to be reincarnated? I hate to break it to you, Alex, but you¡¯re not so special. Would you like to know how many times we¡¯ve truly met?¡±

    ¡°¡­ No thanks. Knowing that would be the same as knowing how many times I¡¯ve died. So, yea...¡±

    That one death I remember, and I barely remember it, was all I needed to say I had more than enough experience. But it did bring up another question.

    ¡°What did I do in a past life that earned your praise? And if I can remember every aspect of my previous life on Earth, this Earth, why can¡¯t I remember the one before it?¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± she said, letting go of my cheek. ¡°What your past selves did has no bearing on what your current self does. All that matters is whether or not you took what you were allotted in life and mad some good of it, or some bad. I¡¯ve seen countless people born in the deepest, dirtiest parts of the gutter pull themselves up out of the muck, only to become some of the greatest people to have ever existed. Others took all the gifts they earned in their previous lives and used them for evil, wicked things. But you, however, did something that might even be worse than all that. Worse than bad. You did nothing.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡±

    As if giving me a moment to process what she¡¯d said, the Goddess pushed aside the blankets that I had wrapped myself in and moved closer to me atop the sheets. Where she had once been facing me, she pulled herself over to sit beside me, letting her feet dangle over the side of the bed. The warmth her presence exuded somehow both pressured and soothed me, even as she slipped her fingers between mine.

    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    She continued.

    ¡°You could have used all you had to become someone great. A scientist. A doctor. An engineer. An Archeologist. Or you could have been a special effects artist on a movie set. Or a painter. Or a writer.¡±

    As she listed just about every job I¡¯d ever wanted for myself, none of which I ever had, it only felt like the nail she¡¯d been hammering in all this time was being driven deeper. I never told her any of this, of course, but it shows nothing if not how long she¡¯s been watching me.

    ¡°You could have been any number of things if you¡¯d only just applied yourself. But instead, you used your intelligence as an excuse to never try, because minimal effort was all you ever needed to get by.¡±

    ¡°I know that!¡± I said, ripping my hand away from hers. ¡°I realized my mistake years ago. And I¡¯ve¡­¡±

    ¡°Been hating yourself for it ever since? You¡¯re not supposed to hate yourself for your past mistakes. You were supposed to learn from them. You were smart enough to see your flaws, so you can¡¯t expect to tell me you weren¡¯t smart enough to fix them.¡±

    ¡°I tried. I¡¯ve tried countless times. I know I need to put myself out there and stop hiding, but it¡¯s not enough. I can¡¯t just pretend to be someone I¡¯m not. It¡¯s not that easy. I can¡¯t just be the sort of guy that can walk up to anyone they find on the street and have an hour-long conversation about nothing and still find it enjoyable. I tried. Part of why I bought Yua was to have someone to talk to and, even if that was just an excuse, I was serious about it. And I still can¡¯t¡­¡±

    In the middle of what was amounting to be a tirade meant for me to blurt out all my misgivings about the world and of myself, I blinked back the tears I¡¯d only just noticed forming in the corners of my eyes, but when I opened them again, the Goddess was right beside me again, holding my hand.

    ¡°And that is why you keep failing. Just like everything else in your life, you¡¯re half-assing your way to fix what you broke. Putting yourself out there isn¡¯t the first step you should be taking. That¡¯s just asking for failure. You don¡¯t just build a working rocket ship without a basic understanding of physics.¡±

    Carefully, lovingly, she pressed a thumb to my cheek. That single touch allowed the tears I had been holding back to flow, as if she willed them to, just so she could wipe them away. It sounded like she was telling me my life was a lie, but there was nothing in her smile that suggested malice.

    ¡°¡­ Then what was I supposed to do? Where did I go wrong?¡±

    That seemingly innocuous pair of questions caused her smile to brighten ever more and I was sure that somewhere, in the vast emptiness of space, a new star was born from nothing.

    ¡°The answer is so simple, that I fear you¡¯ll just beat yourself up even more for not seeing it. Honestly. Do you have any idea what it¡¯s like being able to read the mind of someone that is constantly bashing themself? I¡¯ll tell you; it¡¯s depressing. Even for me.¡±

    ¡°Haha¡­ Sorry.¡±

    With nothing more than an intensely sympathetic smile to back up her actions, she pulled my head into her chest and ran her fingers through my hair, her movements in tune with the rhythm of her heartbeat.

    ¡°What you need to do is simple. Maybe not easy, but simple¡­. Get out of your head.¡±

    ¡°¡­ What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Stop assuming you know everything. Stop assuming you know what and how others are thinking and feeling. And most importantly, start listening to people.¡±

    ¡°But I have been. Listening, I mean.¡±

    ¡°No, you haven¡¯t. You¡¯re hearing what people have to say, but you aren¡¯t treating the things they say as if they matter. Take Yua, for example. You claim to love her and that you want to treat her like a person instead of a slave, but¡­¡±

    ¡°I do. And I am!¡±

    ¡°¡­ If you love her, then why does she still call you Master?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t answer. With every fiber of my being, every brain cell in my head threading fragments of thought together into something even remotely useable, I tried to think of a reason, but I couldn¡¯t.

    But she could.

    ¡°And that is your problem. A new problem to go along with all the others you¡¯ve claimed for yourself. To you, Yua is just another NPC that happens to have a pretty face, but she is very real. And she has very real thoughts and emotions that you are acknowledging, but also ignoring entirely because they don¡¯t fit in with your view of the world.¡±

    The Yua I first met was an indignant girl that would harass me with snarky comments every chance she got. Then, after just one day of knowing each other, she changed completely.

    ¡°But she¡¯s¡­¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t believe in the person she¡¯s showing herself to be because you yourself can¡¯t let it be true. The kind of girl she started off as yesterday morning is not a version of herself like you keep thinking. That¡¯s just who she is. The arrogant, snarky bitch she used to be, was just the fa?ade she wore because she was scared of you.¡±

    ¡°What? How could Yua of all people be scared of me?¡±

    Sure, with the slave spell in place, I could do any number of things to her and she¡¯d be forced to accept them or deal with the consequences of refuting me, but that wouldn¡¯t stop her from beating the ever-loving shit out of me if I did something she really hated. Even if she hurt herself in the process. And the way she used to act didn¡¯t look even remotely fearful. This was the girl that faced down boss monsters that were several times larger than she was without flinching. The only time I saw her scared was when¡­ she thought I was going to hit her¡­ And when I got hurt in the dungeon.

    The Goddess shook her head, removing mine from her bosom so she could look me in the eye again.

    ¡°It¡¯s not the slave spell that scared her. It was you and how you might have used it against her. She¡¯s already said as much. She was scared because she thought that you, like all the other men that visited that slave house, just wanted her for her body. When you proved that wasn¡¯t the case, she opened up to you. When you showed her that you really cared, the circumstances with which you met no longer mattered to her.¡±

    ¡°So, what you¡¯re saying is, that I need to listen to her better?¡±

    ¡°In part, yes. But that alone will never be enough until you get out of your own head. Take that old neighbor of yours whose name you never bothered to learn as another example. You thought you were in love with her because she was kind enough to smile at you every morning. But she wasn¡¯t doing so because she was fond of meeting with you. No. She smiled because she was scared. She¡¯d noticed you watching her multiple times and, as large as you were, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to defend herself if you tried something. To her, you were an unknown. A person whose motives, while pure hearted, were impossible to decipher. So, she smiled and tried to give you no reason to pounce on her.¡±

    ¡°Wha¡­ But I wouldn¡¯t have¡­ How could you even suggest¡­¡±

    The Goddess held up her hand and, unlike before, the force that clamped my jaw shut didn¡¯t appear.

    ¡°I know you wouldn¡¯t have done any such thing,¡± she said with a supremely comforting tone of voice. ¡°But she didn¡¯t know that. Your inaction regarding your feeling towards her and your lecherous gaze, the same one you keep turning on me, even as I¡¯m trying to help you, are the causes for her discomfort.¡±

    ¡°S-Sorry¡­ But, I mean, it¡¯s kind of hard not to look.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± she said almost proudly. ¡°I dress like this because I knew it¡¯d be the form you found most comforting.¡±

    ¡°Comforting isn¡¯t exactly the word I¡¯d use for what you¡¯re wearing, but¡­ If that woman was so scared of me, then doesn¡¯t that mean I really never had a chance with her? That I died chasing her for nothing?¡±

    ¡°See? There you go bashing yourself again. Yes, asking her out like you planned would have been a failure, but only to the extent that she wouldn¡¯t have become your lover. She would have rejected you, but because you went into it planning to take that rejection and use it to better yourself, instead of just forcing her to see things your way, she would have understood that you weren¡¯t a bad person. She would have lightened up around you and those daily smiles would have turned into daily conversations that you would have come to cherish. Had I not intervened, of course.¡±

    ¡°¡­ How can you know that? What happened to not being able to see the future?¡±

    ¡°Hahaha. I can create a whole new world with the snap of a finger, and you think I can¡¯t do something so trivial as see the future?¡±

    ¡°Since when is seeing the future trivial¡­?! Wait, no, if you can see the future, why¡­¡±

    ¡°Why are we having this conversation? Simple. It¡¯s because I saw that you were in the process of messing up your life all over again and that you needed help. I only got in the way because you would have been incapable of using her rejection to better yourself. You just didn¡¯t have the mindset for that. Yet.¡±

    ¡°¡­ And just what in my past lives did I do that was so great that it earned me help from a literal deus ex machina?¡±

    ¡°Oh, look at you. Slinging around concepts you don¡¯t fully understand like you¡¯re already a master of them. That¡¯s another part of you that needs work. I may be a goddess of sorts, but this conversation is not meant to resolve your impossible problems. You already have all you need to solve your problems right here.¡±

    She prodded my forehead with her index finger and, while I was expecting some sort of divine revelation to strike me, all I got was a small burst of pain.

    ¡°Alright, then if you intervened because I wasn¡¯t capable of doing what I said I would, did you really have to make someone else kill me? You probably ruined their life. And, hell, you told me to go East!¡±

    ¡°Hahaha. Stop deflecting!¡± she laughed. ¡°I was telling the truth when I said that I gave the man that killed you an epiphany. And no, I didn¡¯t ruin his life. There were several street cameras whose footage showed that you walked into the street when the light was red. With that, he was quickly exonerated. Besides, the guilt he feels over what he did to you is what will ultimately bring him closer to his daughter. She will forget her complaints about him and comfort him in his time of need.¡±

    ¡°I, uh¡­ Even if you claim it¡¯s for the benefit of all of us, you still killed me. That¡¯s kind of evil, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Not at all. It¡¯s pragmatism in its most uncomfortable form. He kills you; the guilt overwhelms him to the point where even his estranged daughter feels the need to step in and save him in his darkest moments. Then, together, they discover that their problems with one another are nothing compared to what not having each other means for them both.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ but it sounds like you used my literal death as a learning experience for them.¡±

    ¡°I suppose that, in a way, I did. Yes. But in doing so, I gave you a chance to live a new life. A life you always wanted. One where nobody but you remembers your past mistakes, so you could start over. A clean slate. A world you could only dream of, much like this one, right?¡±

    With that, she gestured to the room as a whole and the walls around me making up my old apartment fell away, revealing the world outside to be exactly how I remember it. The roof above ascended up into the sky until it vanished behind the clouds without a trace. The same white void that felt mindbogglingly endless, but still oddly comfortable started to bleed back into view, looking exactly as it did when I first met her.

    ¡°And likewise,¡± she continued. ¡°I told you to go East because that is where the nearest Adventurer¡¯s Guild and means to train yourself were. You were the one that bent and broke my advice to suit your whims.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­¡±

    Maybe that was why going to the guild for the first time felt so right. It feels so obvious. When I set out in this world, I wanted to work hard and see my numbers, my level and stats, grow as proof that I was improving. And instead of doing that, the first thing I did was take a giant leap backwards.

    ¡°It¡¯s not up to Yua to fix you,¡± she continued, nodding with my mental reasoning. ¡°You may have bought her for that reason, but things will never work out like that. All she can ever do is help you and she¡¯s been trying to do just that. You just aren¡¯t listening to her.¡±

    ¡°I thought I was¡­¡±

    With a forever gentle smile and a small beckoning gesture made with her finger, another unseen force helped me off the bed and to my feet. There, standing before the Goddess, she wrapped her arms around my back to hold me. Contrary to what her status as a goddess might make you think, she was short enough so that, when she embraced me this way, it was her face that pressed into my chest.

    ¡°The path I chose for you was not the only one available to you, though. You could have gone anywhere and everywhere. You could have struck out on an adventure all your own, but instead, you listened to my guidance. For that, I want to offer you one more bit of advice.¡±

    ¡°W-What is it?¡±

    ¡°My guidance brought you to this moment, but from here on out, your decisions will not only affect your life, but the lives of everyone around you.¡±

    ¡°¡­ I feel like that¡¯s just how things are supposed to be.¡±

    ¡°Haha. Exactly. Now, our time together is limited, as always. You have to go¡­¡±

    ¡°W-Wait, if you can see the future and you guided me to this moment, does that mean finding all those rare items had nothing to do with my Luck? Did you just put them there for me to find?¡±

    The idea of dumping all my points into Luck being a gigantic waste aside, that meant that finding the Silver Ring of Regeneration, the Elderwood staff, that chest full of gold coins¡­ and Yua. Were all of those just arbitrarily meant to be found, regardless of what I did?

    The goddess shook her head, her gentle smile never wavering in the slightest.

    ¡°I built this world per your desires. You wanted it to run on the logic from your favorite video games. So, your stats will directly translate into the world itself. More Strength means you will be able to lift heavier objects. More Magic means the spells you cast will become more powerful. And the more Luck you have, the more often good things will happen to you. It¡¯s the same for everyone else, but how you progress is entirely up to you¡­ All I did was point you in the right direction.¡±

    ¡°Then, Yua¡­ Meeting her really was all luck?¡±

    ¡°Yes and no,¡± she said, sounding entirely honest. ¡°You were the one that chose to go to that place that day. But who is to say whether or not your luck caused the events surrounding that action to occur? I can see the future, but it is more or less an educated guess based on all the knowledge I have at my disposal. The concept of Luck, however, can be quite finicky. Like your own, the stats of others also have a bearing on their surroundings. Like Yua and her own treasured Strength that allowed her to successfully defend you from all those attacks that should have killed you.¡±

    Thinking back to when I first learned that beast-kin were naturally stronger than humans and that it probably had something to do with how Yua acted before I intervened in her leveling, I remembered when I first took notice of the Merchant Albert¡¯s cute rabbit-girl slave and how he explained to me that slavery was legal. He used the rabbit-girl¡¯s strength as an excuse to buy her, to help out in his shop. But he clearly got more out of it than that.

    Buying that sort of companionship, for any reason, sounded both wrong and disgusting in both worlds. In any world, but the thought that I didn¡¯t have to be alone anymore and that I could cure the loneliness was just so tempting.

    Then I met that dog-kin slave out behind the Lazy Cat. It was her openness that pushed my desires even further.

    Then Alphonse played my temptations like a fiddle and convinced me to give into sin. To buy a person.   But that was my fault, of course. I¡¯m the one that chose to go to his shop that day. I chose to stay despite my misgivings. His stats and abilities had nothing to do with it. I was just weak. I am weak.

    ¡°¡­ Why doesn¡¯t Yua hate me? She likes strength, which I clearly do not have.¡±

    ¡°That is something only she can tell you. And from what I¡¯ve seen, she already has.¡±

    ¡°But we¡¯ve only known each other for a couple of days. How can she already be so accepting of me, the man that bought her like she was some kind of sex toy?!¡±

    ¡°You cannot control who loves you,¡± the goddess said, hugging me tighter. ¡°She was a slave before you met her, she is your slave now and you have given her permission to speak her mind. So, I¡¯ll say it again¡­ Why aren¡¯t you listening to her?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡±

    I didn¡¯t know what to say any more. My own guilt over buying her made it impossible to think that she could ever feel any sort of positive way towards me. All those smiles must have been forced. All those times she saved me in the dungeon had to have been because it was her duty as my slave to defend me.

    All those things she said just before we went to bed had to have been¡­

    All those tears of gratitude when I ate with her must be¡­

    The pure happiness she shared with me when I told her how strong she¡¯s become and when we beat the third floor must be¡­

    ¡°See?¡± the goddess said, petting the back of my head like I was a crying puppy. ¡°You¡¯ve been punishing yourself all this time by refusing to see the forest for the trees, because you think your eyes are lying to you. The morals of your old world don¡¯t necessarily translate directly to this new one. You think you¡¯ve done wrong, but nobody else does. Including her. She understands the world for what it is and, in her eyes, you aren¡¯t just her master, but someone who genuinely cares about her. That alone is something she spent the last several years in that slave house thinking she would never have again.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    ¡°Stop getting in your own way, Alex,¡± the goddess said, grabbing me by the cheeks and forcing me to look into her eyes. ¡°Think about it, Alex. Really think about how the slave spell works. In just the first day you were with her, you groped her, ogled her every chance you got and you even kissed her when she was feeling weak and defenseless. And none of this caused her to want to hurt you. If it had, the slave spell would have kicked in and hurt her before she even had the chance to act on those desires.¡±

    ¡°Y-Yea, I did all those things, but she¡­¡±

    ¡°Alex, if you think her mental fortitude was sturdy enough for her, someone that was born and raised to be a fighter, to completely forget her anger and not want to raise her fist against the person that hurt her, then you are an even bigger idiot than you think you are. She may have gotten over her distrust of you faster than you believe possible, but has she done anything to make you actually believe she dislikes you, in any way?¡±

    ¡°N-No. If anything, she seems to take my own mistakes and rework them into her own. But that¡¯s because she was trained to be subservient, right?¡±

    The Goddess gave a half nod.

    ¡°And because, for all your efforts, you¡¯re letting her think she is.¡±

    Master¡­

    ¡°All you need is a little more confidence in yourself and you can make your life a happy one.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ Then why did you make my confidence boost trait based on my level?¡±

    ¡°That one is for you to figure out on your own.¡±

    She smiled, giggled and pressed my face into her chest once more to embrace me. Her beauty was the most astute example of otherworldly and yet, despite the thinness of her dress making it all too easy to see the perkiness beneath it as she hugged me, I didn¡¯t feel the least bit aroused. Just warm and comfortable. The way the tea she let me sample the last time we met did.

    Why was this more comforting than stimulating?

    ¡°It¡¯s time to for me to go, Alex.¡±

    ¡°C-Can¡¯t you stay a little longer? I still have so many questions.¡±

    I threw my arms back around her, but she lifted my face up to meet hers once more. One las time. The warmth of her gaze was felt almost like all the angels in heaven were reaching out to pull me through the pearly gates, only she was trying to leave.

    ¡°It¡¯s time for me to go. I have already meddled more than I usually would. Besides, there is someone waiting for you on the other side, remember?¡±

    ¡°Waiting for me? Does that mean Yua really chose to stay?¡±

    ¡°Just take what I¡¯ve told you here today and use what you know to come up with your own answers,¡± she said, ignoring my question. ¡°I can¡¯t just give you all the answers or the solutions you find will be meaningless. You''re not the villain you''re making yourself out to be.¡±

    Smiling like a mother whose child just learned to walk on their own after months of rigorous effort, the goddess leaned into me and pressed her lips against mine. And my consciousness slipped away from me yet again.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 24

    I woke with a start, not because I wanted to return to that dreamland or the world it was modeled after. Nor was it the jarring sensation of having been in a state of consciousness that felt both awake and aware, only to instantly find myself back in bed, muddled and tired from what now felt like it had been a restless night.

    It took several seconds of semi-consciousness for my senses to register the fact that the sheets in the inn were nowhere near as soft as the ones I used back in my apartment, something that I should have noticed before giving into despair so quickly. But this difference was proof that I was returned to the barebones room at the Lazy Cat Inn and, most importantly, that I wasn¡¯t alone. As if my own senses were teasing me for having doubted her, the last thing my mind was able to let me take notice of was the presence of the girl leaning over me.

    Yua was still here. Right where she said she¡¯d be.

    A sweet breath swept against my face and the familiar sensation of the kiss I¡¯d tasted only once before stole all other meaning from the world. A tongue that was clearly not my own parted my lips purposefully, but carefully in search for a deeper passion. Two large and tantalizingly soft somethings pressed unrestricted against my chest where a delicate, but powerful hand clung to me.

    Now awake, and ready to let out a joyous cry that would have robbed me of any lingering sense of manliness, I threw my arms around her slender form to embrace this wonderful girl. She let out a cute yelp of surprise, apparently unawares that she¡¯d done her duty in waking me until I pulled her closer. The light swishing of her furry tail brushing against my arms forced me to smile.

    She was still here.

    Once I opened my eyes, the tongue invading my mouth receded before I could really enjoy the sensation of her kiss with the full range of senses that now seemed to burned like a wildfire. Our lips parted and she blushed when she looked me in the eyes. Drawn by the lingering sensation of her lips, I couldn¡¯t quite pull my eyes away from the two peach-pink lines drawn up into a smile, until they moved, dancing to the sound of her voice.

    I brushed the chestnut-colored hair away from her cheek to better see her. She took my hand in hers and held it to the dimple rising in her cheek.

    ¡°Good morning, Master.¡±

    ¡­ If you love her, then why does she still call you Master?

    ¡°G-Good morning¡­¡±

    Forced to remember the cold, hard slap of reality the Goddess hit me and my idiocies with, I found it impossibly difficult to focus just on her loving greeting and not that one word.

    The meeting with the Goddess had been the dream, not this life in this world with this girl. For that simple fact, I was ready to say that that I was a fool all over again, but not for the reasons I originally thought. This entire time, I¡¯d been contradicting myself, letting her get away with treating me like her master, instead of as a man when I claimed that was all I wanted. This new consideration should have been enough for me to fall into another round of vicious self-admonition, but¡­

    ¡°Master,¡± Yua said again, still wearing that same smile. ¡°Do you feel better now? Your heart sounds much more¡­ calm.¡±

    Sitting on her knees beside me, Yua leaned over again and pressed her hand back to my chest, this time to get a better reading of what I myself was oblivious to. The quite thumping of her tail against the mattress and my leg was a threat great enough to quicken my pulse, but she seemed satisfied with what she felt.

    ¡°Yea¡­ I feel much better. You, uh¡­ You were right. About what you said last night, I mean.¡±

    She puffed up her ample chest, still clad in just that exceedingly loose-fit rag and she grinned that same toothy grin she¡¯d always put up when she¡¯d slay a monster in the dungeons.

    I could tell at a glance at how the lingering negative thoughts clouding my mind truly weren¡¯t¡¯ going to be banished by this girl alone, but she sure as hell was going to help.

    After she confirmed the state of my heart, Yua threw a leg over me to climb off the bed. As she did, that rag of a shirt she wore dipped low, hanging off her body to leave the sides of the softness she¡¯d been pressing against me moments ago entirely visible, right along with the impressively flat abdomen she sported and the white triangle of fabric down below.

    On pure reflex, I immediately recoiled at the thought of how she¡¯d react to my having ogled her yet again, but the Goddess¡¯s advice stopped me. Yua stated clearly that she didn¡¯t mind me looking, so it should be fine. Though I probably shouldn¡¯t be so eager to test the limits of her good will just yet.

    I won¡¯t lie, I still had a few doubts that she wasn¡¯t viewing her own declaration behind the lens of her being a slave, but that smile she wore after kissing me this time around very nearly killed such doubts. This newly improved memory of mine remembered exactly what she told me, how she said it and the way she looked at me when she did.

    There was no fear in her, only love and a warm smile. Both of which needed to be responded to in kind.

    Stretching her arms over her head to wring out the last few kinks of her own sleepiness, Yua walked over to her neatly packed suitcase and crouched to begin pulling out her clothes for the day. The slowly swishing tail just above her bottom hiked up the back of her shirt enough to see the single layer of thin cotton fabric protecting her maidenhood from my line of sight. Her right ear gave one of its usual flicks and I was half certain she¡¯d noticed me looking. But she didn¡¯t stop what she was doing to cover up.

    This alone was enough to acknowledge last night¡¯s declaration. She was showing me this much of her without even a shred of resentment or shyness pushing her forward. It was a new feeling for me that I wasn¡¯t¡¯ at all sure how to react to. The parts of me that were warning to look away were being beaten back by the parts that wanted more. The internal battle between these two factions raged for several seconds in which I could say nothing to stop them as she dug through her suitcase. The war for my will was ended with the emergence of a third party: The utter nonchalance in which Yua moved.

    After collecting her clothes, the only items that filled her suitcase, she set them on the foot of the bed and, without checking to see if I were looking, and without a shred of hesitation, she lifted her rag of a shirt up over her head. As my jaw dropped and as she folded up the rag, the twin mounds of softness that so enraptured me were set alight by the sun peeking in through the window. Meanwhile the pink nubs at their centers did nothing to hide as they themselves started to perk up in morning chill.

    I gulped. It was just about all I could do.

    As if she heard my desires and refuted them internally, Yua started stuffing her slender legs into her tight leather pants, hiding the panties she had been standing there in. But then, as if to apologize for rejecting my gaze, she reached behind herself. Arcing her back with that simple motion, her breasts lifted into the air just enough to pronounce the perfection of their shape all the more.

    Though making such movements in front of a man could have been seen as teasing, she was clearly just trying to undo the clasp above the tail hole in the back of her pants, so that the extra appendage could slip through and rest comfortably. She had it undone and her tail through it before I even noticed the messiness of the chestnut hair draped over her shoulder. She turned around, seemingly unintentionally towards me, and looked at her backside to test her tail with another good swish. Apparently satisfied with the result, she picked her usual green top off the bed and quietly wrapped it around herself one arm at a time, finally hiding the breasts that so captivated me and what stole my voice. She pushed the misplaced buttons through their improper holes and finished up by tying the leather straps that truly held her blouse together.

    Like that, the show that wasn¡¯t a show was over and done with. Yua pulled her flowing hair out of her collar and, after running her fingers through it a couple of times to straighten out what was left of her bedhead, she brushed the still slightly messy hair behind her ear and crouched once more, but only to put her sleepwear away.

    I got out of bed.

    Barely able to think or consider why it was that I ever bothered with the thought of denying my want to look when the results of doing so were so wonderous, the impact was even greater when paired with the fact that she clearly knew I was looking. I was struck dumb by her display, but when the gears in my head finally started turning again, I realized exactly how much of an idiot I¡¯ve been.

    Her initial weariness to let me look at her barely-there nightwear was because she was concerned I¡¯d attack her. Because of this and because I knew why she was concerned, I¡¯d spent all this time tip-toeing around her when I really didn¡¯t need to. She¡¯d accepted me. That¡¯s all that matters, really, but I had a hard time accepting that at face value.

    Careful not to let her notice, I clenched my teeth. If getting out of my head, as the Goddess put it, was what I needed to start on first, then stopping myself from overthinking every little confusing aspect of this cat-girl had to come first. She¡¯s already told me almost all I needed to hear.

    She accepts me. That was a feat that I myself hadn¡¯t been able to accomplish in decades of trying, but she managed it in only one day.

    I shook my head and took a moment to clear my mind of all thoughts good or bad and thought back on every thing Yua confessed to me yesterday. There was one simple, but potentially dangerous way to confirm that she, this beautiful girl was being genuine and that I had only to pull my head out of my ass to hurry up and accept reality.

    So, gulping down a multitude of emotions both for and against this next act, I walked over behind her. Overly aware of my own weight as I waited for the floorboards to squeak and signal my approach, I pressed on without pause. With those ears of hers, there was no point in tip-toeing anymore.

    Still working on putting her things back into her suitcase to keep them safe until they were needed again tonight, Yua was silent where she knelt down. It was as if she hadn¡¯t a care in the world. Given her extra sensitive hearing, I was positive she knew I was behind her, but her cat ears didn¡¯t so much as twitch to prove it. Or maybe she just didn¡¯t let them.

    I knelt down behind her and this time, her ears gave a small, almost imperceptible twitch, but she didn¡¯t stop what she was doing. Her suitcase was entirely empty, save for the one shirt she needed to put in it. She was prolonging the act of folding and refolding that same shirt for some reason. Waiting.

    Clenching my fist hard enough to almost draw blood, I decided it was time to act before the negativity crept back in.

    So, I slipped both of my hands past her sides, under her slender arms and gently cupped her breasts with the full face of my palms.

    ¡°¡­!¡±

    Yua let out a small gasp of surprise, but that was all. That was it. That was all she wrote. My heart was trying to tear itself from my chest to slap me across the face, but she just continued with her suitcase, as if nothing was wrong. In fact, thanks to her brushing her hair back earlier, I could see that she was smiling. Blushing, surely, but smiling.

    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    Unable to think for a completely different reason now, I let my hands move of their own accord.

    The soft, springiness of her breasts was divine. Sparks of dopamine raced throughout my brain like a battalion of siege weapons ready to flatten the mental walls I had put between us. I groped them, squished them, molded them without reserve and they always bounced back into their original shape, as if asking for more. I could feel the now hidden peeks of her nipples hardening beneath her shirt where they pressed against my palm. There was probably no real technique in my uneducated hands, just reckless exploring, but she opened her mouth, saying nothing, and leaned back into my chest and let me. From over her shoulder and the chestnut hair resting over it, I let myself watch as I kneaded her, so that I¡¯d never be able to deny what was happening in any way.

    She lifted her chin to look at me. She seemed to be having a hard time keeping her mouth closed as she let out a couple heavy breaths, but the smile she wore never faded. Not when her emerald eyes bore into me and I could see her lips start to form the one word I didn¡¯t want her to say in that moment.

    And for all it was worth, that word was not ¡°stop.¡±

    ¡°Mast¡­!¡±

    Before she could utter that damnable word, I released her breasts and wrapped my arms tight around her middle. Pulling her tight into my chest, I made sure I spoke before she could.

    ¡°Yua, I don¡¯t want you to call me Master anymore.¡±

    ¡°What? But you are my¡­¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± I said. ¡°But I don¡¯t want to be.¡±

    ¡°You mean¡­ You¡¯re not giving up, are you? There¡¯s still plenty of time in the day, so we can¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean.¡±

    I held her tighter still, refusing to let go as I buried my nose in her chestnut hair.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want you to be a slave.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t understand.¡±

    Proving once more that my own physical strength was insufficient compared to hers, and despite my holding her so tightly, she wrenched herself out of my grasp to better face me. There was a surprising worry arcing her brow, but that was understandable. To her, it must have sounded like I was once again rejecting reality for what it was.

    She was a slave and, as from what she herself told me, there was nothing that could change that. Further, she was raised to believe that her future master would do to her what I did just moments ago and, even if she accepted me doing so, it might have only ingrained that thought deeper into her being.

    I bit my tongue, pausing before I could jump to conclusions again. I skipped an important step with her just now, or several probably, when I shut my pessimistic brain down and let my other, lower brain do the talking.

    Now, I needed to be clear. I just wasn¡¯t sure how. The word girlfriend came to mind, but in this world, it sounded incredibly out of place.

    Her eyes almost seemed to glow as she waited, caring not for the service I did in disheveling the blouse she¡¯d only just put on. Content with a momentary silence, she gave me a minute to think, as if she knew I was having trouble.

    ¡°Yua?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Ma¡­ Um, Yes?¡±

    ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t want you to be a slave anymore¡­ I want you to be my woman.¡±

    After I said my piece, there was a long moment of silence in the inn. My cheeks burned so hot that I could practically feel them melting, right up until her ears shot up into the air in an incredibly delayed response. She looked to me, her eyes wide and her lips apart and ready to answer. But before I could give her a chance to speak, I continued, holding her tighter than ever. Half for reassurance, half so neither of us could run away.

    ¡°I¡¯m sure it sounds ridiculous, but I fell in love with you the moment we met. The odds were so stacked against you, but you powered through and fought off those thugs like it was nothing. And I just¡­ I really don¡¯t know how to explain it, but it¡¯s true. I love you. That¡¯s the main reason why I bought you. After seeing you, seeing how beautiful and strong you were, I just didn¡¯t care about anything else. I just knew I had to have you, so I forced you to be with me. That¡¯s why I said you could leave. It was guilt. I felt guilty over what I did to you. I don¡¯t want to selfishly force you to stay here, but I do want you here. I don¡¯t care about the debt we owe, just that it might take you from me or that my own actions would¡­!¡±

    Before I could say another word, before I could utter so much as another syllable, Yua grabbed my cheeks much like she did last night. But this time, instead of forcing me to look her way, she pressed her lips back onto mine, telling me without a word that it was time to shut up.

    Our lips mingled for only a few, long seconds, but it was enough to help calm my racing heart. Though it did nothing for the lingering heat in my cheeks once we parted and her loving smile returned to her.

    ¡°I already said I belong to you and only you. And I didn¡¯t mean as your slave.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t breathe. Not until she looked upon my hesitant visage, eyed each and every part of my face, smiled sweetly and gave me another brief peck on the lips again to cement what she¡¯d said as irrefutable fact.

    ¡°If you want me as your woman, then you have me.¡±

    Barely attempting to settle the volley of fireworks bursting in my head, I fought the ridiculous urge to question her further. I was happy, if not proud, to say that there wasn¡¯t a shred of doubt anywhere to be found in her expression.

    ¡°G-Good,¡± I said, clearing my throat. ¡°Then no more of this Master business. From this day on, consider yourself to be a free woman again. I won¡¯t take no for an answer.¡±

    ¡°Hehe. Then may I call you by your name?¡±

    ¡°Y-You don¡¯t need to ask me permission for every little thing. Just call me whatever you want.¡±

    ¡°Then, Alex,¡± she said and my brain almost folded in on itself in trying to process the sweetness in her tone. ¡°Maybe we should go.¡±

    Yua lowered her chin to gesture at the arms I held around her. She didn¡¯t look to be in any pain, but my groping and the following forced hug had her kneeling in a somewhat awkward position. I let go.

    ¡°S-Sorry.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind at all. I¡¯m happy to finally get to hear what your heart has been saying all this time, but¡­¡±

    M-my heart¡­? Wait, she knew? This whole time? What?

    Smirking cheekily, likely hearing my inner panic at having what confidence I poured into my confession thrown back at me, she continued.

    ¡°But didn¡¯t you want to go watch the auction? We slept in a little too long, but we should still have time to get there before it starts.¡±

    Checking the time with my HUD, thankful both for the distraction and that my steaming cheeks couldn¡¯t actually fog up the window that wasn¡¯t actually there, I saw that she was right. Without the aid of any sort of time piece, she guessed at how late we¡¯d slept in. It was almost noon. One hour before the auction was set to start. We must have slept longer than usual because we were both so exhausted after all of the fighting yesterday, probably a side effect of my stupidly forgetting to bring water down with us, but we still had plenty of time.

    ¡°S-Sorry.¡±

    I let go of her, careful not to touch her chest again because I knew I wouldn¡¯t want to let go a second time, and stood. Before I could offer her a hand, she jumped to her feet and then turned to face me properly.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to apologize for touching me,¡± she said, the blush in her cheeks deepening. ¡°I belong to Mas¡­ I¡¯m yours.¡±

    She smiled a bit wryly at her slip-up. I wasn¡¯t expecting her to instantly change the mindset that had been drilled into her these last few years any more than I could change myself, but she was trying. We both were. And her effort proved itself equal to mine when she followed up her statement by lifting herself onto the balls of her feet to kiss me yet again. Deciding herself that this still might not be enough to make her point, she grabbed hold of my hand and pressed it firmly to her breast again. And there she held it for as long as her lips held mine.

    Our lips met, parted and met again, with barely a moment left to breathe in between. Her movements became just a little bolder with each kiss and soon enough, I no longer felt the need to breathe all together. With each luscious kiss threatening to have us while away what spare time we had in utter bliss, we made up for what I¡¯d lost us in not realizing her feelings sooner.

    As if sensing this and wanting to tell me that it was okay, Yua guided my fondling herself, pressing her chest firmly into my palm, it almost felt like she was trying to inspire me to act with less hesitation moving forward.

    I could have easily fallen into darker thoughts, wondering if this was some ploy to keep me under her thumb in some ridiculous way by giving me what she¡¯d known I wanted all along, but I banished the thoughts the instant they showed themselves to be malicious each and every time they appeared.

    I wouldn¡¯t give this up for anything.

    We continued like this for a short while until Yua finally pulled back to catch her breath. I let go of her breast and hugged her to my chest.

    ¡°Goddess¡­. I want to wake up like this every morning.¡±

    ¡°Hehe. Understood.¡±

    With her ears flicking happily against my chin, she hugged me right back and we stood there in the morning sun feeling each other¡¯s warmth. Well, I suppose it¡¯s not actually morning anymore, but who cares?

    ¡°Yua, you were right. We need to get going. I¡¯m happy that you¡¯ve accepted me, but you¡¯re not completely mine yet. There¡¯s still one more thing we have to do before that.¡±

    ¡°Got it!¡±

    With an almost absurdly happy smile, Yua bounced on the spot and hugged me again the second I tried to separate from her. With another quick peck on the cheek, she let go and sped back to her suitcase, found that she¡¯d already tidied it and instead fixed her blouse again after noticing that I was trying to hide my embarrassment again. Choosing to be gracious and not comment on it, she retrieved the shirt and belt I lazily threw to the floor last night, and that I had completely forgotten about until now, and held them out for me.

    I quickly put them on, feeling what I hoped to be an understandable embarrassment for being the only one us half-naked, despite her earlier display. She looked so happy regardless of the uneasy expression I was surely making, that I hesitated before speaking.

    ¡°Yua¡­ One more thing.¡±

    ¡°Yes? What is it?¡±

    ¡°¡­ If the ring doesn¡¯t sell, if we fail to get the coin we need to pay off your contract, I want you to run away with me.¡±

    If the ring didn¡¯t manage to sell even at the lowest price possible, we would have no chance to gather the rest of the money needed to pay Alphonse in time. Even if we spent the rest of the day in the dungeon, anything worth that much wouldn¡¯t be able to sell outright due to how few coin the local shops had on hand at any given moment. And I was positive we wouldn¡¯t run into another chest full of coin again. So, unless the next dungeon floor was filled with leprechauns using their pots of gold as a bludgeon, we were done.

    This was our last chance to do this right, but I wasn¡¯t beyond cheating and using the powers the Goddess gave me to run.

    Yua closed her suitcase, set it aside and stood up as straight as an arrow to face me. The seriousness in her expression told me that whatever she said next, was going to be the absolute truth. That no matter how many hoops I tried to jump through, nothing I could think up would ever be potent enough to doubt her conviction even slightly.

    ¡°I will follow you no matter where you go.¡±

    ¡°Even though I won¡¯t be your master if that happens?¡±

    The slave contract binding us was supposed to revert back to Alphonse in the event that I failed to pay him what I owed. Meaning that I would no longer be her master and that the spell binding us would be forever broken.

    ¡°Yes. Even then.¡±

    ¡°Even if Alphonse becomes your true master again and he tries to track us down to kill us?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Even then.¡±

    ¡°Even if I am branded as a Thief for stealing you away from him?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Even then. As your mate, I¡¯d never leave your side because of something so trivial.¡±

    ¡°Yua¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Come here.¡±

    With her bare feet not making a single sound that the room¡¯s enchantment needed to muffle thanks to the cat-like agility she made such effective use of in the dungeon, she stepped lightly across the wood floor. When she stopped in front of me, when she looked up into my eyes, I kissed her without any of my prior restraint. It wasn¡¯t just because I hadn¡¯t had enough of her earlier, we¡¯d already spent more than enough of our time on this, but because I needed to taste her steadfast desire to stay by my side no matter what. I needed to feel it was real, just as much as I believed it.

    My more pessimistic side was doing its darndest to find a flaw, any flaw, in her quick and short answers and prove them to be lies. But of course, there was nothing to be found. For once, that side of me stayed quiet.

    If we fled Amoranth using Dimensional Step, we could easily gain a giant head start the second we decided to run away. But because ownership over Yua would revert back to Alphonse, he would be able to automatically track her down the same way I could. I still didn¡¯t know the limitations of that ability, but I knew it still worked even when she was too far away for me to see her outline. I proved as much last night when I snuck off to the bakery. That means, Alphonse might be able to chase us all over the world to get her back. And given how much her contract was worth, he very well had the incentive to do it.

    Yua accepted my kiss with one of her own and clenched my shirt almost desperately, because she was the more experienced between the two of us when it came to such matters in this world. And as a slave, she must know even better than I of how ruthless our enemy would be in pursuing us.

    This time, it was I who separated from her. Though I did need to force myself a bit. I collected the boots I left by the door and handed her hers. Once we were both fully dressed, I reached for the doorknob to rob her of the need to hold it for me, but she stepped in front of me before I could open the door.

    ¡°Wait, Ma... Alex. Your hair.¡±

    Just as she did yesterday, Yua combed her fingers through the mess the pillow made of my hair. I watched her as she worked, torn between the look in her eye that now could only ever be called loving, that wonderful smile of hers and at the cleavage that pressed against my chest as she did her thing.

    Beating back the constant negativity was going to be a difficult task, but I think holding back on those sorts of thoughts might be even worse.

    ¡°There,¡± she said, taking a step back to admire her work. I was never very confident in my looks, but the way she looked at me now felt like it might be close to how I looked at her.

    Fighting back the urge to kiss her again, I threw the door open, ready to see thing to its end.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 25

    After stopping by the inn¡¯s front desk to pay for another night¡¯s stay in our room just in case, we stepped out into the early afternoon fair. As I¡¯ve come to expect from the Great City of Amoranth¡¯s daylight hours, the place was already abuzz with life and commerce. Only, today it didn¡¯t seem so claustrophobic.

    The constant noise was calmer, less intrusive. Almost relaxing in a way my old life never could have been, trapped behind that desk as I was. For the first time since coming here, the white noise and everything that I once tried to shut out became clear, became merchants singing the praises of their own wares with joyous smiles as they shoved their goods in the faces of everyone that passed them by, young house wives openly gossiping in the street from behind the hands they hid their pleasant expressions with before they said their goodbyes and left to tend to their families, children laughing an arguing about the rules for the games they were playing, carpenters and brick layers sawing and hammering away as they toiled away in the construction area of a soon-to-be new building nearby that I never even noticed, there was even the rhythmic clop-clopping of the near endless stream of horse hooves as they pulled their carriages into and out of the city.

    I noticed all of these before, naturally. This level of noise couldn¡¯t be avoided regardless of whether or not I had ears as sensitive as Yua¡¯s, but somehow it all felt more real, more animated. Almost like I had only been imagining it all until now to pick up the slack for the earbuds that once kept my attention off of all this.

    Yua, used to seeing, hearing, the world this way, nudged my elbow. I¡¯d probably been staring a little too much.

    ¡°Should we head straight to the auction?¡±

    After quickly consulting my HUD for the time, I shook my head.

    ¡°We still have about an hour. So, we have a little time to spare.¡±

    While the auction clerk Bradley said the whole thing would start one hour after midday, I¡¯m positive that he meant 1:00PM. It was only 12:06. It was fairly late, at least where late starts were concerned, but the city wasn¡¯t so large that it would take us fifty minutes to get to the auction house. Especially not if we ran. And because of how uptight Bradley came off as when we spoke, I doubted they would start at any other time than what he dictated.

    Come to think of it, most everyone I¡¯ve met here took their jobs very seriously. If anything, they were too serious. That was something I just couldn¡¯t bring myself to do when I was stuck with that boring desk job. At least, not to the same degree as that fanatic of a potion maker.

    ¡°Then what¡¯ll we do in the meantime?¡±

    ¡°How about we have us a quick breakfast?¡±

    I still felt guilty over accidentally skipping yesterday¡¯s breakfast and lunch, only to top it off with some kind of mystery meat and a bunch of sweets. Not exactly healthy living. If you¡¯d asked me, someone that was used to having three meals a day, I¡¯d say that was an egregious sin that needed to be corrected, but Yua¡¯s eyes sparkled for another reason entirely.

    ¡°M-Mas¡­ You¡¯re going to let me eat breakfast as well?!¡±

    Her eyes lit up the same way they did when I brought out the sweets last night. As despicable as it sounded, and if their choice in foods was anything to go by, I guessed most masters didn¡¯t feed their slaves more than once a day. The ability to pay for their slaves¡¯ necessities may be a requirement, but they probably didn¡¯t need more than that, as the bare minimum.

    That was probably why Yua didn¡¯t mention my slip up in forgetting to eat when I had brought up the idea myself.

    Seeing her so giddy with expectation, I laughed despite myself, for this girl was no longer a slave in my book. Because of this, and because I felt I owed her just a little bit of teasing to pay back hers from earlier, I smirked.

    ¡°Careful, if you keep acting so cute, I might have to kiss you again.¡±

    Her ears jumping to attention, she quickly pressed her lips shut and blushed. Her eyebrows then turned up, as if she just thought of something sad, but the expression didn¡¯t reach the ears standing at attention.

    ¡°A-Alex, would it be alright if I ask that you don¡¯t do that too much in public?¡±

    Oh, wow, my first attempt at being the bold boyfriend-type failed instantly. Must have been too big a step for a newbie like me.

    ¡°Was that too much?¡± I asked, feeling just a little panicked, but she shook her head vigorously to reject the idea.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that at all. I¡¯m truly grateful you feel that way, but if you show too much affection to your slave and other masters see it, they¡¯d think less of you and might even try to use me to hurt you.¡±

    Supposing her concerns were a tad more serious than her insisting on fixing my hair before we left the room, I wiped the stupid smile off my face.

    ¡°I¡¯m grateful to know you¡¯re worried about how others see me, but I really don¡¯t want to care what they think.¡± I wasn¡¯t at all interested in making a name for myself here or getting in the way of anyone¡¯s business. I doubted I¡¯d ever find myself in enough of a spotlight that the higher-ups in the city would feel threatened by my actions. ¡°Besides, how would they use you to hurt me in the first place?¡±

    ¡°Because someone could threaten to harm me in order to get to you, or to force you to do what they want.¡±

    ¡°What? Wouldn¡¯t that be breaking the law?¡±

    If just accidentally stealing something was enough to have your freedom ripped out of your hands, then how could extortion like that not do the same?

    ¡°No. They would be branded as a Thief if they kidnapped me, but there is no rule against just hurting another master¡¯s slave. Slaves are seen as objects, remember? You can¡¯t hurt an object. As long as the slave doesn¡¯t die, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡±

    ¡°So, they¡¯d threaten to hurt you to make me do what they want? If that¡¯s ever the case, you have my permission to beat them up, assuming I¡¯m not in a position to do so myself.¡±

    Yua smiled sympathetically, but I got the idea she only meant in the sense that I didn¡¯t know what I was talking about.

    ¡°I can¡¯t do that. If a slave damages another person¡¯s property, their master is held responsible. If a slave hurts another person, their master is also responsible. The only way I could act would be if they were trying to harm you in some way.¡±

    ¡°Then, you hitting someone would be just as bad as hitting them myself?¡±

    ¡°Exactly. The slave spell would activate if I tried and I¡¯d get hurt.¡±

    So, in the event that she was somehow prevented from returning to my side, they could threaten to hurt her in order to extort me for money or other valuable items I may come to own sometime in the future. And she¡¯d be expected to just let that happen? Someone as strong as her? Absurd.

    Even though the laws governing this world were so abhorrently strict, was there really a loophole so big and unprotected that would actually allow for something like that to happen? How could this hypothetical extortionist even keep her from me without it actually being considered theft in the first place? Moreover, wouldn¡¯t actually hurting her be thought of as destruction of my property? Or would the slave¡¯s body being able to heal away the damage over time or by potion render such concerns pointless? Regardless, it had to be a huge risk to them and their potential new Thief tag.

    Then again, if these were people wealthy enough to buy slaves in the first place, then they could likely just hire a known Thief to handle their dirty work, if anything, to keep themselves safe.

    ¡°But yesterday you said I wouldn¡¯t get in trouble for just hitting someone.¡±

    ¡°I did, but¡­ would you be able to hold back and keep it at just that?¡± she said, tapping the back of her hand against mine as we walked. ¡°You¡¯re stronger than you think. If you used your magic, it¡¯d be impossible to end things so easily.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­ If you say so, then I¡¯ll just keep my hands to myself.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, but you don¡¯t need to hold back completely. Slave masters usually do what they want to their slaves, anyway. I¡¯m only telling you this because you might want to hide your true feelings when in public.¡±

    My face grew hotter the more she spoke. Hearing her mention the love I just confessed to her so easily was several times more embarrassing than I could have expected.

    Still, thinking back to rabbit-girl at the general store and how Albert slapped her ass right in front of me, I knew she was probably right on this one. I know Albert meant the slap in a sexual way, rather than as a punishment, but that didn¡¯t necessarily mean he had any real feelings for her. If I, however, put too much passion into how I treated Yua, people might see right through us. But if her, the same girl that basically offered herself up on a silver platter to me just a few minutes ago, claimed that giving in to such wants was a serious issue, then I had no choice but to be aware of the potential dangers.

    ¡°I will take that into consideration, but how do you know all of that? Is it more of what you learned from the slave house?¡±

    ¡°Some of it is. We weren¡¯t just taught to fulfil all of our master¡¯s orders the best we could, but the knowledge we¡¯d need not to endanger them through our actions. The rest, though, is just what everyone is taught when they are young. Like with hitting someone. How could we spar when training if something like that was enough to turn us into a Thief, or something similar?¡±

    ¡°True.¡±

    Setting aside the innate knowledge she might have gotten from her classes, Yua¡¯s skill demanded practice. If she travelled here just to fight in the dungeons, I had little doubt in the fact that she¡¯d spent a good amount of her youth learning how to throw a punch. And she was damn good at it.

    I shook my head.

    ¡°How about we stop talking about that for now? Where did you want to eat?¡±

    I didn¡¯t know of any places here that would sell a more traditional sort of westerner¡¯s breakfast of eggs, bacon and the like, so I thought it best to let her pick out something she¡¯d like. She¡¯d spent a number of years in this city, so I was sure she had somewhere she¡¯d like to revisit after all this time.

    As usual when it came to offering her food, her eyes lit up all over again.

    ¡°C-Can I really pick?¡±

    ¡°Sure. You know this city better than I do, so find something you like. Or maybe something you¡¯ve been wanting to try.¡±

    Her tail swishing about in an unrestrained excitement, Yua quickly lifted her nose into the bright blue sky and got to looking for pleasant scents. Usually when she did this, there was a tension about her as she searched for enemies that could cause us harm, but seeing her now, she was beautiful and nothing more. There was a heaping helping of her cuter side peeking out by how she stood on the tips of her toes to sniff the air, as if the slight shift in elevation would actually aid in her search. But that was all. Just that and an understanding that I had to accept that restraining myself around her was probably just going to be more difficult going forward.

    Her ears perked up and she lowered her chin, smiling and swishing her tail like a helicopter¡¯s blades. Apparently, she found something good.

    ¡°Could we, um¡­ If it¡¯s not too much to ask,¡± she suddenly looked a little downcast, as if wracking her brain to try and forget her status just so she could ask. ¡°C-Could we¡­ Could you¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± I said, resisting the urge to pat her head, and whispered back so only she could hear. ¡°You¡¯re not a slave to me, remember? I''m sorry I didn''t make that clear before. Just tell me where you want to go. Like I said last night, we have some extra coin, so anything is fine.¡±

    Given how an expensive slice of cake only cost 1 silver and that I still had a little more than 3 gold pieces to spare, this wasn¡¯t exactly a bluff. Barring some ridiculously rare food that I didn¡¯t even know existed, I was sure I could buy us a seat at just about any restaurant in the city.

    ¡°Then¡­ Can we get some grilled pork?¡±

    ¡°Sure thing. Could you...¡±

    Before I could ask where this grilled pork was, why she wanted something like that for breakfast or to just ask her to guide us to it, Yua leapt straight into my arms. She squeezed me so tight that I probably should have been concerned that her insane strength might snap my spine if she wasn¡¯t perfectly careful, but because of how firmly she pressed her chest against mine, I truly couldn¡¯t complain.

    ¡°So much for not showing you any affection,¡± I said with a chuckle and Yua quickly jumped to let go. A shade of embarrassment that felt new on her colored her cheeks.

    I understood her worries, but she shouldn¡¯t have needed to hide. It¡¯s not like slaves were forced to wear a collar to show that they were someone¡¯s property. In fact, the only slave I¡¯d seen in the entire city wearing such a thing was Albert¡¯s bunny girl. The only real distinguishing feature Yua had to mark herself as a slave, that I knew of, were the raggedy clothes she wore. Save for maybe those down on their luck or born into relative poverty, nobody but a slave would dress the way she did willingly.

    Yua did say that the slaves she lived with were only given relatively nice clothes, such as she wore now, when they were about to be presented to a prospective buyer. That in mind, it was likely that she¡¯d spent the rest of her time wearing nothing but that rag she wears to bed to keep from exposing herself completely to the elements. Though, for a multitude of reasons, I¡¯d rather not think too hard on that fact.

    Maybe getting her some better clothes would help her to ease up on her self-imposed restrictions and help her to feel more comfortable.

    ¡°S-Sorry,¡± Yua said, clutching her tail in hand like she meant to quiet it down so I couldn¡¯t tell she was still excited about breakfast.

    ¡°Haha. You don¡¯t ever need to apologize for hugging me.¡±

    Honestly, I was still too happy myself that she would even want to, to care about how she instantly contradicted herself.

    ¡°But I just said¡­¡±

    ¡°I know what you said and I¡¯m sure we¡¯re fine.¡±

    To try and alleviate some of her worries, I pointed to the crowd. Not a single person in sight looked the sort she warned me we¡¯d need to be weary of. She was just too focused on her empty belly to have noticed.

    ¡°Now, how about you lead us to this grilled pork you want?¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡±

    Yua locked her hands together behind her back, a bright playful smile spreading across her lips, and started through the crowd. The thought of the tasty meal she had in mind probably made her the happiest person walking the streets of Amoranth in that moment. Even the kids playing their games and chasing each other around couldn¡¯t compare.

    She led us by her nose, but it was a while before I smelled anything at all and, by the time my own nostrils picked up any of the various delicious scents floating about in the air, we were well within the limits of the merchant¡¯s district. There were so many other food stalls already well under way with the day¡¯s cooking that I was instantly grateful for Yua picking, as I wouldn¡¯t have known where to try first. The city was so thick with flavor, with so many foods that I wanted to try, that I couldn¡¯t distinguish between any of them. Even the ones I could actually name.

    Yua, however, was undeterred as she headed straight for her goal. It didn¡¯t take long at all before we found said goal in what was likely the ¡°meat¡± corner of the food stalls, where a particularly mouth-watering smoke rose from above the short row of wood-burning grills, each of which were lined with meats that sizzled where the fire licked at their bubbling fats, or that sat away from the flame to keep warm and ready for buying. Luckily, there was no line we¡¯d need to wait in.

    It may have been an odd choice for our first meal of the day, but it was past noon. I was ready to say screw it and claim I¡¯d skipped breakfast again for lunch.

    ¡°Well, don¡¯t you two look hungry,¡± the grill master greeted. As soon as we approached his stall, he leaned over the large grill to get a better look at us through the smoke, but not so far that he needed to worry about the long beard he sported catching fire. Whatever he saw in us, or rather in Yua, made him grin.

    Possibly showing us all a side of herself that had remained dormant these last few years, Yua wasn¡¯t paying the man any attention at all. Behind her, her tail was in the middle of brutally assaulting the air as it wagged about almost violently, as if stretching to pull her backwards and to keep her from falling face first into the metal lattice covering the grill. As she practically drooled over the food still cooking right in front of us, instead of the ones that were already done for whatever reason, I could easily imagine a droplet of saliva dripping down from her lip, only to bubble and burst once it hit the burning coals. But she closed her mouth to favor drawing in a long breath through her nose.

    ¡°Yua, maybe you should take a step back.¡±

    ¡°S-Sorry. It¡¯s um¡­ It¡¯s been a while, so I guess I let the smell get to my head a bit.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha! Nonsense!¡± The grill master laughed heartily, pointing his well-used spatula toward her. ¡°I love it when you beast-kin stop by. Y¡¯all always make me feel like my cooking¡¯s the best in the world!¡±

    As he laughed, a woman that looked to be his wife smiled herself as she sliced up another freshly-butchered pig and set aside pieces of it for him to grill.

    While the butchering process was slightly visually alarming to someone like myself who hadn¡¯t seen it before, I did find it intriguing. Not because they did all of this out in the open instead of somewhere nice and sanitary, but because all the animals I¡¯d seen die since coming to this world burst into nothing, their bodies disappearing without a trace, save for their pelts. I may have eaten meat here a few times already, but after actually seeing proof that this sort of profession was indeed possible, I checked her info box and found that she had actually been born into the Butcher class.

    Wondering if that class had something to do with her being able to do her job the way she was, or if she just bought the pig from someone else to prep for cooking, I felt that she and the bearded man were perfect as a couple. She cut, he cooked. That level of synergy was something to aspire to.

    ¡°Good afternoon,¡± I said in place of Yua since she couldn¡¯t tear her eyes off the grill. ¡°Could we get two servings of pork, please?¡±

    ¡°Of course. That¡¯ll be 6 coppers per set of skewers.¡±

    He pointed towards a gleaming silver tray left to sit out on the only table that didn¡¯t have meat on it, cooked or otherwise, as if he meant to keep it as clean as possible despite his messy job. Fully aware of what this meant by now, I set a few coins on the tray while he skewered a few of the cuts of pork keeping warm on the side of the grill with a thin wooden stick and then repeated the process three more times for the rest of the order. Only when he handed them to me, did Yua manage to pull her eyes away from the grill. Staring now with rapt attention at the food I held in my hands, her tail still moving wildly through the air, she followed me without a word after I thanked the man and left his stall.

    I was happy to see her so excited instead of being worried that I might not be planning to share any of it with her this time around. Likewise, I was ever happier to see that she as a cat-folk exhibited her feline counterpart¡¯s love of meat.

    There was hardly anywhere for customers to sit, save for a few stools set out by the vendors, carpets or rugs spread out picnic-style, a single bench sat under the shade of nearby building and a couple of fallen tree logs that looked to be old, brittle and ready to collapse, as if they had been cut down when the city was first built and left to sit there for who knows how many centuries.

    A couple dozen or so people were spread about the area, enjoying their meals as they took up most of the more comfortable seating options, but this was fine. I wasn¡¯t so picky that I¡¯d find this set up to be at all bothersome. Not when this medieval-themed food court had Yua so hot and bothered and when I was still flying high on her wake-up call. So, we took to one of the logs that had enough room for us to sit together.

    I handed Yua her half of the skewers and watched with a smirk as she tried with all her might not to let her excitement win out and rip them out of my hands. Holding the meat up close enough to her face to almost dip her nose in the melted fat that glinted in the sunlight, she took a long whiff of the meat and sighed so happily I thought she might actually pass out. Before I could question if she only asked for these to smell them though, she greedily bit off the first chunk and quickly clamped a hand over her mouth to hide a squeal of delight. Much as she had been the last couple nights, she slowly and deliberately chewed each and every bite. The meat¡¯s juices dribbled down her chin, but she quickly licked them back up, never wasteful.

    As content as I was to watch her enjoy herself so, I took a bite of my own, mainly so I didn¡¯t have to worry about her trying to steal my half once she polished hers off. Though watching her slowly descend into a gleeful food coma, I might not have minded giving it up.

    The pork was good. Probably the best I¡¯d ever had, without the advent of some sort of sauce or seasoning. My family had never really done much grilling, since my parents weren¡¯t the type to barbeque with any sort of frequency, and because I never bothered once I moved out on my own, but I could easily see why she enjoyed it so much and why out of everything available to us, she¡¯d pick this stall for breakfast. I was still of the opinion that bacon was the best part of the pig, but this was a close second.

    By the time we finished and Yua quite literally licked her skewers clean before throwing them away, she looked like she desperately wanted to hug me in thanks, instead of just telling me. To keep with her own assumption that it was best we keep the PDA to a minimum, I let my hand brush against hers and started back down the street. If I didn¡¯t stop her from looking at me like that, I¡¯d have been the one to give in. She practically skipped to catch up.

    After our quick lunch, and because we still had time to spare, we took a walk around the other stalls to check out some of what we missed last night. We¡¯d stopped by a good many stalls, but most were wiped of their inventory after a long day of selling, so I wanted to see what all they had to offer during the day.

    Not too long into our search, and far away enough from the various grills and outdoor ovens so that the produce wouldn¡¯t be ruined by the heat, we found a stall selling a few different kinds of colorful, familiar fruits. Familiar visually, anyways. Round, almost spherical and with a pleasant blend of reds and yellows, they looked plenty sweet and juicy. When I pointed to them, the woman running the stand said the fruits were called ¡°Affles,¡± but they were clearly just apples in my eyes. One of likely many odd naming conventions that separate this world from my own.

    I went ahead and bought a few of the affles, figuring they¡¯d would make a good snack later. Also, since fruit ripened and went bad rather fast after being picked, I thought it was a good opportunity to test if the foods I put in my item box were able to keep fresh without losing too much money in the process. This may end up being an incredibly important test.

    ¡°Do you like affles?¡±

    Yua questioned me when I put the ten I bought into her backpack, hiding my hand so I could stash them discretely into my item box. I figured that at only 2 coppers a piece, they were relatively cheap, so buying a few to have something sweet whenever we were hungry would be nice.

    ¡°I used to eat them pretty often back home. How about you?¡±

    ¡°Yup. My tribe I belonged to ate lots of fruits. We ate mainly whatever the forest could provide, what travelers carried with them on their way through or what we brought back from trips outside the forest.¡±

    ¡°But you preferred meat, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Hehehe.¡±

    Before I could turn the topic to her homeland to learn more about her, I checked the time on my HUD and saw that it was about time we started towards the auction. We might have had a few minutes to spare had we just walked there, but to be on the safe side, I had us break into a light jog.

    Now that the time had come, my chest felt tight, like I couldn¡¯t breathe properly. Our future together depended on what was about to happen. We either get to stay together, or become fugitives on the run for the rest of our lives. Yua said she was happy to follow me no matter how things turned out, but she, too, looked a little worried despite being the one to insist I have some faith in my own luck.

    The Goddess herself said that my Luck stat really did have an effect on the world, so I chose to have a little faith in all the points I sunk into it, rather than just the stat itself. I already risked it all by leveling that instead of something more combat oriented when fighting in the dungeon, so why not lean on it once more?

    When Yua noticed me looking at her, I sucked it up and gave her a firm nod. She smiled bravely, clenched her fist and nodded back.

    The auction house was already brimming with people. Rows and rows of expensive-looking carriages and carts were lined up along the front and side of the building and even along the streets nearby. It was the first time since coming to this world that I had seen something resembling a parking lot, but I was not surprised to see it full today. My guess was that only nobles and well-off merchants were here to join in the auction, since the most expensive items in the city were collected to be sold here today, but I might have been way off the mark. Many of those we saw entering the building looked like your stereotypical Adventurers decked out in armor, weapons and a few looking as though they just finished a round or two in the dungeon. All of them were probably out to see if the auction would have anything useful for fighting, but since it was my first time here, I couldn¡¯t be sure of all they¡¯d have for sale. Unsurprisingly, these sorts were requested to hand their weapons over to the staff before they were let in. So, the line was moving slowly.

    Once we found our way inside, we flagged down one of the auction house¡¯s maids that had looked lightly panicked at how many people there were and she quickly led us through the crowd of fancily dressed rich folk and comparably rustic Adventurers as they sipped their complimentary wines and as they forced me to wonder if they only came for the free drink.

    I paid them no further mind however, same as how I ignored the feeling of not belonging there to follow the maid to where the auction would be held. Since we weren¡¯t going to be bidding on anything, we were separated from the main group and were funneled into a smaller room upstairs that overlooked the auction grounds to wait with all the others there to observe the auction as they waited for their items to sell.

    The room she brought us to was surprisingly well-furnished, with enough furniture set out for at least fifty people, though only about half of it was occupied. There was even a mini buffet set up behind us with its own maid attending it. And, judging by the smells emanating from the small row of steaming gilded pots, they even pre-prepared tea and coffee for their guests.

    It was surprise after surprise setting foot back in here after their poor reception last time, but with how much coin this place brought in, I was sure they could afford to pull out all the stops to keep their guests happy and wanting to come back.

    I thought Yua might have wanted to sample some of what was available to us, but once we sat down, she only had eyes for the area below.

    We took to a secluded seat, a fancy-looking couch that was notably softer than the bed back at the inn, over on the far side of the room to keep our privacy and to let the others have theirs. With Yua on my right, we watched as more and more people gathered into the crowd below whose collective purses were burning holes in their pockets in a rowdy, possibly slightly drunk anticipation for things to get going.

    There was already a man standing behind the podium on the stage in front of the crowd, but instead of addressing and trying to calm them, he almost looked to be scanning the crowd, like he were counting the number of people attending the day¡¯s event. Though, he did show some a small amount of courtesy when he nodded towards those that bothered to greet him. It didn¡¯t take me long to realize that the man I was staring at was none other than Bradley himself, the same man that helped me put up the ring to auction.

    The stage was empty save for him. They must be waiting for each individual item to be announced before showing it off. My guess was that this was to prevent people from withholding their bids for the better items slated to be auctioned at a later time.

    I tried to keep myself calm as we waited, eyeing my HUD¡¯s clock every other second, much like I did whenever my parents made the mistake of buying me a wristwatch. It wasn¡¯t until a few minutes before the time set for the auction to begin, that I realized I¡¯d yet to see a single clock in this world, analog or otherwise. So, I had no idea how they were going to know when to start until Bradley finished his counting and looked up, up through the building¡¯s wide-open dome and, this is just a guess, checked the Sun¡¯s position in the sky.

    Apparently satisfied with what he saw, he cleared his throat and addressed the crowd.

    ¡°Thank you all for gathering today at the Amoranth Auction House.¡±

    He spoke loud enough for his voice to boom over all others to draw their attention. Apparently, most if not all of those bidding today were regulars, because none complained about the wait and they all in attendance quickly fell silent. Were it not for the greedy and expectant smiles adorning their expressions, I would have thought that they looked like a bunch of trained monkeys.

    Only once he had complete silence did Bradley continue, his voice calmer now.

    ¡°Today we have several great items for you to bid on, from top-tier slaves to enchanted weapons, armors and accessories. Please keep in mind that winning your bid is as good as signing a contract and that you must pay what you promised or you will be branded a Thief. If you find that you cannot afford the item on auction, do not foolishly risk your life by bidding for it. Otherwise, you may bid as many times and on as many items as you wish. Fighting over items you failed to win is strictly prohibited. You will be removed from the building and banned permanently if you start violence of any kind. Now, if there are no questions, let us begin.¡±

    While I had several questions floating around my head, I couldn¡¯t exactly ask them. In part because I doubted the non-beast-kin down there could hear me unless I started yelling, but also because I just wanted to let the auction get underway. Learning more about the process can come later once we¡¯re in the clear and only if I ever need to come back.

    ¡°First,¡± Bradley said. ¡°Let us start the bidding on today¡¯s slaves.¡±

    Yua¡¯s breath caught in her throat. She¡¯d said she¡¯d lost a fair few friends to this place and that she normally would have preferred avoiding it, but she came today of her own choice. I was of half a mind to see if she wanted to wait outside until this part of the auction was done with, but she took my hand in hers before I could. Disgusted and feeling very hypocritical, I tried to give Yua as much comfort as I could by keeping my mouth shut.

    I already decided when I saw the train of people driving towards the auction house yesterday that attempting to save them would be a pointlessly stupid risk to our lives. So, I had to sit on my hands.

    Following behind one of the auction house¡¯s maids, the first slave brought out onto the stage was a tall, tanned and heavily muscular man that earned a few oohs from the crowd. I checked his info box out of curiosity and saw that, despite his bestial appearance, he was actually a human and that he was indeed marked as a slave, just like Yua. While I didn¡¯t want to be one to judge someone based on their appearance, the multiple scars cut across the man¡¯s body and the deep glare in his eye did not exactly suggest that he was a good person at heart.

    ¡°This man here was enslaved because he stole some very valuable golden jewelry from the house of his village¡¯s chief.¡±

    As if noticing the way I looked at him, Bradley outright told everyone the reason why the man was enslaved in the first place, but he most likely only did so to allow his customers to better know what they were buying. Something I wished Alphonse had done during my visit. If anything, it would have saved me the mental fatigue of jumping to conclusions the way I did with Yua. And unlike her, judging by the sneer the slave man gave when reminded of his crimes, I guessed he wasn¡¯t all too apologetic anyway.

    As much as I hated sitting here, shifting uncomfortably in my seat knowing that I was effectively the world¡¯s largest hypocrite for hating the fact that I was watching slaves be sold like cattle after buying one myself, I had to force myself to remember that most of them were criminals to begin with. Yua¡¯s misunderstanding that led to her enslavement might just be an outlier.

    ¡°He is quite strong and skilled with an axe,¡± Bradley continued. ¡°So, he may be put to good use in the dungeons or just chopping firewood, if you wish. The bidding starts at 10,000 gold.¡±

    Ten thousand right off the bat? I was told that the stronger and more attractive a slave was, the higher a price they would catch, but I wasn¡¯t expecting for that to be the starting price. I checked his info box again, but I couldn¡¯t see his stats. So, I was forced to assume the price was based entirely on his level and that he was probably of middling fighting ability, since I couldn¡¯t exactly call him good looking.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    The bidding took a long moment to begin as the crowd looked him over. But once it did, one bid after another, the price didn¡¯t stop increasing until it reached 15,000 gold and Bradley banged his gavel on the podium, signaling the end of the sale. Regardless of his looks, the slave man must have been stronger than was suggested, as I had a hard time understanding why someone would buy a man like this, knowing that he was unrepentant for his crimes. I figured he was going to be put to work in the dungeons for the rest of his life to try and make up for it by making his new master a good profit, so I guess his strength was all that was really needed of him.

    ¡°Next item up for sale is a female slave.¡±

    He gestured towards the right-hand side of the stage again where a woman wearing a loose shirt cut similar to Yua¡¯s nightwear, with seemingly nothing more beneath it, walked onto the stage. I had to admit, she was pretty attractive, but it quickly became clear that what caught the audience¡¯s attention the most were the giant breasts hidden beneath her shirt. However, in the face of all their ogling, the woman only looked annoyed.

    Surprised by this, I waited for the auctioneer to mention that she not only tried to steal from her last boss, but that she stabbed with a dagger and nearly killed him when he caught her in the act.

    ¡°Take her shirt off!¡± yelled one of the attendees.

    Again, Yua flinched, but held my hand firmly. She knew this was likely to be the fate for most female slaves, even if she clearly didn¡¯t agree with it. So, there was nothing we could do. I would have liked to jump down there and save her, but after hearing what she did, I sure as hell wasn¡¯t going to risk Yua¡¯s future on trying to help her escape the system the world itself seemed to rule over.

    Bradley, unperturbed by the obviously perverted request from the crowd, simply nodded once and turned to the maid that brought the slave woman to the stage. She bowed politely to him and walked over to the slave, looking like he¡¯d done nothing more significant than ask her to fetch him some tea. The slave, however, openly sneered at everyone in attendance with her cheeks flushed pink, but when the maid gestured with hers, she raised her hands over her head without further complaint. After doing so, the maid quietly lifted the scrap of shirt up over the slave¡¯s head, revealing to the crowd that my assumption that she wore nothing underneath to be correct.

    I tried not to look, more for Yua¡¯s sake than the slave¡¯s, especially since the latter just continued to sneer at the crowd, even when forced to stand in front of them fully naked. The thought that it could have been Yua up there made me pull her closer.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Yua said, letting me hold her. ¡°This doesn¡¯t bother me. I don¡¯t know that woman and from the sound of things, she deserves whatever happens to her.¡±

    ¡°This is still a bit much¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­ Alex, most of the female slaves at DeGrave Imports had to go through this, even when they weren¡¯t sold. Most of the time males come asking for a female slave, it¡¯s to be expected that they will have to show themselves like this.¡±

    ¡°Did¡­ Did you ever have to?¡±

    Yua pulled her gaze away from the woman on the stage and looked me dead in the eye. There was a seriousness in the way she looked at me, but it felt almost more sympathetic than resentful.

    ¡°No, I did not. Like I and Alphonse told you, I always started a fight before anyone could ask me to.¡±

    ¡°Good¡­ That¡¯s good.¡±

    It was probably an inappropriate question, but I¡¯m glad to hear that she wasn¡¯t essentially forced to perform a secluded strip show every time someone showed some interest in buying her.

    Just as they did with the last one, the crowd took a couple minutes to look the slave woman over and, when the bidding started, she started at 15,000 gold. Presumably because of her looks and because of her bust, that shot right up to 25,000 gold by the time the auction ended. I didn¡¯t try to see who in the crowd won the auction, but the last voice I heard shout a number belonged to a man.

    Despite myself and what she did, I said a silent prayer to my Goddess that the slave woman¡¯s first night wouldn¡¯t be too rough. If the man that bought her had the gall to do so in a public setting like this, I doubted he¡¯d have a change of heart once his moral code kicked in and that he¡¯d start treating her right.

    The next two slaves were men, followed by three women and it ended with another four men. All of the women were requested to strip on the stage, their prospective buyers showing no qualms in outing their true intentions. However, the same did happen to a couple of the men as well, so at least it wasn¡¯t a completely one-sided perversion. Not sure if I could call that a silver lining, though. Every single one of them sold.

    I didn¡¯t want to sit there and say I was okay with this, but each slave they brought out, pretty or not, had all stolen, bribed or killed their way to be here. Unless Bradley was telling the audience lies, and since none of the slaves protested, I couldn¡¯t say for certain if he was, all of them were true blood criminals. So, I wasn¡¯t sure if I should sympathize with them or not.

    Seeing this, even Yua relaxed a bit. She may have felt sorry for her fellow slaves, knowing that she had been spared the kind of lives they were likely going to be suffering from now on, but she seemed to find a semblance of contentment in understanding that they brought their fate upon themselves.

    ¡°Up next we have some jewelry.¡±

    I got my hopes up thinking that he meant our ring, but one by one, everything they brought out looked to be regular, everyday earrings, necklaces and the like that you¡¯d easily find stuffed away in your mother¡¯s jewelry box or, more likely, worn by a movie star on the red carpet. While they definitely looked to be obnoxiously expensive, I couldn¡¯t use my Appraisal skill from all the way up here, so I couldn¡¯t tell if the final asking prices the bidders brought them up to were fair or not. But my guess was that most weren¡¯t. I had to sit there and hope that they didn¡¯t spend all their money before our ring went up for auction as the day progressed.

    After the jewelry went some fancy clothes. Then a few highly-trained horses which their handlers and the maids had no trouble bringing up onto the small stage. Then a few books, including a spell book or two. Some apparently exotic plants and powdered seasonings. There was even a couple of bidding options for the rights to a few construction jobs that I definitely wasn¡¯t expecting to see here.

    In short, it felt like the plan for this auction was to have their priciest items both start off and end the show. Naturally, this meant the enchanted goods were sitting on the backburner, waiting to end the auction with a bang as, even with the spell books they offered sounding interesting, I was sure the enchanted goods were going to be the favorites of many in the crowd.

    Once I noticed this may be the case, I kept myself on the edge of my seat hoping that the bidders wouldn¡¯t wipe out their stores of coin before our ring made its debut.

    ¡°Our last round of items up for auction today are all enchanted. Each item has been appraised by a professional to ensure both the quality of the enchantment as well as their make. I will be showing you what they can do before the bidding starts. So, please do pay attention, as all sales are final.¡±

    Finally, the group of items our ring was in had their chance. I felt myself start to sweat as I watched the first item be brought up onto the stage. The box it was in was clearly too big for a ring, but if a small enchanted ring could go for 30,000 gold, then something bigger or something with a better effect might go for an even higher price. Because of this, every piece of armor or accessory that went before our ring would effectively lower the ring¡¯s chances of being sold, as they threatened to wipe out the gold the bidder had brought with them. And from what I could see of the crowd, not all that many of the people left looked to be carrying anywhere near enough to buy.

    I just had to hope they left their money in their carriages.

    A few of the bidders were already leaving, either due to lack of funds or because they weren¡¯t interested in buying enchanted items. Bradley looked to be waiting to reveal the item, until those leaving could clear the room. As they did, and as my impatience was skyrocketing, I noticed that there were more Adventurers waiting for the reveal than my initial assessment led me to believe.

    Right, Yua did say that there is no place in the city to buy enchanted gear, so maybe whatever the auction house happened to collect from traveling merchants was all they could hope for without leaving the city. So, without a car, buying something like this wasn¡¯t going to be as simple as hitting up your local mall for a TV.

    Once the room returned to silence, Bradley continued.

    ¡°First up is a Steel Sword of Flame. While it may be only made of steel, a highly skilled Enchanter worked on its enchantment, so it can burn, sear and set ablaze anything it cuts.¡±

    This time, instead of letting the crowd decide if the item was actually as described, his assistant, yet another of the maids, set a small log of wood that looked like it rightfully belonged in a fireplace onto a metal table next to the podium. Bradley himself then flicked open the clasps sealing the box the maid brought him and carefully pulled a long straight sword out of the case and then out of its scabbard. Looking to be handling the blade with the upmost care, he then held it over the log and, without even really putting any effort into his swing, he dropped the blade onto the wood without any sort of fanfare. The moment they touched, both the sword and the wood instantly caught fire, as if the wood had been soaked in gasoline beforehand and the blade had a hidden lighter in its tip.

    This brought about a few ooh¡¯s and awes from the crowd as the maid worked to put out the fire, but most of the Adventurers didn¡¯t look too impressed. Was it because it was made of steel? I was pretty sure there would be some sort of fantasy metals in this world, but steel should have at least been a good starting point. Due more to the lack-luster way Bradley described the thing with an ¡°it may be made of steel, but¡­,¡± rather than any sort of video game knowledge, I had to guess that I was right. Fire enchantments like that could easily carry you to late game if the strength of their fire damage was high enough.

    Regardless of how I felt, though, whoever was selling it clearly didn¡¯t expect too much, as the starting bid announced after the blade was set back in its box was only 9,000 gold.

    An enchanted sword that could burn whatever it touched started at a lower price than a one-time Thief turned slave. To me, it was almost baffling. Yes, we were talking about a person here, but that was only to me. By the standards of this world, an sword like that should have been worth way more. The price was eventually pushed up to 12,000 gold by some Merchant that seemed to have thought of a good use for it, but that still felt cheap to me.

    I shook my head. In the end, it didn¡¯t¡¯ matter. People not understanding how awesome enchanted gear like this could be wasn¡¯t my problem. They¡¯d surely prefer the benefits of a ring that could cure all wounds to a sword that can only burn anyways.

    When the next item came out in a small box that looked a perfect fit for jewelry, I held my breath. Unfortunately, it was just a copper necklace. While the enchantment given to it gave its user a small boost of Vigor, it too started low. This time, the Adventurers were the ones to battle over it, eventually racking the price up to 15,000. Apparently, in the dungeons, any boost to your stats, no matter how small, was a worthy buy if it could help you stay alive.

    Next was a battle axe made of something called ¡°parundum,¡± likely one of those fantasy metals I was considering, whose enchantment lessened its weight so much that the skinny, level 3 Maid was able to lift it with ease. That one started at only 10,000 gold, but its auction ended at the high price of 20,000 thanks to one of the now very happy Adventurers that bid for it.

    It was easy to assume that the axe being lighter meant that he would be able to swing it faster, but I couldn¡¯t guess if its enchantment affected its durability any.

    Regardless, given how unwieldy battle axes looked, I was sure that it was actually a fantastic find for someone with the Axe Warrior class. Though, it and the preceding items did fill me with worry when I remembered how Bradley tried to get me to lower the starting bid of our ring.

    Maybe they really just started at such low prices because that would make them easier to sell. It may have nothing to do with their actual worth.

    Hoping I didn¡¯t price it too high, we watched as several more items came and went, each with various magical enchantments, more than one of which I¡¯d never even heard of, inside of a game or not. And with each, we had some fine entertainment in watching Bradley display the items effects when possible. Watching him hold an entire glass of water in his mouth while his maid pinched his nose shut to show off the effect of a necklace that let you hold your breath for an extended period of time was a treat I wasn¡¯t expecting. Almost every one of the enchanted items sold and sold well.

    The only one that didn¡¯t sell was a breastplate that changed color based on your surroundings. It sounded nice at first, since it might¡¯ve been good for camouflage, but when the maid helped Bradley put it on over his suit, it instantly changed to a bright red color, instead of a pattern resembling that of the wood stage or the stone walls around him. Apparently, it wasn¡¯t a very effective chameleon-type enchantment, as it changed the color of the metal into that of a seemingly random object within range of the wearer.

    I realized that this must be the case, as it took me and the crowd a minute or two to realize that it had changed to the same color of the bright red ribbon the maid tied her hair with. Given the insane prices these things were going for, I had to wonder if the Enchanter had messed up in a way similar to my first failed teleportation and only semi-succeeded with what they wanted to make, or if they straight up wasted valuable enchanting equipment on something so ridiculously useless.

    We watched as they repeatedly switched between enchanted weapons and wearable items, as if teasing us. I was curious about all of the effects put on display, but I tensed up when the next item came out. The maid handed him a white towel and a small black box that he accepted in a reverse proposal and opened to reveal a familiar silver ring.

    ¡°Next item for sale is a Silver Ring of Regeneration found right here in the Amoranth Dungeon.¡±

    Yua ears shot to attention, ready to hear every syllable that came next as she covered my hand with both of hers and squeezed. Where she had been mostly silent up until now, I could clearly see the worry in her eyes making her lip quiver. I knew as much now, but she really did want this as much as I did.

    ¡°As you can tell by its name, it is made of pure silver, but it also has four polished rubies embedded in its band. Believed to be invaluable to most, this ring is enchanted with the ability to slowly cure all physical wounds once worn. Please watch the demonstration, as it will only be shown once.¡±

    The nobles in the crowd gasped and others started excitedly muttering to themselves when Bradley pulled out a small dagger from within his coat. He gestured for the maid attending him to come over and she did without hesitation.

    Yua tightened her grip on my hands, probably thinking that he might be crazy enough to cut the maid with the dagger. However, when the maid stepped up beside him, all she did was unbutton the cuff of his sleeve and roll it up.

    Without a shred of hesitation, Bradley pressed the dagger to his forearm and pushed, drawing blood. He then, without flinching, dragged the blade up towards his elbow. Dark red blood gushed from the wound and onto the floor. When he pulled the blade out and showed the audience to his insanity, several in the crowd gasped with horror at the sight of the deep gash roughly three inches long that now ran through his flesh. With barely more than a grimace twisting his expression despite the semi-rapid decline of his health bar, he kept his elbow bent, possibly to prevent the blood from reaching his fingertips. If he went this far to test the ring on himself rather than one of the slaves, he must be taking extra caution not to ruin the goods they were trusted with. And in this case, that meant not touching the next item with his bloodied fingers.

    Was that why he was so rude to me yesterday? He must have known when he saw its enchantment that he was going to have to do this to demonstrate its effects on himself.

    While I wondered why he didn¡¯t just hire a second, unbiased Merchant to Appraise the ring in front of the crowd, he held out his other hand towards the maid and she obediently plucked the ring out of its box and slipped it onto his finger. The crowd watched in amazement when the wound he made himself started to close all on its own. Just like when I had Yua use it, in less than a minute, the wound was completely sealed shut and the health bar only I could see filled right back up. The only evidence left the trench he made in his arm being what blood still clung to his skin.

    Being that the majority of the crowd now were Adventurers that were probably used to seeing such barbarism, the room erupted into cheers and clapping, either at his bravado or because of the ring¡¯s amazing effect as the maid dutifully started wiping the blood from Bradley¡¯s arm with the towel.

    Yua seemed to take his action rather boldly herself as the only reaction he got out of her was a small furrow to her brow. It actually looked more like she was considering how the ring once healed her, though her wounds were much less visible.

    ¡°The starting bid for this item is 25,000 gold.¡±

    The room was quiet for a while after he announced the ring¡¯s starting price. Like I was told when I dropped it off, trying to auction it at that high of a price may make it unsellable and that fact was starting to hurt as I listened to the silence. But we didn¡¯t have a choice. The bare minimum I could allow it to sell for was 27,800 gold. If I started any lower than that, the bidding might not even make it that high before someone snatched it up.

    I could feel my palms start to sweat, but Yua didn¡¯t seem to notice as she held onto me. She was already leaning forward in her chair, watching the crowd with pleading eyes.

    Finally, someone raised their arm and the bidding began.

    ¡°25,100!¡±

    Yua leaned into me hard, gripping my hand tight enough to make it hurt as she waited for the man to speak, but I kept quiet. Not because I was speechless, but because the voice sounded familiar. Familiar enough to recognize that I¡¯d heard it before, but not so much that my improved memory could place it.

    ¡°25,500!¡±

    Another person raised their hand and raised the price. Then another. And as if that first bid broke the flood gates, bids started raining in. Only for that familiar voice to bump it up a full thousand all on his own.

    ¡°26,800!¡±

    Each time the bids rose and reached closer and closer to our goal, Yua made a small, cute squeak of excitement. Her eyes were wide, like a person waiting for a spinning slot machine to alleviate them of all their money troubles.

    ¡°27,100!¡±

    Another person called out a number and we could barely contain ourselves. I slipped my sweaty hand out from between Yua¡¯s and wrapped my arms around her, hugging her as tight as I could. Smiling a toothy smile, she clenched her shaking fists on her knees.

    Please, just let it get to 27,800. We don¡¯t need any more than that.

    ¡°27,400 over here!¡±

    A large Adventurer that stood a full foot above the rest of the crowd laid out the next bid and I tightened my hold on Yua. Surely, if I put any more force into it, one of us would break, but she hugged me right back as if she hadn¡¯t noticed. I crossed my fingers and started wishing that I put more points into my Luck stat.

    The crowd went silent for a moment, contemplating the price when¡­

    ¡°27,500!¡±

    The familiar voice called again, but I¡¯d already given the voice up for lost, assuming it belonged to someone I coincidentally heard in the city, but whose face I¡¯d never seen. My train of thought was now too muddled to consider it more. Grateful as I was for their help, I wasn¡¯t about let go of Yua to start scanning the crowd for faces to match the voice. Not when this may be our last chance to hug it out like this as relatively free people.

    ¡°27,600!¡±

    ¡°27,600 going once,¡± Bradley called, holding his gavel in the air, ready to bring it down.

    Our rapture ended almost as soon as it began. Where the bids had been coming in non-stop, once it reached that price, the room fell silent again.

    No, please. Just a little more.

    ¡°27,600 going twice.¡±

    Please. Just 200 more gold. At least put it up to 27,700 and I can pay off the rest myself.

    Time seemed to all but cease as my mind sputtered back to life and I started to go over possible contingencies we could take to make up the difference if things ended here. We still had the option to fight the bosses in the dungeon again. It had been a while since the start of the auction, but there was still time left in the day. We still had a chance.

    Just before the third and final call rang out and ended the auction, a heavy-set man hefted himself to his feet, leaning on the maid he¡¯d been sitting with for support and raised his hand up high over his head. The maid, however, kept in her seat, pressing her knees together as she tried to catch her breath for some reason.

    Seeing that man¡¯s face fully in the light, I suddenly remembered who the voice belonged to when it bellowed a new offer in an increasingly worried tone.

    ¡°32,000 gold!¡±

    My heart stopped, only to instantly be reignited when Yua jumped out of her seat to hug my head to her chest, pressing my face between her breasts while I was still trying to come to terms with the overly generous number I just heard.

    ¡°32,000 gold to Lord Barrily. Going once¡­¡±

    It was him. The same noble we followed inside the first time we came here. Standing near the stage was the man that supposedly had some sort of business partnership with Alphonse. Hearing his bid, I instantly wanted to apologize to him for remembering him as the fat noble that grabbed one of the maids¡¯ asses, but his connections gave me pause.

    Before I could let myself panic, I remembered both the contract I signed when putting the ring up for auction and Bradley¡¯s words before the auction started. I have the auction house bound by contract, and anyone that buys the ring is effectively sworn to a contract too. If Yua¡¯s life could be stolen from her for a similar verbal agreement, then it should be the same for the buyer here.

    There¡¯s no way either of them can screw us out of the coin as long as Lord Barrily pays the bills. And as someone that sold slaves for a living, though his money may be dirty, he was sure to have the funds to do so. I¡¯d deal with the consequences of my moral compass later.

    We watched in slack-jawed awe as the crowd went silent once more. Not only did he jack up the price to much more than we needed, he brought the ring up above its original appraised value. A value that seemed to be well above what all the others here were willing to pay, as it quickly became clear that nobody wanted to fought him on it any longer.

    ¡°Going twice.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t sure if the price he bid was just too much for the others to join in or if they were just counting what they had on them to check, but I didn¡¯t care. We¡¯d won. Most of those that were bidding were high-level Adventurers who no doubt delved deep into the dungeon, but they just couldn¡¯t compete with a nobleman with pockets as deep as his. Either that, or they were scared to bid against a noble willing to put up that much coin for something he was clearly desperate to own. Regardless, however the auction ended now didn¡¯t matter.

    Yua was nearly on the verge of crying when Bradley paused for what felt like hours. I struggled to move my face enough to see what was happening from where she held me in her cleavage, but I could hear her heart pounding directly against my eardrums as she waited.

    Bradley raised his gavel to call one last time.

    ¡°¡­ And sold, to Lord Barrily.¡±

    "¡°Yes!¡±"

    We shouted and I jumped up to hug Yua. Already starting to cry herself, she jumped into my arms, forcing me hold the both of us upright as her feet left the ground. We made quite the spectacle of ourselves to the others still in the room with us, but they kindly pretended not to notice. I had seen more than a few of them pump their fists in victory when their items sold, too. So, seeing my reaction to our item selling for one of the highest bids of anything that had sold today was probably understandable. They might have even assumed, correctly, that this was our first time at the auction and that the excitement had just gotten the better of us.

    It likely helped that I had a beautiful girl here to celebrate with me.

    I lifted Yua¡¯s tear-streaked face and kissed her full on the lips even as she continued to smile.

    ¡°Come on Yua, let¡¯s see if we can get our money and get out of here.¡±

    She wiped the tears from her face and sniffled to clear her nose before grabbing hold of my hand and running me out of the room. I was already long past caring what the others thought of us, so I said nothing and just ran after her.

    We stopped the first maid we found wondering the halls with a broom and dust pan in hand and had her direct us to where the sold items were paid for and picked up. We followed her as she slowly walked us to the payout window. I desperately wanted her to walk faster, but Yua was so happy that she kept trying to cling to me, only to recall her earlier warning of the hazards of PDA forced her to back off the second she realized what she was doing, only to then do it again seconds later. The maid, though, looked oddly content with this reaction and I noticed a bit of a smile crease her lips as she walked.

    Finally, the maid brought us to a large room at the back of the first floor. I guessed that we were behind the actual auction area because I could hear Bradley¡¯s voice much more clearly now. That and because I watched as a few maids were working on carrying out the next piece up for sale that was a heavy-looking breastplate that actually took two of them to carry. I guessed that the light-weight enchantment that Yua said all enchanted armor had likely only took effect once it was worn.

    The maid gestured for us to head to a window cut directly into the wall. Six thick and sturdy steel bars were driven into and across the small countertop that wrapped around the front of the window, protecting it. Even more of these bars were lined up uniformly along the wall, reaching from the floor up to the roof, as if the staff were worried that some exceedingly strong Adventurer might someday choose to break down the wall, and possibly the rest of the building, just to get at what was inside.

    Looking through the window, I could see the entrance to another, much larger room than what the small window suggested could fit back there. Thanks to this and the impressive lineup of heavily armed guards waiting and watching us from all sides of the room, I figured that this was most likely where they kept the absurd amount of money that no doubt flowed through here.

    ¡°How may I help you, Sir?¡±

    We were greeted by a man with a high-level Merchant class sat just behind the window like a bank teller. The bags under his eyes and the deadpan way he spoke made him sound exceedingly tired, if not bored. Our smiling faces did not seem to change his mood even slightly.

    ¡°Uh, hi¡­ I, we are the ones that just sold the Silver Ring of Regeneration. Has the person that purchased it paid for it yet?¡±

    At this point, all we had to do was see if Lord Barrily paid already, which was honestly doubtful since we rushed here as soon as he made what was likely his final offer. And if he hadn¡¯t yet, then no problem. I¡¯m sure they¡¯d let us stay here and wait for him.

    Of course, there was always the chance that he may be unable to pay, but I doubted it. No matter how desperate he sounded to get the ring, I found it highly unlikely that someone like him would risk letting himself become a Thief, not knowing he had a ton of negative karma stalking behind him. Plus, Bradley himself said just yesterday that the Lord was a regular partner. So, it was almost a sure thing that he would be able to.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but he has not,¡± the man behind the window said with a sigh.

    ¡°Oh, well, that¡¯s fine then. Could we wait down here until he does?¡±

    The man¡¯s face tensed up like that was the very last thing he wanted to hear and shook his head.

    ¡°That¡¯s not necessary, Sir. Because Lord Barrily¡¯s slaves have already been bought and paid for, we can just take what he owes for the ring out of his earnings.¡±

    ¡°R-Really? Can we do that then?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Do you have the contract you signed when handing your item over to us?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Sir. I do.¡±

    I handed the man the document I pulled out of Yua¡¯s backpack and, after he looked it over, he had me put my hand on it. He did the same and the rune drawn into the top of the page glowed blue, just like it had when I accepted it. Seemingly satisfied, the man let out a grunt as he forced himself to his feet before disappearing behind the window¡¯s curtain. Yua grabbed hold of my hand as we waited, entirely unable to stand still.

    I was right there with her, but like with all things, the more pessimistic side of myself refused to keep quiet and let me give into the giddiness completely until we got the money and threw it at Alphonse so we could finally be done with him. Until then, everything was still up in the air.

    Finally, after a long wait, the man came back huffing and puffing and sweating profusely as he dragged something heavy across the floor. When he reached the window, he paused to catch his breath before squatting down, letting out a loud, strained grunt and hefting up a large treasure chest-shaped box whose lid couldn¡¯t quite close down all the way onto the table beside him. It hit the table with a thud so loud I was almost positive that those still watching the auction must have heard the noise, but all I took notice of was the jingling of several coins as they settled into place.

    He took a minute to catch his breath again before opening the chest to reveal a pile of shining gold coins so abundant that it rendered Yua and I speechless. Our reaction went unnoticed by the man, as he started pulling the coins out one after another to stack them on the table. Seeing what he was trying to do, I quickly stopped him.

    ¡°Oh, there¡¯s no need for that. I can confirm the amount with Appraisal.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± he said, sighing deeply, but gratefully. ¡°It is customary to count out the coin for our customers that can¡¯t do it themselves, so that they might be confident they were getting what was owed to them. I¡¯m sorry to have assumed.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. No harm done.¡±

    ¡°I have personally counted the coin myself and, apart from the ten percent the auction house has taken, as per the contract, I assure you that you have been paid in full.¡±

    After he stuffed the coins back into the chest, I held my hand out over it to cast Appraisal. When the sum that appeared in the info box confirmed our total earnings, I started shaking. It was all there. Every single coin of it. I didn¡¯t fully appreciate how small the coins actually were until now, when I had 28,800 of them all piled into one box.

    Honestly, these things looked so unwieldy in large quantities that it was no wonder why the shops here didn¡¯t keep them on hand. I had to imagine some sort of banking system had to be available that I hadn¡¯t heard of yet, because holding onto this much coin had to make it look like you were begging thieves to harass you.

    Trying and likely failing to completely suppress a grin, I nodded to Yua to let her know it was all there. She too looked like she was having a great deal of difficulty containing herself, but kept mostly calm on the surface, only let herself smile back at me as her tail did all it could to truly display her joy.

    When the man raised a dubious brow to me, I cleared my throat.

    ¡°Er, sorry. I¡¯ve confirmed the amount to be as promised.¡±

    ¡°Excellent. We at the Amoranth Auction House look forward to your continued business.¡±

    Looking ready to be rid of us so he could return to his seat, he tried once more to lift the chest up and when he visibly struggled just to move it, I realized why he looked so tired. He must have already paid off all the others that left the auction already, likely having to move large sums of coin just like this one by hand.

    I wondered why they didn¡¯t just ask one of the guards to carry the chests for him, but figured it had something to do with him being in charge of the auction house¡¯s coin, so they likely would¡¯ve been branded Thieves just for trying to help. Still, they should have gotten someone with a bit more muscle to do this. Yua¡¯s slender body definitely didn¡¯t appear visually strong, but this gaunt man looked almost malnourished.

    He managed to push the chest towards us and was quick to let go of it once it crossed the threshold of the window. Once I was sure the trade was considered complete, I dove for the chest, both eager to finally get my hands on the gold we¡¯d been hoping for and to prevent us from having to pick up each and every coin of it in the event the whole thing came crashing to the ground, spilling its contents everywhere.

    Proving once more that strength in this world came from your stats just as much, if not more than your actual muscle, I too struggled a bit when I caught the chest, but not nearly as much as he did. While I was sure my muscular strength was likely at least considered average by the standards of this world, I was sure that, were it not for the points I added to my Strength stat, I might not have been able to hold onto it at all. This man¡¯s high level must be the only thing allowing him to even move the thing. The gold coins may be small, but they were frighteningly heavy once you piled them up.

    Naturally. Gold was heavy, but getting to experience its weight first hand was exhilarating.

    Seeing my struggle, Yua kindly set her backpack down on the floor and held it open for me. Grateful for the help and deciding that the chest¡¯s un-closeable lid was going to be a problem if we tried to carry the thing by hand, I obliged her kindness. While anyone on the outside might have guessed that I was forcing her to carry the heavy chest, I was actually just stuffing it all into my item box so we didn¡¯t have to overwork ourselves to transport it.

    When it was nice and packed away and she stood up, moving easily enough to make the now non-existent chest full of gold appear as though it was weightless to her, the guards in the room all shot her impressed nods. Even though her effort was clearly a lie, I caught Yua smugly puffing out her chest to brag.

    ¡°Come on Yua,¡± I laughed. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here.¡±

    Deciding it was best to get out before anyone realized that her bag wasn¡¯t bulging with the shape of the chest, I asked another of the endless stream of maids to lead us to the exit. I was lost trying to navigate the building the same way I would have been in the dungeons. On the way down here, I had been much too busy being excited to have paid any sort of attention on our way down here, so I was grateful they had someone waiting nearby to help us out.

    Down a couple of halls, around a corner or two and past a few others making their way down to collect their coin, our maid attendant suddenly stopped in her tracks. Thinking she might have noticed our little magic trick, I was about to blurt out an excuse and say I actually hid it using a spell, something surely believable in this world, but she wasn¡¯t even looking at us.

    Instead, she bowed in the direction we were headed. With her hair dangling over her face to hide her expression, the only way I had to tell that she was calm was how still her shoulders were. But before I could say we were safe, I followed the direction of her bow to find the reason behind it walking towards us.

    Wrapped up neat and proper in a set of some of the finest clothes I¡¯d seen in all of Amoranth, though his thick gut put an obvious strain on the buttons holding it together, a short, stout man approached. Accompanied by a maid of his own, the very same I¡¯d seem him with back during the auction, Lord Barrily strolled towards us, looking to be in a very good mood. And with his hand unashamedly and firmly pressed up under the back of the maid¡¯s skirt, it wasn¡¯t too hard to guess why. Her brightly blushing cheeks were just the icing on the cake. However, when he turned his exalted gaze towards Yua, his eyes widened a bit, almost like he recognized her, so I hurried to step in before he could get any ideas.

    ¡°Excuse me, Lord Barrily. I wanted to thank you for buying our ring.¡±

    ¡°What? Buying your¡­ Oh, yes. The Silver Ring of Regeneration! That¡¯s what you mean, yes?¡±

    At first, looking both confused and annoyed that someone, anyone, would dare to interrupt his fondling, he sneered reproachfully at us. With his disgust palpable enough in his expression to make even the dungeon-experienced Yua cringe and step back, he must have instantly assumed by our lackluster appearances that we were of a lower birth than he, and that we were therefore undeserving of his time. Which, in all honesty, was probably technically true by this world¡¯s standards, but as soon as I mentioned the ring, he was all smiles.

    ¡°No, kid. Thank you for finding it!¡±

    He gave me a slight bow, almost a nod, really. Though he clearly didn¡¯t feel it necessary to actually lower himself before a commoner, he did lower his head enough to need to take his hand off the maid to keep his gut from forcing him to fall face first into the carpet. The maid was just as surprised to be rid of his touch as she was with his words. As if he¡¯d never said the words ¡°thank you¡± in his entire life.

    ¡°Uh, um, Lord Barrily, you don¡¯t need to lower your head to someone like me.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps not, but you do have my gratitude. You see, I bought that ring for my son a few years ago. He practically begged me for it, saying it would help him in the dungeons and that¡¯d he¡¯d be the first to clear the whole thing. He was a youthful fool, but¡­ spoiled as I let him become, I could never say no to him.¡±

    Lord Barrily¡¯s eyes took on a more somber look before he continued unprompted, showing some of the desperation I heard in his voice when he cast his final bid.

    ¡°I bought it and he went to fight in the dungeons. He seemed to be faring just fine in there and always came back home with a enormous, ridiculous smile on his face whenever he beat a boss. He¡¯d force me to sit at the dinner table as he exalted me in all the fine details of his triumph, as if he were a knight returning from the battlefield with a handful of tales meant to woo a maiden. He continued like this for months¡­ That ring was supposed to keep him safe, keep me from having to worry, but one day he never came back home.¡±

    As he shared the story of his lost son, the Lord¡¯s shoulder slumped, his deeply mournful expression stealing away with any of the dignity he had as a noble and for a minute, I almost forgot who he was. Even the maid he had ruthlessly been fondling, furrowed her brow respectful amount of sympathy for his tale.

    I, on the other hand, was lost.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± Lord Barrily said, clearing his throat. ¡°Here I am trying to thank you, only to end up whinging.¡±

    ¡°H-Hardly. But are you saying that ring used to be your son¡¯s? That exact one? As in, it¡¯s not a copy or one with a similar enchantment?¡±

    I hadn¡¯t considered the possibility that he didn¡¯t think to check the ring in more detail to make sure before he dropped what was essentially a lifetime¡¯s supply of gold on it. Had he found purchase to have been a mistake, he might try to dispute the purchase before we left and since he was in better standing with the auction house than we were, I had little doubt they¡¯d side with him, regardless of worldly laws.

    But before I could work out if the contract I signed had any sort of loophole that would allow him to take his coin back, he blew away my expectations and just nodded back with a small, confident smile.

    ¡°Most definitely. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was one and the same at first, but once I saw the demonstration, knew I had to squeeze my way through the crowd for a closer look. When I saw it, saw the positioning of the rubies, I was positive. I remembered it in detail from when I first bought it and engraved it in my mind the second my son put it on his finger. He always favored the color red, so it suited him perfectly.¡±

    ¡°But if the ring was his, how did it end up in a chest in the dungeon?¡±

    For some reason, my question made Lord Barrily clench his fist in an attempt to stop his apparent sadness from reaching his face. Seeing that I was missing something deeply important to the conversation, Yua explained for me.

    ¡°Master, when you find something like that in a dungeon, it is almost always an item that used to belong to someone that died fighting the monsters. Sometimes it might have just been dropped, but it¡¯s unlikely.¡±

    Confused by her switching back to calling me Master, I watched as the joy that nearly had her bursting quickly fade away, making her ears and tail fall limp. She and the two maids collectively lowered their chins to stare at their feet, none willing to join the conversation between their masters past that short explanation.

    But doesn¡¯t that mean that everything we found in the dungeon chests used to belong to somebody that died? Thinking about it like that, I suddenly felt like a piece of shit for selling everything we found without any hesitation or question about their origins.

    ¡°Anyway,¡± Lord Barrily composed himself. ¡°Thank you for finding it and giving me the chance to buy it back. It¡¯ll be nice to have something of his to remember my son by. Good day.¡±

    He let out a long sigh and, after putting his hand on his maid¡¯s back to guide her, he started towards the money changer again, only to stop when he happened to meet Yua¡¯s eyes.

    ¡°You, girl¡­ you¡¯re the one that was always causing trouble for DeGrave, am I right?¡±

    Yua¡¯s mouth fell open, unable to respond. It was all she could do to nod sheepishly.

    ¡°Hmph. I thought so,¡± he said, eyeing me as well. ¡°He told me his intentions for you and I do have an inkling that you being here may have uprooted those intentions, but¡­ as a favor to you both for bringing me the ring, I¡¯ll forget I saw you here today. If anything, I¡¯m grateful for the fact that he won¡¯t have to come crying to me to replace all the men you brutalized.¡±

    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry for the trouble I caused, My Lord. And thank you very much.¡±

    ¡°Th-Thank you.¡±

    Seeing Yua, the same woman that would go on a full rampage in front of her former master that literally held property over her soul, bow her head in apology to this man, I had to wonder just how high up on the food chain he really was. And considering how the maids didn¡¯t so much as utter a word in complaint when he fooled around with them, he must truly be a powerful man.

    ¡°Think nothing of it,¡± Lord Barrily said magnanimously. ¡°The man was always too full of himself. Got a little too thick in the head once his sense for trade kicked in. Fool should have just brought you to auction and been done with you. But there¡¯s nothing to be done about it now. Who knows what sort of thoughts were running through that head of his? He does bring in good coin, at least. That¡¯s all that matters.¡±

    Unwilling to further the conversation, he gave the maid¡¯s back a small push, as if urging her forward to allow him a chance to make his leave before he could say any more about his business partner, or from the sound of things, his underling. As he left us, seemingly in a calmer mood, I noticed he had stopped groping the maid and that she too was walking easier.

    I was still on the fence about using that man¡¯s money for our own profit, knowing where it came from. But it was knowing that he not only knew of Alphonse¡¯s plans and that almost all the rest of the coin we¡¯d earned in the dungeon came from those that lost their lives down there that made it all the harder to take in.

    As I contemplated this, Lord Barrily was well on his way down the hall when I heard him say something more to his maid that helped me to smile a bit.

    ¡°¡­ And to think, I was planning on sitting out the auction today. What luck. I¡¯ll have to thank old man Morin and tell him to give that apprentice of his a good reward on my behalf. Poor man bloodied himself just to bring me that message.¡±

    Yua¡¯s ears flicked, having heard him too, and she grinned knowingly.

    The maid that guided us through the building finally brought us back to the front lobby and opened the door for us. Wanting to quickly be done with the place, we hurried through and thanked her. She looked a bit surprised when she heard that small platitude, like she was expecting to be ignored, but bowed to us with a smile as we left.

    ¡°Oh man. That¡¯s a huge weight off my shoulders,¡± I said, stretching my hands up towards the clear blue sky.

    ¡°It sure is,¡± Yua nodded. ¡°What should we do now?¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±

    Using my menu, I shifted the gold we¡¯d just earned into the much larger treasure chest we found in the dungeon, after leaving out the excess coin we would be allowed to keep after Yua¡¯s contract was paid off. With this, we¡¯d be able to pay off our debt in one lump sum, no doubt screwing over Alphonse¡¯s plans just like Lord Barrily suggested.

    Seeing that I had gained several times the gold I¡¯d started with, I suddenly felt like splurging a little. But we still had some important matters to attend to.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head straight to DeGrave Imports and deal with Alphonse as soon as we can so we can enjoy the rest of our day, together.¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡±

    Once more ignoring her own earlier request, Yua grabbed hold of my hand and dragged me down the street past all the carriages still awaiting the auction¡¯s finish. Seeing her unclouded smile burning so bright in the afternoon sun, and with her tail propelling her forward down the street, it was almost like she was actually the happier one between the two of us.

    And that was a thought that made my heart flutter.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 26a

    ¡°What the hell do you mean he¡¯s not here?!¡±

    About a quarter of the way to the DeGrave building, Yua gave up on the handholding and broke into a full sprint once the excitement got the better of her. I had to work my legs as fast as I could just to keep up and keep her swishing tail in sight. And when the building finally came into view, we both ran even faster. For all our want not to draw attention to ourselves, we sure failed at being inconspicuous fantastically. Turned heads as we ran, earning baffled gasps and pointed fingers, we ran. Just ran. Straight for DeGrave without stopping. I could say with ninety-percent certainty that, had anyone gotten in our way or chosen not to move aside, our momentum would have barreled right through them without so much as an apology, for we would have been long gone by the time we even noticed our mistake.

    All that running, all that happiness, only to wind up at the DeGrave Imports¡¯ front entrance, exhaustion forcing me to breathe as heavily as though the metaphorical gut punch I was stopped with had been real. Yua, ever the fighter she was, wasn¡¯t even slightly tired and took the liberty to ask to see Alphonse for me, only to get flat out rejected. At first, I thought it had something to do with the thugs guarding the place remembering one of the past beatings she¡¯d laid out for them and were just being asses about it, but they kept to their story when asked again.

    Utterly dumbstruck, and with an abysmally deep pit growing in my gut, I questioned the man whom I recognized as being the same bald thug that had been guarding the door the first time I stopped by, only to receive a sneer that made my breath catch. He looked at me as though I¡¯d asked him something deeply personal.

    ¡°It¡¯s like I say,¡± he said, trying to look tough. ¡°He ain¡¯t here. Left a while ago.¡±

    ¡°Then when will he be back?¡±

    ¡°Dunno.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ Argh!¡± Trying my hardest not to say the words Fire Ball right now, I clenched my fists and drew a deep breath. ¡°Okay, please just listen¡­ I have a contract with him that needs to be paid by the end of the day. Can I just finish the deal with someone else?¡±

    ¡°Mr. DeGrave is the only one that actually sells slaves here. So, no, kid. Ain¡¯t nobody here gonna take your coin unless we wanna end up with a collar ¡®round our neck. And I¡¯m not into that. Now, if you aren¡¯t going to wait outside, then piss off! We aren¡¯t letting you in ¡®less he¡¯s here.¡±

    With an unnecessary grunt to show how much effort it took him to remove his bulk from his guard post leaning against the railing, he stood and stepped towards me. I half got the impression that, if we stayed even a moment longer, he¡¯d shove us back down the stairs and right now, I was tempting to let him start something. I wanted so much to let him know that my level now more than doubled his, just to wipe the bravado off his face. And that was without mentioning how Yua here had already been strong enough to beat him down before we even met, but I couldn¡¯t. The sudden change would just raise too many questions. Questions I couldn¡¯t afford to be asked of me.

    Smiling smugly as he stared me down, probably thinking that the only reason I wasn¡¯t putting up my fists to have a go at him was because I was scared, he crossed his arms and stuck out his chin, practically giving me a free shot to knock some shame into him. His sort never learned their lessons unless you beat it into them. But I backed off before he could make me cause myself any more problems.

    ¡°Come on, Yua.¡±

    ¡°But we finally¡­!¡±

    I spun on my heel, grabbed Yua¡¯s hand before she could say another word and stomped off.

    ¡°That bastard!¡±

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    With our chance to finally end this bullshit parade stolen from us, Yua and I were headed back to our room at the Lazy Cat Inn. With those thuggish bastards unwilling to even let us wait in the building, we had nowhere else to go to waste a few hours. So, I figured we could just wait at the inn. I doubted it would help, but it was better than nothing.

    Yua easily kept pace with me, but she clearly didn¡¯t understand why I was so mad.

    ¡°There¡¯s still plenty of time left before the day is done. He¡¯ll head back eventually. We can just complete the contract later.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you get it? Yua, Alphonse ran off somewhere because today was the last day. Not only did he not expect us to gather enough money to pay him, he even ran off to make sure we couldn¡¯t even if we did. That way, ownership of your contract would automatically revert back to him.¡±

    If the contract that I so stupidly agreed to without any negotiation held the stipulation that I actually had to hand him the gold to complete the transaction, then all he needed to do to force me to break my part of the agreement was make it so I couldn¡¯t physically hand him the coin. It was just another dirty trick he came up with after seeing that I was fool enough to challenge someone with decades more experience than I had. He must have been planning all of this from the start.

    No wonder why he laughed. Not only should it have been impossible for us to make that kind of coin so fast, he even had a contingency in wait just in case we did.

    ¡°That¡¯s horrible!¡± Yua cried, grabbing my sleeve as if to protest the truth of my conclusion.

    ¡°Yea, it is¡­¡±

    I was so God damn close!

    We had the money. We had more than enough money, and that bastard pulls this cheap trick. Yua and I were so close! So! God! Damn! Close!

    I stopped in the middle of the street, clenching my fists hard enough to dig my nails into my palms, hoping the pain could stem the tears threatening to build up from the hateful mixture of anger and sadness. I was of half a mind to run out into the crowd, yell his name at the top of my lungs and punch the first person looking even remotely similar to him in the face. But Yua, sensing this, rushed to my side and took my forearm into her hands and gave it a light, hopeful squeeze.

    ¡°Maybe¡­ Maybe he really did just go out for a little while. Maybe he¡¯ll be back later.¡±

    Of course, that was possible. But seeing as how he forced this screwed up contract on me in the first place, I doubted that he wasn¡¯t up to something.

    He must have figured out that we found in the dungeon worth something. Figured out the real reason why we were at the auction house yesterday and went into hiding. Hell, Bradley said he wouldn¡¯t give out any personal information about his customers, but he was quick to mention Lord Barrily traded in slaves when I asked. And I was just a random nobody to him. He no doubt would have spilled the beans to Alphonse, a valued partner and one of the most prolific merchants in the city. He found out about the ring, discovered its potential value and skipped town just in case, so he could come back with two new slaves waiting for him to sell.

    Yua, still trying to comfort me even as I explained this, shook her head.

    ¡°You can¡¯t just assume that.¡±

    ¡°When you lived in the DeGrave building, did you ever see him leave to run errands or something? Did he ever leave for anything other than business?¡±

    ¡°N-No¡­ He usually just made one of us slaves do whatever he wanted done¡­ I even had to go get him food a couple times.¡±

    ¡°Well, there you go!¡±

    An arrogant, slave house running bastard like him had to have his slaves handle all his errands. It only made sense. That¡¯s basically the whole point of slavery, to force someone else to handle your shit.

    ¡°Yua, would trespassing count towards making me a Thief?¡±

    ¡°Um, I don¡¯t know. Why?¡±

    ¡°Because I¡¯m half tempted to just teleport into his place, check if he¡¯s hiding under his desk laughing at us, so I can drag him out into the hall and beat him over the head with the gold and¡­¡±

    Fuck. I can¡¯t do that either, as tempting as it sounded. Regardless of whether or not he was there, I¡¯d be outing myself for knowing a teleportation spell, since I could accidentally land right in front of him or another member of his staff. That wouldn¡¯t be too bad if it meant paying him off, we could just run away somewhere where his influence didn¡¯t reach after anyways, but the risk would be too high. If it turned me into a Thief, I¡¯d be handing myself to him on a silver platter before we could even try to pay the debt back. No to mention my knowing that spell would just up the price he¡¯d be able to ask for me, assuming he doesn¡¯t keep me around just to gloat once he¡¯s turned me.

    My magic is useless here. It¡¯s still better to just run.

    ¡°He¡¯s fucked us, then fucked off and left to make sure it stuck!¡±

    Dejected, rejected and for the first time since we¡¯ve met, looking utterly broken, Yua¡¯s hands slipped off of mine and I instantly regretted what I said when her shoulders started to shake. Yua knew more than I ever could about exactly what kind of bastard Alphonse was. She was just trying to look on the brighter side of this shitty situation. Getting mad and yelling at her for trying to calm me down wouldn¡¯t solve our problems any more than beating myself up over them would.

    The one and only good thing about all of this was her. I don¡¯t regret buying her, not one bit where just getting to know her was concerned. But after all our effort, all the times we had to put our lives on the line just to make back what I owed, just for him to pull this shit. It¡¯s like I made a deal with the literal devil. I honestly can¡¯t believe I ever once compared myself to that man.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s just¡­ I don¡¯t want to lose you.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t either. But if he¡¯s not there right now, all we can do is wait and hope.¡±

    I let out a sigh, positive that I must have looked like a child on the tail-end of a tantrum in the middle of the street as I tried to calm myself. Despite my yelling and the uncomfortable attention it brought on us, Yua took my hand in hers, this time lacing her fingers between mine. This lasted for maybe a second before we embraced each other. I couldn¡¯t¡¯ be sure which of us broke her rule first, but knowing myself¡­

    Yua didn¡¯t fight me on it. Didn¡¯t complain. Didn¡¯t say a word in protest when I held her as tight as I could, squeezing out as much of the comfort she offered as I possibly could and tried to give as much back. She was almost a full head shorter than me, but for all the strength she put into us just to hold me upright, she might as well have been the older one here.

    Her ears gave a cute little involuntary flicks when the heated breaths escaping my nostrils pushed them around. Her tail, limp only seconds ago, now almost seemed to be trying to lull me into a hypnotized sense of relaxation with the ease in which it floated through the air.

    The moment she wrapper her arms around me she felt weak, but her strength soon returned as the beating of my heart eased. I don¡¯t know how she does it, but within the few seconds we held each other, she was able to bring me back before I could completely give into old habits.

    I wasn¡¯t going to give this up, ever. If this is how Alphonse has chosen to play, then maybe I should spend the rest of the day setting up my own backup plan while we wait.

    ¡°¡­ Let¡¯s go do some shopping,¡± I said, trying to walk off, but she stopped me.

    ¡°Why shop now?¡±

    ¡°I said we¡¯d run away if we needed to and I meant it. But we¡¯ll need some supplies first.¡±

    It would probably be safe to assume that we shouldn¡¯t head to any other cities for a while yet. With as much influence and resources as Alphonse has, he wouldn¡¯t even need to ask the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to put a bounty on our capture. He¡¯d no doubt do it himself and that was only if he didn¡¯t decide to use his rights as Yua¡¯s true master to track her down. So, we¡¯d most likely be living off the land and off whatever we could carry for the time being. And since my item box was bottomless, our only real limitation was how much we could buy tonight.

    ¡°You mean¡­ you¡¯re giving up?¡±

    ¡°Hell no! I¡¯ll do what I can, but if Alphonse doesn¡¯t show his face in time, I¡¯m taking you away from this place.¡±

    We talked about the possible need earlier and while might need to run for a different reason, the plan hasn¡¯t changed. I didn¡¯t know when exactly the contract was set to expire, so I¡¯ll need to keep an eye on my status page for if and when the Thief tag shows up. That, if anything good could be taken from it, would be an indicator that it was time to leave.

    Running from your problems sounded like the coward¡¯s way out, but what choice did we really have? A life of enslavement or trying to start a life together somewhere else? It was an easy pick for me and I was sure it was for Yua.

    ¡°We have more than enough gold, so let¡¯s use it to stock up on the things we¡¯ll need to get by. That way, even if Alphonse really has decided to cheat us on the contract, we¡¯ll be ready before he can come for us.¡±

    If he was going to screw us over, the least I could do was be prepared for it.

    Yua¡¯s ears twitched and her eyes widened at the prospect of us running away together coming up again. But she nodded and without hesitation. Then, with a tug on the straps of her backpack, she said, ¡°Let¡¯s do it. I will carry everything you need me to.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, but I¡¯m planning on buying a lot. So, I¡¯ll be putting most of it in my item box.¡±

    We were going to have to buy up all the necessities we¡¯d need to go on the run, meaning enough food to last weeks if not months, cookware, camping supplies, anything Yua herself could think of that my otherworldly brain wouldn¡¯t have been able to consider and so much more that I couldn¡¯t have been more grateful to have been given this item box, because on top of everything we already had, carrying it all would have been impossible.

    ¡°Hold still a second,¡± I said, putting my hands on her shoulders to spin her around to walk her into a secluded alley.

    ¡°What are we doing?¡±

    Her tail curiously thumping against my thigh, I reached into her backpack to retrieve one of the affles we bought earlier. Unfortunately, I hadn¡¯t given it enough time to test if could rot in the item box, but when I showed the fruit to her, it looked completely fine. Still a firm, red and with a pleasant shine to its skin. I made sure to check its info box as well, just in case it was somehow magically poisoned by that purple miasma that inexplicably needed to show up every time I used the item box. Thankfully, it showed to be a perfectly normal, not-apple, affle. So, at least the test proved food could be stored in there temporarily without it being altered.

    ¡°If food like this will be fine in there,¡± I said, gesturing to her backpack. ¡°Then we should be able to increase the amount of food we can take with us to include pre-cooked meals.¡±

    Anything we bought that was already cooked or that was edible as is would be invaluable to a pair on the run, as we wouldn¡¯t need to stop and cook. It also meant I¡¯d have an excuse to get Yua to give up more of her favorite food stalls.

    ¡°Since we use the item box for food,¡± I said, putting the fruit back. ¡°Why don¡¯t you show me to some more places to get food. We¡¯ll order as much as we can.¡±

    Her ears shot to attention and she spun around before I could completely tie up her bag. With a happy grin wide enough to show that she already had several places in mind, she nodded, grabbed my hand and we set off towards the first of many stores we¡¯d be visiting. Amoranth was a great trading hub, and I intended to make great use of that fact.

    From the General Store, to the Apothecary and to the most popular and most remote food stalls, we bought and collected as many necessities as we could. After a couple hours of stocking up on a fairly large array of household and camping goods, the easy part was done. Switching to focus the majority of our attention on grabbing a healthy supply of foods, we filled Yua¡¯s bag until couldn¡¯t carry any more, hid ourselves behind a building, in an alley or behind a large tree or anywhere else where we could have a moment of privacy and I spirited everything into the item box so we could start again. First, we bought up all of the long-lasting foods we could find at the General Store to make sure we had food for a while yet. Though most of these foods were either dried or salted meats, only some of which I was familiar with and none that I was looking forward to sampling later.

    Once we cleared these stops, we made our rounds to each and every food stall that offered either fresh or freshly cooked food stuffs that Yua managed to sniff out or whose locations I¡¯d memorized during our earlier trips. Much to the delight of each of these vendors, we bought up as much of their stock as they would allow. A few of the smaller vendors let us buy all they carried and were exceedingly happy to get to retire early for the night with their purses practically spilling over, but many more favored their ability to feed their more frequent customers to keep them coming, which they couldn¡¯t do if we cleared them out.

    We went into this little shopping spree worried, but hopeful for our future. And as we fought against the flow of the crowd pushing and pulling us from stall to stall so that we could get what we could before it was too late, that feeling only seemed to grow. But only at first. As we ended our days of frugality by blowing as much of our hard-earned coin as we could on everything that looked even remotely necessary, it started to feel less like we were soon-to-be-fugitives on the run and more like we were a pair of newlyweds discussing picking out sets of dinnerware before moving into their new house together. And as soon as I made that connection, I actually started to enjoy myself. Watching our savings slowly chip away with each purchase and feeling nothing but the warmth that came with Yua pulling me all over the place, it felt sort of like our little would-be-date from last night had continued through to this morning and right up until now, but it was necessity that drove us, not love.

    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    That is not to say that there wasn¡¯t any there, of course. For my part, I could barely contain myself whenever Yua switched from dutifully pointing out which pots and pans would be best suited for cooking over an open fire, only to end up visibly trembling in an attempt to prevent herself from drooling all over the pre-cooked meats that her nose alone found especially delicious before het tastebuds could even have a say, was nothing if not hilarious. Especially when you factored in the bewildered look of the cooks that watched with slack-jawed disbelief as I stuffed plate after plate of their freshly cooked meals into her bag, instead of eating them.

    Not that I was the only one finding some joy in this, as Yua giggled to herself each and every time we tried to buy a slice of meat, vegetable or piece of fruit that I couldn¡¯t name or that was named differently than its Earthen counterpart. She did try to hide behind her admittedly gracious and informative explanations, but that her smirk of hers couldn¡¯t have been wiped away if she tried. She was the one born to some forest tribe somewhere, but as she lectured me on the true name of the meat we¡¯d eaten for dinner last night and described the animal it came from, which I could only assume was a sheep from how she described its fur, I felt like I was the one that had been hiding under a rock. However, no matter how many times she had to stop me from making a fool of myself when asking a vendor for food by a name only I was privy to, she never once looked bothered for having to help.

    Seeing her still so happy despite the cruel situation I convinced her we were in store for, it didn¡¯t take long for me to decide it was best to just enjoy what time we had left in the city. It could be our last for a long while, if not forever. So, after our supply of food was abundant enough to make a glutton look upon us with a worldly nod of respect, we continued our shopping with the things we didn¡¯t necessarily need, but that I thought would be best to own since we still had a healthy supply of gold to carry us.

    ¡°I think the next thing we¡¯re going to need is some armor,¡± I said, mentally checking our stash of gold to see how bad our spree hit us so far.

    ¡°Armor? I thought we were doing fine.¡±

    ¡°In the dungeons, maybe. But I¡¯m talking about if and when Alphonse and his goons come for us.¡±

    If the need arose and we were ambushed somewhere after fleeing Amoranth, we¡¯d have to fight our way to freedom again. We¡¯d likely be able to just teleport away if we were attacked, but we had to last long enough for me to activate my spell. And that means, if worse came to worse, we¡¯d need to be able to take a hit.

    Yua nodded somberly at this possibility.

    ¡°You think the blacksmith has anything you¡¯d be okay wearing?¡±

    She¡¯d outright rejected the idea of me buying her a weapon when we first started in the dungeons, but I didn¡¯t ask about armor, which was probably more important to a melee specialist like her. Even if she was a great fighter, it¡¯d be best if she protected herself a little more, instead of over-relying on her agility. That gash she¡¯d received from the Proud Great Wolf may not have happened had she¡¯d been properly armored and I¡¯d like to not have to have the same happen should we end up in a fight again.

    She, however, shook her head rapidly to reject the idea, but not for the reason I would have thought.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want any of armor the blacksmith sells. She only makes the heavier plate and chain mails. Something like that wouldn¡¯t be good for either of us.¡±

    ¡°What? Are they too bulky?¡±

    I¡¯d seen a documentary or two on just how restrictive full sets of armor could be for the wearer because such armors were designed to protect as much of the body as possible, obviously. So, weight of the metals aside, I figured it¡¯d be too restricting on her due to how she fought. She loved fighting, but saying I just wanted to help her by forcing such a thing on her would just be me getting in the way of her strange hobby.

    But as for myself, it was an entirely different story. I could easily imagine myself, walking through the dungeons in a set of full plate mail, laughing as the wolves shattered their teeth as they tried to bite me and as the goblin¡¯s spears bounced off of me, all while I, untouched by the thought of danger, blasted them with my magic. A mobile fortress with the ability to fight back.

    ¡°That¡¯s not the only problem,¡± she said, puling me out of my daydream. ¡°The metals they are made of would make you too slow.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true, I guess,¡± I said with a small sigh.

    Those types of tanky builds didn¡¯t generally allow for high mobility as you were supposed to be taking the hits your weaker teammates couldn¡¯t, so they could piggy-back off your efforts to deal some damage. If I were to wear such a thing, while I surely wouldn¡¯t take as much damage from each individual hit, I¡¯d likely end up taking more of them than I would otherwise. And I wasn¡¯t practicing my dodging in the dungeon, just to get into the habit of letting things hit me in the face.

    ¡°Well, there has to be somewhere that has something better for us, right? Unless all the Adventurers go out of their way to buy their gear from another city.¡±

    Yua touched a finger to her chin as we walked the city streets and thought for a second or two before making a suggestion.

    ¡°I think the city Armorer would be best. You could probably get a good robe there.¡±

    ¡°Haha. Thanks, but no. No robes. At least, not unless they have some sort of enchantment on them.¡±

    ¡°Why not?¡±

    ¡°Because of my abilities,¡± I said, leaning in to whisper low enough for only her to hear. ¡°I can cast magic without saying a word and can hide weapons in another dimension. Because of this, I should be able to keep what I can really do a secret for the most part.¡±

    For the same reason why I thought seeing people¡¯s info boxes gave me the unfair advantage of seeing their class before a fight, walking around in a mage¡¯s robe would just make it obvious that I could use magic and I¡¯d rather not telegraph what I can do to our potential enemies. Aside from the need to wear your weapon on your person, I never understood why games tended to lock characters into armor types more stereotypically suited to their classes. Sure, the character¡¯s strength needed to be taken into consideration, but strength can be improved through effort.

    Come to think of it, once I put enough points into my Strength stat, maybe I could make that idea of becoming a tanky mage a reality, once I was strong enough to move as easily in armor as I could outside of it. It¡¯d at least save Yua from needing to protect me so much.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about that,¡± Yua said with a grin. ¡°I¡¯ll protect you no matter what.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, but I¡¯m pretty sure I should be the one protecting you.¡±

    Even I have some pride, you know?

    ¡°Then you¡¯ll have to get a lot stronger. But since I¡¯ll be getting stronger too¡­ I¡¯m sure you can do it.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Sounds like someone¡¯s getting cocky again.¡±

    ¡°Hehehe.¡±

    Unsure if I should take that as a slight against my potential or a boast towards her own, I laughed it off. She giggled, changing direction from our mostly aimless wondering through the merchant¡¯s district, and started towards the Armorer.

    Along the way, we agreed to get us both something light to wear for now. With the ¡°for now¡± being emphasized when Yua ended up boasting that she could wear any armor just fine, while jokingly jabbing me with the fact that her earlier consideration was mainly for me and my weakness. But in truth, I knew the sorts of armors I was imagining would just get in her way, so we¡¯d just see what they had before making a decision.

    It''s not like I had anything in particular in mind when I suggested we look, anyways. I just didn¡¯t want to feel like I¡¯d get one-shot after every slip up I would inevitably make. Yua¡¯s Healing Punch may have healed me up to full, but I swear I could still feel where the trent hit me.

    The outside of the building was strikingly similar to that of the blacksmith¡¯s, burning forge and all. It might have even been designed by the same person, as my improved memory told me that the only points of interest where the two differed were the fact that the Armorer clearly took better care to keep the place looking as tidy as possible and that they didn¡¯t leave random metal scraps and tools lying about. And if the light burning inside the shop that filtered into the dusk already in the sky was anything to go off of, the Armorer was inside tending to the shop instead of working the forge.

    When we entered the shop, we were met with shelves full of folded up lighter armors and other leather works such as aprons, gloves, boots and even more basic clothes like the sorts of leather pants Yua was wearing. The heavier armors incapable of being stored away discretely were few and were displayed in the open, each either looking like they were supposed to have been worn by some famous general ripe for entry into the history books or were imposing enough to appear in the sorts of dreams you could only have after months on the battlefield. Although this effect was substantially lessened by the bright pink skin of the mannequins propped up to wear them. Likewise, upon closer inspection, a few of the dustier armors had some similarly questionable designs and colors to them.

    As jarring as the choice in mannequins meant to proudly display this shop¡¯s handiwork was and, going along with the vibrant color scheme that felt like a slap to the face of any manly-man that set foot in this place, there was a large bundle of flowers that had been woven into some kind of wreath hung over a box filled with armored gauntlets of various mismatching qualities. A bargain bin of sorts, I guessed.

    Feeling as though we¡¯d walked into the wrong place, I glanced at Yua, who just smiled back, easily unconcerned.

    As distracting and out of place as the decor was, in this shop supplying the public with some of the only means for defense any would-be warrior or Adventurer could hope to purchase, my eyes were then immediately drawn to the large, imposing man that stood tall behind the counter. A feather duster pinched carefully between his thumb and index finger; he dusted another ornately designed breastplate that hung on the wall.

    It wasn¡¯t his dusting that surprised me, but how, when we walked into the shop and the door jingled the bell to alert him to our presence, his back stiffened and his elbows tucked themselves into his sides as his hands shot defensively into the air. He looked very much the way a woman might right before she screamed at the sight of a rodent scampering out from under the pantry door.

    He, thankfully, did not scream in terror when he saw us. Instead, he clapped his hands together, careful not to drop his duster.

    ¡°Welcome to the Amoranth¡¯s Armorer. Whether you are buying or selling, I¡¯m sure we have what you are looking for.~¡±

    We were greeted by a muscular, bearded man with a bald head that fit my idea of a foragemaster much more than that tank-top woman I met yesterday did. However, this guy talked with a strikingly flamboyant vibrato to his voice that was a little off putting. Tucked away beneath his scraggly beard was a pair of smiling lips that at once looked to be inviting us to his shop, but that also looked like they¡¯d been bitten by a snake just the day before.

    ¡°Uh, hi. I¡¯m looking to buy some armor for this girl and myself. Preferably something light like leather, but with some good defense.¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes. Can¡¯t let your Monk there get weighed down by something too heavy, can you?~¡±

    ¡°How did you know I was a Monk?¡± Yua said, her ears flicking with curiosity. Dressed as she was, she didn¡¯t look like any sort of fighter, so I understood her surprise.

    ¡°Oh, dear,¡± he chided gently, almost like a mother would a child that wasn¡¯t hers to scold. ¡°Why because of your ears and tail first, obviously. You¡¯re from the northern tribe of cat-folk, aren¡¯t you? But I can also tell because I can feel your strength from all the way over here!~ Ooh! So strong!¡±

    Excited to have her strength acknowledged by someone other than myself for once, Yua¡¯s tail suddenly whipped up a frenzy that made the Armorer giggle. And yes, I mean that. This man whose biceps were bigger than my head didn¡¯t laugh, didn¡¯t chortle, didn¡¯t snicker or guffaw, he giggled.  Fingertips sheepishly hiding his snake-bite lips, he giggled at Yua¡¯s enthusiastic and very toothy grin.

    ¡°Her class aside,¡± I said, blinking hard to see if my eyes were working and if a woman was standing behind and speaking for him. ¡°What would you recommend for her?¡±

    ¡°You want to set her up first? Okay then. Let¡¯s see what we¡¯re working with.¡±

    He held his chin between his thumb and index finger and looked her up and down. For some reason, I didn¡¯t get the same perverted feeling coming off of this guy that the other guys around the city had when taking too long to accidentally notice her. Possibly because the way his knees bent inwards in an overtly girly pose was a little too distracting.

    ¡°Hmm. Let¡¯s see what I have for you.¡±

    He crossed the shop in front of us to pull down a set of leather armor from one of the many shelves, nearly causing an avalanche of leather when the various sets behind that one tried to fall with it. When he quickly dusted off the leathery bundle to better show its light brown coloring before frowning and putting it back to pick out another, I was forced to look past the brightly colored room and take in exactly how many sets of armor this shop actually had up for sale. I couldn¡¯t put a realistic number to a guess, but it was definitely enough for the sets that had been sitting for a while to gather dust. Must have fits for every body type or something.

    Maybe I was right in assuming that the forge and now whatever he used to make these were magic items that eased the process of making them enough to warrant keeping such a healthy stock. Then again, maybe it just had something to do with Adventurers repeatedly bringing furs and such out of the dungeon to sell.

    Curious to see how this man produced so many sets of leather goods, I checked his info box. All that I got out of it, though, was that he was just an Armorer and that his name was Garfield. Maybe his class has some ability that makes leather working easier.

    ¡°Here you go, Miss. I think this top should fit you perfectly.¡±

    Satisfied with his second selection, Garfield held out what he claimed to be a leather top, but where I was expecting a jacket, it instead looked more like a vest, as it was perfectly sleeveless. While I couldn¡¯t be sure without her putting it on first, it didn¡¯t look like it was long enough to reach down all the way to her navel, meaning her stomach would be completely exposed. More striking was the fact that, if she put that thing on, it no doubt would show off more of her cleavage than the shirt she was wearing already did. This was due primarily to how low cut its collar was, but also because the collar was held together by several leather strings, as if Garfield knew a woman¡¯s bust might accidentally spill out if not tied down. I couldn¡¯t quite decide if the exposure was worth the distraction on the battlefield.

    No, realistically, it wasn¡¯t. Aside from where my eyes may wonder, this thing didn¡¯t magically make her skin more durable like those bikini armors supposedly did. This would just be something that looked sort of sexy while not offering much in terms of defense. She could just wear a t-shirt beneath it if the lack of coverage bothered her, but the lack of protection on her stomach and lower back bothered me.

    Still, I had to admit, the tight, but wild design of the thing did fit with her Beast-Warrior aesthetic nicely, even if she was a Monk at heart.

    ¡°This vest will protect your vitals without fail! There¡¯s even plenty of room for your arms to move, so you can hit, punch and hit anyone dumb enough to get in your way. Or you can just show off those great big biceps of yours.~¡±

    Enjoying his praise, she looked it over too, but focused more on the pants he handed her with the set. They looked to be just as tight as what she was already wearing, but were a little thicker, better made and much more durable. After running her hand over them to test the quality of the material, she handed them back before I could ask why he didn¡¯t pick out a top that offered just as much coverage.

    ¡°The top is perfect for how I fight, but these pants are too restricting.¡±

    ¡°Oh, my! Well, if you are looking for something with a bit more movement, then I can recommend this instead.~¡±

    Before I could offer up the idea of him loosening up or stretching the pants somehow, Garfield pulled down a smaller piece of leather. It was worked into a pair of short shorts that looked like they would provide no coverage at all. I was growing even more concerned for her safety when Yua started looking at them with a favorable smile on her lips, but I had to admit that I really wanted to see her wearing them.

    ¡°This looks good,¡± she turned her smile to me and I quickly shook the image of her wearing nothing but those shorts out of my head. ¡°Is it okay to get these?¡±

    ¡°Are you sure? Neither of those looks like they¡¯ll cover you all that much.¡±

    ¡°Of course! That¡¯s what makes them good. Leather that covers my whole body would just end up tearing every time I fought.  And Mas¡­ And you¡¯d just end up paying to have it fixed all the time.¡±

    I hadn¡¯t considered her potential armor tearing, but when I considered how she was strong enough to lift up a mass of stone at least eight feet wide and how the leather would get in her way, she was right. There would be no way something with more coverage wouldn¡¯t tear and forget me, she¡¯d end up too distracted in trying to cover herself if that happened in a fight. Forget the coin it¡¯d take to fixt them, we had the money now to not have to worry about that. I was more worried about the danger she¡¯d be in if she tried to fight someone or something while trying to cover her chest.

    Still, that must have been why she rarely kicked anything in the dungeon. She was worried her one and only pair of pants would rip. Definitely going to have to rectify that here soon.

    ¡°Well, if you think you can fight better in those.¡±

    ¡°I definitely can!¡±

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll get them,¡± I said with a small nod to Garfield. ¡°Then, if she¡¯s all set, what can you recommend for me?¡±

    Happy to receive yet another gift, Yua folded-up the set of leather armor and held it lovingly to her chest while Garfield took his time looking me over, but not quite in the same way he did Yua. He really took his time. And if I wasn¡¯t mistaken, the way he was eyeing me, focusing on certain parts of my anatomy more than other, he looked exactly like how the drunks in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild looked at Yua.

    I felt a shiver run up my spine when he spoke again.

    ¡°Oh ho¡­ For you, I recommend this.~¡±

    He pulled out another set of leather armor and thankfully, it looked to offer much more body coverage. The top looked similar to the one he gave Yua, but mine had shining metal plates stitched onto it to cover my vitals. From the looks of it, the plates could easily be removed if they ended up getting in the way, but they didn¡¯t look heavy enough to warrant cutting them out. The pants were also lightly armored and looked a lot more loose-fitting and comfortable than what he offered Yua. So, I gave the okay on that as well.

    ¡°Oh, Alex,¡± Yua said, her eyes glittering. ¡°I think that would be perfect for you.¡±

    ¡°Hold on, Miss. There¡¯s more to it. I have something that would go perfect with that. One second.¡±

    Dashing, or should I say skipping over to another corner of the shop, Garfield produced another useful addition to my new set of armor. He handed me a long dark blue cloak with a furred hood that he¡¯d pulled off of a hook under some shelves lined with helmets. It was long enough to cover almost my entire body and while it didn¡¯t look like it could offer any more protection than a regular shirt could, once I noticed how long the sleeves were, I thought up several uses for it that I could imagine using frequently.

    Sensing my approval, Garfield nodded to himself and thumped his meaty hands onto his hips.

    ¡°I knew you¡¯d like that. Any good Mage should have a cloak if he¡¯s not wearing a robe. And that armor, while light, should be able to protect you in case any of those nasty monsters slip past your cat-girl here and manage to hit you.¡±

    ¡°Yea¡­ But how did you know I was a Mage?¡±

    ¡°Oh? Easy. You came in here to buy armor, but you didn¡¯t have a weapon on you and you don¡¯t really carry yourself like a fighter. So, I figured you were either a Mage that didn¡¯t need one, or you chose to buy armor instead of a weapon. And while that would make my little ol¡¯ heart happy, you¡¯d be a fool for choosing to buy armor first. Even if it¡¯s mine. You can¡¯t beat up a monster with just armor, can you? Oh, well, maybe this big strong cat-girl could?¡±

    ¡°Definitely!¡±

    ¡°Oh my! So strong! You definitely gotta protect this boy, Miss.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best!¡±

    Yua flexed her bicep and Garfield played at being scared, while I just stood there, dumfounded and gawking at how I¡¯d been seen through yet again while the two fooled around. I admired him just a tad for being able to speak to someone like her so openly and so easily after only just meeting, but having the things I meant to be a secret yanked into the light with seemingly little effort was starting to get to me.

    Then again, I guess he¡¯s seen through Yua too. Maybe it¡¯s just part of the job¡­ Somehow.

    ¡°¡­ Thank you.¡±

    Watching the two talk, Garfield possibly just buttering her up to buy more of his stuff and her eating it right up, I suppose him knowing I was a Mage wasn¡¯t a big deal. So long as he never found out what spells I knew, anyways. That was one troublesome secret I¡¯d rather keep from the public.

    I tried on the cloak, readying myself to ignore the two fooling around for a bit of testing before I bought it. Careful to make sure he was able to see what I was doing, I closed and buttoned the cloak and, with my hand inside of and covered by the oversized sleeve, I quietly accessed my item box while trying not to let on that I was gauging his reaction. I pulled out a random item and immediately put it back. Thankfully, Garfield never seemed to notice what I was doing, meaning the sleeve was able to contain both the miasma and my actions.

    This would save me from needing to use my pouch or Yua¡¯s backpack every time I needed to grab something out of my item box. And aside from larger object, I could do it while standing perfectly still. It might even be possible to hide a sword beneath this thing. The thought almost made me feel like he should advertise it as perfect for the potential fugitive on the run.

    ¡°How do you like it?~¡± Garfield said, fluttering his eyelashes.

    ¡°It¡¯s, uh¡­ It¡¯s great. I¡¯ll take the leather armor and the cloak. Oh, and could you get her a cloak like mine, please.¡±

    ¡°Right away, Sir!~¡±

    After resisting Garfield¡¯s awkward attempt at getting me to try on the armor in the store, I braved stepping past him to hurriedly stack up a total of 70 silvers on his silver tray since he didn¡¯t offer it to me. As I did this, Yua stuffed the armors, cloaks and the twin pair of leather gloves I thought we might need into her bag. Now that her bag was filled and once more in need of emptying, we left the shop.

    ¡°Do come again! I can mend your armor if you ever need it! Don¡¯t be shy!¡±

    Because we had the time and after emptying Yua''s bag in the alley behind the Armorer''s shop, we decided to check in again at DeGrave imports, only for his thugs to once more push us away. I again considered the pros and cons of teleporting inside, but now that we weren''t so heated, Yua took a good whiff of the air and confirmed that he hadn''t been by in a while.

    So, we had nothing left to do but head to the next shop and try again later.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 26b

    With Alphonse still rebuffing our efforts to meet with him, we decided to continue stocking up just in case. It didn¡¯t take long to decide where to go next, as when I recited the list of shops I thought we still needed to visit, I latched onto one almost as soon as I named it. That being the Blacksmith.

    ¡°I need to replace my sword.¡±

    ¡°Why? I can protect you.¡±

    Letting this chance slip by would be a mistake. We had the coin now and who knows when I¡¯d be able to find a replacement weapon once we were on the run? Neither I nor Yua knew if someone like Alphonse would have a way to communicate with any partners he might have in other cities, so stopping by one would be risky. Likely unavoidable, since we¡¯d have to restock on food at some point, but having someone alert him to our whereabouts was a needless risk.

    That aside, I should probably be just a little grateful to my past self for selling my swords in the first place. I¡¯d been walking around with those things on my hip this whole time, just to take advantage of the fact that nobody in this city cared how one protected themselves ¡ªand because I may or may not have thought it was cool¡ª but having them might have been dangerous. If I¡¯d had them when Alphonse¡¯s thugs verbally backhanded us a second time after we returned to DeGrave, I might have done something stupid. Thankfully, conjuring up a spell was a little more difficult than drawing a sword, so I had a chance to think it over before the anger could boil over and before I could make the situation any harder on us.

    ¡°I know you can,¡± I said. ¡°But I want to be able to return the favor. And my mana will only last so long in a fight. I need a backup. Besides, we got most of what we needed already, but we still need a few things.¡±

    Yua was knowledgeable enough to spot a good frying pan from a bad one and put that to good use in the market, but we still needed some of what you could call ¡°kitchen essentials,¡± such as silverware, cooking knives and other utensils. I was fine with eating things by hand, but my modern sensibilities wouldn¡¯t allow me to turn that into a daily thing. And the blacksmith was likely the best place to find what we needed while we rearmed ourselves.

    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± she said, looking a little unsure if she should be happy that I countered her protection with some of my own. With a small huff and a shrug, she sipped on a glass containing a greenish drink whose name had escaped me when she¡¯d ordered it, but that to the best of my knowledge contained milk of some sort.

    We¡¯d taken a small break and gotten a drink in one of the city¡¯s many restaurants so we could try and cool down while we discussed our plans. While we waited for the passage of time to slowly trickle on and catch up to the moment where our fate on the matter next actions would be set in stone, I brought up the idea of teleporting into the DeGrave building now that I had a cloak that could hide my face, but Yua shot me down instantly. Saying it¡¯d be too dangerous even if she went with me, because the other battle slaves he owns may be called in to subdue us and she wasn¡¯t at all sure we¡¯d stand much of a chance against them. Meaning we were forced to sit on our hands yet again while I sipped on what I hoped was tea. So, the conversation quickly turned back to our supply run.

    The city was aglow with the same blue streetlights that never seemed to interest anyone other than me. Thankfully despite our worrying, we were able to relax somewhat comfortably at a fairly secluded table on the outside veranda of a restaurant Yua had visited a time or two before she had a better grasp on how money worked. Since I went out of the way to reserve the few tables next to ours for the short time we planned on staying by handing the waiter a generous tip, we were free to do as we pleased.

    Leaning against each other, Yua resting her head on my shoulder and with me enjoying the small tickle of her ear pressing against my cheek, we took to our drinks the best we could. From up on the second story, just about the only spot the place had that offered any discretion for a pair like us, we watched the city-folk walk on by as we talked.

    The ups and downs we¡¯d been delt today had us both a little exhausted, hence the break, but ever true to her love for fighting, the talk of one of us defending the other perked Yua right back up.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be that bad anyways,¡± she said, setting her empty glass on the table.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°If anyone or anything tried to come for us, I¡¯d hear them long before we were in any danger.¡±

    To illustrate her point, Yua wiggled her ear against my cheek. Without thinking much about it, my arm seemed to move of its own accord, as if it¡¯d decided the only possible retort to her tickling was to wrap itself around her shoulder. She remained mostly still, her only moving to take hold of the hand now draped over her shoulder in both of hers.

    ¡°That¡¯s true, but what about when you¡¯re asleep?¡±

    ¡°Well, you¡¯d probably be asleep too. So, I don¡¯t think it¡¯d matter.¡±

    ¡°We could sleep in shifts.¡±

    She giggled, shifting into a more comfortable position and pressing herself into me just enough to notice a softness that her strength and will to protect should have denied possible.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see that happening.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    As far as I¡¯m aware, when traveling in a group in the wild, even in modern times, it was probably a good idea to take turns sleeping. That way, someone would always be vigilant in case of wild animal attacks. And because of the time period this world was set in was more or less equivalent to the medieval period of my own world, there had to be numerous dangers we¡¯d need to be weary of. Some of, if not most of were of the fantastical persuasion that I couldn¡¯t be ready enough for.

    Yua, however, just giggled again and started fiddling with my fingers, pressing them down in an almost rhythmic motion like she was teaching me to play an invisible piano. I left it at that.

    Once we were sufficiently rested and I finished my probably-tea, we left for the Blacksmith.

    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s the kid again. What can I get ya?¡±

    Once more, we found the Blacksmith Larloll sitting on a barrel out by the forge and, even though her earlier attitude wasn¡¯t the best, she was already a breath of fresh air in comparison to Garfield.

    Wearing what looked like it could be the very same tank top she wore yesterday, except with a few extra splotches of grease to add to the sweat making it almost entirely see-through again. And again,  entirely unaware of why the men passing by her shop stopped to take the time to notice her, she tossed her hammer onto her anvil and stretched her back. She no doubt had been working hard all day, so I made sure not to look when she accidentally puffed out her chest.

    ¡°We¡¯re actually here to buy this time,¡± I said.

    ¡°Great! Glad ya took my advice, kid. Come on in.¡±

    She hopped off her barrel and led us into the shop, kicking aside a few scraps of metal as she went. One of these scraps looked like one of the spearheads that once belonged to the goblin weapons we sold her yesterday. Nearby, looking almost like they¡¯d been left out to be taken with the trash, was a crate filled with the rest of them.

    Like all the other stores, the walls were lined top to bottom with a wide array of products, but almost everything here was a weapon. From knives you could easily fit in your boot, to short swords of a clearly better make than the bronze one I started with, to giant warhammers that looked so heavy they¡¯d be impossible to pick up without the help of a forklift, she seemed to have something to suit anyone¡¯s tastes.

    This too should have been one of the places I should have loved to see, but it looked just a little too similar to the sort of weapon displays you¡¯d see at a geeky convention, the majority of which would be fake replicas. The only real difference between the two was the sheer amount of weaponry on display and the smokey stench of the coals burning in the forge outside that managed to cling to both the room and to Larloll. Well, that and the fact that each of these weapons were actually forged to kill, not sit on a bookshelf somewhere. It didn¡¯t help the shops image when I saw that the other metal works we were expecting like simple teapots, metal bowls, hammers, nails and the like were all obviously cast into a crate as a second thought, instead of put on full display like her weapons.

    She clearly had took no issue with playing favorites in her own work as she invited in.

    ¡°Ya after anything specific?¡± she asked, rubbing at the back of her neck.

    ¡°Yes. What kinds of weapons do you have for people that fight with their fists?¡±

    ¡°Fist weapons, eh? Ya mean like for Monks? How ¡®bout those?¡±

    She pointed to a corner of the room that looked a little neglected when compared to the vast array of other arms she had for sale. There weren¡¯t many to choose from and nothing looked all that interesting. I left it up to Yua to try them out and pick and unlike her blunt rejection the other day, she took a moment to look them over. Her tail only barely swishing about to feign interest as she examined the small variety of brass knuckles and metal gauntlets, both with and without spikes on them. I saw it coming, but I was surprised at how quickly she protested.

    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t think I need a weapon.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t, but I¡¯d be happy if we got you something. Look,¡± I pointed out a furred gauntlet that looked both exceedingly durable and oversized for someone like her. ¡°If you got something like that, every punch you throw would be about as powerful as Iron Fist, but you won¡¯t have to cast that skill before using it.¡±

    I already knew how strong she was, so I didn¡¯t mind her not having a weapon she¡¯d use often, but I thought it better to keep her protected for the same reason she asked me to keep from selling my sword. And being that I was already well aware of how much of a benefit it was to not have to verbally cast an ability before using it, I knew just about anything she picked would be a big help to her. Plus, the knuckle weapons were small enough to fit in her pocket. So, she could carry it everywhere she goes.

    Yua nodded at this and started looking the selection over a little more earnestly. Still, I knew she favored to go into a fight with her bare hands, so I wasn¡¯t expecting much. Not wanting to pressure her into buying something she didn¡¯t want, I set about choosing my own weapon.

    Feeling just a little excited, I moved to the wall filled with swords of all shapes and sizes, but before I picked up one up to test how it felt in hand, a curiously-shaped spear caught my eye. Stuck in an otherwise lackluster barrel with no less than ten other spears trapped in with it, some of which I was sure were actually just pitchforks, was a spear maybe seven or eight feet long with a thin, wavy blade that looked expertly made, but also that it would bend after one thrust into anything thicker than a sheet of paper. Likewise, its overly decorated shaft made it look like it¡¯d be a pain to hold. I had to wonder who would buy such a thing on purpose. It looked more like a mantle piece than the functional weapon it was being sold as.

    Then again, I was never really a fan of spears to begin with. At least not where video games were concerned. Thinking back to the dungeon¡¯s goblins, I had no idea how one could actually fight with such a weapon reliably without a giant shield or a phalanx of other men holding similar spears to protect each other from mistakes. Just like the obnoxiously large hammer in the corner of the shop, they felt like they¡¯d be slow enough to leave plenty of openings for someone to slip in close where you¡¯d be mostly defenseless.

    But that was likely just my inexperience talking. If these things had been around since humans first invented weapons, assuming it was the humans that invented such weapons in this world, they had to be worth a test at least.

    Mostly out of a continued curiosity, I lifted the spear out of the bucket to see if it was as uncomfortable as it looked and¡­

    [New Class Acquired: Spear Warrior.]

    Wow, really¡­? All I did was touch it and my mind was suddenly flooded with a basic understanding of how to fight with a spear that should have taken a least a year of practice to achieve, as well as the proof that I was too quick to judge. But still, all I did was touch the thing. At least I had to see a spell being used before memorizing it.

    Well, I guess I shouldn¡¯t complain. I probably wasn¡¯t going to make use of that class anyways. I would, however, at least be able to reverse engineer it and figure out how to fight against someone using a spear if I ever needed to.

    I shrugged off the nearly non-existent requirements for getting a new class and went around the shop, picking up everything in sight just to see what I¡¯d get out of it. At best, I was expecting to learn how to defend against each weapon type, but all I got out of it were the Axe Warrior and Bowman classes. Not as much as I was expecting and neither of which I could see myself using anytime soon, the class system just doesn¡¯t seem to differentiate between different weapon of the same class, such as hand axes and pole axes.

    With Larloll eyeing my openly suspicious actions, I decided not to try and tackle these new classes head on by taking a few practice swings with the deadly weapons. Instead, I opted to go back to the wall of swords, since I was more familiar with their use.

    Short swords, long swords, broad swords and even curved swords like sabers and scimitars lined the wall without any sort of order to them that was readily apparent. Many of them looked nice and some looked down right gaudy, but after the ridiculous number of swings it took to do a significant amount of damage to the Proud Great Wolf, all I needed was something stronger and sharper than steel. The problem was that I couldn¡¯t tell what they were made of by just looking.

    They were all polished to a near mirror shine, compliments of the woman that made them no doubt, but this didn¡¯t exactly make telling them apart easy to the untrained eye. A discrete cast of Appraisal on a few of the swords I liked the looks of helped levy this issue. That is until a metal type that was only barely familiar to me thanks to the auction showed up in the info box of a shining long sword that¡¯d been locked away in a display case.

    Its design was simple and not too disturbed by needlessly flourishing patterns and engravings, but with just enough to say it¡¯d look good on a nobleman¡¯s hip. It also looked perfectly sturdy despite how thin the blade itself was. I knew at once that it¡¯d be easy to wield for a beginner like myself, but what really caught my eye was how the color of its blade almost perfectly matched the glow of Yua¡¯s Iron Fist.

    ¡°Ohhh? Ya want the Parundum Long sword?¡± Larloll said, arms crossed and leaning over the case with me.

    With her customer¡¯s gaze on such a weapon that itself needed to be protected behind a box of glass, she was nothing but smiles. And it was easy to see why thanks to Appraisal.

    ¡°That sword¡¯ll run ya 30 gold. Go ahead. Take it for a few swings.¡±

    ¡°30 gold?¡± I repeated for the sake of feigning surprise.

    ¡°Yup. Parundum¡¯s a special type of metal that is very hard ta forge, but when forged by a master smith, like myself, it¡¯s one of the strongest metals there is. Not only is it several times more durable than steel, but it¡¯ll never need to be sharpened as long as ya treat it right and ya don¡¯t go slammin¡¯ it against something hard like a rock or mountain or my father''s head.¡±

    The blacksmith then proceeded to rattle off more facts about the type of metal I didn''t need to know including, how handsome the Adventurer who brought back the Parundum she used to make it was, that it was apparently one of her personal favorite weapons to have worked on, and that it was one of the most expensive swords in her shop and more. The comment on its price nearly made me lose interest, but I nodded along peaceably to her enthusiasm as somewhere in her rambling, she popped the case and handed me the sword to try it out. From the moment my hand wrapped around the unblemished black leather binding its handle, her voice all but faded into obscurity.

    Fire and ice clashed within the blade itself, lights flickering constantly in its polished surface as the magic candles lighting the shop warred with the blue glow of the streetlamps climbing in through the window to get a better look. About the same length as my old steel sword, but also somehow lighter, it felt like it could cut the air itself when I took a couple practice swings. When Larloll handed it to me, she¡¯d passed it off as if it were no heavier than a large dagger might be and I wasn¡¯t sure if I had the metal or the points I added to my Strength to thank for the fact that it really was that light. Thankfully, in the dungeons, I had my sword drawn most of the time and carrying it around never got too tiring, but I imagined that might change if we were off running through the countryside for hours on end.

    The item box could alleviate that burden, obviously, but with a sword this light, I wouldn¡¯t even need to worry about it. The more I thought about it, the more it grew on me. However, it¡¯s price tag was weighing it down. Almost enough to want to set it back in the display case.

    It didn¡¯t feel right buying something so wildly expensive for myself when all Yua was getting was a pair of brass knuckles. Unless, of course, Larloll had a pair made of Parundum.

    Yua, done with her own perusing, took note of my hesitation and nodded to me and, with a smile said, ¡°You worked hard for your coin. Don¡¯t be afraid to spend it.¡±

    ¡°But it¡¯s our coin,¡± I mumbled, very much under my breath.

    Yua¡¯s ears easily caught this and she managed to put away her slave¡¯s mindset long enough to broaden her smile just a little in thanks, only for Larloll to ruin the moment.

    ¡°Pfft. Ain¡¯t no woman worth her salt gonna get in the way of a man picking out a sword.¡±

    I chuckled to myself and ran my hand over the sheath.

    ¡°I¡¯m a man now? What happened to calling me kid?¡±

    ¡°Hey, if yer buying my weapons, I¡¯ll call ya whatever you want. So, what¡¯s it gonna be? Kid or¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll take it.¡±

    With that as my final verdict, Larloll finally gave us a real smile and dashed off to find her silver tray before I could change my mind. I was happy to have Yua¡¯s approval for a bit of selfish splurging on my part, but when I turned to see what she¡¯d chosen for herself, all I found was her standing in the middle of the shop waiting for me, her hands free of any sort of weaponry.

    ¡°Did you not like any of them?¡± I whispered, wanting to avoid offending yet another person so dedicated to their craft.

    Yua shook her head.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that. I just don¡¯t need any weapons. Fighting with something like that would just restrict movement and having to put them on would just slow down my reaction speed. Plus, I¡¯m used to using my bare hands. Wearing those might cause me to make a mistake I can¡¯t recover from in battle.¡±

    I moved my hand to scratch my head, but quickly dropped it back down when I realized I was still holding a very sharp sword.

    I couldn¡¯t really deny her logic. While she could always train with the knuckles to get used to them, asking her to wear them right off the bat would be similar to me using a spear before I got the Spear Warrior class and learned the basics. In other words, it might actually be a bad idea, regardless of how I felt on the matter.

    Still, if she felt she¡¯d do better without them, who was I to complain? She¡¯s been fighting a hell of a lot longer than me. I¡¯d just have to put more points into her Endurance so that using her Iron Fist ability didn¡¯t take up too much stamina going forward.

    With our, my, weapon decided, we added the extras we¡¯d planned to buy when Larloll came back with the tray. Since she seemed to know what she was doing here too, I asked Yua to pick out a set of silverware, a single dented teapot that looked just about ready for the scrap bin as it was the only one Larloll had in stock, and a few other cooking implements we weren¡¯t able to find elsewhere.

    After it was totaled up, I set the coin on her tray, much to Larloll¡¯s delight while Yua bagged all we bought, save for the sword. As I stacked up the coin, Larloll had to repeatedly stop herself from reaching out for it until I finished and she snatched it all up, completing the purchase. I¡¯d have been worried that she might have just swindled me were she not so enthusiastic in detailing just how great the sword was.

    Based on how much money we still had after that large purchase and after having a fairly good understanding of how much things in this world cost, I felt we were still relatively well-off enough to not have to worry about money anytime in the near future. It was a strange thought, considering how much time I spent worrying about our finances just this morning. It¡¯s almost like we won the lottery.

    I tied my new sheath to my belt before leaving the shop and when I slipped the blade back into it and it let out a playful metallic clink, a shiver ran up my spine. The sword I started with and the one we found were both nice, but buying one myself felt so much better. I¡¯d earned this.

    ¡°Where should we go now?¡± Yua asked.

    ¡°Hmm. I don¡¯t know.¡±

    Checking in at the DeGrave building again was a must, but each tick of the clock in my HUD made me more and more certain that my guess about Alphonse¡¯s plan was correct.

    ¡°But don¡¯t you need a wand or staff?¡±

    ¡°Yea. I suppose I wouldn¡¯t mind having one again, but the lady at the Mage¡¯s Guild said they only had spell books. So, I¡¯ll have to put looking for one off until later.¡±

    ¡°Then why not just buy some spell books?¡±

    I froze in place mid-step but Yua kept on down the sidewalk for a few paces before she noticed and doubled back.

    I was so focused on getting the things we were going to need, that I forgot about the things I wanted. Not only was this a good opportunity to buy some spell books since we had the coin, it was the perfect chance to test how good my Memorization trait was. If I could memorize an entire contract the very second I looked at it, then it didn¡¯t take too much imagination to wonder what I could do with a spell book.

    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    Not to mention that learning more magic sounded incredibly fun.

    ¡°Alex?¡± Yua cooed, waving her hand in front of my face.

    ¡°Huh? Oh, you¡¯re right. Let¡¯s check out what the Mage¡¯s Guild has for spells. Good idea.¡±

    ¡°Of course! I want to see some new magic too!¡±

    Yua¡¯s tail swished happily as she led me back to DeGrave Imports, though at this point, I¡¯d seen and memorized enough of the city to not need an escort. But I was happy to have her.

    Same as the last couple of times,  I was mostly unsurprised to find that we got nothing from our visit to the slave house but a handful of laughter at our expense from a pair of new thugs, as they were at least kind enough to let someone else tell us off this time. So, we moved on.

    After our failure, we headed straight to the Mage¡¯s Guild. It was already getting late and, while I didn¡¯t know the exact hours businesses in Amoranth operated by, I was sure it and everywhere else were likely going to be closing up shop soon.

    Strolling past the other, more raucous guild and the drunks it let spill into the late-night street, we skipped over commenting on the Mage¡¯s Guild¡¯s exterior and entered the building to find that it was still just as full of Mage¡¯s studying their books with all the fervor of a university senior reviewing for their final exam.

    There was only one person in the entirety of the silence that bothered to lift her nose out of her book to notice our arrival, but my guess was that this was only due to the distracting noise of the city streets entering with us before the door closed.

    ¡°Ah, Member Alex. What brings you here this evening? Found yourself another staff, perhaps?¡±

    Surprised she remembered my name after only one meeting right up until I remembered the fuss she made upon learning of my Dimensional Step spell, the woman that ran the Mage¡¯s Guild, Beth, greeted me with a slight smile that almost didn¡¯t look forced. Apparently, the kindness she marked her face with really was only for the sake of members, as she didn¡¯t give Yua so much as a passing glance. This irked me some, but she clearly didn¡¯t plan on being all that polite to me either. Wanting this conversation to be over from the moment she initiated it, she kept her finger on the exact word in her spell book she left off on when we interrupted her.

    ¡°Unfortunately, no. I¡¯m surprised this place is still open.¡±

    It was impossible to miss the zombies milling about as they read their books that might have been able to pass for mages if any bothered to speak. Likewise, they couldn¡¯t have been so focused on their studies that they wouldn¡¯t been unable to notice that it was very clearly night time filtering in through the gaps in the curtains they kept mostly shut, not daylight. They should have all called it a day once the sun set, but this lot all had a candle burning near them. A few had ones made of wax and whose flickering wicks were nearly burnt away, but most were making use of the more convenient magic item candles since they no doubt had mana to spare. Sprinkle in a few stray mages using one of the many that lined the guild¡¯s halls to keep the building itself lit, and you¡¯d have a complete night-time study session that had gone on for way too long.

    Beth nodded stiffly to my question, but with did so with pride as her expression softened. Pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, she even dared an honest smile for once.

    ¡°So long as there is a mind willing to dedicate itself to the study of magic, our doors will always be open.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s great news, because I¡¯m here to buy a few spell books.¡±

    I went right out and said it. My Merchant job had been giving me tiny bits of advice all day now for every shop or stall we visited, and it was telling me not to be so blunt since I didn¡¯t yet know what they had for sale. I also needed to be weary because I might not find anything useful, thereby making me a liar and putting a dent in my already flimsy Merchant persona if I didn¡¯t buy anything. But I shook it off.

    These were spells we¡¯re talking about. There¡¯s bound to be something interesting, if not useful, to learn.

    ¡°Alright, Member Alex,¡± she huffed, making the great effort to place her bookmark just below the line of text she¡¯d been forced to forsake so she could close her book. ¡°Please follow me.¡±

    Letting her gaze linger almost forlornly on her book a second or two, Beth gestured to then led us down the same hallway she took us through when I was forced to prove the existence of my teleportation spell. This time, however, she led us all the way to the back of the building, proving once and for all that it was truly larger on the inside than it appeared when it took a couple of minutes to reach our destination.

    She stopped in front of a pair of large, expertly carved wooden doors that alone stood taller than the outside face of the building. Complete with a set of intricate runes that circled into and around each other across the length of the door¡¯s face, my mind went straight to the boss rooms in the dungeon. However, instead of effortlessly pushing them open the way Yua would, Beth slowly placed her palm on the center-most rune and went silent, tucking her chin in as if in prayer.

    Just when I was starting to think she might need a moment alone with the doorframe, a brilliant purple light streaked its way up, tracing a path through the runes until every inch was shining. Once the light reached its zenith and looped back around on itself, I heard the loud click of a lock being undone.

    ¡°Is that door a magic item?¡±

    ¡°Indeed,¡± Beth answered cooly. Hand on the handle, she turned just her face to meet my gaze. ¡°This library is protected by powerful defensive magics. Only the mana of a true member can open it. Meaning that I must warn you that any non-guild member that dares set foot in this library will be electrocuted on the spot without pause or hesitation. So, unless you¡¯d like your cat-girl there to resemble a pile of dust ready to be swept into the gutter, I suggest you take a moment to ask her to wait outside.¡±

    ¡°Oh, uh, okay then¡­? Yua, sorry, but could you wait for me? I¡¯ll try to be quick.¡±

    ¡°Of course. Don¡¯t worry about me.¡±

    Yua stood in place, her tail slowly flicking back and forth as a content grin spread across her lips. She¡¯d said she wanted to see more magic, but with beast-kin like her unable to learn it, she must have known that she¡¯d be left with nothing to do in the book store Beth referred to as a library regardless of whether or not she went in.

    I smiled back and nodded to Beth. She cracked the door open just wide enough for a man of my size to pass through and waited. With a quick sympathetic wave to Yua, I slipped inside, intent on finding a spell that would be both useful to me and interesting enough to impress her.

    Beth followed me in so fast that we nearly collided with one another, but thanks to the number of times she¡¯s likely had to do this, she noticed I¡¯d stopped to take in the sights.

    The room she brought me into was just as much a library as she said. The very moment I stepped into the room, I was surrounded by bookshelves, each of which was packed so tightly with spell books that it almost looked impossible to pull one out without the whole thing collapsing on you in an avalanche of text. Before I could ask if it was alright to start skimming the titles in search for something good, I noticed a large marble staircase locked in place between yet more shelves, suggesting at a second floor to the already impressive array of knowledge. And when my eyes traced up its handrail to see what the second floor had in store for me, I found not only a second floor, but a third. And a fourth. Then a fifth. Then so many more than I had to tilt my head all the way back just to see that the staircase spiraled up to a ceiling so impossibly far away that its end might as well have been invisible to the naked eye.

    Each of the floors I could make out the details of were filled with books. The whole column that made up this library was fairly small, but there were so many books lining the shelves that no one person could read them all in a single lifetime. Even if they didn¡¯t try to memorize them in order to use the spells they contained.

    ¡°I¡­ Wasn¡¯t expecting there to be so many.¡±

    ¡°Naturally,¡± she cast an admiring smile upwards at the endless shelves. ¡°The Mage¡¯s guild has been collecting these books since its founding some two hundred years before the Great War of the Melburn Plains. No merchant, caravan or weary traveler entering this city carrying a spell book for sale goes unnoticed by us.¡±

    While I was lost in thought wondering if the Mage¡¯s Guild put some kind of enchantment on the city gate that notified them whenever a spell book waltzed into the city, Beth strode over to a four-foot-tall marble pillar that I somehow missed despite it being in the center of the room. A single, thick book rested there, its worn pages open and ready to be read.

    ¡°This here is our catalogue of spell books. I assure you that any spell whose name you see written in this book¡¯s pages exists within this library.¡±

    She pointed up, not towards the ceiling that only seemed to grow further and further away each time I tried to find it, but to the upper levels that were still in sight.

    It took me a double-take to acknowledge what I was looking at, but after following her finger I found that dozens of other mages were already wondering about the shelves. Most of them were already studiously reading the books in their hands where they stood. They must have barely managed to pull the tomes from the shelves before diving straight in. Others still were searching the shelves for the spell they wanted. I wondered why she allowed them to thoroughly read the books before buying them, but she seemed to have noticed my confusion and responded appropriately.

    ¡°You may borrow the books and read them anywhere here in the Guild, but you must return them once you are done studying for the day. Walking out of the Guild with a book you didn¡¯t pay for will be classified as stealing.¡±

    ¡°Ah, so it really is like a library,¡± I said to myself, but she nodded.

    ¡°Exactly. Now, what types of spells are you interested in finding?¡±

    Since coming here was more of a spur of the moment decision, I wasn¡¯t too sure. I could think of all kinds of spells from the games I played, but whether or not they existed in this world, I couldn¡¯t know. But the nigh endless possibilities made my breath catch.

    Almost the from moment I realized I was in this fantasy world, I¡¯ve been wanting to tackle its magic system and expand what I could do, but the two spells I¡¯ve learned since then, beside of the freebee I¡¯d started with, haven¡¯t gotten to see much use, unfortunately. One of them hadn¡¯t even been used once and was essentially just taking up space in my menu. And now I¡¯m here, filled with ideas.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯m an Adventurer, so how about we start with the types of spells fit for combat?¡±

    She scoffed and rolled her eyes.

    ¡°Of course. You want attack magic¡­ One moment.¡±

    ¡°Wait, is there something wrong with that?¡±

    ¡°Not at all. Magic itself is without fault. Those casting it, however, are another issue entirely. If you wish to risk all your hard-earned knowledge in some brutish bout, then be my guest. But I myself will have nothing to do with it.¡±

    I was moments away from assuming that she was just one of those sorts of magic snobs that preferred the study of helpful and casual magic, rather than the sort being used for violence, but her answer shut me up. Though it was a little unsettling that she¡¯d be more worried about the knowledge lost by a mage felled in battle, rather than the mage themself.

    I could respect her reasoning to an extent, but in a city with both a dungeon and an Adventurer¡¯s guild, I didn¡¯t see why she bothered to complain.

    Beth flipped through the book on the marble pillar and opened it to a page labeled ¡°Attack Magic¡± with an efficiency that suggested she¡¯d studied these pages as well.

    ¡°Please read this, Member Alex, and let me know what catches your interest.¡±

    Ready and willing to do as she suggested regardless of how annoyance afflicted her tone, I buried myself in the book the same way the other mages around us were in theirs, once again happy to see that the language it was written in was English.

    Skimming through the list, I came to realize that my Memorize ability didn¡¯t only allow me to easily remember the names of the spells my eyes passed over, but that it actually made me read faster. Way faster. Like, memorizing and understanding the entire page¡¯s contents the very second I looked at it. Just like how I engraved the auction¡¯s contract into my soul to prevent making another mistake. It was just as utterly baffling as it was exciting.

    Back in my old world, whenever I would read a typical novel, it would take me about an hour to get through twenty to thirty pages because of my constantly waning focus. But now I was turning pages so fast that it surely didn¡¯t look like I was reading at all. I was positive that it looked like I was doing nothing more skipping through the pages whose contents didn¡¯t interest me.

    However, Beth here didn¡¯t seem to think that way.

    ¡°Curious¡­ Member Alex, have you always been able to read that fast?¡±

    ¡°Oh, uh, yea. My mom taught me how to speed-read,¡± I said, quickly following up on my abusive mage-mother story from the day before.

    Again, sorry for lying, Mom.

    ¡°Hmm. Maybe that is how you managed to learn a teleportation spell already.¡±

    ¡°Could you maybe not talk about that? There are other people in here.¡±

    Showing none of the consideration Yua would, she raised an eyebrow at me like I was being an idiot, but I could kind of understand where she was coming from. While there were other people in the library, all of them were either several stories above us and too far to hear her or too busy reading to care what she said. And since beast-kin couldn¡¯t use magic, I doubted there were any in here whose ears were sensitive enough to eavesdrop.

    Not to mention that the way she freaked out upon learning I knew the Dimensional Step spell alone suggested it was quite the accomplishment that the other mages might actually applaud. If they could manage to pull their noses out of their books long enough to do so, that is.

    ¡°Did any of the spells interest you?¡±

    Already looking like she was tired of having to help me and eyeing the doorway and the book waiting for her beyond the library¡¯s walls, Beth pressured me for an answer.

    ¡°Uh, yes. I would like these, please.¡±

    I pointed to a few Novice spells from every basic element available, that way I could have a variety of spells prepared no matter the enemy¡¯s resistances and because they sounded easy to control.

    From the list, I chose; Rock Throw, Ice Arrow, Strangle Thorn, Water Ball and Lightning Bolt. Having read past the attack magic section, I also threw in a spell of each of the Light and Dark schools of magic and asked for the Fairy¡¯s Light and Shadow Cloak spells, because I was fairly sure I knew what they¡¯d do.

    One attack spell for each element, minus the fire spell I already knew and two of what seemed like support-type spells. The attack spells may have been mostly commonplace where games were concerned, but when taking into consideration how they might be applied in a real world setting such as this, they could be game changing.

    From electrocuting an enemy after they fell into a river or was drenched by another spell, to potentially shattering a wall that was otherwise unbreakable with a magically infused rock acting as a wrecking ball, to something as simple as putting a lump of ice in your glass of water after a hard day¡¯s work. Assuming the glass didn¡¯t explode from the impact, of course. There were potentially endless possibilities.

    There were more spells that sounded like they¡¯d be flashier and more devastating, but as I read through the list, I decided it was best to keep it simple. At least until I could make better use of the spells I already knew. Wouldn¡¯t want to risk hurting Yua or myself with my own magic.

    Beth watched as I pointed to each new spell and turned more and more doubtful with each addition, like she was starting to think I was only here to waste her precious studying time.

    ¡°That¡¯s quite a few spells. Are you sure you are ready to learn all of those?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I am.¡±

    I honestly thought that I was. Given how I memorized the content of the spell catalogue without even trying, I figured learning and memorizing the spells themselves would be a breeze. Although, I was sure she was just doubtful because of how long it supposedly took other people to memorize even a single spell.

    ¡°Well, if you say you can, then it is up to you to apply yourself. However, I would recommend lightening your load. Trying to learn this many spells at once is a fool¡¯s errand.¡±

    ¡°No need to worry. I¡¯ll take it slow.¡±

    Beth shrugged, sighing in resignation and put her hand on the spell catalogue. After a short breath to collect herself, she chanted a short spell under her breath and included in it the names of all the spells I mentioned. The pages of the book began to flutter and flap like the wings of a trapped bird desperately trying to escape from beneath her palm, but she held it down easily enough.

    Soon after her chant was finished, a spell book that had been resting in one of the shelves we passed on the way in began to shake in place, disturbing its neighbors as it fought to free itself. Within a second of Beth¡¯s chant finishing, the book lifted itself off of its shelf entirely unaided and floated towards us. At the same time, my eyes were drawn to several more books removing themselves from their holding places on the upper floors, causing one or two of the mages studying there to have to move out of their way to avoid a collision. Unbothered by the sight of the books seemingly having been granted a life of their own, these mages quickly returned to their work without a word in rebuke for the disturbance. One of the books, the last to fall, came from so high up in the library that it might as well have descend directly from the heavens.

    As if filled with a temporary consciousness, the books all fell into a perfectly uniform line with one another as they soared through the air and down towards us, unassisted by anything but the magic that propelled them. Instead of letting them fall straight to the ground where they no doubt would have received significant damage to their spines and pages, and with one hand still resting on the catalogue, Beth guided them into a neat stack on the floor beside her. When the last spell book touched down, the pile reached all the way up to her waist line.

    She looked with an excess of doubt arching her brow, likely assuming, and assuming correctly, that I wasn¡¯t prepared for how thick the books actually were, but I wasn¡¯t about to back down.

    I was already eager to start reading, but instantly thought better of doing so. If it was for the sake of Yua¡¯s and my future, I didn¡¯t mind learning spells so easily, but I was almost positive that cracking those books open now would only lead to me abusing the Guild¡¯s borrowing system by spending hours here learning every spell I could get my hands on. The thought of giving into that want was very, very tempting.

    Again, for the sake of our future, knowing as many spells as possible could only help us, but I couldn¡¯t risk my Memorization trait coming to light. Not when it would likely entail every member mobbing up, drawing their pitchforks, torches and wands to come hunt me down out of jealousy.

    While this may be the last time I get to visit a library such as this, it¡¯d be best to buy them and take them with me back to the inn before I lean into them.

    ¡°Thank you. How much are they all together?¡±

    A bit dumfounded by my will to continue when she likely thought I¡¯d fold under the pressure, Beth pushed her glasses up her nose again before answering.

    ¡°Novice spells are worth 50 gold coins each. Intermediate spells are 100 and Master level spells are 200. But since these are all novice spells, this totals to 400 gold.¡±

    Once more, she looked at me like she was expecting me to back down, but I was still more concerned with spending so much when I¡¯d yet to get Yua anything that wasn¡¯t meant for her alone. But in my mind¡¯s eye, I could see her urging me on with a smile, so I pretended to mull it over for a second and nodded.

    ¡°That¡¯s a lot, but I¡¯ll take them.¡±

    ¡°Eh, wha¡­¡±

    Beth¡¯s surprise finally managed to create a chink in her armor and just then, a lock of hair chose that moment to untangle itself from her pony tail to fall in front of her forehead. I got the impression she was only playing along with me to force me to see an error in my desire that she herself noticed and very much wanted to point out, but her eyes widened at the impressive stack of books. Openly flabbergasted that someone, anyone, would buy so many at a time when they supposedly took months to memorize, her mouth bobbed open and closed several times like a fish gasping for a breath of fresh water.

    She was quick to recover, though. But I couldn¡¯t tell if it was due to her wanting to get back to her own work or if she figured that my supposed speed reading was going to be a great help.

    ¡°Then I wish you luck in your efforts, Member Alex. Will¡­ Will there be anything else?¡±

    I crossed my arms and tried to conjure up some ideas for spells I¡¯d seen elsewhere in other fantasy worlds. Anything that could be useful, really. Short of dumping even more gold on the master level spells I saw in the catalogue, there wasn¡¯t much I could think of that we¡¯d need.

    Maybe if I asked Yua for some ideas¡­ Oh!

    ¡°Yea, actually,¡± I said, thumping my fist into my palm. ¡°Do you have any utility spells?¡±

    ¡°Utility spells? I don¡¯t follow your meaning.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know? Maybe that¡¯s just not what they¡¯re called. Let¡¯s see¡­ are there any types of spells that can do things like, I don¡¯t know, instantly clean all the dirt off your clothes so you don¡¯t have to wash them in the river?¡±

    ¡°Oh, you mean Homemaker Spells. Yes, we have some. Although, they are usually favored by women.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine by me. Can I see them, please?¡±

    She nodded, her continued surprise making her look like her hair was about to turn white right in front of my eyes as she flipped to another section of the book and left it open on the page labeled ¡°Homemaker Spells,¡± just like she said. I¡¯d already skimmed through them a moment ago, but I must not have let their potential sink in as I was more focused on my ability to memorize, not what I was memorizing. It was almost like I was just taking pictures of each page with my mind and that I was unsure of what was actually photographed and its contents entailed until I thought to actively think back on it.

    It was a shame really, but I guess even an ability like that had to have its limits. Still, I should have noticed the spells I thought would be useful and whose effects were easy to guess at earlier, as my second read through made me realize they all had rather blatant names.

    ¡°Can I also buy the Clothing Wash, Body Wash, Drying Gust, Purify Water and Mend Clothing spells?¡±

    I figured being able to clean and fix our clothes would leave less work for Yua and myself to do on the run and the Purify Water spell sounded perfect for just about any situation since drinking water straight from a stream, river or even a well could pose some serious medical issues if the water wasn¡¯t clean enough. I¡¯d heard you could just boil the water to make it drinkable, but I also clearly remembered someone saying that doing that wouldn¡¯t actually work all that well, so using magic to make sure our drinking water was safe seemed like the best option to keep us healthy.

    And as for the Body Wash spell, I figured that if Yua and I were ever out on a mission for the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and couldn¡¯t stay at an inn with a bath or if we were otherwise just unable to wash up, then we could spare her nose by keeping clean via magic. Although, I would still prefer a nice hot bath any day. Using water from a well may not be too bad now since the weather is calm, but I was sure it was going to be torture in the winter if we didn¡¯t at least heat it up. Even then, without knowing how cold it got in the winter here, it might be best to skip the bath altogether.

    Unaware of the logic I was putting behind my selections, Beth just blinked at me. Asking for anything more than this looked like it might cause her a heart attack, so I ended my request there.

    ¡°I-If that is what you want¡­¡±

    Beth chanted her spell again and five more books came flying down to settle atop the pile that now reached to just below her breast.

    ¡°These Novice spells bring your total to 650 gold. If you can¡¯t afford them now, I recommend borrowing¡­¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll just buy them. I can, right?¡±

    Despite the steep price, I figured their usefulness would pay me back in no time. Plus, I had more than enough gold to spare. The question was if the Guild would allow one person to purchase so many spell books at a time.

    ¡°W-Will there be anything else?¡± Beth asked, looking a bit disheveled at my easy answer.

    ¡°That¡¯ll be all for now. I¡¯ll come back another time once I¡¯m done with these.¡±

    ¡°R-Right. I, um, then I suppose we may not be seeing each other for a while. Let me¡­ go get the tray.¡±

    Beth pushed past the library door and headed off down the hall in a stupor. She had managed to work out by herself that I could read quickly, but just reading fast wasn¡¯t enough to actually memorize things. That would take actual studying. And since I was buying a stack of books as tall as a child, and because of how I made it seem like I might have an easy time with it, she seemed a severely dumbstruck instead of angry like I thought she¡¯d be. Tack on to that how I already knew a teleportation spell at my age and I felt I should probably be more careful around her. Unlike Yua and the barkeep at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, she found the mixture of my levels, age and spell knowledge more baffling than impressive.

    When she came back, her hair returned to its proper order, she set the silver tray right on the stack of books, probably due to the lack of a table anywhere on the first floor of the library. It took the combination of my new cloak, my belt pouch and a bit of amateurish sleight-of-hand to take the coin I owed her out of my item box. When I started stacking coins on the tray, her face grew paler with each successive stack.

    I wasn¡¯t too sure why, though. With as much as it seems she liked to learn, I thought she would be happy that someone else shared her interest the way Madame Turquesse was when I bought the cauldron.

    After I finished paying, I picked up the stack of books while Beth hurried for the door, almost like she thought I might drop them if she dawdled. With a nod of thanks for her help, I left the Mage¡¯s Guild manager with a thanks and some well wishes before I made my way back to Yua. She too was astonished by the stack of books a more than half as tall as I was, but unlike Beth, she shot me a sympathetic smile.

    ¡°Let me help with those.¡±

    Without uttering so much as a single syllable in question for how much coin I just spent, Yua took half of the stack into her arms. And she took it happily, her eagerness to see more of my magic written excitedly in her expression.

    Leaving Beth to let out an exhausted sigh as she leaned over her book, we left the Mage¡¯s Guild and carried our bundle of books into the nearest vacant alley we could find. Once we were sure nobody was looking, I put the books and everything else Yua was still carrying in her bag into my item box. Thanks to her strength, she hadn¡¯t even broken a sweat carrying it all.

    Hefting the now empty backpack over her shoulders, Yua smiled in thanks for my consideration. That smile, however, roused my guilt and made me want to think hard on where to go next.

    There was nothing that was at all interesting to look at in the alley unless you counted the dull grey brickwork and a man over in the far end whose info box said he was both drunk and unconscious, which I didn¡¯t, so as I pondered our next move, my gaze easily landed on Yua. More importantly, onto her chest. She may have given me a free pass to look whenever I wanted, but that¡¯s not what this was. I¡¯d just noticed that carrying my books disheveled her already messy blouse even more.

    With that in mind, I took her hand in mine, but only long enough to lead her back to the street to keep with her wish to keep any heart-pounding emotions between us private.

    ¡°Where are we going now?¡± she asked.

    ¡°To see if the tailor is still open. I¡¯ve been wanting to buy you some clothes for a while now and since we just spent so much on myself, I think it¡¯s only right we do just that.¡±

    ¡°But I don¡¯t need¡­¡±

    ¡°You do. You can¡¯t just wear that same outfit forever. And who knows when we¡¯ll get a chance like this again?¡±

    The three days mentioned in her contract were all but up now. With only a few more hours to spare and with Alphonse nowhere to be found¡­ Well, I wasn¡¯t sure when we¡¯d be able to find ourselves another clothing store.

    I was already fairly certain the spells I just bought could mend the clothes she was already wearing, but why not have more? Even if she hadn¡¯t done enough fighting and worrying to earn them, I say she deserved them.

    ¡°Okay, if you insist,¡± she said, raising a finger at me. ¡°But we have to get some clothes for you too.¡±

    ¡°What? But why me¡­?¡±

    As soon as the words left my mouth after trying to do something nice for her and only her, I remembered that the clothes I was wearing now, aside from my leather armor, were all I had. And since Yua had that rag of a sleepshirt, she technically had more outfit variation than I did myself.

    ¡°Alright, well, let¡¯s just go see if they¡¯re even still open.¡±

    It was late. Later than late. Any shops that were still open past this point were going to be outliers operating on the same level as any of Amoranth¡¯s taverns and the pair of Guilds, though their reasons for keeping so late differed wildly. So, this little shopping spree of ours was nearing its end and so was our time in Amoranth.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 26c

    We teleported straight to the alley beside the DeGrave building Yua insisted she knew would be empty as Alphonse¡¯s thugs typically did a good job keeping the riffraff away from the building as a whole. And it was empty, giving us free reign to run around to the front of the building only to find that it was already closed for the night. As Yua¡¯s experiences in living there said it would be.

    DeGrave Imports was closed. That was it. I had my confirmation that we¡¯d been stood up. Funnily enough, after all our prepping, I wasn¡¯t too bothered by this fact. And neither was Yua. Where I thought she might be near tears again, she looked as though her resolve had been doubled. So, we ignored the drunken idiots¡¯ taunts and jeers and returned to the alley again to teleport to a fairly secluded spot we spotted by the Threaded Spool on our way here.

    Amped by the fact that the deadline to us becoming fugitives was drawing ever nearer, we ran through the now mostly empty streets and found that the window out front of the tailor¡¯s shop was thankfully still lit.

    ¡°Sorry I waited to do this last,¡± I said, pulling open the door. ¡°I should have made this our first stop so you didn¡¯t have to run around in clothes that barely fit you.¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t worry about that,¡± she said, graciously letting me hold the door for once. ¡°I¡¯ve been used to these for a long time now.¡±

    We¡¯d stocked up on enough food to last at least a month or two if rationed properly, so we needed clothes to last as long too. My magic could help with the upkeep of whatever we buy, so there were no issues there, even if Yua ended up picking out something cheap like she did with her boots.

    ¡°Hello again,¡± Gideon greeted.

    We¡¯d caught him looking dead tired and ready to throw in the towel for the night as he folded some clothes that some earlier customer left in complete disarray. The mess of shirts he worked on were strewn about on a display table that they clearly didn¡¯t belong to, as there were nothing but hats beneath. And that wasn¡¯t the only part of the shop that had seen trouble.

    About half of the shop looked like it had a localized tornado rampage through it and then right back out the main door, as several articles of clothing were strewn all about the place. A pair of pants were swinging from the chandelier still attempting to light the place. A half dozen or so blouses were balled up and tossed into a wastebasket hard enough to knock it over. A pair of boots were resting far apart from their twin, with one on the main counter we used to do business the days before and the other resting with its heel against a large mirror on the other side of the shop, as if some invisible foot had tried to shatter the glass only to give up half way through. When we closed the door, we even found a pair of men¡¯s underwear hanging from the inside handle.

    Unfortunate for him as it was, I suppose we had to thank both his apparent need for tidiness and my luck for him choosing to stay open this late just to fix the mess, when he could have tackled it in the morning.

    ¡°Apologies for the mess. A noblewoman and her daughter stopped by earlier and started tossing my clothes all over the place in a mad frenzy when they couldn¡¯t find something that suited their oh-so-refined tastes. Said I wasted their time, even though I had no idea they were coming and had no time to prepare. That brat could have just ordered a dress made instead of destroying the place.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t mind the mess.¡±

    If anything, it reminds me a bit of my old apartment.

    ¡°But are you sure you should be bad mouthing the nobility? That sounds like it could be dangerous if word got back to them.¡±

    Gideon smirked, added the finishing touch of smoothing out a now neatly folded shirt after placing it in its rightful spot, then shook his head with a small, knowing smirk.

    ¡°I never said who the noble was.¡±

    ¡°Haha. Right.¡±

    ¡°Anyways,¡± he said putting his hand on his lower back to stretch. ¡°Are you here to sell more pelts?¡±

    ¡°No, actually. Just here to buy this time.¡±

    Same as it did the blacksmith, the news that we were here to spend money instead of ask for it caused Gideon to liven up a bit. I wouldn¡¯t go so far as to say the bags under his eyes disappeared, but he looked much more alert than he was seconds ago.

    ¡°Oh, well, then please feel free to look around. I don¡¯t plan on staying open much longer, but you¡¯re welcome to take your time. If you have any questions, please feel free to call on me.¡±

    We thanked the man and perused the store we had all to ourselves, doing our best to stay out of his way as he cleaned up.

    The collection of clothes was as shockingly impressive as before. Almost the entire floor was filled with tables, shelves and racks filled with clothes for men, women and children, all of which were clearly handmade. Now that we were actually here to look around, I had a chance to honestly admire Gideon¡¯s craft as I picked up a random pair of pants to look them over.

    I would have thought the stitchwork would have been left entirely invisible due to a lack of machinery to work it, but he hid it perfectly. The only bindings left in sight were those meant to be seen, such as the leather straps keeping Yua¡¯s blouse from falling apart, as hers was clearly just a knockoff version of a type of blouse that had been thrown into the pile of folded pants. There were many more here and with several bright colors to decorate them.

    Setting the pants back down, realizing only after the fact that they were meant for women, I turned to Yua only to find her eyes darting back and forth all over what looked to be the children¡¯s section of the shop.

    ¡°Find anything you like, Yua?¡±

    Looking almost startled, Yua looked down at her clothes. She picked up the hem of her blouse and looked the whole thing over with a slightly worried twist to her brow. Touching a tentative hand to the fabric of a small dress that would probably look more like a short sundress on a fully grown woman such as her.

    She wasn¡¯t trying to avoid looking for some clothes for herself because she¡¯s still worried about spending money on herself, was she?

    While her shirt and leather pants weren¡¯t all that dirty now and most definitely looked good on her, she couldn¡¯t wear them every day. She would only end up getting sick if she did or they would eventually wear out and end up with a bunch of holes in them. And while the thought of that tantalized me just a little, and regardless of if my new spells potentially being able to fix said holes, I wasn¡¯t going to actually let her run around like that.

    Even if it¡¯s just a few things, we should have at least another set or two for each of us, so we had something to wear while the dirty clothes are being washed. Actually filling up our wardrobe could come later.

    ¡°I¡¯m serious about this,¡± I said. ¡°Go ahead and pick out some things you like. I¡¯m looking for myself too, so don¡¯t feel the need to hold back.¡±

    ¡°Th-Thanks, but, um¡­ I don¡¯t really have a good sense for human clothes. So, I don¡¯t know what I should pick.¡±

    I paused and blinked at her. She blushed and clasped her hands together sheepishly in front of her hips, looking almost like she was repenting for forcing the decision onto me.

    Never before had I met a girl that didn¡¯t like shopping for clothes, not that I knew many girls to begin with, but I guessed Yua¡¯s situation might be different. Being forced to wear rags every day must really kill your sense of style. Not that style superseded functionality in our case, but what about before all that?

    If this was just more of the slave mindset that had been drilled into her head forcing her to bear the expectation that she¡¯d never be offered anything better than what she was already wearing, then we needed to fix that. It¡¯ll take time, but we can definitely bring out that side of her again. After all, if I could strive to work on myself, why can¡¯t she?

    ¡°Really? What did you used to wear, then?¡±

    ¡°Just the clothes my parents gave me before I left the village. Then this.¡±

    She pointed again to the rags she wore and dashed my hopes. I¡¯d thought reminding her of what she used to wear might spark some want in her, but all I got was a shrug.

    Maybe this lack in her was just because fighting was the only thing on her mind before she was enslaved. Knowing her, that¡¯d make a little sense. It¡¯d at least explain why she was looking in the children¡¯s section.

    ¡°Okay. How about I pick out some things for you?¡±

    ¡°I will wear anything you choose for me,¡± she said and put up a smile that instantly did away with any and all of her worry.

    ¡°Alright then. Let¡¯s see what they have.¡±

    I borrowed one of the wicker baskets that had once been sitting next to the counter, but was now left upturned over a mannequin¡¯s heads. Since I was the one doing all the choosing, Yua kindly and without a word snatched the basket out of my hands and held it under her right arm, against her hip. Like this, we walked the store together.

    Focusing on her first, since apparently neither of us had experience shopping for women, whenever I found something I thought would be comfortable to wear on the run or that might just look good on her, I held it up to her body to check. She smiled every time I did and didn¡¯t say anything in protest regardless of what I tried for her. Guess she just isn¡¯t picky about what she wears. The only problem was that I didn¡¯t really know what I was meant to do past this.

    Honestly, I had no idea what I was doing. I was only holding the clothes up to her because that¡¯s what I sometimes saw other women doing on the rare occasions when I bothered to actually go to clothing stores back on Earth. For the most part, I either bought cookie-cutter type clothes that were all unimpressive and from brands I already trusted or just bought from online stores, taking the small gamble on whether or not they¡¯d fit once they arrived in the mail. For this, though, I was at a loss.

    It¡¯s not like any of these clothes had size tags on them. How was anybody supposed to know if these things actually fit before they buy them?

    ¡°Hmm¡­ What do you think about this skirt, Yua?¡±

    I held up a light brown cotton skirt so Yua could take a look at it. Her ear gave a single solitary flick as she eyed it carefully, only to wind up furrowing her brow in confusion. The skirt looked like it¡¯d only be long enough to reach to just above her knees once she put it on, so it might be a bit out there for an experience fighter like her that was probably used to having more of her skin covered and protected. It did look like it¡¯d be a lot more comfortable than wearing leather all the time, but maybe that wasn¡¯t enough. Hoping her confusion didn¡¯t stem from the skirt¡¯s length, I looked to her for her opinion.

    ¡°Do you think it would fit?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? It looks like it might.¡±

    ¡°Mmmm¡­ Might fit unfortunately isn¡¯t good enough. If we¡¯re buying this, I want to make sure it fits. Or we¡¯d just end up throwing it out.¡±

    We could have had it altered to fit her properly later, but if we were supposed to be on the run, I couldn¡¯t imagine we¡¯d have time for that.

    I checked the time again and sighed. Better just call in some help from someone that knows what they¡¯re doing so I don¡¯t waste everyone¡¯s time.

    ¡°Excuse me.¡±

    I called out to Gideon and he came rushing over, almost looking excited to get to abandon the folding he¡¯d been doing for who knows how long. Seeing the return of his sleepiness, he might have been wanting us to hurry along so he could surrender to the mess and close up shop for the night. Only he was too polite to actually say so.

    ¡°How may I help you, Sir.¡±

    He apparently remembered that Yua was my slave because of our multiple visits, as he deliberately chose to address only me, despite us being in the remnants of the women¡¯s section.

    ¡°Is there a changing room here?¡±

    ¡°A changing room? What¡¯s that?¡±

    Of course¡­ Medieval times¡­ There was probably no such modern convenience as a changing room. At least, he didn''t seem to be joking with that confused look of his. Never thought I¡¯d waste effort calling a changing room convenient, but now I wished we had one. For myself as well, as I had no idea how I was supposed to pick for myself now either past guessing.

    Hopefully this place didn¡¯t work on the same logic as the bath at the inn, meaning it¡¯d be considered normal that we¡¯d be expected to strip our clothes in the middle of the shop in order to try on the new ones.

    Maybe he¡¯s just misunderstanding me the way Beth did about the Homemaker Spells.

    ¡°What I mean is, is there a space blocked off by a curtain or a separate room where she can try the clothes on before I buy them?¡± When I asked, I made sure to add in that I intended to buy, so he didn¡¯t get mad at us for wasting his time asking what may be nonsensical questions to him. ¡°I would very much prefer she could do it where others can¡¯t see her.¡±

    Gideon frowned a bit, no doubt taking that as a slight barb at his character since he was the only other person here that could have look. But he took a moment to think over what I said before responding with his usual calm smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sir, but we don¡¯t have a room like that. She could go in the back, but my family is currently back there.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­ Then how are we supposed to tell if the clothes fit before we buy them.¡±

    ¡°Well, Sir, if that¡¯s what you want, I could go get my measuring tape in the back and measure your slave for you.¡±

    ¡°Ah, yes. Please do.¡±

    He gave a quick bow, likely asking for patience so he could make a sale instead of showing any sort of apology, and left us to go fetch one of the tools of the trade. I could only sigh. Though, it¡¯s lucky they even have measuring tapes here. He probably didn¡¯t have the retractable kind I was imagining, but he had to measure the fabrics before he cut the clothes, obviously. Not like he could just wing it without having customers come back complaining that the things they bought didn¡¯t fit.

    ¡°Maybe you shouldn¡¯t... You don¡¯t have to buy them.¡±

    ¡°I said it¡¯s fine, Yua. I¡¯m getting us both some clothes. Please, don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    Yua tried to stop me from worrying about her, but I shut her down with an easy smile. I couldn¡¯t help myself on this one. I came from a world where the size of a piece of clothing was known before you even touched it, let alone tried it on, because everything was labeled properly. In comparison, this was just unacceptable. Needing to stop and take your measurements every time you came by seemed like an unnecessary hassle that could be easily fixed in a number of ways.

    Maybe I should give more details on how a changing room was supposed to work and recommend one be built in the corner of the store for the sake of the customer¡¯s privacy? Something like that might revolutionize the store. He did impart upon me some unfortunate knowledge regarding slaves, but he¡¯s been decent enough to us to warrant a helpful tip.

    As I was considering sharing an idea on how he could revamp his shop, Gideon came back holding a chalk board of all things and a long white strip of smoothed leather with numbers etched into them, but that was it. There were no lines marking the spaces between the numbers. I didn¡¯t see how he could expect to draw any exact measurements with that, but whatever gets the job done.

    ¡°Miss, could you raise your arms?¡±

    Gideon held up the tape in front of himself, almost making it snap audibly when he pulled it taught. His eyes leering, he aimed the tape towards the center of her chest, looking like he was about to tie her up with it before she could acknowledge what he was holding. Yua set the empty basket down on a nearby table and was about to do what the man asked for, but something felt off about the prospects of his aid now. I was vaguely familiar with how a tailor would measure a person¡¯s body. At the same time, I had a pretty good idea of what he really wanted and, seeing how she responded to his request without so much as batting an eye, she hadn¡¯t caught on.

    ¡°Hold on, Yua,¡± I said, putting up my arm between them. Her ears flicked, still apparently unawares.

    ¡°Sir, I need to wrap the tape around her to get her measurements. I¡¯m sure you understand this.¡±

    Yea, I understand that you want to use your job as an excuse to grope Yua. She may be a beautiful girl, no doubt an object in his eyes after that perverted example he gave on how I could abuse my power over her, but I wasn¡¯t about to allow him near her after that. I genuinely do not care if this is just how things are done here. It¡¯s not happening.

    ¡°Sorry, but could I take care of that? I don¡¯t want anybody touching her.¡±

    Instead of looking insulted at my assumption, the man¡¯s brows arched as though I had confused him. Yua, meanwhile, perked up. Her ears were suddenly and noticeably alert, as if she finally caught on to what was happening by the tone of my voice.

    ¡°Sir, you can do math?¡±

    Math? Of course, I can. I aced a college-level calculus class in high school without even trying. All I¡¯d be doing here is read numbers off of a tape. A grade schooler could do that.

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    ¡°Yes, I can. Does that surprise you?¡±

    ¡°I, uh¡­ My apologies, Sir. I did not mean to offend. It¡¯s just that most people outside of the nobility can¡¯t do basic math. I only can because I received special training as a merchant. But an Adventurer like yourself must need to know how to work a coin, right?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t look like I¡¯m very capable, but I am. So let me handle it.¡±

    I gestured with my hand and, with a reluctance so slight, it was very nearly imperceptible, he dropped the tape into my palm without further question. And to think I planned on buying from this man. I may be jumping to conclusions, the measuring he¡¯d attempted to do was honest at least, but the way he looked at her made me uncomfortable enough for the both of us.

    Now just wanting to finish up and get out of here, I stepped between Yua and Gideon so he couldn¡¯t watch.

    ¡°Raise your arms like this, please,¡± I said and Yua tore her watchful eyes off the tailor and raised her arms up into a T-pose for easy measuring.

    Gulping, then instantly feeling myself a hypocrite for getting embarrassed over what I now needed and asked to do myself, I started with her stomach. I moved a step closer to her, reached around her back with the tape and brought it around, tightening it like a belt. The whole time, trying not to let my embarrassment show.

    The process was quick and easy. Thanks in no small part to Yua¡¯s hand-me-down blouse not leaving so much as a single thread to cover her navel, it was easy to find the right spot to measure. Yua¡¯s voice cracked as she drew in a sharp whiff of air when the cooled tape touched her skin directly. Trying my best not to react to the feeling myself, I lined up the end of the tape with the appropriate number directly over her belly button.

    She didn¡¯t react to this any further, but keeping in mind how tight the clothes she was already wearing were, I opted to fudge the numbers a little so her next set wouldn¡¯t be so tight.

    ¡°Well, what is it?¡± Gideon asked, a slight tone of annoyance peppering his voice. If his expression was anything to go off, he was more insulted by my insinuations than having missed his chance to do just this. But I wasn¡¯t about to back out and let him take over. Not with what comes next.

    ¡°Fifty-six centimeters.¡±

    With a small huff, Gideon scratched down the number on the small chalk board he brought out. I continued.

    I loosened the tape¡¯s hold on her, lowered it to her hipline and tightened it again. Wrapping around her like a snake might its prey, the leather strap slid right over her leather pants where there was supposed to be a button or a clasp holding them closed, but all I could see was the pure white of the softer fabric beneath.

    Shit. I¡¯ve been making her walk around with her panties on half-display for days now, haven¡¯t I? We should have come here way sooner. At least, this should have been our first stop today.

    Feeling my cheeks grow hotter, hot enough at the up-close sight of her to almost immediately dispel my regrets, I tightened the leather strap and let it dig into the nearly non-existent fat there on her body. She was a fighter, but the tape pressed into her as though her muscle didn¡¯t exist. The flesh of her hips dimpled just enough to say the tape was a little too tight where I held it, so I loosened it until the tape laid flat against her. Hopefully she¡¯ll be able to move better in something that actually fit.

    Yua, almost unsurprisingly, did not react to the eyeful she was giving me. If anything, she looked curious as she watched me work. It was like she¡¯d never been measured before, which sounded like an impossibility in this time period. She¡¯d said she¡¯d gotten used to dressing like this, but maybe she¡¯s too used to it.

    ¡°Eighty-Six Centimeters.¡±

    With a brow raised now in obvious annoyance at how slow I was going, Gideon marked down the number. He no doubt could have done this faster if I¡¯d let him, but at least Yua didn¡¯t look uncomfortable as I worked.

    The next logical spot that needed to be measured was her bustline. Yua seemed to notice this as well, possibly because Gideon looked like he wanted to start there, but she calmly and with a small smile pushed her chest out, likely to give me the okay to continue. Thanks to myself for getting a little handsy earlier and the free pass she gave me to do so, I was already familiar with how large her breasts were, but I did not know their exact size. The thought of getting to know their exactness was just as tantalizing as it was embarrassing.

    I brought the tape up behind her back and began to pull it taught around her bustline, only to notice that the shape of her nipples became more and more visible through the thin fabric of her blouse the tighter the tape got. It was a sight I don¡¯t think I would have needed to guess at their location, after the way she casually changed in front of me earlier this morning. And I don¡¯t mean because my Memorization trait had burned that image into my head. Professionally speaking, I wasn¡¯t entirely sure I was measuring the right spot, but it made the most sense to me. So, I let the tape bare down on the two, slightly stiff peaks.

    The tape bit into her soft, mostly unprotected breasts and squished them down in a line that reached all the way to her back. The backs of my fingers slid, grazing across the impressive softness she both let and forced me to feel just hours ago as I pulled the tape until the numbers lined up. Then I pulled just a little tighter.

    ¡°¡­!¡±

    Yua let out the smallest of moans that anyone that wasn¡¯t ultra-aware of the situation wouldn¡¯t have noticed. Feeling hot, I loosened the tape just a bit until it wasn¡¯t biting into her anymore. I was already a hypocrite, let¡¯s not give Gideon a show.

    We came here primarily for her, but I think I let myself enjoy this a little too much.

    ¡°E-Eighty-four centimeters.¡±

    Blushing, Yua lowered her arms once her three sizes had been measured and I sped through the measuring of her arms and legs to end our now mutual embarrassment. When I finished, I stood to find that Gideon was utterly unperturbed as he wrote down the last of the numbers I read off.

    I breathed a sigh of relief and shot Yua an ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡± look, not so much for getting carried away, as she made her feelings on the matter crystal clear, but because we were technically in public. Thankfully, all she did was smile back as the redness in her cheeks quickly faded.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Gideon said. ¡°She¡¯s all set. Now, I could help you pick out some nice clothes for her. Or would you prefer that I go ahead and measure you first?¡±

    ¡°I, uh, go ahead and measure me, then. Please.¡±

    Quick to hand him his tape back just to be rid of it and its temptations, I took up the same pose Yua had. He nodded briefly and set about his work.

    While I knew my sizes relative to the standards of my home country, it looked like they only used numbers here and those numbers I did not know. So, I thought it best to just have him measure me to get it over with quickly. I¡¯d just have to use my improved memory to keep track of the numbers to avoid needing to do this again.

    Gideon blew through the process so fast and with so much ease, that I almost thought that it would have been faster and less embarrassing for Yua to just let him handle it. But I was still never going to let him touch her like that, not even in a professional manner.

    He quickly jotted down my numbers and when he finished, he turned the chalkboard to us to show us the results. I didn¡¯t need to see the numbers again, but I looked it over carefully to keep up with the ruse.

    ¡°Fantastic. Now if you¡¯ll follow me, I will help you select out some clothes that will look great on you.¡±

    A slightly worn smile on his otherwise kind face, he gestured for us to follow and we did. Apart from me accidentally insulting yet another of the city¡¯s merchants, for mostly good reason this time, he looked tired. He clearly just wanted to finish with us and close up shop and after checking the time, so did I. While my teleportation magic made the time mostly irrelevant, I wanted us to get out of here before Alphonse could round up his goons and lock us down.

    Unconcerned with the fates of his last customers for the night, Gideon stopped in the women¡¯s section and, after looking at what clothes Yua had in her basket to check our preferences, he shook his head, pulled them out, folded them and set them back on the tables where they belonged. Apparently, they were all too small for her. He did, however, replace them with sets of a similar design that actually fit. He then spent a short while pointing out what was popular with the city¡¯s women and what was marked down with a discount for a variety of reasons he meticulously listed, mainly being that he needed to make room for newer things.

    I picked out about five sets of clothes for Yua to wear during her day-to-day consisting of shirts, skirts, shorts and pants, all of which looked weirdly fashionable even by modern standards. Gideon really knows how to work a needle, I¡¯ll give him that. I did try to get Yua a dress, but she turned the idea right down, saying it¡¯d get in the way in a fight. I then tried to get her something comfy to wear while she slept, but since we were supposed to be on the run, she refused me again. This time because she wanted to always be ready for a fight. Before she could say whether or not she was going to sleep in the armor we got earlier, I threw a few over-sized shirts into the basket, just in case she changed her mind on the road.

    I also managed to snag myself the same number of outfits and I was quite happy to do so. Practicality aside, I was tired of walking around looking like I lived in some rural village in a part of the country nobody form the city would even know about.

    ¡°Will that be all, Sir?¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡±

    I quickly ran down a list of clothes we would need and found my face growing a hot again when I realized that I had completely forgotten one of the most important parts of an outfit.

    ¡°Uh, sorry, not yet¡­ Could you point me to where I can get some¡­ underwear?¡±

    With a sympathetic smile that said he understood my embarrassment, he pointed to the far end of the room and went back to the front of the store to let us choose in peace. In thanks for his discretion and for the trouble I¡¯ve caused, I decided that I would give the man a small tip once we finished.

    Feeling as thought were committing some sort of crime, I brought Yua over to the women¡¯s underwear section and, much to my surprise, she was not embarrassed at all when I asked her to pick a few out.

    ¡°Yua¡­ You can pick out some panties for yourself, right?¡±

    If she had already forgotten her sizes, I could tell her, but that didn¡¯t seem like it would be too much of a problem over here. Anything that wouldn¡¯t fit would be much more obvious.

    However, as she stared down at the piles of neatly stacked and sometimes frilly underwear, she just scratched her head, her ears flicking with discontent.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know which to get.¡±

    ¡°Um, well, which ones do you think look cute?¡±

    ¡°Cute?... I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t normally¡­ Would it be too much to ask for you to pick again?¡±

    Was she really so adverse to picking out clothes that she¡¯d leave a guy to pick out the only pairs of panties she¡¯s going to wear for the foreseeable future? I should feel honored, but for some reason I feel like I am taking advantage of her.

    ¡°Sure,¡± I said, gulping down my embarrassment as soon as it reappeared to feign confidence in the matter. ¡°Then how about these? They look like they¡¯d fit you perfectly.¡±

    I pointed to a white pair with several light-blue stripes that ran horizontally across the fabric and she picked them up to examine them closely. As much as she didn¡¯t seem to care what she wore, she at least seemed to want to make sure what I picked out looked comfortable, even if they didn¡¯t suit her tastes in the same way they did mine.

    ¡°These look great. Thank you.¡±

    Holding the small triangle of fabric to her chest, she smiled at me all bright and cheery, like she thought my picking out her underwear was just as significant as giving her a gift on her birthday. But in all honesty, I just picked what I wanted to see her wear.

    Her ears twitched and my entire body flinched when I thought she caught on to my hidden preferences, but then I followed her gaze to what stole her attention. She picked up what looked to be just a couple swatches of black fabric connected by a thin string that clearly couldn¡¯t cover much of anything. Yua looked at the thing as though it were an anomaly, but I recognized it immediately.

    It was an exceedingly revealing t-back thong. Another article of clothing that most definitely should not exist in this world.

    ¡°Alex, do you know what this thing is? It¡¯s clothes, right? But how would I wear it? There¡¯s almost no cloth on it and it doesn¡¯t look like it would provide much protection.¡±

    She held the tiny thong out in front of her hips to check, seemingly only vaguely aware that it was considered underwear due to where she found it. The thing looked like it would be perfect on her, but it was dangerous. Too dangerous. My sanity can only withstand a certain amount of pressure, you know?

    ¡°Um¡­ You don¡¯t need to wear that one, Yua. It¡¯s, uh¡­ Probably above your level.¡±

    ¡°Eh? My level?¡±

    If she didn¡¯t know, she was way too innocent and na?ve to risk letting her wear such a provocative pair of underwear. Because of this, I just couldn¡¯t imagine her really wearing such a thing. Even if she didn¡¯t know why.

    ¡°L-Let¡¯s just pick from these over here, then.¡±

    I pointed to a few other types of more casual underwear and she thankfully abandoned the thong without complaint. After giving her a few options, she examined each with her hands and after briefly testing their comfort level, we decided to just get all of them to complete the sets of clothes we were going to buy.

    Done with her outfit expedition and, headed back to the men¡¯s section, I quickly and almost randomly picked out a few pairs of what could pass for boxers and stuffed them into the basket. I wasn¡¯t so experienced enough in the world that I didn¡¯t feel embarrassed trying to pick for myself while Yua watched from over my shoulder with an all-too-innocent expression about her, but I pulled through with a stiff upper lip.

    Mutually content with our order, we were about to make for Gideon to pay off the large bill we no doubt racked up, when I remembered that we still needed socks. I wasn¡¯t going to go around wearing just boots if I didn¡¯t have to and I didn¡¯t want Yua to need to suffer as she has been all this time. Even if she didn¡¯t complain, it had to be bothering her.

    Making up for the oversight in not letting her get some back when we got her boots, I quickly threw in several pairs for the both of us into the basket. Although, I did manage to sneak in a couple pairs of white knee-high socks that they just so happen to sell here. And by the way she smiled at me when I did this, I was sure she understood that this was just another of my preferences, but she didn¡¯t seem to mind one bit.

    In the end, I was endlessly surprised by the amount of modern-ish clothing this shop had, even if it all bore more of a fantasy aesthetic. If we hadn¡¯t just gone to a blacksmith to pick out a sword earlier, I would have assumed that we were still on Earth in a city that hadn¡¯t completely been industrialized yet.

    We set the now overflowing basket onto Gideon¡¯s counter and let him total up the price, but not before adding it all up in my head. He¡¯s been mostly pleasant to us, but I wasn¡¯t about to risk him overcharging on something just because he thought we wouldn¡¯t notice. We had the coin to spare, that¡¯s why we were here to begin with, but it was all we were going to have until I found work somewhere.

    I would have liked to say that that somewhere would have been an Adventurer¡¯s Guild in another city, but that was never going to work once I gained the Thief tag after tonight. Their scrying orbs would sniff me out the second I tried to accept a quest.

    The price for everything we picked ended up being much more reasonable than I thought it¡¯d be, but I was still surprised to find that it totaled to more than the cost of our armors did, but it was worth it to have one less thing to worry about.

    With a mostly clear conscious after selecting Yua¡¯s wardrobe to almost entirely suit my own preferences, I set all the coin being asked of us on Gideon¡¯s tray, adding on a few coppers for a tip as Yua stuffed everything into her backpack before we left the shop.

    ¡°Is there anywhere you want to go next, Yua? It¡¯s late, but there¡¯s not much more time left before we¡¯ll need to go, so this might be your last chance.¡±

    ¡°Anywhere I want to go?¡±

    ¡°Yea. I feel kinda bad spending so much of the money on myself today. I even did the same at the tailor just now.

    ¡°You mean because the clothes you picked for me were things you wanted me to wear?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yea, that¡¯s¡­ Wait, how did you know?¡±

    ¡°Your heartbeat got faster every time you picked something out for me. Also, you had a funny smile on your face.¡±

    Yua giggled to herself, not bothering to hide it at all.

    Apparently, I¡¯d been found out. I should have been embarrassed, and I mostly was, but the thought that she¡¯d noticed and still let me continue picking for her made e want to return her smile back to her with blushing interest.

    ¡°Anyways, I want you to pick out something for yourself and only for yourself. Don¡¯t worry about me at all.¡±

    ¡°But the coin is yours. There¡¯s no need for¡­¡±

    I held up a hand to stop her and laughed despite myself at her constant denial every time I try to do something for her.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Yua. I know slaves can¡¯t technically own anything, but I don¡¯t care. The coin we have is just as much yours as it is mine. You worked too hard to deny that, right? Just remember that you aren¡¯t a slave anymore and, if that¡¯s not enough, think of it as a reward for helping me in the dungeons and, well, with everything else.¡±

    Her ears perked up and her cheeks went a little pink. The vigorous swishing of her tail seemed to go unnoticed by her, despite it being literally attached to her backside.

    ¡°I-Is it really okay for me to ask for anything?¡±

    ¡°Of course. If there¡¯s anything you want or need at any time, just let me know. If we can afford it, we can get it. If not, then I¡¯ll fight through the dungeons with you to earn it.¡±

    ¡°¡­ You really are too kind to me¡±

    She smiled honestly for me, but her eyes grew clouded as her gaze dropped to her feet. I was sure that trying to be as nice to her as I possibly could despite her position in life must only be reminding her of that same position, even if I denied its existence. It wasn¡¯t something that I could just change because I wanted to. And, though she smiled, she was still under threat of losing the master she¡¯d come to see as a kind person that actually cared for her.

    Yua¡¯s gotten too used to having nothing, but I want to give her everything and then some. Just as much as I want her to give me her everything in return.

    Noticing the lull in the conversation herself, and trying to keep her mood positive, Yua raised her head and brought back the her usual smile that made the moon hanging overhead grow duller in comparison.

    ¡°Then, if it¡¯s not too much¡­ May I have some more cake?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    I nearly burst into laughter, in fact, had I not managed to look at the seriousness in her eyes, I probably would have done just that. Seeing the smirk on my face as I struggled to hold it back, she grew worried, like she thought she¡¯d stepped out of line somewhere in her request. But she couldn¡¯t have been further from the truth. If anything, I was expecting her to ask for something super expensive like jewelry or some magic item I¡¯d never heard of, and I was more than prepared to buy it for her the second the words left those sweet lips of hers. It was the least I could do after spending almost 700 gold on myself in one day.

    But all she asked for was something to satiate her sweet tooth.

    ¡°Alex? W-Would that be too much?¡±

    ¡°Pfft. Too much? Not at all. Are you sure that¡¯s what you want?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes?¡±

    ¡°Then I will get you all the cake you can eat. How about some more cookies too? If the baker has any, of course.¡±

    Aside from the sugar shortage he mentioned, it was late. If the bakery was still open, buying what she wanted all depended on whether or not the baker made any such sweets today and if they¡¯d been bought out. If not, I¡¯d be forced to give her a raincheck on the sweets and just double down the next time we find some.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    Still looking worried, she clearly didn¡¯t believe me.

    I know she¡¯s spent years of her life possibly without ever eating anything that actually tasted good, but to constantly doubt me whenever I offered her some? Even after sharing my food, buying her a hot dinner and all the snacks from last night? For as much as she says she accepts me, she sure doesn¡¯t believe me all that much. I suppose we¡¯re a bit even on that front, but this most definitely needed to change if we¡¯d be living together from now on.

    Let¡¯s see. How should I explain this in a way she¡¯d understand? Maybe¡­ Maybe if I worded what I wanted to say in a way that followed the laws of this world, she¡¯d find it easier to understand and we could move on.

    ¡°I¡¯m serious, Yua,¡± I said, pulling her into an alley to teleport again. ¡°In fact, I technically own your everything? That includes your body, right?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes?¡±

    She blushed a bit more at that, but she still didn¡¯t seem to understand where I was going with this.

    ¡°Your stomach is a part of your body. So, if I own your body, I own your stomach. Meaning that your stomach is my stomach, right?¡±

    ¡°Where are you going with this?¡±

    She switched to tilting her head in that same cute way she did whenever she didn¡¯t understand something. Surely, I must have sounded like I was just spewing nonsense, but I think I had this all figured out.

    ¡°What I mean to say is that, if you are hungry, then it is my responsibility to feed you because what I¡¯m feeding is my stomach, get it? And I don¡¯t eat gruel or other garbage, so now neither do you. I only eat tasty things. So, from now on, if you¡¯re hungry or you see something that you want to try, just let me know and I¡¯ll take care of you. There¡¯s no reason to pretend you¡¯re not hungry when you are and there is no reason to deny me when I want to give you something tasty. Okay?... I mean, unless you¡¯re already full, of course. I don¡¯t want to make you sick.¡±

    I laid it out as clear as I could for her. I thought I had gotten this point through to her this morning over breakfast, but I guess breaking through years of any one way of thinking would be difficult. I did feel a little bad over using the rules of her own slave contract against her like this, but it was definitely for her benefit. So, with this, I believe the problem should be solved. Or so I thought.

    She stared at me, disbelief and surprise written so plainly on her face that it looked like she¡¯d be incapable of making any other expression for months. Thinking my rambling wasn¡¯t clear enough, I opened my mouth to try again, only to have my words and my want to speak them overshadowed when her brilliant smile took center stage.

    Her peach-colored lips parted ever so slightly and I knew instinctually that she was asking for a kiss to prove beyond words that I meant what I said. So, I pulled her in and let our lips touch without any of my past hesitation and, when she wrapped her arms around my back to embrace me further, I decided then and there that I¡¯d never hesitate with her again.

    I kissed her like it was the first time and the last time. I kissed her like I owned her. And I kissed her like she owned me. I made sure that every ounce of the feelings I harbored for her was plain and clear, so that she might never doubt it again and so that she was freed to feel like a normal girl again.

    She pulled back, her emerald eyes glittering in the night as she met my gaze.

    ¡°Mas¡­ Alex, thank you for everything.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha. Don¡¯t thank me yet. Wait until we get you some cake.¡±

    Yua giggled again and said, ¡°Then, for now, let me do this,¡± as she laced her fingers between mine. The streets were mostly now, so we were free from needing to worry about how we were seen together.

    I smiled back and with my free hand, I threw open another teleportation portal to an alley near the bakery.

    There was no more point in waiting. The DeGrave building wasn¡¯t going to magically open its doors for us this late at night. All there was left is to enjoy a snack before our departure.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 27

    The smell emanating from the bakery was just as intoxicating as it was last night. It seemed to have a permanent hold on this part of the city, but my hunger for sweets wasn¡¯t anything compared to Yua¡¯s. She too had to endure her nose¡¯s powerful sense of smell by squeezing my hand to keep from letting herself run off towards the scent that continuously perked her up.

    Similar to the Threaded Spool, the bakery seemed to have been undergoing a large-scale clean up, but neither of us pressed for a reason why. When we entered the shop, we¡¯d stepped in the remnants of an avalanche of flour as several bags of the stuff exploded after falling off the cart that delivered them. The cart itself and most of the floor near the entrance were covered in enough of the white powder to briefly confuse the eye into thinking we¡¯d stepped onto a snow-covered mountaintop.

    ¡°Welcome, Sir. Please excuse the mess, I forgot to mend the broken wheel on the cart before using it and, well, you can see what happened.¡±

    His brow was slick with sweat, he threw up his hands in defeat before leaning on his broom to heave a hefty sigh, no doubt out of remorse for his coin purse once he tries to replace what he just lost. He¡¯d been pushing the broom long enough to have left several small hills of flour in patches around the shop.

    Part of me wanted to pick up a shovel and help him out after watching him dab at his sweaty forehead with his apron, but decided against it. Our little shopping spree/date was at its end and midnight was drawing near.

    ¡°Sorry to hear that, but would you mind if we bought a few things?¡±

    The baker shrugged, letting his broom fall against a nearby table still stocked with sheets of what looked like hardtack. He clapped his hands to rid himself of the floury dust coating them and made his way to the counter.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see why not. If someone¡¯s going to stop by this late, might as well, right?¡±

    ¡°Great. Thank you and I¡¯ll try to be quick. Do you happen to have any cakes and cookies?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes. Actually, I made another cake this morning, but sadly, nobody wanted any today. The cookies are from yesterday, so sorry they aren¡¯t fresh. But I can promise their quality.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll take the whole cake, please. And could you throw in about a dozen cookies and three loaves of white bread, too?¡±

    ¡°Th-The whole cake?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Is that okay?¡±

    ¡°O-Of course! I made the cake to be eaten, not to just sit here and wither away. It would only be sad if nobody got to enjoy it!¡±

    The surprise that caused his mouth to hang open limply for a few seconds wasn¡¯t the least bit shocking. He must have been concerned because of the price of the cake costing more than it had any right to. Due to the inflated sugar prices, he must have never thought that somebody would buy the whole thing in one go. And if nobody had bought any of it so far, then he was probably planning on eating it all himself to avoid throwing it out.

    As for why he continues to indulge in his joy of baking pastries when they cost too much to sell reliably, only the Goddess can tell. But the news that our luck had kicked in again made Yua happy enough to skip over the patches of floor not dusted with flour to join him at the counter. With a smile so grand and infectious as she held out a basket for him, she actually improved his night enough to warrant a smile of his own.

    ¡°Your total comes out to 18 silvers and 8 coppers. Let me get your order ready.¡±

    The baker set out a silver tray for me and left with the basket to go fetch our order to save us the trouble of steeping through the flour again. While his attention was elsewhere, I set 19 silver coins on his tray.

    The baker quietly packed our order into the basket and gave the coins a quick count with Appraisal when he finished. He nodded satisfactorily and took the silver tray into the back room. After a minute or so, he came back with the same smile Yua imprinted on him and set the tray back down on the counter. The tiny pile of silvers I¡¯d left were gone, replaced with two small copper coins.

    Did he really need to use the tray for only two coins? Several of the other vendors did the same with small amounts of change, but this is excessive. Sure, presentation was nice, but it would have been faster and easier to just hand them to me directly. I¡¯d say he might have been a germophobe and just didn¡¯t want to get too close, but considering how he wasn¡¯t scooping the flour into a trash can, but into large glass jars clearly labeled ¡°Flour,¡± I doubted it.

    ¡°Thank you for your patronage, Sir, Miss. I hope you enjoy them.¡±

    ¡°We will. Thank you.¡±

    I took the coins and stuffed them in my pocket. The baker handed the basket to Yua, probably assuming I brought her to carry it, and we turned to leave to the backdrop of the baker jazzing himself up to finish his sweeping.

    After stuffing the basket of food into my item box as soon as we could step into a secluded alley, we set off to what might end up being our last destination for the night. Or the first of many.

    Holding my hand as we walked beneath the stars, Yua touched her head to my shoulder and left it there. On our way back to the Lazy Cat Inn to collect what we left in the room, the silence of the night quickly took hold of both our tongues and refused to let go. There was nothing left to talk about. Our footsteps as we walked the cobblestone sidewalk were the only sounds in the air there to distract us, but not even Yua¡¯s ears seemed to pick them up.

    I had no lingering attachment to this place. The Great City of Amoranth has been almost nothing but a jumble of bad memories I was ready to be rid of, even if my memory would no longer allow for such a thing. Yua¡¯d been here a lot longer than I¡¯d been, but the way she squeezed my hand, nearly turning my fingertips white, was not from grief. Nor could I say the slight twitch to her ears was born of anxiety. If anything, she was a little excited.

    ¡°Have you thought about where you¡¯d like to go?¡± she asked, rubbing my bicep tenderly.

    ¡°Not really, no. I¡¯d like to say I had an exact plan ready for you, but I¡¯m not from here. I don¡¯t know where we should go.¡±

    Where we could go, to escape our inevitable pursuers and live out our lives in relative peace.

    I had very little doubt that Alphonse may have already considered that we¡¯d run away, because who wouldn¡¯t run? I was probably the crazy one for not trying to book-it the moment I realized his contract was supposed to be impossible to overcome.

    He didn¡¯t know what I was capable of now. I was confident that he thought our only options to escape Amoranth were to either leave through the main gates by foot or by horse, assuming we could buy one in time. This means he wasn¡¯t expecting us to get too far and that he could just slap his fat coin purse down on the Adventurer¡¯s Guild¡¯s bar and order the Guild Master himself to send someone after us, a Thief and a runaway slave.

    But I have Dimensional Step. I made damn sure that nobody else in this city, aside from Beth, knows that I can use that spell. And her overall strict demeanor made me fairly confident that she wouldn¡¯t just disclose the private info of a Mage¡¯s Guild member so easily.

    That spell may not be able to take us all that far since it demanded a clear mental image of the destination and my knowledge of the terrain outside of the city was severely limited, but I now had the mana to cast the spell several times in one sitting. As long as I could see where we were going, I could take us there. I may not be able to see very far during the night, but that only meant that I would need to expend more mana teleporting us shorter distances. That loss can easily be mitigated by the mana recovery potions I bought earlier and it should be able to outpace a horse.

    All we had to do was choose a direction instead of a destination and leave.

    ¡°Ha ha¡­¡±

    ¡°What are you laughing at?¡± Yua said, her lips curling into a small smirk as well.

    ¡°Nothing. I was just thinking¡­ How about we head East?¡±

    Her ears flicked and her smile never wavered.

    ¡°That sounds like a fine plan.¡±

    By the time we got back to the Lazy Cat Inn, the lobby was empty and the innkeeper nowhere to be seen. She probably went to bed. The kitchen in the back had gone cold and none of the pleasant smells saying dinner was on its way lingered. Since the food we¡¯d paid for was likely left in our room again, and was probably already cold, I planned on saving us a bit of time by throwing it in my item box so we could get going. We¡¯d eat it and the sweets once we get to where we decided to set up camp.

    We shrugged to each other. Neither of us were surprised to know that most everyone in the inn was likely asleep. Being able to stand in the lobby without any sort of annoyed look being shot my way felt oddly peaceful. This was what an inn was supposed to be. A comfortable place where you could come and rest your head after a long journey.

    Yua took to the stairs up to our room without a word. I followed close behind her as quietly as I could, waiting for the floorboards to announce our arrival with every squeak and for the innkeeper to come running. Likely dressed in some sort of nightgown, her hair done up in a lazy bun. She¡¯d throw a small fit about us coming back so late, waking her up and a slue of other complaints. I let out a small, soundless laugh at the thought. It was nice to come back to this place and not receive a stink eye for once, but now that we were leaving, I almost wanted it to happen so we¡¯d have our little send off.

    Once we got to our room, I handed her the key and she slipped it into the keyhole. A short twist of the wrist later and a small metallic clank bounced throughout the hall, sounding almost like a hand grenade exploding in the silence. She pushed the door open. But she stopped herself from finishing the step she was about to take. Throwing up a hand to stop me as well, her ears shot to attention, stiffer than I¡¯d ever seen them. The second the door swung open her emerald eyes sharpened with danger, but all I could see past the half open door was our bed. She paused there a moment, half in the hall and half a step into the doorframe. Listening.

    Her eyes narrowed further. I could almost hear her fist clench. Her chest expanded slightly, pulling on the air, her nose searching what her ears couldn¡¯t quite place. When her short breath stopped, her eyes shot open before her expression suddenly change to the purest anger I¡¯d ever seen on a woman. She bolted into the room before I could ask what happened.

    The second she passed through the barrier of the doorframe, a hand flew out from behind the door and seized her by the neck. She gripped the well-tailored suit sleeve attached to it right back and opened her mouth to say something, ¡­

    ¡°¡­!¡±

    ¡­ only to choke on what might have been a scream when the hand tightened its grip. I fumbled for my sword, but before I could draw it, the unseen attacker lifted Yua off her feet and pulled her into the room and out of sight in one quick motion.

    Shocked stiff for the briefest of seconds, I ripped my sword from its sheath and threw myself into the room.

    Behind the door I found Alphonse waiting, a wicked grin creaked across his lips and his arms wrapped around Yua. One hand was clamped tight over her mouth to prevent another scream. The other gripping the knife pressed hard enough to her throat that her skin bent beneath its pressure. She struggled, trying with all her might to pull his arm off of her. He didn¡¯t budge. No matter how hard she pulled, he didn¡¯t move an inch.

    ¡°Close the door,¡± he said.

    ¡°How the hell did you get into our room?!¡±

    ¡°I said close the door.¡±

    He repeated his demand, but not before pressing the knife harder against Yua¡¯s neck. She winced, a small trickle of blood running down the blade¡¯s steel. She stopped her struggling when it became apparent his strength surpassed hers.

    My jaw clenched. My heart pounded in my ears, but not loud enough to quiet his order.

    Without removing my eyes from the man and his greasy, slicked-back hair, I kicked the door shut. His smiled broadened. The room¡¯s sound-proofing enchantment was in full effect now.

    ¡°What the hell are you doing here?!¡±

    I pointed my sword at him and all he did was chuckle at the sight of it. The demure sense of mercantilism he showed when we first met played across his lips, but it was so clearly a lie that not even his own reflection could have looked him in the eye and say he was honest.

    ¡°Drop the sword.¡±

    This time he didn¡¯t wait for me to speak before pressing the knife harder still. Yua clenched her fists to bear the pain, but I could see her shaking. She shut her eyes.

    Gripping the handle of my blade so hard that it felt like it might snap under the pressure, I readied myself to put the sword¡¯s edge to the test and strike at him the second he made the slightest of openings. But when I saw the resigned look flit across Yua¡¯s eyes, the whole of the sword suddenly turned into a led weight my heart couldn¡¯t bare to risk swinging. Not when he was using her as a shield.

    I threw my sword aside. The clatter that sounded when it struck against the wooden floorboards made Yua whimper.

    ¡°Good. Now, why am I here?¡± he mimicked, releasing some of the pressure he put on the knife. Yua drew in a sharp, desperate breath through her nose. ¡°Well, I¡¯m here to receive what you owe me.¡±

    ¡°What I owe¡­ I tried to go to your damn slave house multiple times today, but they kept turning me away saying that you weren¡¯t there! If you want your gold, I have it. Just let her go!¡±

    He laughed again, this time loud and clear.

    ¡°I¡¯m not here for the gold, you idiot. I¡¯m here for the both of you.¡±

    He squeezed the hand he held over Yua¡¯s mouth and forced her to shake her head in his stead. Again, she tried to resist, but the knife stopped her.

    ¡°What? The day¡¯s not over yet. Just let me give you the gold and¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up, kid. I never meant for you to actually pay off the contract. It¡¯s a shame, really. And here I was so looking forward to all that sweet interest tomorrow. Now I actually have to work for it myself. How bothersome.¡±

    ¡°What? Interest?¡±

    He laughed again and I got the sense that this supposed interest was just another hidden part of the contract that I failed to read. I never even considered its existence because the debt itself weighed so heavily on me.

    But what the hell was he talking about? I knew he expected me to fail, but if this interest was real and the percentage I was supposed to pay was large enough to prevent me from paying off the contract in one go, then it made no sense to have it kick in only after the third day.

    If he wanted me as a slave, that plan wouldn¡¯t work. As a slave, I wouldn¡¯t be able to earn him any gold, for the same why Yua was unable to join the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. Slaves can¡¯t own money. The only exception would be by fighting for him somehow and leaving him to collect the reward. But he should still think that I¡¯m nothing more than a low-level Adventurer. Someone as weak as I was when we first met, without knowing what I was capable of now, I shouldn¡¯t be worth much of anything as a battle slave. How would I even pay him this interest? Unless¡­

    ¡­ His plan was never to enslave me; it was to leave me in debt to him for the rest of my life.

    If the interest he was after was worth putting a knife to the neck of a slave worth 30,000 gold just to get me to comply, then whatever I agreed to must be insanely high. I¡¯d be an endless stream of gold for him. No matter what job I took, how far I fought into the dungeon, or what Guild quests I took, I¡¯d never be able to make enough to completely pay off her contract no matter how hard or for how long I worked. And wouldn¡¯t even have Yua by my side anymore to see me through it.

    Him saying that it was my fate to become his slave after I accepted the contract was just another of his tricks to distract me from thinking about the possibility of interest.

    ¡°Good,¡± he said with a wicked smirk. ¡°It looks like you understand. About time. It shouldn¡¯t have been all that hard to figure it out.¡±

    ¡°Yea, well, it doesn¡¯t matter, does it? I have the gold and there¡¯s still time for us to finish the contract.¡±

    ¡°Ha! You really should have read that contract a little more thoroughly. It didn¡¯t say you had to pay by the end of the third day. It says pay on the third day. I could have come to collect whenever I wanted. I heard about what you sold at the auction. Now that was lucky. A little too lucky, if you asked me. Almost beggars the question of how you managed to pull that off a find like that in just three days. That fool Barrily should have kept his nose out of my business.¡±

    ¡°So, you knew¡­ You knew I had the gold all day?¡±

    ¡°Obviously. Did you think I wouldn¡¯t keep an eye on you? You owe me a tremendous amount of gold. I wasn¡¯t just going to let you slip away, now was I? As soon as you left my slave house, I made my way over to the men guarding the city gates, slipped them all a generous handful of coin, gave them your description and had them keep an eye out for you. You were supposed to breach the contract by trying to run away once you found that the dungeon wasn¡¯t the money maker you were promised it¡¯d be. They¡¯d lock you in irons the moment you stepped out of the gate and they¡¯d drag you back to me.

    ¡°You¡¯d become something of a second coin purse to me,¡± he continued. ¡°And, little Yua here would come back to me to be resold. It seems she¡¯s gotten a little stronger, so perhaps I should be thanking you for increasing her value for me.¡±

    Still holding her mouth shut, he curled his index finger back and pressed it mockingly into her cheek, as if to poke fun at the strength she held so dear becoming useless in the presence of a blade. Even with all her skills as a fighter, there was nothing she could do.

    ¡°I knew from the moment you first laid eyes on her that you fell for her. The day you visited my house and found her causing a scene, I was watching and waiting for the moment she turned her attention away from my men. Waiting for her to break your nose or maybe your arm, anything to get the slave spell to shock her back into submission for attacking my client. But she never did. You two just stared at each other. And kid,¡± he laughed mirthlessly, as if he¡¯d forced himself to do it. ¡°I¡¯m sure the look on your face back then was the same face I wore when I first met my wife. There wasn¡¯t a doubt in my mind. You¡¯d fallen and you¡¯d fallen hard.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t say anything. I tried for several agonizing seconds, but nothing came to mind. All I could think of was that his promise to kill her had always been just another distraction to keep me from thinking clealry. Because of my love for her, he expected me to try and run away in an attempt to keep her safe. And since that really was our plan, he was completely right.

    I¡¯ve been playing into his game the moment I first laid eyes on her and I didn¡¯t even know the rules. To him, I was probably just another person that came to buy a slave, but couldn¡¯t actually afford one. And when he saw how much I wanted her, wanted Yua, and how I was willing to part with every coin I had to obtain her, he concocted this whole plan because he knew I was desperate enough to fall for it.

    And now, the knife at her throat was meant to keep me here. Keep me complacent. To prevent us from stealing ourselves away from the city under the veil of night. He came here to wait for us himself in case the guards failed to catch us in our last ditched effort to escape. And with him still owning half of Yua¡¯s contract, he was probably the only person in the city willing and able to hurt her to get what he wanted.

    Knowing we played directly into his waiting hand by coming back to do only a couple of things that shouldn¡¯t have mattered only made that fact sting harder. The only thing we were really here to do was drop off the room key so I didn¡¯t accidentally steal it and to grab Yua¡¯s suitcase. The one thing I didn¡¯t put my hands on, because I wanted her to be able to feel as though she owned it. I could have just left the key on the lobby counter and abandoned the suitcase altogether. It¡¯s not like she cares for the thing or its contents.

    ¡°But why¡­ What did I ever do to you to deserve¡­¡±

    ¡°Here we go!¡± he yelled, making me pause and causing Yua to flinch from the pain he inflicted upon her ears. ¡°Me, me, me. I, I, I. You damned Adventurers are all the same! What, you think that doing the city a favor by killing a bunch of worthless critters in the dungeon makes you better than the rest of us? The city knights can do your job and can probably do it better. And they probably wouldn¡¯t need to be drunk half the time to do it!¡±

    He sneered and dropped his head. Several strands of his greasy hair fell out of place in the moment of brief silence that he¡¯d forced himself into. He took his hand off of Yua¡¯s mouth to push his hair back and she used this small opening to plead with me.

    ¡°Alex, just run. You can still¡­!¡±

    ¡°You think your job gives you the right to do as you please,¡± Alphonse said, covering her mouth again. ¡°That you can take a woman from her husband on their wedding night, just because the law says you can? No matter how they beg for mercy. No matter their promises for compensation. No matter how they promise to do right by the one they wronged. None of it matters as long as you get to turn in your quest slip and get paid, right? You have no respect for the rest of us.¡±

    I wanted to tell Yua that I¡¯d never abandon her like he did his wife, not knowing what he had in store for her. And I wanted to scream at Alphonse that his accusations were unfair on a multitude of levels, as I wasn¡¯t even a part of the guild when we met and because I¡¯d never take a quest like that to begin with. But I couldn¡¯t. Not because I couldn¡¯t find the words or because I knew he was beyond believing them, but because what he said hit me harder than I ever could have expected.

    My mouth floundered, gasping at syllables that wouldn¡¯t allow themselves to be spoken until I had no other choice but to draw in a breath and let them out.

    ¡°I have no respect¡­?¡±

    ¡°Yes. You lot were supposed to protect us, but you throw your weight around just as much as the nobility, claiming you can do as you please as long as you¡¯re paid for it. My wife was innocent. She committed a crime completely on accident, but to the men that beat me and stole her, she was no longer a person. Nobody cared. And when I got her back, I found out they were right. She was no longer a person¡­ not anymore.¡±

    No longer a person¡­?

    ¡­You never looked at anyone unless they talked to you first or if you needed something.

    ¡­Do you think that a bit of loneliness and an out-of-control sex drive is all you need to commit an act that you yourself view as a sin?

    A few choice words from both Yua and that Goddess and a never-ending stream of many more that my now perfect memory forced me to remember echoed throughout my mind, banishing all other thoughts from existence.

    It almost felt like the world was slipping away from me as these thoughts penetrated my being. I was sure my feet were still planted firmly on the floor, but I was floating. My mind was a blur of thoughts that raced by so fast they made me dizzy. I¡¯d never passed out before, but I was sure this was what it must feel like in the seconds before it happened. The only thing keeping me awake was the knife at Yua¡¯s neck.

    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    I was forced to accept what Alphonse said. As much as I wanted to deny it. As much as his meaning was off, he was right. I don¡¯t respect anyone.

    Back home, I secretly belittled my classmates, workmates and friends because I thought I was better than them. Criticizing them for struggling at what I found to be so easy. I fooled myself into thinking I was some sort of genius for succeeding where they couldn¡¯t, without stopping to wonder why they struggled to begin with or how their lives affected their work. I didn¡¯t see them worthy enough of my time to care, and so I shunned them. Shut them out. Kept myself secluded where I couldn¡¯t be shown the truth because, I think, I knew it was always there.

    I wasn¡¯t any better than them. I was just a little different.

    And after I swore to do better, to live a better life after my reincarnation, I did the same thing here.

    I broke the law by sneaking into the city instead of just talking over my options with the guard. I lied to the first people I met in the city just to get my way. I ogled Albert¡¯s bunny girl without consideration for their potential feelings for one another without a care for the fact that it was his words that made me want the same thing he had. I immediately stole a place on the innkeeper¡¯s bad side by asking her to do something I knew to be unreasonable after openly staring at her chest. I pissed off the city¡¯s only Apothecary because I stupidly thought I could outwit her by belittling the very thing she so clearly loved. I even wrote off the tailor as a pervert, even though he was just trying to do his job because of my own insecurities.

    Hell, I don¡¯t even know the names of most the people I¡¯ve met so far, even though I have the ability to learn their names before either of us could open our mouths. The only names I ever bothered to learn belonged to those that introduced themselves.

    And then my biggest mistake, I thought I could outsmart Alphonse. Without stopping to ask anyone about the man I knew to be doing something evil, without stopping to consider who he was as a person, I tried to outplay him repeatedly to get what I wanted. I¡¯d noticed that I was digging myself deeper and deeper into a hole when I realized exactly how easily he was able to see through me, but I just kept thinking I¡¯d be able to win against him because, how could this random man be smarter than me when nobody else ever was?

    Then there¡¯s the worst offence I¡¯ve committed since coming here: I bought Yua. I bought someone. A living breathing person I knew that, on some level, was provably a lesser being than me, all because she was a slave. And because she was a slave, she shouldn¡¯t have been able to tell me I was wrong, that I was seeing the world through a lens that had long since been broken by my own arrogance. She would¡¯ve been forced to validate my existence by accepting the love she didn¡¯t even want.

    But she didn¡¯t. She didn¡¯t need to. We were forced to fight and spend time together, and because of that, I got to know the real her. The person behind the slave. I was able to give a name to the love I felt for her, because she was no longer that lesser being I wanted to force to stay beside me. She became the person whose affection I wanted to earn. And, sure, I tried to deny its existence once I had it, but that¡¯s only because it was conflicting with who I thought I was.

    That¡¯s where the fear and lacking confidence came from. When in reality, I was just an arrogant piece of shit that was so full of himself, but who was also so stupid that he somehow didn¡¯t notice that his way of thinking was and always has been wrong.

    The Goddess was right. Yua didn¡¯t fix me, she just saved me from becoming something worse.

    And because of me, the little taste of happiness she¡¯d thought she¡¯d never have again was being threatened. But there has to be a way to save her.

    My heart beat violently at the back of my ribcage, trying to wring a solution out of the brain upstairs that had all but flatlined for the last several seconds. I checked my HUD for the time. There was only a few more minutes until midnight.

    Seeing this almost brought back the panic, but I managed to hold it together and looked at the man. Looked him in the eye for what felt like the first time. His pupils were a cold, metallic silver, but more than that, even as he yelled, even as he complained, even after bringing up how his wife was taken from him, I could see nothing but greed in his gaze. And it was the same look he wore when we first met.

    ¡°There¡¯s still time¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes. You are absolutely correct,¡± Alphonse said. ¡°There is. However, if I don¡¯t see this deal going anywhere favorable, then I¡¯ll just cut my losses and kill her. You¡¯ll have to make up the gold I¡¯d lose on her death once this debt is set into stone by handing over what you got from the auction. But that will only be the beginning.¡±

    He paused and looked around the room, as if he only just noticed that neither Yua nor myself were carrying around a giant sack of gold.

    He knew we had it, but didn¡¯t know where we put it. I felt the inkling of an idea come to me, but when I saw the blood trickling down Yua¡¯s neck, the idea struggled to hold its place in my mind.

    But Yua was as calm as she could ever hope to be. Even with a knife cutting into her throat, she didn¡¯t shed a tear. Not in front of the enemy. Her gaze was not on him, but me, looking for strength. I gulped.

    ¡°You can¡¯t hurt her. She belongs to me. If you do anything to her, it¡¯d be the same as destroying my property, right?¡±

    ¡°Oh, no, no, no,¡± he said, tutting his tongue. ¡°If I were to kill her after you paid me, then I would eternally be branded a Thief for stealing what¡¯s yours. But, if I waited until midnight when the day changes and she becomes mine once more, then I can do with her as I please. I wouldn¡¯t get in trouble for killing my own slave.¡±

    ¡°B-But the three conditions¡­ You have to take care of your slaves.¡±

    ¡°Yes. But those rules only apply if you want to keep them. If you can¡¯t afford to care for your slaves, you¡¯ll lose them simply because they¡¯ll die of neglect. There¡¯s no magic in the world that defines whether or not you have the capabilities to care for them, you fool. You should have realized that when you bought her. You used all the coin you had, right? How can you say you¡¯d take care of her if you yourself were broke? But,¡± he snickered. ¡°If you no longer have a slave to care for, you don¡¯t need to provide for them. And for little Yua here, I wouldn¡¯t mind letting her go, if you don¡¯t do as I say.¡±

    My head throbbed just as fast as my heart. How did I ever think I could be more intelligent than this man? He set all this up, covered all his bases and came up with the perfect contingency in the unlikely event I actually managed to make the gold we needed. And to the best of my knowledge, he did all this in the short time between the end of the fight Yua started in the slave house and when he made it back to finish his conversation with me in the tea room.

    His vendetta against Adventurers was absurdly misplaced. The Guild Master seemed like a nice enough person and he said Adventurers weren¡¯t forced to take quests like the one that had been set for Alphonse¡¯s wife. So, the men that took her were just a couple of bastards in it for the quick coin. It was probably due to the beatdown they handed down to him that he sought the strength needed to actually be able to hold Yua in place like this. So it could never happen again. And because of those same Adventurers, and because of my mistakes, my options were limited.

    He beat every option I had at hand before I even set foot in this room. And, regardless of whether or not he knew about my magic, him holding Yua hostage prevented us from teleporting away like we planned.

    There had to be something we could do. A loop hole in the contract. The contract I never read. Clenching my jaw and purposefully letting my shoulders drop, I probed for more information.

    ¡°¡­ And what exactly do you want me to do?¡±

    ¡°The way I see it,¡± he started with a laugh. ¡°You have only three options. You can wait until midnight when the contract runs out and prolong both of your suffering. Or you can admit you can¡¯t pay me back and sign Yua back over to me to end this farce early. Or you could try and save yourself by running away all on your lonesome. Though I really wouldn¡¯t recommend the last choice. I didn¡¯t exactly come here alone. And even if you managed to slip past the men I have waiting outside, you¡¯d never make it out of the city.¡±

    Yua¡¯s brow was furrowed. I could tell she was still doing her best to hold back her tears by the forlorn look in her emerald eyes, but she clearly hadn¡¯t noticed anyone on the streets waiting for us to arrive. She knew we had no choice but to comply. But because of this, the glare she turned on him was nothing less than a promise that he was going to be in for a beating the second he let her go, no matter what happened with her contract and regardless of how the slave spell rebounded on her.

    Perhaps a real warrior like her might rather die than be handed back to him, but I wouldn¡¯t allow that. As much as I hated all this, as much as I hated him, I didn¡¯t want her to die. I wasn¡¯t going to let her. It was this thought that inspired that inkling to gather the courage to get back to its feet.

    As he spoke and as I listened, really listened, I found our opening. Something just clicked, slid into place and a hidden fourth option he shouldn¡¯t be able to see coming appeared with all the clarity of a bright summer¡¯s day. Feeling my pulse slow, I almost couldn¡¯t believe myself for not having noticed sooner.

    Thinking back to every transaction I¡¯ve made since coming here, I found a single truth that granted me clarity. The merchant Albert was first. I sold a few things to him and he paid me. The tailor. I sold him some pelts and he paid me. Then the apothecary. I sold her some things and bought something at the same time and she paid me the difference, just as you¡¯d expect from any store. Every place here that worked in the trade of coin did the same thing.

    It''s those silver trays. Every single trade, every transaction of coin was facilitated by those damn trays. The less well-to-do stalls in the merchant¡¯s district didn¡¯t have the luxury of silver and had wooden or stone ones, but they all always traded via a tray of some sort.

    It was the last trade I made with the baker that proves it. He went out of his way to use the tray when he only brought out two small copper coins. It looked completely unnecessary. But what if it wasn¡¯t?

    What if I could use that?

    ¡°I¡¯m waiting.¡±

    Alphonse spoke with an malevolent grin that suggested my loss was already a given. I kept my shoulders low in a feigned weakness that came all too easy to me, but that now felt so foreign to me that it became every bit the lie I meant it to. I had to look small. Weak. Insignificant. Because it was exactly what he wanted.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ll do it,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll give her back to you.¡±

    Yua¡¯s body weakened as if the will she had to keep fighting had been torn in two by my words. She pressed her eyes shut. I knew at once that I¡¯d hurt her, but I had a reason.

    ¡°Good. Now, let¡¯s get this over with. I trust you know what to do, Yua?¡±

    Trembling, Yua raised her hand out to me, palm up, to begin the transfer of ownership. Just like she did back in the slave house. Smiling, Alphonse uncovered her mouth to put his grimy hand on top of hers, making sure to keep his knife against her throat as insurance. A light appeared between their palms, a contract ready to be fulfilled, and he waited for me. And there was my window.

    And it took every ounce of strength I had in me not to smile.

    Stay strong, Yua. I¡¯m going to need your help to clean up my mess.

    ¡°Hurry it up, will you?¡± Alphonse sneered. ¡°All you need to do is put your hand on mine and the transaction will be complete.¡±

    I pulled at my hair. Covered my mouth as if to prevent a sob. And I refused to look either of them in the eye. I didn¡¯t know where the confidence I had to keep up this act came from, but I was damn well going to use it now. And the best way I could think to do that was to pretend it didn¡¯t exist.

    ¡°Can¡­ C-Can I just hug her one more time?¡±

    I forced my shoulders to shake, feigning the beginning of tears. My voice came out as weak, pathetic. It was easy. I had a whole previous lifetime of experience behind me to make it convincing enough for even Yua to find me hard to look at. I showed him the sort of weakness that only a man without a spine could, because what else could I do? His level was higher than mine, right?

    ¡°A hug?¡± he laughed. ¡°Is that really all you want? What a child. Did you actually manage to hold back from bedding her? Fine. Do what you want. If she¡¯s still a virgin, that just raises her value.¡±

    The sword I had on my hip when we met was gone. The one I brought with me now was laying useless on the floor. And he didn¡¯t know what I was capable of. He had little reason to deny me. I thought he might refuse because of what happened to his wife, but maybe, deep down, that¡¯s why he allowed it.

    Shaking off his insults, I grit my teeth and maintained the defeated mask I wore. He took his hand off of Yua¡¯s mouth and grabbed her by her blouse¡¯s collar before taking the knife away from her throat. He didn¡¯t let go completely, though. Keeping her in place by her collar and keeping the knife at her back to prevent any tricks, he gave me a nod.

    I moved and Yua held out her arms to me. Had he not been holding her; she would have lunged into my chest. I slid my arm back around her shoulders, pushing her long chestnut hair over to hide my mouth where I rested my chin on her shoulder. I held her close. She did the same, squeezing me tighter than ever before as she started to shake.

    Yua clung to me so desperately that I almost broke inside. But I had a plan and that plan demanded her strength. I squeezed her tight. Too tight. Tight enough to grab her attention.

    We¡¯d spent so much time in the dungeons together. I knew how she scouted out our enemies for us. I knew how sensitive her ears were. This girl that could hear my heart. Her ear flicked against my cheek and her shaking stopped.

    I whispered. I whispered so quietly that no living being short of this one girl could hear me.

    ¡°Yua, when I give the signal, I want you to hit him as hard as you can. Give it everything you have and hold nothing back.¡±

    She went still and the grip she had on my shirt loosened. As dire a moment as this was, I was proud of her for being to bounce back to help me out one last time.

    Maintaining my somber appearance, I stepped away from our embrace. I looked to the smirking Alphonse to let him know I was ready. He held out his hand once more and Yua looked at me, waiting. I took her hand and guided it under his. I couldn¡¯t mess this up by letting her misunderstand what my signal was.

    I only had one chance at this and it might not even work in the first place.

    Making use of my Silent Casting trait, I cast Dimensional Step directly behind Alphonse. To anyone else, the glow that filtered into the room might have come from the street lamps outside, but to Yua, it was enough to make her eyes widen with understanding, even if she couldn¡¯t see the titular blue lights swirl into place herself. While staring blankly at my palm, I kept my mind focused on the spell so that I didn¡¯t mess up it¡¯s end point, hoping he¡¯d think I was just having second thoughts.

    The swirling blue light took the shape of a doorway and settled into place. The connection was complete.

    I raised my hand.

    Yua tensed and I knew she was ready to act. Regardless of the fact that she didn¡¯t know what the plan was, she trusted me enough to try it. So, I hovered my hand over theirs.

    ¡°Hurry it up,¡± Alphonse said. Yua tensed more, a pained grimace briefly taking hold of her lips like he¡¯d pressed the knife into her back just enough to force me to move.

    I took a deep breath¡­ and accessed my item box.

    ¡°What the¡­?¡±

    The same purple miasma that always showed itself whenever I used the ability clouded the air beneath my hand. Without giving him the chance to work out what he was seeing, the treasure chest I¡¯d filled with gold fell out of the cloud and directly onto his hand. For every half-second it took for the chest to fall, I compounded more and more of my will on to it so that it might be taken as a payment for her contract.

    Exactly as I¡¯d hoped, exactly as I knew the greedy bastard would, Alphonse instinctively threw up his hands to catch the box once he caught sight of the mound of gold it held within. And if by luck, in order to catch the exceedingly heavy object, he had to move the knife away from Yua¡¯s back, freeing her at last.

    The second the chest hit his hands and he grunted under its weight; I got a pair of notifications.

    [Merchant Class has reached level 3]

    [New Class Acquired: Slave Master]

    ¡°Yua, now!¡±

    ¡°Iron Fist!¡±

    Without a shred of hesitation, Yua spun on her heels and launched into a full-bodied punch. With her fist glowing the most beautiful shade of silver I¡¯d ever seen, she pulled back her elbow, lowered her stance and in less than a half of a half a second, kicked off the floor to shoot forward and drive her fist straight into the treasure chest with every ounce of strength she could muster. With every single memory of her time as his slave backing the roar she let out, her fist connected, causing it to slam into Alphonse with just as much force as the punch itself, both knocking the wind out of him and sending him flying backwards through the portal.

    His body disappeared into the wall of light and all I needed to do to be done with this was cut my spell, but catharsis be damned, I wasn¡¯t done yet. And, checking the clock on my HUD, I still had time to make sure this was going to be the end.

    ¡°Stay there, Yua!¡±

    ¡°Wait, Alex!¡±

    I jumped through the portal to follow the greedy bastard and found him on the floor, reeling and coughing up blood from the punch he most deservedly earned for himself. Alphonse had landed on his ass and looked unable to muster the strength needed to move the heavy, now dented treasure chest off of his abdomen. I guess I was right about level not mattering all that much when it came to actually taking a hit.

    ¡°Wh-Where are we?! What have you done?!¡±

    Finally deigning it necessary to look around, Alphonse found himself in a large, spacious room made entirely of stone. Its ceiling stood much taller than all the hallways before it and where he¡¯d once been basking in the light of his victory, the only thing illuminating him now were the two large braziers, each set ablaze with a fire so hot that I could feel their warmth all the way over by the entrance to the room.

    Something in the corner of the room moved and we were both drawn to the sound of something big and metal scraping against the stone floor. There we found a pair of red, glowing eyes sat atop a crumbling throne that didn¡¯t belong down here.

    ¡°Where are we? What is that?¡±

    Managing to roll out from beneath the treasure chest, spilling its contents onto the ground, he tried to pick himself up, but the pain from Yua¡¯s punch made him reel, clutching at his chest as he coughed up another clump of blood.

    I put my hand atop his greasy head of hair and squeezed with all my might. He tried to push me away, but there was no strength left in his arms. Not that it mattered. When his eyes locked on the monster glaring down at him, he nearly froze solid. A thick rain of sweat dripped down his face.

    ¡°This is the third-floor boss room and that over there is the boss. A Hobgoblin.¡±

    ¡°What?! How did we¡­ Get off of me!¡±

    Suddenly filled with understanding for the danger he was in, he summoned up the strength buried within and thrashed about, trying to punch, hit, kick and elbow me, but I kept my distance. The same way he kept Yua in place with the knife at her back.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. You¡¯re pretty high level at level 50. I don¡¯t know what kind of abilities a high-level merchant and slave trader could have, but I¡¯m not going to give you the chance to fight back.¡±

    ¡°What?! How did you know my level? Fuck it. Get off of me!¡±

    Alphonse tried to wrench himself from my grasp, caught sight of the knife he¡¯d dropped when he fell and made a grab for it. Feeling its reassuring grip in his palm, he managed a blood-stained smile and swung his arm and the knife backwards. He tried to stab me in the side, but the tip of the blade struck the wood panel of the treasure chest, sending more coins scattering, and lodged itself so deep that it couldn¡¯t be pulled back out.

    ¡°This is goodbye, Alphonse. You accepted my payment. Yua¡¯s contract has been fulfilled. Now it is time for you to sleep.¡±

    ¡°What? No, I didn¡¯t! I¡­!¡±

    ¡°Force Sleep!¡±

    I cast the spell I¡¯d learned from the man himself and that he used to torture all the slaves he owned into compliance. And he, like all those slaves before him, was instantly filled with a fatigue so potent, so deep, that he couldn¡¯t help but let his eyelids droop. He struggled with all his might, but his expression faded without fail and his greedy eyes themselves shut forever. He fell asleep almost instantly.

    When I was sure he was down for the count, I turned my attention to the boss. Seeing as how the Hobgoblin noticed we weren¡¯t going to prepare for an honorable fight, it started towards us. Dragging its new heavy greatsword across the stone floor, it glared at the both of us with an indignant fury that made me shudder.

    ¡°Even though you don¡¯t deserve it Alphonse, I¡¯ll let you go with a bit of peace.¡±

    The blue lights making up my exit were beginning to fade. Without so much as a glance back at the bastard that tried to ruin our lives and who succeeded in ruining countless others, I jumped back through the portal and into our room at the Lazy Cat Inn.

    The moment the portal faded and she saw I¡¯d come back alone, Yua rushed over and tackled me into an embrace. Tears streaming down her cheeks, she squeezed then let go and started looking me over, likely trying to find any injuries on my body she could heal, but there weren¡¯t any there. I stopped her by grabbing her cheeks and pulling her into a kiss. Her frantic search ended in an instant and our lips melted together.

    She let go once I¡¯d convinced her I was fine and I handed her one of our health potions so she could be too. She eyed the bottle with an impatient pause, but downed the whole thing without a word.

    ¡°Alex, what happened?¡± she said after confirming the knife wounds on her had been sealed shut. ¡°Where did you go? Where did you take him?¡±

    ¡°To the third-floor boss room of Amoranth¡¯s Dungeon.¡±

    ¡°But what if he gets out? He¡¯ll just come back! We need to go!¡±

    I put a hand on her cheeks again and smiled at her.

    ¡°Hopefully, if I¡¯m right, that can¡¯t happen,¡± I said, somewhat unsure myself. ¡°It¡¯s only a minute to midnight now and you said yourself that the magic of the dungeon causes it to change shape every night and midnight, remember? Even if he somehow survived against the Hobgoblin, he¡¯d never make it out in time.¡±

    I¡¯d only chosen the third-floor¡¯s boss room because the blacksmith confirmed that the majority of the loot on that floor was useless. Meaning that most Adventurers in the know would choose to avoid it as a waste of time and effort and, more importantly, it meant that out of the three bosses we¡¯ve fought so far, the Hobgoblin was the one boss most likely to still be alive before the change occurred.

    Yua clutched my arms, desperately seeking answers.

    ¡°But won¡¯t this label you a murderer? You could be arrested or even killed on the spot if someone found out.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Technically, if he dies, it won¡¯t be by my hand. So I think I¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    In theory and as Yua warned our first night fighting together, Alphonse should end up being absorbed by the dungeon¡¯s magic and reshaped along with it. Maybe he¡¯ll become a weak, mindless goblin himself. Maybe his gear and the gold I left him with will end up appearing before some other lucky Adventurer several years from now. Or maybe he¡¯ll just fade into nothingness once the change starts.

    All I know is that he should be as good as dead. I wasn¡¯t sure yet how I felt essentially sentencing a man to death, but given who it was, I doubted I would lose any sleep over it.

    ¡°But what about being labeled as a Thief?¡± Yua pressed. ¡°If a slave master dies, his slaves along with his other property goes to their next of kin!¡±

    She was worried that her contract would be forced into the hands of whoever he left his will to and that I would then be stealing her from some unknown person, but that wasn¡¯t the case here.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think we have to worry about that, either. See, after all the trading we¡¯ve done around town these last few days, I realized something. Whoever touches the gold set out for trade, owns it. So, if the merchants tried to give change or paid someone by directly placing the coins in their hands, the coins¡¯ true ownership might be thrown into question by the world itself. This is because the chance of the coins being touched by both parties at the same time is highly likely.

    ¡°Meaning, that if the magic determining ownership decided that the coins still belong to the merchant after they gave their customer their change and the sale was completed, then the customer might end up being branded as a Thief for accidently walking away with something that didn¡¯t belong to them. Or it could even be the merchant that¡¯s seen as the thief. That¡¯s why all the merchants use those trays. It¡¯s both a formality and a measure set up so they don¡¯t accidentally ruin their lives or that of their customers¡¯.¡±

    It was the same idea as a woman leaving a clothing store after forgetting to take off what she tried on. Or for another to accidentally double back on a sworn deal after what she promised the other party was stolen from her. Neither of them meant to commit the crime, but the forces that run the world don¡¯t care about the specifics. And I used that fact against Alphonse.

    ¡°So, when you made him catch the treasure chest¡­¡±

    ¡°It counted as me finishing the contract before the day was done.¡±

    ¡°A-Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°I am absolutely positive. When I completed the contract, my Merchant class leveled up and I gained the new class, Slave Master. I figured non-combat abilities would only level up when actually using them, so all our purchases today brought me up just high enough to almost level up again. And finishing a huge trade of 30,000 gold gave me more than enough experience to level up!¡±

    ¡°Th-Then that means¡­¡±

    Yua clung to my shirt, trembling. A pleading look filled her eyes. I took her hands in mine and confirmed her thoughts.

    ¡°That¡¯s right. Yua, you now completely belong to me. You¡¯re free.¡±

    ¡°Alex!¡±

    Despite the two contradicting statements, Yua jumped at me so hard that she knocked the both of us down to the floor. There she started raining down kisses all over my face and neck until I slipped my lips under hers and held her there. The taste of her love had never been so sweet until that moment. Now that I knew she was safe, I could enjoy her embrace to my heart¡¯s content.

    After a few minutes of giving into her affection as she laid on top of me, I put some strength into my abdomen and lifted the both of us up into a sitting position. With her still on my lap and with her legs wrapped tight around my back, she kissed me one more time before I turned away. Not to deny her, but because we had other matters to deal with for now.

    ¡°Yua, I think we should still leave the city tonight.¡±

    ¡°But why? Shouldn¡¯t Alphonse be dead by now?¡±

    I checked the time again and it was six minutes past midnight. Assuming the changes to the dungeon happened instantly and that he didn¡¯t somehow manage to wake up from my spell, fight off the boss and run all the way to the dungeon exit just in time to get teleported out, she was likely right.

    ¡°We can only hope at this point, but besides him, there¡¯s all the guys that work for him and his business partners to worry about. You heard what he said, he has people waiting for us outside the building and by the city gates. If they see us together after tonight, but they don¡¯t see Alphonse, they¡¯ll know I did something to him.¡±

    No label announcing me as the world¡¯s newest Thief or Murderer appeared on my status page, so I was at least not considered a criminal. But that didn¡¯t mean nobody would seek revenge on us.

    ¡°B-But¡­¡±

    I pressed a finger to her lips, which were still wet from our kiss.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. We planned on leaving anyways. And we can go as far away from here as we want with Dimensional Step.¡±

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better to leave in the morning? We can teleport directly from this room, right? So, it¡¯s not like we have to show ourselves outside.¡±

    ¡°I thought about that, but we can¡¯t. It¡¯s too risky to wait any longer. Think about it. Alphonse was able to get into our room without our key. The only other way he should have been able to do that would be to have someone skilled at picking locks open the door for him. But that may not have been the only option available to him.¡±

    I pointed to the two cold plates of food I¡¯d ordered that morning and to where they sat on our bedside table.

    ¡°If the innkeeper was able to open our room to leave our food, then she might have let him in. She never liked me anyways. So, if he paid her for her time like he did the guards, she probably would have had no problem stabbing me in the back. And she might do it again if we stay here.¡±

    Yua looked down, like she was thinking this over, but I knew that it wasn¡¯t safe to be here anymore. If the innkeeper really did let Alphonse into the room, who was to say she won¡¯t let a bunch of armed thugs in when we were sleeping to prevent us from seeking revenge?

    ¡°Do you not want to go, Yua? I don¡¯t know how much you actually like it here, but...¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t like it here,¡± she said flatly. ¡°This is the place where I lost my freedom. But¡­ This is also where I met you. So¡­ I don¡¯t know what to feel.¡±

    I could understand a bit of how she felt. She became a slave because of some asshole that wouldn¡¯t help a wounded girl for free. She lived the last few years of her life as a slave, and was so poorly treated that she began to think that that was all her life was ever going to be.

    I was the same. Fresh off a second chance at life, I did nothing but worsen my life, primarily because of this debt and because of the other actions I¡¯d taken in this city.

    But then we met and she found out that there were still several good things in the world for her to experience. I helped her prove to herself that she was still strong by beating the dungeon floor that ruined her. And she helped me to understand why I was, well, let¡¯s be honest, why I was such an asshole.

    All of that, in this one city.

    ¡°Yua, we may not be able to come back for a while, but that doesn¡¯t mean we have to stay away forever.¡±

    She shook her head and wiped away the tear that hadn¡¯t quite fallen yet.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to come back. As long as I¡¯m with you, I don¡¯t care where we go.¡±

    She embraced me one more time, kissed me on the cheek and stood. Without any further debate, she crossed the room to collect her things. I got up and did the same.

    As I planned, I stashed the meals waiting for us in my item box for later. I did, however, make sure to leave behind the dishes themselves so I didn¡¯t screw up our escape by stealing from the inn.

    By that time, Yua had already finished collecting what few things she had, pulled on her backpack and held her suitcase in front of her hips, like she was patiently gearing up for a long trip.

    ¡°Here, let me put those in my item box. We¡¯ll be walking for a while, so there¡¯s no need to carry it yourself.¡±

    Much to my surprise, with just a thought, I was able to disappear her suitcase and backpack into my item box without her even needing to set them aside or hand them to me first. I chalked it up to the bit of common sense that she told me about how everything a slave owns belongs to their master anyway and decided to just leave it at that.

    We took one more quick glance around the room to make sure we didn¡¯t miss anything, but the room was just as empty as it was the day I first took shelter in it. I wish I could say that I was going to miss the place, but the only good thing about the room was the soft bed.

    ¡°You ready?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    With her emphatic nod of approval the signal to leave, I tossed the room key onto the bed and cast Dimensional Step on the wall. Hand in hand, we stepped through it together into the world outside of Amoranth.

 Volume 1 - Chapter 28

    We stepped out of the portal and found ourselves just outside the edge of the forest I reincarnated into. It wasn¡¯t too far from the city, but we were already about a half an hour¡¯s worth of walking away from the city¡¯s gate, so it was as a good start we were going to get with my limited knowledge of the area.

    I took in a long, deep breath. The night was in full swing. A full moon was shining bright enough to illuminate most of the landscape before us, meaning our preferred method of traveling via teleportation would be fairly easy. The crisp midnight breeze nipped at my sweaty skin and somehow, the wild felt cleaner, more relaxing than that of the city. There were no cars or machines polluting the civilized world, but the difference between the densely populated city and the freedom of nature was unmistakable.

    Pulling up my HUD¡¯s compass, I found that we were already facing the East and said a silent thanks to the Goddess that recommended the direction to me in the first place. I drew in another deep breath and psyched myself for the journey ahead. Yua smiled warmly at this and set about the usual stretching she¡¯d do before tackling the dungeons. We may be traveling with magic, but we¡¯d still be walking the entire time.

    She nodded to me when she was ready and I took a good long look down the well-traveled dirt road that ran as far East past the city as the eye could see. Once I had a fairly good image of what lay at the end of my line of sight and memorized it, I threw open another teleportation door. Much to my surprise, but understanding the sense of it, I found it a little amusing that I could see the exit of the portal glowing bright at the end of the road.

    We stepped right on through and now already maybe a quarter of a mile away from where we started, I took a moment to correct our direction, looked into the distance again, and opened another portal.

    We traveled like this for about an hour before we ran into a small mountain I couldn¡¯t see or teleport around due to its wide base. After a short hike around it and the thick foliage sprouting around the area, with Yua keeping her ears on high alert to avoid us running into any wildlife, we were able to start teleporting again.

    After a couple more hours of this, and after several long stops to let my mana regenerate and to rest our weary feet, I put the magic on hold. I wiped the sweat from my brow as Yua started up another round of stretching, gearing up for more walking. Watching her for a moment, curiosity eventually took hold of me and I turned back towards the city. When I saw that we were so far from Amoranth that it no longer registered as a speck of dust dirtying the horizon, I found myself at peace.

    We found ourselves in a grassy clearing surrounded on two sides by trees. The sprawling forest in front of us looked maybe a half a mile wide and several times deeper, as the further I looked between the trees, the less light I could see. Meanwhile, the small copse of trees at our backs were few, just remnants the split from the forest proper and just enough to nuzzle up cozily close to another large mountain immediately to our right. Another, smaller mountain rest further to our left, but it was surrounded by several stones that looked to have been sitting there since long before the trees first sprouted.

    It was a wide-open patch of land with its own natural border that we could have easily missed had the moon and the stars twinkling overhead not been lighting the path. With no stone buildings to speak of and without the mind-numbing cacophony of noise a densely populated city like the ones I¡¯d grown used to both in this world and my last, it felt as though this secluded place was destined to be called home.

    ¡°How about we stop here for the night?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Yua hummed, her ears giving a small flick as she limbered up her legs.

    ¡°I think this place is good to set up camp for now. It¡¯s got to be dozens, if not hundreds of miles away from the city.¡±

    Assuming anyone discovered what happened at the inn and tried to give chase, I was positive that we¡¯d successfully given them the slip. Without anyone being able to track her by her slave contract, Yua should have no qualms with settling down here for the night.

    As expected, she turned her ears to the sky, gave the wilderness a good listen and nodded.

    ¡°I don¡¯t hear any dangerous animals in the forest, so we should be safe here.¡±

    ¡°Great. Then let¡¯s eat. I think we both deserve a good meal.¡±

    We plopped down on the grass, both of us heaving a great sigh and paying no mind to the stains the seats of our pants were most likely incurring on our behalf. I squeezed at my throbbing thighs and calves to try and soothe them. We hadn¡¯t exactly been running through the portals I made, but after all the walking we did today and all the stress, we were both exhausted.

    Yua leaned into me, curling her legs up beside her as I was about to take out our now very late dinner, but I paused after remembering that I ditched the plates it came on back at the inn. So, making quick use of my item box, I pulled out a couple sets of the plates and silverware we bought in the city.

    My lovely partner watched me with a small amused smile as I handed her hers and filled it with food. She snuggled up as close as she could to me, and dug into the now cold meat and veggies the innkeeper prepared for us. We ate mostly in silence, with only the clicking of silverware against plate and the soft songs of the nocturnal birds roaming the tree tops as our music.

    Once we finished and I stuffed the used dishes back into my item box for later cleaning, we decided it was time to set up camp.

    ¡°I¡¯ll set up the tent,¡± Yua said, stretching her back again. ¡°I¡¯ve done it before, so it shouldn¡¯t take long.¡±

    Yua held out her hands, expecting me to pull the tent we bought out of storage, but I waved her off with a vaguely confident smile.

    ¡°Hold on a second,¡± I said. ¡°I have my Material Destruction and Creation abilities. I think it¡¯s about time I put them to work.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Haha. You don¡¯t remember? I said you¡¯re not allowed to sleep on the floor anymore.¡±

    I laughed and Yua tilted her head, still not understanding where I was going with this. So, I walked over to one of the thicker trees at the edge of the clearing and put my hand on its trunk while Yua¡¯s confusion seemed to spread to the birds that abandoned their songs to fly away. I had already tested the ability a bit, now all I had to do was hope these powers weren¡¯t limited to the dungeons.

    After a quick cast of Material Destruction, an entire section of the tree¡¯s trunk disappeared quite literally like magic. I smirked to myself when I saw its wood appear in my item box the same way the stone in the dungeon did, as it meant I could make use of it. However, my experiment was cut short when Yua suddenly barreled into my chest, launching us both several feet backwards.

    ¡°Oof. Wha¡­¡±

    Before I could even ask for a reason, we tumbled to the soft grass and I watched as the tree who¡¯s core I¡¯d stolen started to collapse in on itself. The thin section of wood that I unintentionally left behind gave into the weight of the tree¡¯s upper half as it bent and splintered almost instantly. The tree began to lurch, but it soon dropped long before anything could hope to catch and stop it.

    The tree smashed into the ground with a great thud that sent the rest of the birds in the area scattering into the sky, panic carrying their wings away from the noise. Several of the thicker, sharper branches speared the grass right where I¡¯d been standing.

    ¡°Uh¡­ I¡­ Nice save, Yua.¡±

    With a sigh of relief, she embraced me before responding.

    ¡°Your abilities are amazing, but please be more careful from now on.¡±

    ¡°Got it,¡± I said, patting her head. ¡°But I still have more work to do.¡±

    Apologizing for causing her more unneeded worry after finally finding our peace, and after being reminded that, yes, gravity was still a thing, I took to a more controlled method of felling trees by focusing my ability to cut out large chunks of the trunks roughly the shape of a cheese wedge, so that I could control the direction the tree fell.

    Once six more trees hit the ground, all but assuring that no birds would be returning to their nests tonight, I started using Material Destruction to cut up and put the logs into my item box so I could start making use of their lumber. I wasn¡¯t sure yet what I could do with the leaves the ability collected, so I just let them be.

    Now that the area that had been briefly littered with trees was clear again and Yua uncovered the ears she¡¯d been protecting since the second tree fell and made her wince, she asked the obvious question.

    ¡°Why are you collecting trees?¡±

    ¡°I am going to use my abilities to build us a small house. That way, we won¡¯t need to use the tent.¡±

    ¡°Eh, really?! I never would have thought of that.¡±

    ¡°Yea. I was thinking it was about time I make better use of my abilities.¡±

    I had a few lingering regrets on how I could have done certain things better these last few days or at least made them easier if I¡¯d use my abilities to correctly, including the tree that nearly squashed me, but it was never too late to start.

    ¡°I think you¡¯re doing fine, though,¡± Yua said confidently. ¡°Don¡¯t forget you can rely on me too!¡±

    With the twin sights of her playfully shadowboxing the air and of her adorably swishing tale as the fuel I needed to leave my regrets behind, I got started. After quickly deciding on how large our temporary abode should be, I mentally mapped it out and got to work.

    Knowing that I could control my abilities with just my thoughts, I started with the corners of what would be a small, simple building. Shaping four long and thick posts into stakes, I set them in the imaginary corners of the cabin. I then widened their placement once I could actually see how small it would have made the final product.

    I wanted to go wild and make something bigger and more extravagant for us, but it was already exceedingly late. So, I put any and all perfectionist tendencies aside and worked with what I already had.

    The only question I had to consider now was how to drive in the stakes. Thanks to how Material Creation worked, I knew I wasn¡¯t going to need any nails or screws, since everything would be fused together, but plopping out a cabin directly onto the grass didn¡¯t feel very wise. The stakes were meant to root the whole thing in place.

    ¡°Can I help?¡±

    After watching in awe at how I molded the wood I pulled from thin air, then seeing how I stared at the stakes in search for answers, Yua couldn¡¯t sit back and watch anymore. Seeing her fists clenched with an eager anticipation gave me a great idea.

    ¡°Yes, actually. I would love some help. Do you think you could use your Iron Fist to hammer the stakes in those corners?¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡±

    With a skip in her step, Yua set out doing as I asked and stood up the first of the stakes where I¡¯d left it. She then leveled it with a diligent care I wasn¡¯t expecting from her and, after a quick cast of her Iron Fist, she drove her fist into the stake¡¯s head and easily hammered it into the ground with a single punch. Smiling proudly at her effort, she set about doing the same for the other three.

    I felt a little bad about making her waste her martial prowess on pounding things into the dirt, but she finished without complaint before I could even form the next piece of wood we were going to need. Thanks to her help, I was able to move much faster.

    After connecting and fusing the stakes together by materializing several thick planks of wood directly on top of them, our floor was done and, as if the whole thing had been carved out of one giant block of wood, there was not a single seam in the strcuture that could be seen. Just to be safe, I stepped onto it and jumped around a little to make sure it was sturdy enough to support the rest of my plans. Thankfully, the stakes were doing their job keeping the whole thing rooted in place.

    Satisfied, I started on building a set of four rudimentary walls whose only decorations were the cutouts I made for the windows to aid in air flow and the doorway. From there, I started on making us a quick and easy roof.

    With the only source of light I had to work with at the moment being what the moon decided to share with us, I decided to keep the whole thing as simple as possible and not get too into the smaller details. Anything that didn¡¯t look right come morning could be fixed later.

    By the time I had finished the roof, I could only look in awe when realized just how fast we were able to build this thing. Less than twenty minutes had passed since I felled that first tree and we already had a finished product. The Materials Destruction and Creation abilities were no doubt some of the most powerful ones I had at my disposal.

    While this little cabin in the woods had no furnishings and no rooms to speak of, it was big enough for about three or four people to live in it comfortably without constantly bumping into each other. More impressively, because all the wood essentially fused into one giant, carved out lump of wood, I was sure that it should be very sturdy.

    Construction companies beware Alex, the man that failed to realize he could have done this days ago to save himself from paying for an inn!

    ¡°Amazing.¡±

    With her mouth agape, Yua stared up at the building that was a little more than twice as tall as she was. It was a very simple-looking cabin, but since it was put together literally overnight, anybody would be shocked. She just had the added benefit of watching it be built and could still barely believe what she saw.

    ¡°I know it doesn¡¯t look like much now, but if we end up liking it here, I can add more onto it. If not, we can move somewhere else and try again. But for now, do you want to check out the inside?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    Instead of letting me walk her into our new home, Yua grabbed me by the hand and ran us inside. I¡¯d lit the house with the single magic candle we bought while I worked and, while its dim light proved mostly useless for construction work, it helped Yua to look over every inch of the place. The cabin was essentially just one large room with nothing in it to look at for the time being except a pair of small windows and the slide door I made, but with the way she looked at the place, you¡¯d think she just been handed the deed to an extravagant mansion built on a beautiful beach.

    ¡°Alex, this is¡­ It has to be two, no, three times bigger than the room at the Lazy Cat!¡±

    ¡°Haha. Yea, probably. And, like I said, if we like it here, we can add more to it later and make it even bigger.¡±

    She looked up to the triangular roof and I could tell from the way she smiled that she was imagining the place evolving to meet our needs. Maybe tomorrow I should work on making it look nicer and see how she reacts when the place doesn¡¯t look so basic.

    While checking out how much wood I had left, I happened to notice the time.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy you are so excited, but I think it¡¯s about time we head to bed. We may have a lot to do tomorrow.¡±

    I was surprisingly content with this little cabin in the middle of nowhere, but if come morning we decide it¡¯s not enough or that we haven¡¯t moved far enough from the city, we¡¯d have to set out again.

    ¡°Yes, it is late,¡± Yua nodded with a knowing, oddly sultry smile. ¡°But¡­¡±

    ¡°But what?¡±

    ¡°Well, there¡¯s no bed. You said yourself a few minutes ago that I¡¯m not allowed to sleep on the floor anymore. Remember?¡±

    She lifted her chin at me, smiling just a tad smugly after throwing my words back at me.

    ¡°Ah, right. How could I forget? Just give me a second.¡±

    Using more of the wood I still had in stock, I created a simple block three times as wide and about twice as long as the bed back at the inn so we¡¯d have plenty of room. I didn¡¯t bother to make it look anything like a real bed, as it definitely wasn¡¯t going to feel like one, and just left it as a plain block of wood that stood about as tall as my knees. Visual improvements could always come later, but its comfortability rating had to be changed now. She may have been joking, but sleeping on this thing as is would be just as bad as sleeping on the floor.

    I dug through my item box and pulled out the sleeping bags we bought back in the city, untied them and spread them out over the bed¡¯s hardwood surface in place of a mattress. After, I topped it with the blankets and pillows we bought. The padding already looked insufficient, but it was the best we could do given what we have.

    ¡°There,¡± I said. ¡°We can use this as our bed for now. It probably won¡¯t be very comfortable, but what do you think?¡±

    ¡°I think this is amazing.¡±

    ¡°Haha. You¡¯ve already said that about a dozen times since we got here.¡±

    ¡°Yea, but I mean it. It and you are amazing.¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright. That¡¯s enough of that. You¡¯re going to turn me into a narcissist with all those compliments.¡±

    I¡¯ve had about enough of being full of myself for one lifetime.

    ¡°Understood,¡± Yua said with a giggle. ¡°May I have my suitcase back?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    I popped her suitcase out of my item box and she knelt down to open it. The clasp clicked and her ears flicked and, without missing a beat, she suddenly stood back up, kicked off her boots and started untying the leather straps holding her blouse in place. Once the restrictive leathers were undone and left to dangle over her chest, she lifted the top off over her head with a practiced ease, revealing her shapely and now very bare breasts to the moonlight peeking in through the windows. After, she set the top back in the suitcase.

    Before I could utter so much as a single syllable, she slipped her thumbs under the waistband to her pants and gave them a small tug down before bending forward. Turning her ass to me, as if to show me she was okay with my looking by letting me see how casually her tail flicked about, she peeled off the tight leather pants that had been hiding her shapely legs all this time. After a moment or two of pretending to struggle, she had them pulled down around her ankles. She stepped out of them.

    Completely naked now save for the panties she still wore, she was as calm as calm could be. Squatting back down, her breasts pressing firmly into her knees, she started folding and stuffing her clothes back into her suitcase.

    She was taking her time organizing her things in the otherwise mostly empty suitcase. And I gulped to myself when I realized she was doing all this on purpose.

    Finally, she took hold of that too-loose rag of a cloth she called a sleep shirt and stood again. She looked to the dirty, frayed fabric in her hand and, looking like she¡¯d only just remembered that I bought her something new to wear to bed, she let the top fall back into the suitcase. She turned to face me, her breasts left uncovered, her posture free of embarrassment, and with a smile so loving that it dared to fill the entire night sky with its brightness.

    Heat flashed across my face as I remembered the feeling of her softness from this morning. The flames of lust I felt then reignited themselves, burning twice as bright as ever before as I gazed upon her. She could tell what was on my mind and she still just stood there. She let me look. She wanted me to look. By her pleased curl to her lips, I could tell that she¡¯s known what I¡¯ve wanted all along and that I¡¯ve been holding back for her sake.

    Watching in awe at how comfortable she was with me like this, I came to the sudden, brief and very reassuring conclusion that my confidence-boosting trait had nothing to do with my level and that it was effectively just a bunch of bullshit. It was nothing more than a playful trick composed by the Goddess meant to do nothing more than help to think I¡¯d gained back a little of what I lost long ago.

    But it was never real. As I stood there, finding it impossible to do anything but look at her almost completely naked beauty, her eyes longing for me to embrace her, I felt nothing but desire that couldn¡¯t be denied by how I viewed myself.

    A felt a twinge in the back of my head and knew without looking that the confidence-boost trait had disappeared from my status page, but I no longer cared.

    Yua was waiting.

    With Yua the only thing occupying my consciousness, I moved behind her. My heart pounded violently in my chest and her cat ears twitched with its every pulse. She was on to me. Knew why I moved and what I wanted, but like before, she did nothing and said nothing in an attempt to stop me when I reached my arms around her to cup her breasts.

    Feeling her softness envelope the fingers I let sink into the supple flesh of her gentle hills, I realized one simple truth in this world: her softness was simply to die for.

    This was a fact I¡¯d became readily aware of our first day together and became more greatly acquainted with this morning, but without the feeling of her blouse preventing a more direct feeling, their softness was amplified by the silky smoothness of her skin. I could feel the pink nubs I had only caught the occasional glimpse of until now rub against the center of my palm while I massaged her.

    ¡°Mmm¡­ Alex.¡±

    ¡°This doesn¡¯t bother you, does it?¡±

    As her answer, Yua lifted my hands off her breasts and turned to face me. Presented with the full, perky glory of her ample bosom, she lifted her chin to me with such a loving smile caressing her lips that my reason nearly flew out the door.

    She then took hold of my hand again with both of hers, and placed it back on her bare breast herself. Just as she did this morning.

    ¡°Master, no¡­ Alex, from now on, I am completely yours. In body and soul. And in heart. You may do anything you wish to me. You may ask of me anything you wish. And I will do both for you without hesitation.¡±

    Feeling a tiny inkling that her loving words may have just been a figment of my exhausted imagination after focusing on the teleportation spell for so long, I pressed her for her own truth.

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    ¡°Then, if you are really serious about that, and only if you are really serious, take off your panties and throw them out the window.¡±

    I asked for something absurd, just because I desperately needed to know if she would do it. And, sure enough, Yua let go of my hand and, wearing a dazzling smile, slipped her thumbs through the sides of her panties. Without any of the fanfare she showed me a moment ago, she pulled them straight down her thighs, over her slender calves and stepped out of them directly in front of me without a word. When she stood back up, panties in hand, I saw a small tuft of hair between her thighs that swore to the heavens that there was now not a single thread left to cover her body.

    With a playfully cheeky smirk, she wrapped her panties around her index finger, wagged them in front of me like a flag or surrender before she walked over to the window. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, she tossed her panties out into the wilderness.

    ¡°How was that?¡±

    ¡°G-Great. Uh¡­ Next, I want you to take my shirt off for me.¡±

    ¡°Of course, Master.¡±

    With a loving return to the cheeky way she used to call to me, Yua glided back across the room towards me without lifting a finger to hide the most important parts of her nudity. My breath caught when her fingers reached under the hem of my shirt and tickled my abdomen. She started to lift it straight up, keeping that bewitching smile of hers on her lips all the while. My shirt flew off my head, forcing my bared upper body to brace itself against the same chilly wind that made her nipples stand on end.

    She held my shirt in her hand, watching me. If she weren¡¯t already completely naked, I would have thought she was just toying with me with how she pinched the fabric between her fingers as if holding something delicate.

    ¡°I have completed the task you gave me, Master. What next?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Throw it to the ground.¡±

    Not letting her gaze leave mine, Yua turned her hand over and parted her fingers. The now useless shirt dropped unceremoniously to the floor.

    ¡°What shall I do next, Master~?¡±

    ¡°What would you like to do next, Yua?¡±

    She smiled ever so sweetly, let out a small, cute laugh and gave me an answer that nearly stopped my heart.

    ¡°Well, I am naked. So, would it be alright if I made Master naked as well?¡±

    I gulped.

    ¡°¡­ Go ahead.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master.¡±

    Yua knelt down in front of me, removing her naked beauty from my line of sight, forcing me into a position where I had to look down if I wanted to keep looking. Matching her lack of hesitation, I did so and she smiled up at me, her cat ears twitching and her tail swishing about happily. She took hold of my belt and started to unbuckle it.

    Listening to the clasp unbuckle, then the sound of leather sliding against the metal clip until it was freed and my pants loosened, I felt the unbearable urge to open my mouth and say something stupid just as her delicate fingers took hold of the button holding my pants up.

    ¡°Y-Yua. Hold on a second.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ I have something I have to tell you before we continue. I can¡¯t let this go on with a clear conscious if I don¡¯t say it now.¡±

    This caused her ears to perk up for worst of reasons, but she stood back up and looked me in the eye without complaint, ready to listen to anything I had to say. She didn¡¯t ask me to continue, she just took my hand in hers and gave me the floor.

    I took a moment to steady myself. This had nothing to do with confidence or arrogance, it just needed to be said. And it should have been said before I let her get this far.

    ¡°Yua, when I bought you, it wasn¡¯t just because I fell in love with you. I wanted to have sex with you. I wanted you for sex. I¡­ I wanted to be the sort of master you would have hated.¡±

    Yua was silent for a long while. Almost too long, but not quite long enough to make me feel as though I¡¯d said too much, because the power of her loving smile returned two-fold.

    ¡°I know,¡± she said, stepping closer. ¡°I told you before, males don¡¯t normally buy female slaves unless they have that on their minds.¡±

    ¡°I understand that, but I¡¯m telling you that, had we not been forced to into the dungeons to earn gold, I would have brought you straight to the inn and I would have forced you into the bed and¡­¡±

    ¡°Shhh¡­.¡± Smiling still, Yua softly pressed a finger to my lips. ¡°Master¡­ Alex, you truly are too kind. I think most males would have kept that a secret.¡±

    ¡°I know. I¡¯m already regretting killing the mood, but I wanted you to know the truth.¡±

    Even if that was only half the reason why I bought her, I couldn¡¯t bare the thought of continuing if she didn¡¯t know how I really felt back then. Weak, pathetic and most importantly, desperate. I¡¯ve come to terms with the inner arrogance I¡¯ve been secretly harboring, and I won¡¯t let it win by denying it¡¯s existence to her.

    She, however, cocked her head for a moment, her ear twitching again. Then she smiled

    ¡°Who said the mood¡¯s changed? Do you have an ability that lets you change it whenever you want?¡±

    ¡°N-no? But I¡­¡±

    ¡°I made my peace with the man that bought me. But it¡¯s for the man I¡¯ve come to know truly cares for me that I do this for.¡±

    As if sensing that my resolve to continue from my slowed heartbeat, Yua wrapped her arms around my back. Pressing her breasts against my bare chest hard enough to feel the exact location of pointed tips hardened by the cool night air, she lifted herself to kiss me full on the lips.

    ¡°Mmm. You saved me from the slave house I hated so, so much.¡±

    She kissed me again.

    ¡°You saved my life.¡±

    She kissed me again.

    ¡°You made me stronger.¡±

    She kissed me again and I felt her hands find their way back to my belt.

    ¡°You are the strongest.¡±

    She kissed me again and tossed my unneeded belt to the floor along with my shirt.

    ¡°You are the man I love.¡±

    Another kiss and I felt her fingertips start on unbuttoning my pants.

    ¡°If it¡¯s forgiveness you want, then you have it. I won¡¯t ever leave your side. That is my decision that you gave me the right to make.¡±

    Taking only a single step back, Yua pulled down my pants and found that the meager line of defense my boxers-like underwear provided in an attempt to hide the swollen monster that Goddess had bestowed upon me had failed spectacularly. I couldn¡¯t help it. After seeing all of her, feeling her so directly and all those sensual, reassuring kisses, I was rock hard.

    Yua¡¯s eyes widened at the size of it and she blushed deeply. She bit her lip, just the tiniest bit apprehensive, but her resolve never wavered. She continued.

    Slipping her fingers under the waistband of my underwear the same way she did hers, she pulled them down. My cock sprang to life once set free upon the world and Yua started breathing heavily as she looked upon it before awkwardly helping me to correct the order of my undressing by pulling off my boots, so I could step out of the last of my clothes and join her in this little cabin built for two. Completely naked.

    Yua stood once more and I could tell that, despite her constant reassurances and how she so easily fulfilled my stupid requests, she was nervous. We both were. This would be a first for both of us. She, however, braced herself the same way she would when readying for a fight and drew in a deep, slow breath and when she exhaled, she stepped closer to press her body against mine for another hug.

    Refusing to back down against her pressure, my cock pressed against the flatness of her stomach. She didn¡¯t flinch. She was such a strong fighter, but every part of her body that I could see and feel was so soft, it was like the muscle she used to fight her battles was only ever imaginary.

    She kissed me once more and I kissed her back.

    Her tongue filled my mouth and shared the sweetness of her breath with me. With the masses of desire that were her breasts pressed firmly against my chest, I gave into the carnal desire that once threatened to ruin me and grabbed her ass.

    ¡°Mmph!¡±

    Our lips vibrated together when she let out a small moan of surprise, but her tongue didn¡¯t stop. No matter how I massaged her ass, she did not stop the passionate kiss she not-so-forcefully forced upon me.

    After what could have easily been hours of letting our tongues dance together, uninterrupted by need or want or worry, Yua ended our kiss to let me look at her. Standing there, her cheeks flushed ear to ear while completely naked in the moonlight, she was easily the most beautiful girl in the world. And she was all mine.

    With her showing me this side of her that nobody other than the bathroom mirror should have been allowed to gaze upon, I no longer had any reason to doubt this as absolute fact. She was mine. Perhaps I should have acknowledged that conclusion sooner, but I had to be honest with her. And now, after all of this, all there was left for me to do was to wrap my arm around her waist, hold her close and lead her to the bed I made for us.

    Yua hiked up a knee to lift herself up onto the sleeping-bag-mattress while holding onto my hand for support. She then crawled along the bed with her backside pointed to me, her hips shifting alluringly with every inch that separated us. As I got lost in the sight of her, I noticed that the trickle of love juice dripping down her inner thigh lead back up to her soaking-wet pussy. Above that, her tail continued to dance freely through the air all on its own.

    She made her way to the center of the bed and laid down. She turned her body to face me and held out a hand, beckoning me to join her. I gulped down the very last drops of doubt and guilt I had in me and took her hand.

    I crawled onto the bed, then on top of her. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me in for another kiss. Our naked bodies pressed together again and threatened to destroy the last lingering dregs of will power I could ever have had to hold back. My palms found her breasts again as her tongue once more invaded my mouth, like she owned the place.

    ¡°Mmph!¡±

    She let out another sharp gasp against my lips when I pinched her nipples and kneading the little nubs between my fingertips. I did so again and this time she had to let go of my mouth to cry out.

    ¡°Sorry, did that hurt?¡±

    ¡°N-No. Not at all. It just felt really good. Please keep doing it.¡±

    Permission granted, I leaned back into our kiss, teasing her nipples and fondling her breasts to my heart¡¯s greedy content.

    My left knee slipped between her thighs, parting them slightly, and pressed against the wetness that would soon welcome me. Giving into every bit of curiosity my erection was inspiring in me, I freed one of her breasts to slip my fingers down into that forbidden area.

    I slid them down her stomach, felt the lightly-defined abs she cultivated after years of rigorous training, up over her pelvis, onto her pubis and through the small tuft of hair there and then...

    ¡°Ahn!¡±

    Yua cried out again, this time with a surprising sensitivity as her hips gave a small jolt that only made my fingertips rub further against the small button that caused the reaction in the first place.

    ¡°Ahnn¡­ A-Alex¡­ That place feels weird.¡±

    ¡°Good weird or bad weird?¡±

    ¡°Anh!¡±

    Loving her overly-sensitive reaction, I rubbed at it again. The slick love juices allowed the small button to slip easily between my fingers. She squeezed her arms around me for a tighter embrace and I couldn¡¯t stop the smile that came with the surge of confidence burning in me from just hearing her moans, knowing that I was the cause of them.

    ¡°Well?¡±

    ¡°I-It feels go-good¡­. Ahhnn!¡±

    With her cries of pleasure coming so easily, it was as if I¡¯d known her weak spot from the very beginning. My perfect memory forced me to remember her each and every reaction to my caress, both subconsciously and very consciously searching for what brought out the most erotic gasps. I continued to rub small, constantly changing circular patterns around that little button to keep her heated breaths coming.

    ¡°Wha-What is this feeling? Ahn¡­ Alex¡­ What is that? What are you touching?¡±

    This question gave me pause. I made sure to keep my fingers moving, but did she really not know? I mean, I know she¡¯s inexperienced, but I didn¡¯t think her so naive as to not know her own body.

    She turned her emerald eyes on me as they sparkled from the tears she refused to let fall. And in a short moment of understanding, she found my confusion and gulped before answering.

    ¡°M-My people don¡¯t have a word for it.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± I said, trying to let the surge of confidence carry on my voice so she could feel comfortable. ¡°This right here is your clitoris.¡±

    ¡°My¡­ My clitor¡­ Ahn!¡±

    ¡°Yes, exactly. And it looks like it¡¯s sensitive.¡±

    I continued pleasuring her clit, dancing little circles around it with my fingertips while she writhed from the unexpected pleasure. Her breasts bounced side to side, her hips shaking unconsciously, both trying to flee from the new sensations spiraling through her body and trying to draw herself closer to my hand. She struggled to grasp at the question of just how she was expected to endure what was apparently a new form of pleasure for her. And I was left content for once more getting to help her learn after all she¡¯s taught me.

    Abandoning the hold she held around my neck, she gripped the pillow beneath her head and arched her back. My fingers almost slipped inside, but seeing how just doing this was making her feel so good, I made sure to continue attacking her clit.

    ¡°Ahn! Ahn! Alex, wait! It feels like something¡¯s coming!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. Go ahead. That just means you are about to orgasm.¡±

    A mixture of arousal spurred on because of her naivete and surprise at how easy it was to get her off, I quickened my pace just a bit until she became unable to keep her body still for more than half a second at a time. I pushed down on her stomach to pin her to the bed so that I could continue massaging her into climax.

    ¡°Ahn! Ahhn! Alex! S-Something¡¯s coming! Ahhhhn!¡±

    Her unrestrained scream echoed throughout the cabin, flew through the open windows and into the vast night sky. As it did, a spray of hot love erupted between my fingers as I continued ruthlessly massaging her clitoris. She grabbed hold of my forearm, as if she needed something to keep her grounded to reality, and I pressed my palm against her pussy and held her as she writhed from experiencing not only what may well be her first orgasm, but the first time she climaxed so hard she squirted.

    I held her there and started groping her shaking breasts as she tried to catch her breath, only managing half-inhalations for several seconds until she steadied herself enough to open her eyes again. The sight and heat of her trickling love juices dripping down both her and now my thighs was intoxicating.

    As much as I always longed for such companionship, I couldn¡¯t help but feel proud of myself for making this beautiful girl cum so hard.

    ¡°Alex¡­¡± she said, her breath still unsteady. ¡°What was that?¡±

    ¡°That was an orgasm. It happens when you reach the peak of pleasure and your body releases a huge wave of even better pleasure.¡±

    ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­ Orgasms are amazing¡­¡±

    ¡°Was that your first time feeling like that?¡±

    She nodded and I was forced to come to the conclusion that her life in the slave house was so terrible, that she never even had the chance to comfort herself, I wrapped her up in a hug so tight that I might have slowed her ability to breathe even more. She, however, held me right back and whispered in my ear.

    ¡°Can I help you have an orgasm too?¡±

    Feeling my heart pang and her ear twitch against my cheek as she wanted to share in this new experience, I pressed my lips to hers. Already looking thoroughly exhausted, Yua smiled and accepted me the best she could, eager to help and to love. Even if that meant stealing away another breath with a kiss.

    ¡°Of course,¡± I said. ¡°What comes next should make us both feel good.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡±

    Yua let her head fall back into the pillow as I brought my other leg over hers so that I wasn¡¯t straddling her anymore. I pressed my palms to her knees and slowly spread her legs apart, revealing the full beauty of her post-orgasm pussy. Drawn by the small twitching hole centered in the alluringly slick and pink object that represented all of my bottled-up lust from years of only finding satisfaction in images on the computer screen, I moved closer. Taking hold of my throbbing cock, I lowered it towards her entrance, ready to finally be done with my virginity and very much happy to have the chance to give it to her.

    Just as I felt her soft, wet heat with my tip, she stopped me.

    ¡°W-Wait, wait, wait! Alex, please wait!¡±

    She weakly pushed her hands against my chest to stop me before I could go any further.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Am I going too fast?¡±

    I couldn¡¯t help but let dejection taint my voice. After coming this far, I¡¯d literally have to throw myself off of her and out the door if she insisted on rejecting me here, but I would. I would do that for her. I fought this hard and this long to win her heart. If I had to fight longer, I¡¯d just grit my teeth and bear it.

    ¡°N-No, it¡¯s not that,¡± Yua said quickly, as if she read my thoughts. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ Y-You see, the cat-kin of my tribe mate for life, so I, um¡­ Alex, please make me yours forever!¡±

    Trembling, she held her hands out to me. To a bedside bystander, it would have looked like she was just asking for a hug, but I could tell she was begging me to accept her. For some reason, she looked like she was the one readying herself to be rejected. But the idea of rejecting this wonderful girl was almost laughably absurd.

    Coming back from the near heart attack I had in trying to stop from forcing myself on her, she hit me with a line that only strengthen my desire to do exactly what she asked of me.

    Steadying my breathing as much as I could, I leaned in for another kiss and let her hold me again. Once I had her lips laced between mine, I once more lowered myself, my tip, and pressed it against her entrance. She was so wet, so hot, that that alone almost could have been enough to finish me off had I not been trying so hard to control myself. She bit her lip and looked to me.

    ¡°Yua, from the moment I met you, I¡¯ve wanted to make you mine. To earn your love and now that I have it, I refuse to let it go. And tonight, I¡¯ll prove to you that you are and that you always will be my woman. I won¡¯t let there be any more question about it. For either of us.¡±

    ¡°O-Okayyyy¡­. Ahhhhhnnn!¡±

    She let out a loud, sharp cry of pain and pleasure when I penetrated her. Maybe half way in, I felt my tip catch something and break through it in one swift motion. After that, all I could feel were the hot inner folds of her vagina pressing down on me from every direction. Melting my cock and mind so that I could only just barely realize that there was a small trickle of red, the end of her maidenhood, running down her thigh.

    Right. She was a virgin up until now. I better take it slow so she doesn¡¯t end up hating this. I can pat myself on the back for finally becoming a man later. Now, it was all about Yua.

    Slowly, I leaned down to wrap my arms around her and she all but leapt at the chance to dig her fingernails into my back. I felt no pain, the pleasure of being inside her was so intense that it overshadowed everything else.

    ¡°Let me know if it hurts too much,¡± I said, gritting my teeth to fight back the urge to stop myself from talking. ¡°If you can¡¯t handle it, we can stop for tonight and try again tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Ahhh¡­N-No. I can do it. As your mate, as strong as you made me, I want to be able to handle all your desires with my body. I-I can handle this.¡±

    She threw back her head, arched her back, pressing her breasts against my chest once more, and opened her mouth into a wordless scream of pleasure wrapped firmly around pain. I don¡¯t know how, but in that moment, I knew her silence wasn¡¯t just for my sake. It was because her desire for strength would not allow her to cry out from the pain of being penetrated for the first time. She was as resolute as she was when she had a knife to her throat.

    Once she had a minute to calm the pain, of me refusing to move my hips until her breathing steadied, she turned her eyes back to me. She didn¡¯t say a word. Didn¡¯t have to. Those great big emerald spheres resting as the centerpiece of her loving smile¡¯s return to brilliance gave me all the permission I needed to start moving.

    ¡°Ahhn!¡±

    When I tore her hymen, I had only let half of my cock slip inside, so when I pushed myself up to the hilt, she let out another cry of pleasure. I could feel my tip pressing against her womb and could feel my own braincells dying from pleasure overload.

    With that kiss from her womb spurring me on and with her no longer letting the pain mar her expression, I started to thrust and Yua continued to hold her arms around my back to let me move for the both of us.

    I started slow, maybe a little awkward, but I quickly fell into a rhythm we both liked. Again, my memory latched onto the places and paces I found in her that brought out the most lascivious of moans. And soon, her nails digging into my back, I had her breasts bouncing as if I was pounding into her with everything I had. With each pistoning of my hips pushing myself deeper into her lust, a lewd, wet clap of skin-on-skin contact sounded off as if she were making tiny repeated declarations that she had fully given herself to me. Each time I pulled out to move again, her pussy tightened around me, refusing to let go. Begging for more.

    ¡°Ahnn Alex¡­ Ahhnn¡­ I-I can feel that orgasm thing coming again.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± I grunted. ¡°Just let it happen. No need to hold back with me.¡±

    ¡°Ahn¡­Ahhn! Alex! Ahhhh!¡±

    Her body heaved again, nearly making me lose my own balance as another intense orgasm hit her with the full force of its pleasure. I felt another hot spray of love hit my lower abdomen and groin and felt immense satisfaction for causing her so much pleasure despite my inexperience. But I wasn¡¯t done yet myself.

    ¡°Ahnn¡­ Wait, Alex¡­ I can¡¯t yet¡­ I-It¡¯s too soon¡­ Ahhhn!¡±

    I continued to thrust into her. The pleasure center of my brain had already given in to the desires of my body and wouldn¡¯t allow me to stop moving. A tingling sensation was building up, hidden beneath the pleasure as it sent sparks racing throughout my entire being. I knew I was getting close, but I wanted to keep it going.

    I wanted to, but¡­.

    ¡°Yua... can I cum inside of you?¡±

    ¡°Ahnn!... D-Do whatever you wan¡­.Ahnn!¡±

    ¡°Yua, I¡­ love you¡­.!¡±

    Unable to bear holding back the eruption building at the base of my shaft, I quickened my pace and, at the last thrust that triggered the release, I pushed myself as deep into her as I could, held her tight and let loose.

    ¡°AHHHH! Alex. Alex! Something hot is coming out¡­!¡±

    Her pussy squeezed harder, her own natural instincts forcing her body to react in ways her naivet¨¦ shouldn¡¯t have allowed when she wrapped her legs around my back, forcing me to stay with her as I let it out. And it just kept coming. And coming.

    As if my body was taking a cue from hers, I burst with so much pent-up lust that it almost felt like a constant, never ending stream of red-hot desire with each pulse. When the flood refused to cease and the pleasure dug in its feet, I quickly realized that, like her, I haven¡¯t had a moment alone since coming to this world. Unable to stop myself, I sporadically pumped my hips into her, drawing out more and more until, finally, she managed to squeeze out the last drop.

    Breathing as heavily as Yua, I let my cock slip out of her and we both watched as a torrent of semen spilled out of her pussy. Her emerald eyes widened as she pressed her hands to her pubis and watched it all spill out. Soon, a voluminous white puddle appeared on the bed between her thighs.

    Geez¡­Just what kind of weapon did that Goddess give me?

    Curious as the cat she was, her chest still heaving for a breath, Yua reached down to her twitching pussy and scooped up a bit of the semen still flowing out of her to look at it. She rubbed it between her fingers, as if testing its consistency. Completely dumbstruck, I could only look at her.

    It seems as though the girl that shared with me her knowledge of the world, knew next to nothing of sex.

    ¡°Alex¡­ Do humans have a word for this stuff?¡±

    ¡°Ha¡­Ha¡­ Your people don¡¯t? That¡¯s semen.¡±

    She smiled at me. I¡¯m sure it was supposed to be just a sweet smile of a girl being told she did a good job in making her partner feel good, but given the situation, she just looked intensely erotic.

    ¡°Your semen feels so warm inside of me.¡±

    She touched a loving hand to her lower abdomen and smile gently.

    Oh¡­ She just had to say that.

    ¡°Ah! Your manhood got big again!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re just too sexy. You think you¡¯re ready to go again?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master~!¡±

    As scared as she was at first, she eagerly accepted my request despite only just coming down from the loss of her virginity. She held out her arms to welcome my embrace once more, as if she was happy to do this as many times as I wanted.

    ¡°Alex, can you put your manhood back inside me now? Please?¡±

    ¡­ Or maybe the pleasure of feeling her first orgasm had just made her want another taste.

    ¡°I¡¯m definitely going to. But I want you to call it, penis. Okay?¡±

    ¡°Then, please put your penis inside of me.¡±

    As I was already at full mast, her words did nothing but strengthen my arousal further.

    I plunged back into her and fought against her moans so that I might steal another kiss.

    ¡°Ahn¡­.Ahn¡­.Ahn¡­ Master. Your penis feels so good!¡±

    ¡°Yua! I¡¯m cumming again!¡±

    ¡°A-Ahn¡­ I can¡¯t fit anymore semen inside!... Ahnn!¡±

    Unable to stop the oncoming climax, I quickly pulled my cock out of her. The moment I pulled out, the built-up lust inside her from the second and third rounds we had spilled out onto the blanket. I used my hand for the last few pumps and held myself over her body.

    Another eruption stole away with my reason as I let loose over Yua¡¯s tight, quivering body. Somehow, despite achieving climax for the fourth time tonight, the amount I let out didn¡¯t seem to lessen at all. When I noticed her cat ears twitch each time the white-hot magma struck her sweaty flesh, I realized a sort of animalistic desire being fulfilled in marking her body as mine after having already stolen her heart.

    Once the flow finally stopped, I fell down on the bed next to her. We laid there for several minutes, saying nothing and trying to catch our breaths.

    Not yet having enough of her softness, I had just slipped an arm beneath her to squeeze her breast when a notification popped up.

    [New Class Acquired: Sex Master]

    What the hell? I mean, given how Yua actually managed to orgasm more times than I did, I couldn¡¯t deny that I¡¯d done my job, but why was that class a thing?

    ¡°Alex¡­ haa¡­ haa¡­ Can we have the cake now?¡±

    Dismissing the absurd notification for it blocked my sight of her, I pulled the basket we got from the bakery out of my item box and put the loaves of bread back in, since she just wanted something sweet. I handed her a slice of the pre-cut cake and she leaned on me for support as she slowly nibbled away at it.

    Watching her laying naked in bed after an intense night of sex, eating a piece of cake no less, she looked like any girl enjoying the lap of luxury. Even if the house we¡¯d made together wasn¡¯t all that to look at. Smiling and relieved at how content she looked, I took a piece of cake for myself.

    Truly enjoying something sweet and sugary for the first time since coming to this world, I laid in bed with this beautiful girl, thinking about what we would do from here on out. Now that we had gone this far and she had given herself to me completely, I didn¡¯t think I needed to hold back on my desires so much. My mind was already racing.

    ¡°Your penis got big again¡­ Would it be okay if we wait until after we eat?¡±

    Okay. Maybe I did need to hold back. But hey, I have literal decades of loneliness to make up for here.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Yua. No need to push yourself. Just relax and ignore it.¡±

    She offered me a cute, but tired smile and returned to her cake and I tried not to notice the crumbs falling into the valley her cleavage. Turning my mind to other matters now that I had achieved a clarity I¡¯d never experienced before, a certain string of thoughts managed to claw its way back into my mind. I desperately didn¡¯t want it to and wanted very much to just continue fondling Yua, but I knew it was important.

    It wasn¡¯t anything negative, I¡¯d done away with such thoughts, but it was worrying.

    The Goddess claimed she reincarnated me as a favor for her screw up, but how could a Goddess capable of creating a world such as this, capable of seeing the future to an extent, make a mistake like that?

    Short answer, she didn¡¯t. She said she¡¯d ended that life on purpose to spare me, but that had to be a lie. She allowed me to be brought to this world with my mind still intact when she really didn¡¯t need to and told me I was free to do as I pleased.

    That was fine. Understandable to an extent, but she¡¯d contradicted herself in saying she can¡¯t meddle with the affairs of humans while doing all this for me. She had to have a reason for that.

    Pondering this as I slowly chewed my cake, the only one I could think of was that she brought me here to do something. And that that something might not have happened if she told me about it. That she feared my past, weak self would have turned tail and run if she told me.

    But what could it be? Whatever it is, I need to really start taking this whole bettering myself thing more seriously, so that I can be ready.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    Sensing my misplaced worry, Yua pressed herself closer to me, unintentionally rubbing the breasts I meant to squeeze into my arm. I banished that string of thoughts for a later perusal. Tonight was still about her.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± I said, downing the last three bites worth of cake in one go. ¡°If you¡¯re tired, why don¡¯t we¡­¡±

    As she looked up into my eyes, my own couldn¡¯t help themselves from tracing an arc down from where a few lingering crumbs of cake rested on her chin and then lower.

    Her sizeable bosom, now covered in a mixture of sweat and semen, rose and fell with her every breath. She was calm now and her breathing steady. Watching, mesmerized by the two pink tips at their centers as they danced in the moonlight atop their pleasantly jiggling perches, I felt myself harden again.

    Yua¡¯s tired eyes flicked away from mine, no doubt noticing the change in me as well now that it was impossible to hide. With a loving smile that I hoped would never stray too far from her lips, she grabbed hold of my hand with both of hers. Her lips parted and she looked as though she were about to ask for a kiss, but¡­

    ¡°Alex¡­ Can I have a stamina potion?¡±

    That night, I learned that my new class leveled through sex as I reached level 2 before the fatigue finally overcame us and we collapsed into each other¡¯s arms.

    ¨C Volume 1 End ¨C

 Volume 2 - Chapter 1a

    The early morning sun was in full bloom once more. A wind so delectably gentle caressed the nape of my sweat-drenched neck as I watched the thousands of leaves in the forest behind our cabin rustle to the sound of a new day. Here in this little plot of land nestled between a pair of mountains and a sprawling field of grass, we were all alone.

    As fun as the idea of kicking back and enjoying the charming scenery was, idleness was the furthest thing from my mind. Taking in the pleasure of this beautiful fantasy world¡¯s picturesque fa?ade was not my intention in the slightest. It was merely a benefit to my new daily routine.

    Wiping the sweat from my brow, I focused on my HUD and my health, mana and stamina bars all appeared. While I had enjoyed a good bout of morning exercises and a not-too-long run, my stamina bar had already refilled itself completely. I wasn¡¯t tired or fatigued in the least. The sweat, in part, was merely a by-product of the lingering, pleasant twitching of my muscles as they reveled in their new-found strength. But the main reason why my shirt and the edges of my hair were now damp, was because I had been testing the limits of my magic for the last hour or so. I hadn¡¯t been keeping track of how many Fire Ball spells I¡¯d cast at the side of the mountain since I started, but their heat hadn¡¯t faded fast enough to leave me unaffected.

    Because that particular spell is the one that¡¯s received the most use since I learned it, I wasn¡¯t training it, per se. I was using my familiarity with it to aid in the testing of another spell called Dimensional Step, a teleportation spell of sorts that opens a doorway linking me to a desired location. It was this very effect that I was playing with.

    One night, late, late into the moon¡¯s slow jaunt through the sky, I woke with an urgent need that had to be taken care of. This was fine. Normal, even. The problem was that I need to get up, open the door to our little cabin in the middle of nowhere hoping the creek it would inevitably make wouldn¡¯t rouse the beauty sleeping beside me and that I would survive the trip to my much-needed privacy. I¡¯d had a lot to drink at dinner, so this had to happen. So, I decided on using my magic for this exceedingly mundane task, but as one could imagine, it caused another problem. Dimensional Step creates light when the portal appears.

    Stuck in a three-way split of risks being the noisy door alerting the already extremely sensitive ears of the girl sharing my bed, the magical light of my spell that I then decided was needlessly obnoxious and, of course, ignoring the call of nature, I came up with a little idea I think I otherwise wouldn¡¯t have considered. That being: why not see if I can make the portal smaller?

    Simple, I know and I¡¯m sure I could come up with any number of other solutions now that I was awake, but my half-asleep self was not so intelligent. How he managed to come up with the idea he did and test it out, I couldn¡¯t say, but it worked. After a little trial and error, he managed to figure out that all he needed to do was focus on how large he wanted the door and will its size to change before it actually took shape. This allowed him, me, to slip out of the cabin unnoticed by minimalizing the light it created.

    Yes. That is correct. I learned a new way to use my spell because I had to take a leak.

    The problem was solved, the call of nature answered and, in sleepy me¡¯s truest form, I still ended up waking the girl when I stupidly teleported back into the cabin, as the spell¡¯s light appears on both ends. Thankfully, she found it amusing and sleepily cooed me back to bed.

    Anyways, back to today¡¯s training.

    I was making use of this new trick by having the portal take shape in all sorts of sizes and thanks to this, I found there were a few limitations to it. It cannot get any bigger than the default size, but I can make it about as small as an affle, this world¡¯s equivalent to an apple. Likewise, I can¡¯t change the base, rectangular shape to it at all. What I can do, however, is practice casting the spell faster.

    The Dimensional Step spell takes a great deal of concentration to it, as one mis-placed thought mid-way through the portal¡¯s formation could send you somewhere you don¡¯t want to go. But because of the Memorization trait I had gifting me a perfect memory, using the spell was exceptionally easy thanks to how clearly I could remember the destination. The change in size just needed to be an afterthought.

    It was thanks to this discovery that I found that I could also decrease the size of the Fire Ball spell as well. But aside from the smaller mana cost the smaller versions of the spell incurred, the only real benefit was that it was less destructive when the ball splashed against the mountain¡¯s face. I¡¯d already cleared out anything burnable where I was aiming, but this practice was meant to help me control it better so I could make use of it outside of combat, such as using it to light a campfire to cook by. The first time I tried using the spell for that, we learned the hard way the concussive force of the spell could easily scatter logs. Who knew?

    Several new fires were made, quickly put out and lessons were learned. Not just by me, though. My lovely companion made it a habit to ready us some water whenever it came time to train.

    After my last Fire Ball, a fallen branch snapped underfoot somewhere in the forest and I turned to find Yua, a radiantly beautiful cat girl, stepping out from the trees. The pointed ears resting atop her chestnut hair flicked about, possibly curious about why I¡¯d stopped my spellcasting early today, but her tail held no such concerns as it carelessly waved about through the air.

    As if these fantastical features weren¡¯t enough, when I saw her approach and saw that the jog she¡¯d just finished had left the cleavage poking out of her loose-fit shirt drenched in sweat and her shorts she wore were clinging just a little more snug than they were when we started, I felt myself heat up for reasons completely outside of magic.

    What really caught the eye, though, was the thick wooden pole she carried over her shoulders with two water buckets on either end. Strong as she was, she carried it effortlessly and with so much ease that not only did the water in the buckets not splash about, but that her ample breasts barely jiggled as she moved. And being that I was well aware of the fact that she quite literally did not own a bra, I felt this feat of hers was actually impressive.

    When she caught me looking, one of her trade-marked loving smiles spread across her peachy lips. She didn¡¯t look to be exerting herself at all, but I dashed to her and pulled the pole and buckets off her shoulders.

    ¡°Alex?¡± she said, her ears giving a confused flick. ¡°What are you¡­?¡±

    Before she could say another word, I set the buckets down with much less care than she¡¯d shown them and pulled her into a tight embrace. She giggled at the suddenness of it, but wrapped her arms ¡®round my neck all the same as I pressed my lips to hers.

    ¡°What was that for?¡± she said, smiling as she brushed my bangs off my forehead.

    ¡°You cant¡¯ go walking around looking like that and expect me to not jump on you.¡±

    ¡°Hehehe. I meant about the buckets.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Easy. I told you, you don¡¯t have to go out of your way to collect water anymore.¡±

    The river the water was sourced from was a little bonus that we¡¯d found one day as we took a little stroll together through the forest. Maybe a third of a mile in through the trees and just around the base of the mountain, it was quite the trip just for water. And it was a trip neither of us had to make anymore.

    Before we fled the city we met in, I¡¯d bought myself several spell books, both because their contents sounded useful and because, well, I really wanted to learn more magic. Thanks again to my perfect memory, about a week into our self-imposed isolation, I decided to sit down and crack open those books only to find that I was correct in assuming my Memorization trait allowed me to almost instantly memorize the entire spell, a feat that takes a normal Mage at least a month of hard, diligent work to do. And all I did was quickly skim the pages.

    So, after testing the first of these new spells by shooting a bolt of lightning into the sky through our cabin¡¯s window, I sat right back down and pulled the rest of the books out of my item box and got to reading. Thanks to a combination of how easy it was and my own impatience, I managed to learn thirteen new spells in a single day. While about half of them were only meant to make household chores easier, I was sure everyone back in the Mage¡¯s Guild in Amoranth would shoot me a death-glare if they found out.

    Regardless, one of those spell books happened to contain the Water Ball spell. And just like its elemental counterpart, the spell conjured a literal ball of water out of thin air, using nothing but some mana. Sure, it packed more of a punch than a professional pitcher¡¯s best fastball, but it was still water. Thanks to my ability to see an items description without even touching it, I even learned that it was perfectly safe to drink. So, we had all the water we could drink.

    Despite knowing this simple fact, Yua shot me a wry smile.

    ¡°I brought it in case you tried to burn down the forest again and you ran out of mana.¡±

    ¡°Hey, that only happened twice, and neither time was I out of mana.¡±

    ¡°Hehehe¡­¡±

    She giggled again, but she wasn¡¯t wrong. One of the first of many stupid decisions I made after my reincarnation was testing my Fire Ball spell in the middle of a very flammable forest. The second time was purely by accident while trying to start a fire to cook our dinner.

    ¡°You know,¡± I started, pretending at anger. ¡°I asked you to stop bringing that up.¡±

    I picked up one of the buckets she¡¯d lovingly filled with water and silently cast the Purify Water spell on it.

    ¡°Hehe. Why?¡± she smiled back without a hint of fear in her voice. ¡°Because you got distracted staring at my boobs when you did it?¡±

    ¡°Hey, need I remind you that you weren¡¯t wearing a shirt at the time? How could I not look?¡±

    ¡°Yea, but that¡¯s only because you pulled my shirt off yourself and dragged me to bed. Remember, Mr. Perfect Memory?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Yua, for the crime of reminding me of my mistakes, I sentence you to getting this bucket of water thrown in your face.¡±

    ¡°Hehe. You can try, Master.~¡±

    With a playful grin, Yua lowered herself into her favorite fighting stance, only without the usual fierceness she put into it. I met her challenge and readied my bucket.

    We stared each other down. The leaves of the forest continued to rustle until our silence convinced them to lay still. An unseen woodland critter sensed the faux menace and scampered off into the trees for shelter. Yua¡¯s ear twitched and the shadow of a bird flying overhead between us acted as the gunshot signaling the battle to commence.

    With all my might, I threw the content of my bucket at her right and as expected, she dipped and dodged to the left and away from the other buckets to avoid the spray, letting it splash harmlessly into the grass. Using my chance, I dashed for a second bucket, but my efforts were for naught, as Yua was on me well before I could purify the water a second time.

    Using just enough of the strength she held so dear to not hurt me, she wrapped her arms around me, pinning one of my own to my side and pinning her chest against mine, rendering me immobile against the power of her hug, but not before I could raise my second bucket into the sky. With this and before she could render me completely powerless, I slipped the index and middle fingers of the arm she¡¯d locked down into the front of her shorts, pinning her as well.

    We were at a standstill. Were this a normal fight, she¡¯d have already won. But my bucket held firm. Without releasing me, she looked up at it, then into my eyes and smiled cattily.

    ¡°I think this is my win, Yua.¡±

    ¡°Oh? But if you drop that on me, I¡¯ll get cold and these nice clothes you bought for me might get ruined. I might even get sick.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll keep you warm in bed until you get better.¡±

    ¡°Hehe. Then I suppose I won¡¯t be getting any rest.¡±

    Smirking, planning on turning the white top of her training outfit into a one-woman wet t-shirt contest, I tipped my bucket. A couple droplets of cool water fell down, hit her left breast and slid down into her cleavage. She smiled and I smiled back, ready to sacrifice the both of us to bring out the familiar pink tips she¡¯d been keeping hidden from me since we got dressed this morning.

    Just as I was about to pull the pin and let the water cascade over us, I caught the intense glare of the sun in my eye. It, however, was not reprimanding me for playing with my girl. Instead, it was reminding me of how simplistic our cabin was by how sharp the shadow it cast was.

    We¡¯d lived out here for close to a month now and I¡¯d built this little cabin for us in the dead of night so we¡¯d have some shelter. While I used my Goddess-given abilities to make the construction possible. With the abilities Material Destruction and Creation, both reminiscent of the abilities of a certain popular crafting game, building this was easy. And at the time, I didn¡¯t feel the need to improve the look of the place as all we needed was a roof over our heads, but because of this, the place really wasn¡¯t much to look at.

    ¡°Hey,¡± I said, lowering the bucket. ¡°I was thinking it¡¯s about time we work on improving the cabin. What about you?¡±

    Yua tilted her head cutely and her ear gave another confused flick after continuing to remain dry. She turned to the cabin without letting go, still weary of my trickery.

    ¡°What do you mean? What¡¯s wrong with it?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. I¡¯ve just been thinking of some ways we could improve it. You know, make living here more comfortable.¡±

    Her hold on me slackened and she let go to take a better look at the place. The cabin was essentially just a large wooden box with nothing in it except our bed, a dining table where we shared our meals and a couple other pieces of furniture. So, there was a lot we could add to further improve our lives.

    Now, did I really do nothing to improve our living conditions in the last month. Really? Yes, but I had good reason in that Yua and I were almost constantly busy doing something else much more intimate.

    Now, now. Let¡¯s all get our minds out of the gutter. I don¡¯t just mean doing that. We spent most of our time talking and, during those talks one of the main topics that came up was my struggles with talking to people. And in her loving attempt to combat this issue head on with me, Yua insisted we talk as often as possible, so I could gain experience with someone I actually wanted to converse with. This seemed to work perfectly where she was concerned, but I did end up neglecting my promise to improve the place as soon as possible.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Yua hummed. ¡°Do you think you could add a kitchen? I¡¯d like to cook for you.¡±

    My heart panged with delight at the mere thought of getting to taste something she made, but knowing about her past, I had to ask¡­

    ¡°You know how to cook?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes. Cooking for our masters was one of the many things we were taught to do at the slave house.¡±

    ¡°But I thought you weren¡¯t given any good food to eat.¡±

    Yua, this beautiful, loving cat girl both was and technically always will be a slave. A slave I bought to keep me company back when I was desperate for affection. She¡¯d forgiven me for this and has shown me nothing but love since, but I couldn¡¯t ignore the fact that, after three years of eating nothing but garbage in that slave house, she teared up the first time I gave her real food. I remember this distinctly and without the need for a perfect memory, as the food we shared that night being perfectly bland. But she¡¯d eaten it as if it were the tastiest thing she¡¯d ever eaten.

    Despite this unhappy memory, Yua¡¯s smile did not waver as she turned it back to me.

    ¡°We slaves were taught to cook for the guards and¡­ him, but we weren¡¯t allowed to taste test the meals we made. Someone else did. They¡¯d just tell us how to improve.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­¡±

    ¡°Hehehe. Don¡¯t look so sad. Thanks to that, I¡¯m told I¡¯ve become a good enough cook to run a restaurant.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s great to hear. I bet you¡¯ve gotten tired of my cooking then, huh?¡±

    While my ¡°cooking¡± consisted mainly of opening my item box and selecting which of the pre-made meals we bought on our way out of the city, I did throw together some ingredients here and there to make us some basic meals. I¡¯d only done this because of my promise to keep Yua well fed, since she came to me looking like she hadn¡¯t eaten in a week, but apparently, I might have been wasting our food. Since most of my cooking experience lay in quick and easy meals that didn¡¯t require much prep and frozen things that could be throw straight in the oven, I can¡¯t say I was the best cook myself.

    Sensing the hint of dejection I let slip into my voice, Yua returned to my side and slipped back into a hug.

    Nuzzling her cheek into my chest, she said, ¡°I love your food, too. The things you''ve made from your homeland are a little strange, but I¡¯m happy you made it for me.¡±

    ¡°¡­ I notice you didn¡¯t say it tasted good. For the crime of not complimenting my food, you get the water.¡±

    I held the bucket back up over my head and, giggling some more, she grabbed hold of my arm with both hands to stop me.

    ¡°I¡¯m serious. I did like it. That grilled-cheese thing is my favorite.¡±

    ¡°Ah, yes. The classic.¡±

    Laughing at my own poor example of the good food I promised her, she let go and tugged that the collar of her shirt. The shirt was already an exceedingly loose fit due to it being meant as a comfortable replacement for her sleepwear, so the amount of cleavage she¡¯d left on display was already fairly abundant. But when she pulled on it to fan herself, the only parts of her chest that were left unseen were the pink tips that just barely escaped my line of sight.

    Unfortunately for me, though, she was not trying to entice me back to bed. Instead, she fanned herself with her shirt and her free hand to cool the sweat still clinging to her body. Since she, as a beast-folk, had a very small pool of mana and therefore couldn¡¯t use magic, she¡¯d spent her morning training her body physically. So, when she smiled again after catching me peeking at her, I almost got the impression she might actually enjoyed it if I had poured the water over her.

    ¡°You know, a kitchen sounds nice, but I have something better in mind.¡±

    ¡°Oh? And what would that be?¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just go inside and cool off. I¡¯ll let you know when I¡¯m done.¡±

    Unphased by my lack of detail, Yua lifted herself onto her toes and planted a kiss on my cheek before she turned and left. Figuring that a chance had made itself known, once she was a few steps away, I let loose and threw the water at her. Her ears gave a small flick and she effortlessly jumped to the side to avoid the splash without even looking. From over her shoulder and through the chestnut hair draped over it, she smirked at me and continued walking.

    With a small shrug of mourning for my failed attempt, I followed her inside with the last two buckets.

    I set the water down on the table and purified it so we could at least get some honest use of her labor and set about scanning the room for the best location to add an attachment to our little cabin in the middle of nowhere. And I was stumped.

    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    This return to an even more secluded version of the isolation I once complained about was actually now incredibly comforting. Now that I get to routinely spurn the sun¡¯s valiant attempts to rouse me from my slumber so I could enjoy my true wake up call in the form of Yua¡¯s passionate good morning kisses, I really couldn¡¯t complain anymore. Not as long as she was with me.

    The problem lay in that I am no architect and because there weren¡¯t any nearby examples to base this build on. No other building¡¯s whose designs could inspire me. I was going to have to go off my own imagination. This was fine to an extent, but I had no idea how best to work this.

    I shrugged again, deciding to wing it, and took another quick look around the room to decide where to start when I found Yua standing beside the bed. With the pile of neatly folded clothes she¡¯d left on it for herself, I knew what she had in mind, but I stopped her just as she lifted the hem of her shirt up to take it off.

    ¡°Wait, Yua. Don¡¯t change yet. With what I have in mind, you won¡¯t need to.¡±

    She smirked at me again. Playfully, she inclined her chin and let her shirt fall back down over her breasts. She then pushed her folded clothes aside and sat herself on our sleeping bag mattress and parted her legs provocatively.

    ¡°And here I thought you wanted to add something to the house.¡±

    Despite our nightly tumbling through the sheets together, I still found my cheeks heating up at the sultry smile she shot me with. But I shook my head.

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. Just hold on a minute. I won¡¯t be long.¡±

    Tilting her head in confusion over the sort of pass that I had not once thought to ignore before, she closed her legs to sit more comfortably. And with just a tiny bit of regret stewing in my mind, and after choosing the corner by the dining table as my target, I got to work.

    Work on what, you may ask. To put it simply, a bath. Though we joked about it, the water Yua collected from the river was actually, partially, meant to clean ourselves with once our training for the day was done. Due to Yua¡¯s nose being so sensitive, we had to clean ourselves regularly so she wasn¡¯t left feeling uncomfortable the whole time. She went through the great effort of getting used to city smells in her time staying with the humans there and forced herself to get used to quite a bit, but I didn¡¯t want her to have to do so in her own home. So, I bore the burden of bathing via bucket this last month, even though my Body Wash spell was more than effective enough.

    But now that I¡¯d perfected the control of my Fire Ball spell, we¡¯d no longer had to deal with cold river water. Or so I hoped. The plan, at least, was to not evaporate the water on accident.

    While I had grown up with the luxury of running water, it didn¡¯t take me all that long to acclimate myself to using water straight from the source, now I think I need to make use of the gold I put into my magic and actually start using it to make our lives a little easier.

    Focusing on the back wall in the corner of the cabin, I activated Material Destruction and a section of the wall and flooring about twice the width of a typical doorway disappeared without my having to touch it. Sunlight streamed in through the new hole, drawing an interested look from Yua, but she waited patiently.

    With the soil beneath the flooring now visible again, I made repeated casts of the Destruction ability to dig down into the ground. With Material Creation, I reused the wood I just removed and reshaped it to cover the path I dug to make a short staircase. Once more amused by how the ability made the perfectly smoothed wood look like it¡¯d been mechanically-carved from a single piece of timbre, I smirked as I dug deeper.

    Deep enough underground were the sun¡¯s gentle rays could no longer reach me, I cast the Fairy¡¯s Light spell and three tiny orbs of energy formed in the air, orbiting around one another and lighting the room. I hadn¡¯t needed to do much testing with this particular spell, since it did pretty much exactly what I was expecting of it in that it created a small orb of pure light to replace the need for a torch. So, I was unsurprised but grateful when a small ball of light, seemingly without any fuel to keep itself lit, floated out of my hand and flew up to hover over my head, lighting my surroundings with a bright white light.

    Biting back a small laugh at how useful this basic spell was, where its video game counterpart was nothing but a convenience I¡¯d routinely forget to cast, I quickly carved out a large portion of the surrounding soil, making us what was essentially a temporary basement.

    After I had made this new addition to our cabin sufficiently large enough, I quickly covered the surrounding dirt walls and ceiling with the leftover wood I had in my item box after clearing the training grounds behind the cabin. Thick, sturdy wood paneling popped into existence and quickly took to the shape of a proper room.

    Satisfied with my work so far, I thought of what I was making and made an air hole in the ceiling leading back up through the soil and letting in an abundance of sunlight. As is, the hole would be a trip hazard when training, but I could just cover it when I set about expanding the rest of the house.

    After that, I set about making a large, lidless box of wood that expanded the entire length of the room. I made sure that all of the corners and the insides were as smooth and rounded as if an army of carpenters took to scrubbing every inch of it with sandpaper, all so nobody hurt themselves using it. And with this, our bathtub was complete.

    Standing back to observe my work, I considered a few other details the bathroom would need. All I got out of the short brainstorming session was that we¡¯d need a towel rack, another table for our clothes and somewhere to store the cleaning supplies we bought.

    Once I was finished with the smaller details, I decided to put my magic training to the test.

    Putting my Silent Casting trait to good use to keep what I was doing as a surprise for Yua, and her sensitive ears, I silently cast the Water Ball spell. A baseball-sized ball of water no larger than its fiery counterpart shot out of my palm and into the tub, splashing inside with a bit more force than I meant it to, as it dented the wood just enough for it to be noticeable at a glance. So, as with my training, when I cast it again and tried to imagine it coming out much slower. Luckily, this worked and the spell shot from my palm with about as much force as dropping a ball to the ground. Thanks to this, I was able to quickly fill the tub.

    Finally finished, I called Yua over. She was a little unsteady at first when setting foot on the stairs that weren¡¯t there a minute ago, but after testing their ability to properly support her weight, she came to my side. Looking all around the room in awe at the new, but simple addition to the cabin, her eyes eventually landed on the tub and it held her attention as much as I would have expected.

    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡±

    ¡°I built us our own bath.¡±

    ¡°You did?!¡±

    Her surprise was about as par for the course as I could expect, since she already knew what I could do with my abilities and she never ceased to find them interesting. The thing that got her most was that, in this medieval world, most people couldn¡¯t afford to make something like this. And even if they could, it¡¯d still cost them a lot of fire wood just to heat up enough water to make it something you could relax in. Even if it was simple in design, it was a tiny bit extravagant.

    ¡°Alex, this is¡­ amazing.¡±

    I let slip a small laugh at her trying and failing not to resort to her favorite compliment. Trying not to belittle her enthusiasm by saying all this was easy to make, I pushed on.

    ¡°Thanks, but I brought you down here to help me.¡±

    ¡°Really? How can I help?¡±

    Yua immediately stood at attention, her heels clapping together with enough force to make her sizeable bust jiggle as she waited for her next order like a trained soldier. I couldn¡¯t help but smile at her.

    ¡°All you need to do is stand there. I¡¯m going to use fire magic to heat the water in the bath. I haven¡¯t tried this before, so if any steam it makes happens to burn me, I¡¯ll need you on standby to heal me. Just keep back by the entrance.¡±

    Not too long before we left Amoranth, we leveled Yua¡¯s Monk class enough in the dungeons to earn her the ability ¡°Healing Punch,¡± which worked sort of like a health potion. However, unlike said potions, all this ability cost was some of her stamina and a bit of skin-to-skin contact. So, in a way, her ability was superior, since it could be used again after a break instead of dropping coin on another potion.

    Fortunately for us, my little fire-starting accident a while back didn¡¯t result in any burns, but that meant I couldn¡¯t know if her ability could treat them just yet. This was all just a precaution. I planned on keeping my spells in check to prevent such a thing anyways.

    ¡°Ready when you are!¡± Yua said, taking a stance that looked like she would tackle me to the ground and force a heal if I got hurt.

    Nodding along with her eagerness, I went ahead and cast my Fire Ball spell at the water. As I thought, as soon as the water swallowed the flame, hot steam exploded into the air and started floating up through the whole in the ceiling, freeing itself from the confines of our little basement bath.

    With a brief moment of pause, I dipped a tentative finger into the water where the spell landed. It was nice and hot, but the corners of the tub weren¡¯t. So, I cast a few more Fire Balls at them to warm them up. Once I was done shooting fire at water, and chuckling inwardly at the absurdity of doing so, the bath was nice and comfortably hot all around.

    ¡°Alright, all done.¡±

    ¡°Eh? But I wanted to help...¡±

    Yua¡¯s ears flattened against her head a little in a show of sadness that would have been otherwise incomplete without the gesture. So, I had to fight the urge to pat her on the head like a cat.

    ¡°You do know that helping me meant I would have gotten hurt, right?¡±

    Using all the acting skills of a drama club dropout, Yua feigned ignorance as she strolled to the tub. With her tail swishing about so playfully, it was only too obvious that she hadn¡¯t considered this.

    I matched her mood with a lighthearted sigh and watched as she bent over the tub to test the water herself. Without any of the hesitation I showed myself, Yua dipped her fingers into the water and slowly ran them across the bath¡¯s surface with a pleasant smile on her face. Knowing that she trusted me enough not to question the heat after I tested it myself made me oddly happy.

    As warm as the sight of her enjoying herself made me feel, I was struck with another sudden realization so blatant that it might as well have appeared as a notification on my HUD. That being: Yua had at some point taken her shorts off.

    With her casually swinging her hips to the tune of her own enjoyment as she played with the water, I could not help but notice that her extra loose top had slipped midway down the slight curve of her back and that there was now nothing covering her shapely bottom but a pair of plain pink panties that seemed hellbent on conforming its fabric to her every curve. No matter how intimate the places those curves were found. I dare say we might have gotten her a pair that was too small for her, but with her tail waving about almost like a metronome meant to draw my gaze, she didn¡¯t seem at all bothered by it.

    As if she¡¯d caught me looking purely by the sudden change to my heartbeat, Yua looked at me from over her shoulder, then to her own swaying hips. She smiled lovingly and stood, sauntering over to me to tap me on the nose with the wet tip of the finger she¡¯d been running through the water.

    ¡°Alex, is there something you wanted to ask of me?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yea, actually. Something I¡¯ve been meaning to ask you for a while now.¡±

    Her ears flicked curiously, but her smile didn¡¯t waver. Like she had our first night together, she¡¯d noticed the slight trepidation in my voice and gave me all the room I needed to ask my question. Gulping down my past pessimism before it could rear its ugly head with thoughts of rejection, I pressed on.

    ¡°You missed out on trying to help me with the bath, how would you like to help me out in a way only you can?¡±

    This drew her attention more, her ears flicking with twice the speed. I could tell by the slight wry-turn to her smile that her thoughts were in the same ballpark as my own, but I knew they weren¡¯t quite there.

    ¡°Of course,¡± she said. ¡°Ask away.¡±

    Her ears perked up and her tail started swishing about again where I hadn¡¯t even noticed it went still as she waited. As a slave herself, Yua seemed to take great joy in the fact that I didn¡¯t outright demand things of her and I actively avoided doing so. Not just because I didn¡¯t want to force her, but because, regardless of what I asked of her, she was always willing to do it. Which is why I wanted to be careful here.

    ¡°Could you get on your knees for me?¡±

    ¡°Sure.~¡±

    She happily knelt down right then and there without so much as taking a moment¡¯s pause to consider the short distance she¡¯d left between us. Through the steam clouding the room, she looked straight up at me. Even after all of the lust we¡¯d shared with one another this last month, this was still all new territory for us. I¡¯d been sitting on this request for a couple days now after watching how enthusiastically she went about licking the grease off her fingers after dinner one night, but what gave me pause was the adorable lack of common sense she had when it came to this sort of thing.

    To put it bluntly, Yua knew next to nothing of sex. Naturally, she knew how it was usually done and why people did it, but that was the limit for her. I hadn¡¯t asked if this was due to her being enslaved when she was still a young teen, or if her tribe just didn¡¯t experiment much, but my guess was the latter. Considering how fully aware of what a female slave being bought by a man usually entailed, that was the only sensible option.

    But why consider this now after already having her on her knees? It¡¯s because she didn¡¯t seem to have a clue what my intentions were. She just smiled up at me, waiting for my next request.

    ¡°Now, um¡­ could put my penis in your mouth?¡±

    About as familiar with her body as I was my own by now, I still felt it ungodly embarrassing to actually ask for a favor like this. Up until now, every instance of bedtime fun had been entirely based on spur-of-the-moment feelings. Catching her in the middle of changing her clothes and her grinning seductively back at me after noticing. Or her adjusting her pants to fit her tail and showing off a little too much of what was beneath them when I was already within groping distance. Or even just her morning kiss becoming a bit adventurous when the natural phenomena of the male body¡¯s morning salute to the world stood up to greet her before I could myself.

    Neither of us asked for anything in particular, we just let our feelings take the lead. But this was one of many things I¡¯ve always wanted to try, so I had to take this chance as it presented itself.

    Instead of looking any sort of upset in the face of this sexual favor, Yua just tilted her head in obvious confusion, but started on the belt I was wearing. Thanks to all the times she¡¯d jumped on me herself, she was skilled enough to have both my belt and my pants down around my ankles before I said a word. All the same, she wrapped her slender fingers around the base of my swelling shaft once it sprang out of my underwear. She moved her face a little closer and her touch sent shivers running up my spine.

    Still looking confused, Yua ignored the object of lust in her hand to look me in the eye.

    ¡°You want me to eat your penis?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­ Well, no. It¡¯s not what you¡¯re thinking. I, uh¡­ want you to use your mouth to make me feel good. Like last night, but with your mouth this time. Just lick and suck on it until I tell you to stop. And try to not let your teeth touch it. Okay?¡±

    Knowing that she wouldn¡¯t understand what I meant had I just spit out the word ¡°blowjob¡±, I gave her a quick rundown of how it worked, but she only seemed more confused. I, however, was already half-erect just from her holding my second brain with her hand.

    ¡°Will that really make you feel good?¡± she asked incredulously.

    ¡°Definitely. It might take some practice on your end, but I¡¯m sure you can do it.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± she said, pumping her fist like she were about to go into battle. ¡°If you¡¯re sure, I¡¯ll make you feel good no matter what!¡±

    Without the slightest hint of caution, Yua lifted my cock up to her mouth. Another shiver ran up and down my spine, this time nearly dropping me when I felt the hot breath she let out through her nostrils caress me. Careful to watch my reaction, she licked curiously at my tip. When she saw it twitch and saw me shudder, she must have taken it as a sign that it really did feel good, because she followed up with a kiss. I hadn¡¯t even asked her to do so. She pressed her lips lovingly against the head of my cock, as if only now deciding that our good-morning kiss wasn¡¯t enough to thank me for my efforts in bed last night.

    After a few moments of her testing the waters like this and me wondering if I was abusing my power over her, as she did have the habit of occasionally slipping back into slave mode, she quieted my thoughts when she opened her mouth and let her lips slide over the head of my cock.

    Draining away any and all thoughts other than her loving caress, her slippery tongue slid against the bottom of my shaft, sending sparks of pleasure rocketing a near fatal blow directly into my spine. I nearly let my knees buckle when she took me a little deeper, until I flexed every muscle in my legs to keep myself standing. Due to the impressive size I had been granted upon coming to this world, she could only take in about a third of it at once. But that was all either of us needed.

    Seeing my pleasant reaction, Yua still managed a smile while holding me in her mouth. Taking it as a sign that she really was making me feel good, she got started. Without any order or request given, she started wiggling her tongue this way and that, tasting every inch of my shaft she could reach. At the same time, she sucked on it lightly, as if gently trying to draw out the building pleasure. Being that this was a first for both of us, I didn¡¯t fully know if what she was doing was correct, but damned if it didn¡¯t feel good. The only issue was that she wasn¡¯t moving anything but her tongue.

    Emboldened by how easily she did this for me, I placed a hand between her cat ears, and slowly and lightly started moving her head back and forth along my shaft to get her into the rhythm. She was surprised at first when I suddenly prompted her to take me a little deeper, but she didn¡¯t look at all as uncomfortable as I thought she might. Makes me wonder why I even hesitated.

    A quick learner, once she got the motion down, she was able to slide her tongue along my cock without any guidance. So, keeping my had on her head to run my fingers through her hair, I let her take over.

    ¡°That feels¡­ so good. Yua. Keep going... please.¡±

    Spurred on by my praise, Yua¡¯s tongue started flicking about a little more rapidly. As the pleasure was being sucked out of me, all I could do was watch as the beautiful, half-naked girl between my legs gave her all to make me feel her love. It took every ounce of restraint I had left in me to keep from moving my hips to let her get used to the motion.

    However, before I could throw my head back and give into the sloppy sounds of her first blowjob, she pulled me out of her mouth and, cheeks flushed, she looked up to me with a questioning gaze.

    ¡°Mmphh¡­ Alex, my place down here feels tingly.¡±

    Yua covered her crotch with her hand and looked at me with a concerned twist to her brow. A bit late for that considering we had sex all of last night, but she was too cute to criticize. It may be awkward as all hell to need to teach her these things, but her naivete towards anything even remotely sexual had been made clear this last month. Her knowledge of the world has been invaluable to me so far, but she seemed lost in only this regard.

    Just two days into our secluded life in this cabin, she had sat me down in the middle of the day with a moderately frustrated look on her face. Thinking that she was finally going to tell me I went too far with my semi-frequent groping, she instead pulled me out of my pants, pointed to a certain part of my genitalia and asked ¡°what do humans call those things?¡± Apparently, her people apparently didn¡¯t actually have names for either gender¡¯s bits and pieces and the idea of them having a name seemed to be honestly interesting to her.

    I¡¯d honestly enjoyed getting to share some of my knowledge with her, even with the topic being what it was, so I gave her a quick rundown of how the male body worked. But I was so taken aback by her then using her newfound knowledge to ask me to ¡°use your penis to make her feel good¡± moments after the short lecture concluded, that I apparently forgot to tell her how her own body worked.

    And now, right in the middle of something so intimate, she asked me to explain what was happening to her with all the seriousness of someone asking for the password to stop a ticking time bomb from exploding, so I was more or less at a loss.

    ¡°That place is your vagina. But you can also call it your pussy, but only when we are alone, okay?¡±

    ¡°Is that what humans call it? O-Okay. Then, my pussy feels weird.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s just because you feel aroused¡± I said, not needing to know if I was right thanks to how stiff her nipples were under her shirt. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing. Just keep going and masturbate.¡±

    ¡°Master¡­ bate?... Mmmph¡­ whaf¡¯s fhat?¡±

    Drawing me back into her mouth mid-sentence, her words and lips vibrated against my shaft, nearly knocking me down again.

    Of course, she wouldn¡¯t know what that is. During our first night together, I learned that she didn¡¯t know what her own clitoris was and that touching it could bring her pleasure. As hard as it was to believe, she¡¯s clearly never touched herself before. I knew she was a virgin before I bought her, but finding that out was a surprise so abundant that I could never have been ready.

    ¡°Remember last night, when I made you orgasm with just my fingers?¡±

    I reminded her of the orgasm-inducing foreplay I started on her with before jumping into the real deal and she nodded with my cock still in her mouth.

    ¡°Just do what I did then, but do it to your¡­ self¡­ Fuck, your tongue feels good.¡±

    Ever curious and with a little saliva dripping down her chin, Yua reached a hand between her thighs. I watched as she unashamedly slip her fingers into her panties, making them bulge with the shape of her knuckles, only to then feel her body jolt when she made contact with the part of her begging for attention. Thanks to the very same panties that spurred me into making this request of her, I couldn¡¯t see a thing, but I could see the lust in her eyes telling me she was able to clearly remember how I caressed her.

    Just as I had done for her, Yua quickened the pace of her fingers once she found what worked for her and brought herself to a squirting climax not too long into the pleasure she tried to bring the both of us. With my cock stoppering her moans, I felt my consciousness wane. Another small detail I¡¯d noticed in her was that she gets off pretty easily. Lucky me.

    Despite her orgasm making her entire body shiver, she continued licking up the precum dripping from my cock. Unfortunately, now that she¡¯d finished herself off prematurely, she looked to be struggling to keep up the same pace.

    I desired pleasure, but I wasn¡¯t about to force her into giving it to me. The fact that she was even willing to try this was already more than enough for me. So, I put a little force into the hand I held in her hair to slow her into stopping, even though the pleasured tingling in the base of my shaft was begging me to let her go on.

    ¡°Y-Yua, you can stop if it¡¯s making you need to.¡±

    I pressed her head lightly, giving her a small push to let me go, but when she popped me out of her mouth, she shook her head with an oddly fierce smile I¡¯d thought only belonged on her lips when facing a fight.

    ¡°I can do this,¡± she said. ¡°Please, let me continue¡­ Mmph!¡±

    Without waiting for a response, Yua swept my hand away from her head and got back to work.

    Did I somehow insult her pride for asking her to stop? I did feel her grip on me tighten just a bit, but her technique didn¡¯t improve much. I wasn¡¯t expecting a professional level effort here, but I was so lost in her expression flip-flopping between fierce determination and a loving-effort to care.

    Regardless of how I felt about it, she continued doing her best.

    My shoulders slumped as fireworks began to light off in my mind. In the moments leading up to what I already knew was going to be an explosive finish, my eyelids fluttered and all other worldly worries ceased.

    ¡°Yua, I¡¯m going to... P-Please swallow it.¡±

    Reaching climax at an increasingly fast pace, I almost subconsciously started thrusting my hips, but I managed to hold still for fear of hurting her. Already familiar with what was going to happen once I reached orgasm, Yua braced herself by putting her hands on my thighs and finished me off with just her mouth and tongue.

    A burst of extreme pleasure erupted from the tip of my cock to fill her mouth. She let out a muffled cry of surprise, but she didn¡¯t stop. Even against the absurd volume of the release, her tongue and the suction she assaulted me with continued to draw out more and more until her cheeks started to puff out from the excess.

    When I¡¯d finally reached the limit, we both let me slip out of her mouth, each bellowing a sigh of relief, though for entirely different reasons. With the same non-existent hesitation as before, Yua quickly pressed her lips together and covered her mouth with her hand, so as to not let any of the thick white liquid escape her tongue. I then watched in an aroused awe as she worked to force down what took multiple small swallows to finish.

    Yua¡¯s hand fell to her side and she started breathing heavily. Her chest heaving, she wiped the saliva from her chin and smiled up at me. There was no sign of discomfort in her beauty.

    ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­ Your semens tasted kind of weird. But that masturbation thing felt really good. Have you tried it before?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes¡­ I hope I wasn¡¯t too rough,¡± I sighed again, reeling from the new form of pleasure. ¡°It that was too much, then¡­¡±

    ¡°Did I make you feel good?¡±

    ¡°You did. It felt amazing.¡±

    While I felt about ready to keel over, my admitting this only made her smile widen.

    ¡°Thank goodness,¡± she said. ¡°I was worried I wasn¡¯t doing it right. You think¡­ Do you think it¡¯d be okay if I practice that in the mornings? Your penis is usually really energetic when you wake up anyway, so¡­¡±

    ¡°Wait, you mean you actually want to try again?¡±

    Doing my absolute best not to look the gift horse so far in the mouth that I could see out its back end, I had to ask. Here I thought she might have thought I was pushing her too far, but she looked like she actually enjoyed herself. She nodded with a firm smile.

    ¡°Naturally. If we¡¯re going to do something, we might as well do it right.¡±

    She pumped her fist and pat her bicep, as if I¡¯d just taught her some sort of martial arts technique that she now wanted to master.

    ¡°A-And you want to do it¡­ every day?¡±

    ¡°Yes, please¡­ Oh! Um, only if you¡¯re okay with it. I¡¯m happy to have regular sex if you¡¯d prefer. I just want to make sure to do my best for my mate.¡±

    I blinked. Blinked hard, trying to determine if she and the wonderous thing she just proposed was real, but Yua just kept sitting there on her knees, smiling at me. If I couldn¡¯t still feel her breath caress the saliva she left on my shaft, I would have had no choice but to assume this was a dream.

    ¡°It, uh¡­ I¡¯d love to do this every day. As long as you¡¯re okay with it. If it ever proves to be too tiresome, just let me know.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I can handle this! As your mate, this is nothing.¡±

    With another pump of her fist, Yua affirmed her determination and left no room for question. During our first night together, she told me that going all the way meant we¡¯d be mates forever and she was serious. Whenever the topic of our relationship came up, I was never her boyfriend or her lover, I was her mate. And for all it was worth, she took to that title very seriously.

    ¡°R-Right. Then let¡¯s get in the bath before it gets cold.¡±

 Volume 2 - Chapter 1 b

    Worried our day might not progress past this if we stayed still for too long, I offered her a hand and she took it with a happy grin. I made sure to plant a long kiss on her as thanks before we pulled off the rest of our clothes and headed to the bath.

    Feeling refreshed and excited to finally take a proper bath again, I went ahead and stepped in first. Due to the short delay, the water had cooled just a bit, but was still plenty hot. Feeling its heat surround and relax my muscles was the perfect reminder that the muscles I¡¯d been forcing myself to train needed to relax.

    Eager to try out the hot bath, Yua placed her foot in the water and, with a yelp of surprise, instantly lost her balance and collapsed into me. While I was happy to have this naked beauty jump into my arms, I made sure to catch her. I knew cats on Earth usually weren¡¯t fans of baths, but I didn¡¯t think Yua would be so sensitive to the heat when she looked fine testing it earlier.

    Once she was ready, I held onto her by the hip as I slowly lowered us both into the water. The further down we went, the more she seemed to stiffen. Her tail jerked about wildly once its base sank below the surface, but once it got use to the heat, it relaxed enough to poke out of the water¡¯s surface like a periscope. Squatting in the water, her breasts just barely submerged, Yua¡¯s shoulders slackened as tension slowly faded away.

    ¡°It¡¯s not too hot, is it?¡±

    ¡°No. It feels¡­ Kind of nice. I just never had a hot bath before.¡±

    The life she led up to my buying her, and probably even before she was enslaved, must have not given her very many chances to bathe properly. While she was mostly clean the day we met, that was likely only because the slave house kept their products clean so they could meet with potential buyers at a moment¡¯s notice. And they likely did so with cold water, as we had been all month. It was because of the rough life she suffered that I wanted to give her as many luxuries as I could.

    While that was the main reason for making her this huge tub, it was also because I personally hated cold baths. In all the time I¡¯d spent in this world so far, having to do most everything the hard and slow way, I was really starting to miss the conveniences of modernity. So, I wanted to bring as many of them into our home as I could.

    ¡°You ready to sit down?¡±

    ¡°Yup. This heat is nothing.¡±

    ¡°Good, could you sit on my lap, please?¡±

    As shameful as it might be, one of my greatest desires was to take a bath with a lover. Just a bath. No extra funny business required. We¡¯d just sit there with her on my lap, my arms wrapped tight around her waist and with her leaning into me, so we could both relax in our shared vulnerability and let the heat of the water sooth our daily worries for a little while.

    It was a simple, probably even laughable desire, I know, but now that I had Yua at my side, I really wanted to make it a reality. And as unbelievable as it may seem, this was even more important to me than the little favor I asked of her a moment ago. My only regret on the matter is not building this bath sooner.

    Not knowing any of this, Yua seemed to have misinterpreted my request. With her back to me, her hips hovering right over mine, she reached into the water and took hold of my penis and started guiding it toward her.

    ¡°Yua, wait. Thank you, but that¡¯s not what I meant.¡±

    ¡°Eh? But your penis is hard again.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t deny that. Even if my fantasy didn¡¯t require what she was attempting, there was no way I couldn¡¯t react to her trying. But I truly just wanted to enjoy this moment for a while.

    ¡°I know, but try to ignore it. Let¡¯s just enjoy the water.¡±

    I put my hands on her hips and guided her away from the monster trying to steal my reason away and had her sit on my lap. The soft, pleasant pressure of having a girl sit on top of me was almost enough to make me regret stopping her advances. So, I steeled myself by wrapping my arms around her stomach and pulled her closer.

    ¡°Is it really okay for me to sit on you like this?¡±

    ¡°Definitely,¡± I said, already on cloud nine. ¡°In fact, from now on, when we take a bath together, this is how I want us to do it.¡±

    ¡°Hehe. If you say so.~¡±

    Smiling at me over her shoulder, Yua let herself lean against my chest.

    I buried my chin into her chestnut hair and her ears twitched playfully against my cheeks. While we let the heat of the water soothe the muscles we¡¯d been overworking every day, and every night, I quickly found myself almost comfortable enough to fall asleep on the spot. My buddy downstairs had wilted after her touch abandoned it and, while the softness of her bottom pressing it down under the water was powerful in its own way, he didn¡¯t rise up again.

    ¡°Mmm¡­¡±

    Cooing comfortably herself, Yua rolled her shoulders to work out a few of the kinks she¡¯d built up fighting imaginary opponents. She brought up a hand and squeezed her right shoulder, seemingly the one most affected by her training.

    As a silent thanks for everything she¡¯d done for me up until now, I placed my hands on her shoulders and helped press the soreness out of her. Her ears flicked, but as soon as I started, she let her hand fall back into the water and let me take over. So, I added some more pressure and started massaging her.

    I wasn¡¯t sure if I was doing it right, but when I squeezed the parts of her that might have been sore, she fully surrendered to the massage and tilted her head back. Her cheeks were flushed, probably more from the water than my efforts, but when she opened her mouth to let out a cute moan of pleasure, I could have easily been confused.

    ¡°¡­ That feels good.¡±

    I laughed. ¡°It¡¯s supposed to.¡±

    Yua was strong, both physically and mentally. Stronger than me when it came to our stats, for sure. So, I felt it safe to put a bit more force into my massage by pushing my thumbs roughly into both her shoulder blades and the back of her neck, trying to further rub out the kinks and sooth the parts of her the hot water couldn¡¯t reach. Definitely going to have to make the bath deeper later.

    I had no prior experience massaging another person, but thanks again to my perfect memory, I quickly caught on to which spots and at what pressures I used that made her voice slip out in little gasps of relaxed pleasure. It was similar to how I used my every effort in bed to find her weak spots in order to attack them repeatedly and keep her moaning throughout the night. But because of this mental comparison, I thought to put an end to this train of thought. I didn¡¯t want to ruin the mood.

    Once she¡¯d been kneaded into complete submission and her body had gone a little limp in my arms, I put the massage on hold to help her wash up. Until now, I¡¯d been keeping our soap in my item box, but thanks to the little cubby hole I built into the side of the bath, we had a proper place for it. But for now, I lathered up my hands and turned the shoulder massage into a full-body experience.

    When we had both been cleaned and rinsed properly, Yua slipped off my lap to sit beside me. I¡¯d been about to suggest we get out before we got sick from staying in for too long, but seeing her with that supremely contented smile she wore, I was suddenly and overwhelmingly overcome with the fact that removing her from the water now would be seen as a cardinal sin. So, I draped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her a little closer.

    She took the hand I dangled over her with both of hers and leaned into me. As she snuggled up to me in the water, I enjoyed myself by watching her ears flick off the droplets still clinging to them after rinsing her hair.

    With her body as dangerously arousing as it was, and thanks to how thoroughly I washed her, I made sure to only look anywhere but her most tempting places to let her fully enjoy her first hot bath.

    As I put my every muscle into holding back, the only part of her body that I allowed myself to touch was where I rubbed my thumb up and down her arm. It was then that I noticed something. Well, I noticed it plenty our first night together and every night since, but I was gracefully reminded of just how soft she was. Especially after the hot water relaxed any and all of the tension her muscles had been clinging to.

    It was these muscles, however, that reminded me of something important. Soft as she may be, I¡¯d never let myself forget that the first time I laid eyes on her, she was beating the ever-loving shit out of a group of thugs. She¡¯d even left trembling in their boots when it was done. Thinking back to that day, which already seemed to have happened years ago, I had only one question in mind.

    ¡°Hey, Yua, back when we first met. When I, uh¡­ came to buy you and you were fighting all those men. Why did you suddenly stop to look at me?¡±

    I didn¡¯t want to go and get ahead of myself and assume it had anything to do with my looks. The goddess may have given me a youthful, toned body and a weapon of pure destruction between my legs, but I actually hadn¡¯t had the chance to look at my face just yet. I probably missed several opportunities in catching a glimpse of myself in a window or in a body of water, but I didn¡¯t. I never let the water grow calm enough to take a look and I certainly didn¡¯t think to buy us a mirror during our little shopping date a month ago. I had other things on my mind and my appearance just wasn¡¯t one of them.

    So, I felt like I needed to know why she¡¯d been so captivated by me in that moment. Especially if after that, she still ended up being an understandably snarky bitch to me right after I bought her and until she grew to like me enough to stop.

    ¡°Hmm?¡± she cooed sleepily. ¡°Oh, it was because you smelled.¡±

    ¡°O-oh¡­¡±

    Well shit¡­ Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have asked.

    Giggling to herself, Yua squeezed my hand and shook her head, seemingly forever unawares of how her ears tickled me.

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean. You smelled¡­ spicy.¡±

    Ah, yes. I¡¯d stowed away in the back of a traveling spice merchant¡¯s cart to sneak into the city and some of his spices spilled on me when we hit a bump in the road. I had forced myself to have a very awkward wash out in the semi-public space of the Lazy Cat Inn¡¯s backyard and I thought I¡¯d gotten all of the spice out of my hair, but apparently I was mistaken. It was because of the slave girl that¡¯d come to wash herself and whose brazen openness with her body that caused me to make an early retreat. Despite being a dog-kin herself, she didn¡¯t say a word on how I smelled. She was much too busy trying to give me a visual education on how the birds and the bees worked. However, unbeknownst to her she¡¯d convinced me to visit the slave house where I met Yua in the first place. So, I suppose I have a lot to thank her for.

    Actually, thinking back, that must have been why that dog-kin girl kept telling me she was okay with me staying to wash after I fled from embarrassment. She probably smelled the spices too. Hell, maybe that scent was part of why Yua use to be so cross with me.

    ¡°I hope I at least managed to clean up properly when we first washed together.¡±

    ¡°Mhmm. You did,¡± she said with a nod that left her ears rubbing against my chest. ¡°But it wasn¡¯t your scent that made me stop. Not completely. When I noticed you, I thought you¡¯d just come from eating something spicy for lunch or something, but when I really looked at you, you were the only one that wasn¡¯t shaking. Even Alphonse was scared of me back then, but not you.¡±

    ¡°Haha. Well, to be honest, I kind of was. Right up until I saw you, I was shaking too. But after I saw how beautiful you were, any fear I had in me just sort of vanished. So, it¡¯s not like I deserve any sort of praise for not wetting myself after seeing how you tossed around those thugs.¡±

    I mean, it was my love for beautiful women that made me stand there gawking at her like an idiot. Not any sort of bravery.

    ¡°Hehe, well thank you,¡± she said. ¡°But I think you don¡¯t give yourself enough credit. You were weaker than me at the time, right? And you were weaker than everyone else there, too. But you still stood your ground to face me. Even if it wasn¡¯t to challenge me to a fight, that still took a lot of strength.¡±

    And you fell in love with me right then and there, is what I¡¯d like to say, but I didn¡¯t. I didn¡¯t need to. I know full well that her distain for me that first day was true. As much of a lover of her own strength as she was, the strength she says I showed in that moment, at best, did nothing but catch her interest. Passing as it may be.

    Although, it was almost enough for me to say right here and now that I¡¯d put every point I got from leveling up from now on into my Strength stat, just so I could impress her.

    ¡°Then you showed even more when you chose to stay and buy me instead of run away,¡± she continued. ¡°Every man that came before you just ran away when they saw how violent I was. Then there was how you saved me from that trap in the dungeon and how crazy your heart beat when you kissed me for the first time. I knew you wanted to do so much more to me from how hard you tensed up after we parted, but you still held back.¡±

    ¡°Haha¡­ I hope me not assaulting you when you were vulnerable wasn¡¯t the only reason you came to accept me. That¡¯s a little too¡­¡±

    Sick? Disgusting? Or maybe just sad? Regardless, I can¡¯t deny that I failed to fight off the urge to kiss her in that hot, sweaty moment we had all alone together, trapped inside the block of stone that nearly killed us. But I really hope that what feelings she held for me now weren¡¯t found just because I didn¡¯t do more when I knew she couldn¡¯t fight back.

    Yua shook her head at my dismissal.

    ¡°No, Alex. You don¡¯t understand. In the three years I spent as a slave in that shop, it was drilled into my head every single day that, should my new master be a male, that I¡¯d be forced to service him in bed whenever and however he wanted, no matter what. But then I met you and, despite your feelings and your want being so clear, you still managed to hold back and not abuse the power you had over me. Then you did it again when you ordered me to sleep besides you to save me from the cold floor of the inn.¡±

    Yua paused for a moment, less to take a breath than to think back on a bad memory. Her brow furrowed, but only slightly before she continued.

    ¡°That night, I thought for sure you¡¯d have your way with me. But you didn¡¯t. You kept your promise and didn¡¯t touch me. And again, I knew how much you wanted to. Your penis poked against my butt for most of the night after you rolled onto your side, but you still didn¡¯t do anything I would have hated.¡±

    ¡°Wait¡­ You mean I was, well, hard while I slept?¡±

    What the hell? I don¡¯t remember that. I mean, sure, sleeping next to a girl for the first time, especially one so beautiful, was bound to cause all sorts of feelings to well up in me. But I don¡¯t recall having any sort of sexy dream involving her, that Goddess, or anyone else for that matter. Way to almost screw everything up, me!

    Yua nodded somberly.

    ¡°Yup. I was so scared that I couldn¡¯t sleep for hours. Not until I was positive you were fully asleep.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Sorry I put you through that. And after I swore I only wanted us to sleep, too.¡±

    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    I don¡¯t know if I was expecting her to forgive me, to brush it off as an accident the way she did when she caught sight of my morning wood the next day, or if she¡¯d use this chance to laugh at my expense for the admittedly embarrassing mistake I didn¡¯t even know I made, but she didn¡¯t. She just readjusted her grip on my hand and squeezed it a little tighter.

    ¡°No. You have nothing to apologize for. You have no idea how happy it made me to know that you cared enough to hold back.¡±

    Again, was this connection borne from me not assaulting her? Come on, tell me there¡¯s more to it than that!

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t just that,¡± Yua said, and I had to fight off a sigh of relief. ¡°You went out of your way to care for me every step of the way. Saving me at the risk of your own life. Twice. Buying me boots so I didn¡¯t have to walk on the hard stone humans like to use as floors. Feeding me all sorts of tasty things when all I expected was gruel or hunger. Then, in the clothing shop, you even refused to let the tailor touch my body. You know¡­. some masters like to let their friends play with their slaves, right? But you protected me. Even though you really didn¡¯t need to.¡±

    She hit me with a barrage of reasons for her feelings and snuggled up into my chest. Honestly, I didn¡¯t know how to respond and just watched as her movements caused waves to ripple across the water.

    I wanted to say that the things I did for her were just as much for me as they were for her, since my conscious would have killed me if I treated her the way she was expecting me to. Even now, I doubted the authenticity of my actions as being purely to make her happy. I mean, how could I be praised for the things I did when I did at least half of them just to see her smile? Not for the sake of making her happy, but because I didn¡¯t want her to hate me.

    ¡°For my people,¡± she continued. ¡°Our mates are everything to us. Even more important than we are to ourselves. That¡¯s why I was so scared of you that first night. If you¡¯d taken me, you¡¯d have denied me even the proof that I was still a part of my people. That¡¯s why I stopped you the first time we had sex. We never have sex with anyone but our mates. It¡¯s forbidden. And I wanted to be your mate. But I also wanted you to be mine.¡±

    Unable to say anything in response as she played with my fingers, I pulled my hand away from hers and slipped it down her side and held her. There, I lifted her chin and planted a kiss right on her lips.

    We¡¯d come this far. It no longer matters if the reasons behind my actions back then were pure or not.

    ¡°Yua, I know we haven¡¯t known each other for all that long, and it may be a bit late to say this, but I promise I¡¯ll do right by you. I want you to take everything they taught you in that slave house regarding to how your master might treat you and forget it. All of it. Because I don¡¯t want to see you suffering for even a second.¡±

    Yua¡¯s emotions were hidden, pinned between the damp bangs that stuck to her forehead to cover her eyes and my chest as she nuzzled in just a little closer.

    ¡°You¡¯re too kind¡­¡±

    ¡°Well, you make me want to be kind. I-I mean, like you said, you knew how I felt. And I¡­¡± I clenched my thigh, using the pain my fingers drove into it as the fuel I needed to bring up the painful truth of how we met. ¡°I told you before that I only went to the slave house to buy a girl for sex, but when I met you, I just couldn¡¯t. I know you said I was strong, but I wasn¡¯t. After a lifetime full of loneliness, I jumped at the first chance to force someone to be with me. So, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    This time, my admission caught her attention and, her ears flicking to the sound of my voice, Yua suddenly looked up. Once more, my expectations for the sheer number of disgusted reactions she might gun me down with had been completely wrong. Whereas I¡¯d expected the repeated admission of my wrong doing to make her return to hating me, she instead only raised a curious brow at me.

    ¡°Eh? You wanted a slave because you were lonely? How did you get like that?¡±

    ¡°Er, well¡­ I suppose the people around me just didn¡¯t care for me much. But that¡¯s mainly my fault for not caring about them either. Because I thought I was better than them, I avoided them. And because of that, I was alone. That¡¯s why I left my homeland. I suppose¡­ I just have a lot of love to give, but I had nobody back there to give it to. So, I packed my things and left.¡±

    With packed my things and left being a shitty euphemism for getting hit by a truck and dying, only to be reincarnated in this world, I told her most of the truth. There was much more to it than that, but that was the gist of it. I didn¡¯t want to go complaining about my own life after she reminded me of how terrible hers had been. That could be a conversation for another day.

    Again, there was no furrow to her brow as I told her this. She had the power to listen to my heart and tell when I was lying, but she seemed to have either failed or ignored my little half-truth there and smiled so sweetly, so lovingly back at me that you¡¯d think she was consoling a crying child.

    ¡°So, you have a lot of love to give. Enough to break your own heart by buying a slave?¡±

    ¡°Y-yes¡­¡±

    I still cannot forgive myself for that. Even if doing so allowed me to save Yua¡¯s life, assuming Alphonse, her former master, ever actually intended to follow through on his threats to kill her for the trouble she caused him, what I did was still too wrong to forgive so easily.

    ¡°Then, if you have so much love, can I have some more?¡±

    My heart melted away the moment she let those beautiful words dance out of those luscious lips of hers. In my vaguest attempts at rationality, I was briefly confused as to why she didn¡¯t start to panic, as she no doubt must have heard that my heart had stopped beating, but she didn¡¯t. She just continued smiling that loving smile of hers.

    I didn¡¯t have her ears or her knowhow on how to use them to their fullest, but I was sure, or maybe just hoped, that there was no joking in what she¡¯d said. So, I forced myself to respond with the full truth.

    ¡°You already have it. You may not have liked me all that much when we met, but I can say for certain that I loved you from the moment I met you.¡±

    Yes. I had fallen for what I saw as nothing but the pointlessly ridiculous clich¨¦ of love at first sight with this girl. It no doubt affected my desire to buy her, but it wasn¡¯t exactly the only reason at the time.

    ¡°I love you too,¡± she said, lacing her fingers between mine. ¡°Sorry I was mean when we first met.¡±

    Smiling back at her, I shook my head. She had nothing to apologize for in my book. Anyone would act that way after being bought like an object and, even during the snarky insults directed at my ineptitude, she still helped me learn a lot about this world. So, I hugged her tight enough to nearly pull her back onto my lap and we fell into mutual silence and enjoyed the rest of our bath in peace.

    Miraculously, our bath ended without me jumping on her again. Though the longer we stayed in the water¡¯s slowly fading warm embrace, with her pressing herself against me, the harder it became to hold back the way I did back when we first met. So, when the time came to get out, I was the first to extract myself from the water. Just barely managing to keep my arousal to a minimum, I turned and offered her a hand getting out.

    The second Yua¡¯s wet feet touched the floor, she shivered and, despite our intimate talk, I couldn¡¯t help but notice that her arms were covered in goosebumps and that her nipples were rigid as she rubbed herself to reclaim some of the lost warmth.

    ¡°A-Alex, why did it suddenly get so cold?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. That happens because the bath was hot and the air outside of it isn¡¯t. It¡¯s normal. Here, just dry off with this and you should warm up a bit.¡±

    I grabbed us a towel each from my item box and handed her one. She hurried to dry herself off to be rid of the chill causing her to break out in goosebumps. Smirking, knowing she¡¯d have to get used to this if she wanted to keep enjoying the bath, I hurried to finish up myself and moved to help Yua dry her long hair. Now as dry as we could be, we hurried back upstairs to get dressed and to get on with our day.

    The bracing cool air that blew through the open, glassless windows was enough to leave Yua shaking. The pink buds at the center of her breasts were firmly erect as they unapologetically greeted the breeze with an enthusiasm she herself couldn¡¯t seem to muster. She eyed the blanket she¡¯d neatly spread out on the bed this morning longingly, almost like she wanted to dive back under its protection, so I quickly helped her into her clothes. In our post-bath nudity, the bed should probably be avoided at all costs or we¡¯d just dirty ourselves again.

    In our haste to flee The Great City of Amoranth, I stuffed everything we owned into my item box to make traveling easier and we continued to use it like this for about a week, only taking out what we needed when we needed it and put it back when we were done with it, but our clothes weren¡¯t so easy to dismiss. They¡¯d need to be cleaned at some point and while I learned a spell specifically meant to take care of that, Yua refused to let me use it, saying she wanted to do the cleaning. I tried to convince her that letting me cast a spell that could clean a shirt in a second was easier than doing it by hand, but she wouldn¡¯t have it.

    Part of me thinks she wants to do it because her training as a slave made her feel the need to, which she denied vehemently when the issue first cropped up, but the other part says its just because there isn¡¯t much to do out here. Aside from our daily exercising, the majority of our days consisted mainly of four things: talking, eating, sleeping and, of course, sex. And with that last one taking up a particularly large amount of our time, the most I was able to do for her was to make us a dresser to put our things and the various cleaning implements we failed to buy in the city.

    If that weren¡¯t enough to show loving a girl she was, I noticed real quick that she¡¯d purposefully wait until we were done exercising and she was done exhausting me in bed before she jumped into the chores, because she knew I¡¯d be too tired to offer any help.

    I said upon my reincarnation in this world that I didn¡¯t want life to be so easy and, even if that was mostly true after I realized my true faults, I could help myself but smile as this beauty labored to clean the little cabin I made for us while I practiced my magic.

    ¡°Alex, why are you smiling like that? Aren¡¯t you cold?¡±

    ¡°Er, oh. Yea. Sorry, I was a little distracted.¡±

    The outfit she¡¯d chose for herself today consisted of a pair of striped panties, a pair of knee-high socks, a short skirt and a shirt we both knew would expose a bit of her cleavage. She, apparently, had no sense for fashion and didn¡¯t seem to want to develop one, so I built her wardrobe based entirely on my tastes. Thankfully, she didn¡¯t protest any of it once she tried them on, and now she almost greedily pulled them on while I found something to wear myself.

    Regardless of how her thorough efforts in keeping this place clean might remind her of her past, I have to admit that I occasionally found myself slipping back into a more negative train of thought when I¡¯d remember the little half-truth I¡¯d used to convince myself to buy her, in that I wanted to work on my inability to speak to people casually.

    While the other half of that truth was just lust, I did at least manage to make good on that promise. There were several times this last month where we talked so much that I actually felt the muscles in my neck, cheeks and mouth strain themselves to keep up, but it was all worth it. So, very worth it now that I get to talk to her all I want. I think my past self would have found a chance like this to be just another reminder of what he didn¡¯t have, but I for one have found it entirely blissful to just talk about random nothings and still find Yua smiling as she responded, like she were having the time of her life.

    It wasn¡¯t all fun and games, though. Most of what we talked about consisted of more of what was considered basic knowledge in this world. Meaning that I was effectively studying a great deal of things that any man my age should have learned as a child. One such tidbit of information was how, while Yua¡¯s people didn¡¯t refer to the seasons by name like the humans did, she did manage to convey that we were sitting somewhere in the middle of spring. Which explained why it was so cold when we left the bath.

    While much of the information she shared was based on her personal knowledge, meaning that it was separated from what the humans typically considered the norm, I still felt I¡¯d learned a lot. A good deal of it was something I should have put more effort into learning a few weeks ago, but hey. It¡¯s never too late.

    Once she finished dressing, Yua twisted her hips back and forth to test out the feeling of the loose, fluttering cloth of her skirt with an amused smile. Thinking back, I realized that she did this every time she put on a skirt.

    ¡°Hmm¡­ Yua, before we met, did you wear many skirts?¡±

    ¡°Nope. I¡¯ve only worn pants until you bought me this.¡±

    ¡°Really? How do you like it? If they¡¯re no good, we can get you something different.¡±

    ¡°N-no. They¡¯re great. I¡¯d love anything you picked out for me. It¡¯s just¡­ sort of fun. Like, I¡¯m covered, but not all the way. And it does feel a little breezy between my legs.¡±

    She turned her back to me and wiggled her hips as if to prove her point and the chestnut-colored tail poking out the back of the skirt swayed along with the thin fabric.

    Aside from the few additions to the house and the things we needed for chores, the only real training I got out of my Material Destruction and Creation abilities came from cutting tail holes in the backs of all Yua¡¯s clothes and ear holes into the hood of her cloak. Thanks to these abilities, the holes I made for her were a perfect fit and were just as unblemished as if a professional seamstress had sewn them by hand.

    This lack of effort towards mastering my abilities wasn¡¯t because of my own laziness, per say, but because I put more time into my magic training.

    Done shaking her hips now that she had my attention, she turned a wry grin at me.

    ¡°Did you want to start on the cabin, or did you want to do something¡­ else?¡±

    Knowing full well that that something else could only mean one thing when coupled with that grin, I cleared my throat. It killed me to turn down her advances, but if I gave in now, I felt like I¡¯d never get around to expanding the cabin.

    ¡°I would like to finish building this place, but how about we eat first?¡±

    Instead of letting her grin slip with disappointment, Yua swiftly took on the same loving look I hoped I never got used to. That being said, I did notice her tail jump to attention at the mention of food. As it was her belief that training on an empty stomach was best, neither of us have had breakfast yet.

    ¡°That sounds like a good idea.¡±

    By this point, she no longer salivated at just the thought of a good meal, but her tail always betrayed her enthusiasm. She only started hiding her reactions because she¡¯d gotten used to my way of living, but I still found the excited tapping of her tail all too endearing.

    I am proud to say that I have been keeping up with my promise to let her eat her fill and she¡¯s been looking all the healthier for it, but as I reached into my item box for our breakfast and my hand disappeared into the purple miasma that basically acted as our fridge to keep everything ripe, I came up empty handed.

    Likely seeing how my own expression portrayed the truth of this surprise, Yua¡¯s dropped almost immediately. Though she at least tried to keep up that beautiful smile of hers as she awaited the bad news we both knew would come eventually.

    ¡°Sorry, Yua. We don¡¯t have anything left.¡±

    We bought up what felt like an exorbitant amount of food, as we were expecting to have to keep running after we fled the city, but since we were safe and we didn¡¯t need to ration it out as planned, I guess we let our bellies get a little too greedy. We did have some leftover ingredients such as flour, salt and such, but there wasn¡¯t enough to make anything. Not even the apparently well-trained Yua could fathom any recipe with what we had.

    ¡°If you¡¯d like,¡± she started. ¡°You can teleport me back to Amoranth and I can do some shopping for us.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, but I¡¯m not about to make you do that by yourself. I don¡¯t want to make multiple trips back there every week, so we¡¯d have to buy a lot. Besides, I¡¯m not so sure it¡¯s safe to head back just yet.¡±

    At this, Yua¡¯s smile finally dropped and faded away into a small grimace.

    While we dealt the finishing blow to Alphonse, there was no way of knowing if any of his men or business partners would come after us if we showed ourselves. After going this long without any form of harassment other than the occasional woodland critter that jumped in through the window in the middle of the night, I was sure we were safe out here. But going back to the city could cause a problem. Alphonse admitted to paying off some of the city¡¯s guards and if we were to run into them¡­ While my conscious remained mostly clear in this regard, I did technically kill a man. Even if not directly. But that¡¯d give them plenty reason to lock me up if they¡¯d connected the dots in the time we¡¯d been gone.

    Then again, regardless of the danger, we needed food. An unfortunate truth about this world was that it refuses the common man the ability to hunt for their food unless they have the appropriate class. Any animal killed by someone without said class evaporates into thin air seconds after death. I did try to use my Easy Class Gain trait to earn myself that class, but it seemed lost on me for some reason. Everything had a limit, but since we live next to a forest, this one is particularly annoying.

    ¡°We could wear our cloaks,¡± Yua said. ¡°None of Alphonse¡¯s men were beast folk, so as long as our faces aren¡¯t seen¡­¡±

    ¡°We should probably be fine.¡±

    I did buy them so we could keep a low profile, but in that city? I wasn¡¯t born into this world, I was reincarnated into it. Hardly anyone knows me. And Yua was locked away in that slave house for the last three years. And we hardly did anything to warrant recognition, so we should be fine. But if Alphonse¡¯s goons spread our descriptions¡­

    ¡°I suppose we don¡¯t have much of a choice,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to head back to Amoranth so soon, but¡­ Actually, no. We should go. I need to head to the Adventurer¡¯s guild.¡±

    When I first signed up with the guild, they told me I had to complete at least one quest per month to stay a member. And it¡¯s almost been one month. How lucky that we ran out of food just in time for me to remember that?

    ¡°Maybe they¡¯ll have a quest that¡¯ll direct us to another city. If we could make our food runs somewhere other than Amoranth¡­ Well, for now, we should probably just hope we can buy ourselves a proper mattress wherever we go.¡±

    As fun and lively as our nighttime activities have been, the thought of continuing to sleep on that hard block of wood currently masquerading as a bed left me wanting. It was fine as a temporary measure to keep us off the floor, but I didn¡¯t want Yua to have to burn through her stamina just to heal my back every morning once I couldn¡¯t handle it anymore.

    The only thing that made it bearable was having Yua sleeping peacefully next to me, but as I was on top of her for most of our fun, her backside had probably taken a bit of damage as well. That warrior spirit of hers was likely forcing her to put up with it instead of complaining.

    ¡°But can your teleport spell reach that far?¡± she asked with her tail continuing to swish about, as if my concern for her backside was pointless. ¡°It¡¯d take at least half a day just to get back the same way we left.¡±

    You¡¯re asking that after offering to do a food run?

    While she was likely wrong about how long it would take, as teleporting our way here made it impossible to tell how far we actually moved, I knew I could handle the distance now no problem. After all, I did spend the last month testing that spell¡¯s limits. My Dimensional Step spell only required that I could either see or remember where I wanted to go and I had a perfect memory of the city.

    I¡¯d actually already tested if I could teleport back to Amoranth and did so. However, in doing this, I¡¯d made the mistake of teleporting to the old room we shared at the Lazy Cat Inn out of habit. And while I only poked my head out of the portal to see if I really connected to the city, I found that the innkeeper had noticed that we¡¯d left and that she rented out our room to someone else. And it was a pair of someones. Not only this, but they were making much better use of the bed than we ever did. The man of the couple was doing his best to impregnate his woman as the bed creaked, while the woman¡¯s relentless moaning put the room¡¯s sound-proofing enchantment to the test.

    After I cancelled my unintended peeping, thankfully without them noticing me, I ran to Yua. And after sensing, or rather seeing my arousal, she dropped her shorts and hopped onto the bed before I could even report to her what I¡¯d been doing. So, it was my lust¡¯s fault she didn¡¯t know what I was capable of, not hers.

    Feeling my cheeks get a little hot at just the mental image of that random couple, which my now perfect memory refused to let me forget, I cleared my throat.

    ¡°I can handle it no problem.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll get our things!¡±

    With her unawares of my pervy thoughts, Yua bolted for the dresser to fetch our cloaks so that we could make our return to the city we met in. And despite my worry, seeing her excitedly wriggling her hips at the thought, I couldn¡¯t fathom a complaint.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 2

    Amoranth Forest was just outside the city itself, but both were miles from our cabin. Far enough away for the towering trees shading the area to be of a completely different breed. Same goes for the wildlife whose curiosity had been peaked by the light of my spell. One, a squirrel-like creature with the coloring of a raccoon, poked its head out from one of the many bushes filling the forest. Its ears shot to quick attention and it scurried away the moment it noticed I saw it. I kept a small smile to myself when Yua¡¯s ears twitched at the sound of it fleeing. I scanned the area.

    I¡¯d brought us to the same spot where I first tasted human civilization after being reincarnated. So, while I had a vivid memory of the surroundings, this spot stood out more in my mind than anywhere else.

    That being said, it was almost completely out in the open. A fact that almost immediately became a problem as I spotted the cart of a traveling Merchant, as her info box read, heading down the dirt path towards the city. Luckily, she did not seem to notice my spell thanks to the Sun¡¯s light overpowering it, as she didn¡¯t yank back the horses¡¯ reigns to steer them away from the potential threat we didn¡¯t mean to be.

    Better safe than sorry, I lightly grabbed Yua by the arm and pulled her down to hide behind the fence bordering the forest. Without so much as a yelp in surprise, she squat down out of sight. Though the curious arch to her brow suggested she was only humoring me.

    ¡°Why are we hiding?¡±

    ¡°Shh¡­ Wait until the cart¡¯s gone.¡±

    The merchant unfortunately wasn¡¯t the same kind, elderly man that helped me out before. The person sitting atop the cart¡¯s driver¡¯s perch was a middle-aged woman that happened to be hiding her face with a shawl. It might just be a substitute hood meant to keep the Sun off her, but I didn¡¯t want to risk a pair of beast-folk ears existing beneath it, ready to hear us. Ready to report us.

    Alphonse mentioned before that he¡¯d bribed the men guarding the city gate into arresting us had we tried to run away before Yua¡¯s contract had been paid off. I didn¡¯t want to run the risk of them setting some sort of ambush for us if the merchant told the guards that we, a somewhat suspicious-looking pair, were coming.

    With our old room at the Lazy Cat Inn being potentially occupied, we had nowhere in the city we could teleport to that could assure we wouldn¡¯t be seen. And I still heavily preferred keeping that spell a secret. Besides, one of my first mistakes in this world was me stowing away on a cart to avoid paying the entrance tax. Knowing what I do now of this world, I could only say I was lucky that it didn¡¯t count towards me becoming a Thief. So, out of thanks for that and for the want of righting this wrong, I wanted to enter the city the way I was supposed to.

    Holding my hand on Yua¡¯s waist, we watched as the merchant slowly passed us by. Once we were sure she was out of earshot, we both got back to our feet. Leaning over the fence just to make sure she hadn¡¯t stopped somewhere down the road, I sighed.

    ¡°Why were we hiding from her?¡± Yua asked again, her brow still arched. ¡°You¡¯re not still worried about Alphonse, are you?¡±

    ¡°Er¡­ How did you¡­? Yes, there¡¯s that but it¡¯s also to hide¡­¡±

    ¡°Hide your magic?¡± Yua finished, putting her hands on her hips. ¡°Alphonse is dead. And if that woman questioned us, we could have just told her we were out hunting. You don¡¯t have to worry so much.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­¡±

    I suppose I was just being a bit jumpy, but could you blame me? After everything we went through last time we were here, it¡¯d be stranger if I wasn¡¯t. Though, now that she brings it up, the obvious option of saying we were out to hunt for pelt-drops and such was the obvious answer to why we were out here.

    Yua smiled sweetly to me, already at peace with what happened back then and tugged on my hand.

    ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s get going.¡±

    In a show that everything was truly fine, Yua jumped over the fence in one smooth motion without so much as letting her skirt flutter from the effort. Her tail swishing about in the late morning sun, she stepped further into the road and peered down towards the city gate. Reminded of my ridiculousness, I followed her example.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like there¡¯s many people today,¡± Yua said.

    The line of people and carriages waiting was nowhere near as long as it was last time I was here. The swarm of people that had been carrying the fruits of their labors after working in the fields and the near-endless stream of carts, all vying for entrance into the city, were mostly absent. Replaced by a good handful of those that must have lagged behind the morning rush. Thankfully, this meant we wouldn¡¯t be waiting long.

    ¡°You¡¯re right. Let¡¯s¡­?¡±

    Yua was all but ignoring me as I confirmed her observation. She stared blankly down the long, empty dirt road towards the gate, as if entranced by the sight. I found the tail that had been calmly stroking the air behind her a minute ago now whipping side to side in slow, jerking, excited movements.

    Just as she figured out my worries without my saying a word, I knew exactly what she wanted. If I learned anything about her this last month, it¡¯s that she loves exercise. Other than me, it was always the first thing she did after waking. Where it placed amongst her love for fighting and bedroom antics, I couldn¡¯t say, but seeing that long stretch of unblemished road in front of us left her wanting.

    Smirking at this, I took a moment to ready myself before speaking.

    ¡°Hey, how about we have ourselves a little race to the gate? Winner gets to pick what we have for breakfast.¡±

    Her head spun to me so fast that her ears actually lagged behind for a split second before whipping back to stand up straight. When I saw not the loving smile I¡¯d become accustomed to, but a confident grin, I knew I hit the nail on the head.

    ¡°You¡¯re on. I look forward to having barbequed pork, Master.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Confident you¡¯ll win before we even start? How cocky.¡±

    ¡°Hehe. Well, since you won¡¯t use your magic, I think the winner will be obvious.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s how it¡¯s going to be? I see. Then how about instead, we¡­!¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡±

    I took off sprinting full speed towards the gate, leaving her complaining in the dust. I wasn¡¯t usually a sore loser when it came to sports, but knowing full well that her Speed stat was higher than mine, I felt as though I deserved a little handicap.

    And thanks to this, I only lost by about ten paces.

    Neither of us were out of breath, but we were both laughing as we huddled together in line. As I didn¡¯t have the benefit of having my ears sticking out of it to keep it straight, I had to take a moment to fix the hood of my cloak as I waited for Yua to finish patting herself on the back for her victory.

    We¡¯d drawn the attention of quite a few people on the way, but none seemed to care much as they all went back to waiting for their turn in line. Included in this were the gate guards. I hadn¡¯t taken into account how they might react to a couple of cloaked people running towards them, but once we joined the others in line, they all but stopped caring as the line slowly inched forwards.

    Yua, still grinning beneath her hood, leaned around the crowd to look at something ahead of us that gave her ears a curious twitch. Or rather, it was a someone, as she caught my eye too once I took notice of her.

    When I first caught sight of the long, wavy green hair that ran down the girl¡¯s slender back straight to her hips, I almost immediately thought it was the tiny Apothecary we met in the city and was about to call out to her, but thought better of it just as fast. Probably for the same reason why Yua turned her nose on the girl and lost interest.

    It wasn¡¯t her. This girl wasn¡¯t as petite as the apothecary in any of the height, bust or hip departments, nor was she wearing a revealing dress that was the only part of her that could ever attempt to provoke the image of a mature woman. The only thing in common between the two was the color of her hair and the general air of fatigue building up around her as she repeatedly drew in deep breaths.

    She turned, catching me looking and lazily wiped the sweat from her brow with her sleeve. She was cute, but with all that sweat caking her pretty face, she looked as though she¡¯d spent the last several hours pushing herself to her utmost limits in the gym.

    My heart thudded in my chest when Yua tugged my arm. Thinking I was about to receive a jealous glare for staring too long, she instead pulled me towards the girl. This girl, hunched over in a desperate attempt to catch her breath, had failed to keep up with the line and those impatiently waiting behind her hurried to take her place. She looked up, noticing her displacement much too late and let out a long sigh.

    Confused and intrigued by how she was dressed only in a frilly nightgown and a pair of slippers, instead of any of the casual city dresses the women here favored, I found it hard to look away. It was already after noon, but nobody in the line seemed at all bothered by her dress. With this, and how messy her hair was, she looked as though she¡¯d just rolled out of bed.

    ¡°Excuse me, miss. Are you okay?¡±

    The green-haired girl lifted her head, her shoulders slumping from the effort, and met my gaze. Hers widened for at most a second, as if she hadn¡¯t realized I was talking to her, then she hurriedly brushed her sweaty bangs from her forehead.

    ¡°O-Oh,¡± she stammered before forcing her expression to soften. ¡°Um, how may I help you?¡±

    ¡°Are you okay? You look¡­ tired.¡±

    At this, she eyed me dubiously, as if she¡¯d taken what I said as a comment on how sweaty she was, but all she did was sigh and press her hair back some more.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I guess. My mistress just caught me sleeping in too late again. And, as a punishment, she had a carriage drop me off outside the city and forced me to walk back.¡±

    ¡°Mistress¡­?¡±

    For some reason, that one word really stood out to me, but I can¡¯t say why. My computer¡¯s browser history was¡­ interesting¡­ but that word did not exist within the confines of my preferences.

    However, before I came to the sort of conclusion that would have forever solidified me as an idiot, Yua saved me by whispering in my ear.

    ¡°Mistress is what slaves call their female masters.¡±

    Quietly thanking Yua for saving me from making an unfortunate assumption, I made the executive decision to never let either of these two know what I was thinking and checked the girl¡¯s info box. Ignoring how she tugged on and fanned herself with the collar of her nightgown, I read the window that appeared over her head and found that she was indeed a slave, that her name was June and that her only class was Tailor. But learning her class title only brought up another question.

    ¡°So, you¡¯re saying your mistress found you in bed and dumped you out here all on your own?¡±

    June nodded, letting her arms dangle as she tilted her head back to catch her breath. The line moved forward again and this time, she moved with it.

    ¡°Yup. She threw me over her shoulder, tossed me into a carriage and told the driver where to dump me. This is, like, the third time this week.¡±

    At the reminder of how most masters treated their slaves in this world, Yua put up a sympathetic smile, but I clenched my fists.

    During my first pass through the gates, I distinctly remember the city guards mentioning that bandits had been seen in the area. Leaving a girl like her, dressed like that, without a weapon or even a combat class to protect her, in the middle of nowhere just sounded like she was inviting trouble.

    I am no arbiter of justice. While I may be a hypocrite for saying I don¡¯t agree with the slavery system in this world, there was nothing I could do about it. Not when it was as ingrained in life here as the laws of physics. But that was too far. Just imagining what she likely had to put up with on a daily basis that left her tired enough to sleep in despite knowing the punishment she¡¯d receive made me want to help out more with the chores. Even if Yua didn¡¯t want me to.

    ¡°D-Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± June said, forcing a smile back at the both of us. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to complain. It was really my fault for sleeping in so much.¡±

    ¡°Oi! If you¡¯re entering the city, hurry it up!¡±

    June split off from the conversation when the gate guard called to her. Apparently, our talk last longer than we meant it to as it was now her turn. She turned back to us, clutched her hands together in front of her hips and offered us a small bow before running off towards the guard. She made it only five steps before her body lurched again and she had to stop to take a breath.

    Becoming increasingly annoyed to have to keep waiting, the guard thumped the butt of his spear into the dirt a couple times to spur her on, but when he got a better look at her, he palmed his forehead. He and the other two guards with him sighed in unison.

    Guess she wasn¡¯t joking about this being a normal punishment for her.

    June reached into a pocket and dug out a silver coin. Leaving her entrance tax on the silver tray provided for visitors, she hobbled in through the gate the best she could. The guard shook his head as he watched her go, took the coin she offered and tossed it into a lockbox before waving us forward.

    ¡°Sorry for the wait,¡± he said. ¡°What¡¯s your business in Amoranth?¡±

    Openly eyeing our cloaks, he straightened his back and tightened his grip on his spear. Choosing to believe in Yua and very much wanting to avoid creating more trouble for ourselves in this city, I pulled my hood down and let him look at the best polite smile I could muster before answering.

    Thankfully, his arrogantly-bored expression suggested he didn¡¯t recognize me. A couple of his buddies were still eyeing us suspiciously, but only until Yua copied me and pulled off her hood. I forced my smile to remain on my lips when I noticed that their gazes turned more inquisitive when I caught where exactly on Yua¡¯s person they were looking. I supposed that a girl in a skirt, knee-socks and a cloak must look pretty odd.

    ¡°We¡¯re here to visit the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡±

    ¡°Right. 2 silvers for two people.¡±

    He gestured to the silver tray and, remembering exactly why everyone trading money used these silver trays, I set the coins on it without question. He leaned over, looked at the coins briefly, shrugged and waved us through before accepting them and ushering the next person forward.

    Catching a sort of I told you so smirk from Yua, we threw our hoods back on and passed through the tunnel under the gate.

    Entering the great city on foot instead of under a blanket in the back of a cart felt like I¡¯d been hit with the hustle of the city all at once. In an instant, the city I once believed was a castle exploded into view. The endless rows of buildings stretched as far into the distance, all of them and the untold thousands that lived within were confined and protected by the massive wall that towered high enough for the far side of it to still catch the eye.

    More than the buildings were the people. An endless flow of citizens moved about through the city, to and from and in between the various stalls and shops in the merchant district to the taverns, restaurants, their homes and more. They all felt like an emotionless mob of random NPCs that were only acting at life when I first saw them, but now, as each of them went about their daily lives however they fancied, it felt more real than my previous self-centered depression could have allowed me to see.

    Nothing had changed. One of the most influential men in the city supposedly just up and vanished, but nothing was different. Everyone walking the streets and touring the city still held the same mix of expressions you¡¯d expect from people living the city life anywhere in the world. It was as if his death didn¡¯t matter at all.

    The most striking visual of all, though, found its way to my attention when Yua tugged on my arm and pointed down the city¡¯s main street. There, a green-haired girl clad in a nightgown of a quality higher than what her status as a slave should have allowed, shambled down the cobblestone path.

    June¡¯s shoulders slumped as her head dangled from exhaustion. After managing a grand total of four more steps before she collapsed to the ground in a heap. She didn¡¯t even have the chance to catch herself as she fell. She just plopped down face first into the street as if every muscle in her body gave up in unison. None of those walking near spared her more than a glance and walked on, robbing me of the wonder the city had bestowed on me. So, Yua and I ran to her side.

    She hadn¡¯t made it far from the gate, so we were beside her in seconds. Naturally, Yua got to her first and lifted the poor girl¡¯s head from the hard stone and cradled her. Thankfully, she didn¡¯t seem to be hurt from her fall, but her cheeks were flushed. Though the bags holding up her eyes and the sweat dripping off her face made her look like she might have been sick, not tired.

    I would have assumed as much, but Yua only looked mildly concerned for her fellow slave as she examined the girl¡¯s meager musculature. Unimpressed as she was, she didn¡¯t let it affect the way she held her.

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    Silently cursing her mistress¡¯s heartlessness, I reached into my cloak, into my item box, and pulled out a stamina potion. Bewilderingly, June didn¡¯t so much as bat an eye in protest once I uncorked the bottle and pressed it to her lips. I couldn¡¯t say if she thought it was just water, but she gulped it down almost greedily once the liquid energy touched her tongue.

    During our first night together, Yua and I tested the validity of the stamina potion¡¯s effects in full and kept at it for so long that we ended up sleeping until noon the next day. And then we did the same the next few nights. I had put a quick stop to it once I realized we were going to wind up making sleeping in a bad habit, but by that time we¡¯d almost completely drained our supply of the potions.

    So, when June drained the last of the bottle¡¯s contents and her eyes widened to reveal irises that were a green several shades lighter than Yua¡¯s, I knew the potion had done its job. Mostly, anyways. She had to forcefully lift her head to watch as I stuffed the empty potion bottle back into my cloak. She grew concerned when she caught sight of what it was, but Yua lifted her to her feet before she could say a word.

    ¡°You okay?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes,¡± June said, struggling to let her own feet carry her again. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. I just need a little break.¡±

    Weakly, she pointed over to a wood bench that sat in front of what looked to be a small grassy park separating the merchant¡¯s district from the main gate. Careful not to cause her anymore discomfort, I let Yua help her over.

    June¡¯s bottom hit the bench with a relaxed sigh so potent, you¡¯d have thought she just steeped herself in a hot bath. She picked up the collar of her nightgown, which had gone a little see-through from all the sweat, and used it to fan herself again for a moment or two before she decided it required too much effort and stopped. Letting her head hang back over the bench, her hair seemed to blend in with the bush behind her.

    ¡°Thank you for helping me and¡­ for the potion. You really shouldn¡¯t have¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± I said, confusedly watching the concerningly labored rise and fall of her bosom. The potions usually did the trick for Yua, so why hadn¡¯t it completely restored June¡¯s stamina when her level was lower than ours? ¡°Your mistress doesn¡¯t need to know about that.¡±

    At this, June smiled wryly, as if she were more than willing to pull one over on her mistress, but she sank further into the bench all the same. I took out a waterskin that had already been filled with magically purified water I¡¯d been keeping in my item box just in case we needed it and handed it to her. Again, she took to it like she hadn¡¯t seen water in years and gulped it down.

    ¡°How long have you been walking, anyway?¡±

    With a great, pleased gasp for air, June wiped her chin.

    ¡°Gods, I don¡¯t know... It¡¯s been at least five minutes.¡±

    Yua and I looked to each other. Her ears flicked, showing she heard the same thing, so I pressed for clarification.

    ¡°¡­ Okay, sorry, but did you mean five hours? Or maybe five miles? Five days?¡±

    June tilted her head in confusion, took a sip of her drink like this and dismissed me with a small wave.

    ¡°Nope. It took me about five minutes to get from where the carriage dropped me off to the gate. Why?¡±

    I could say nothing to this. This girl was sweating enough for several parts of her nightgown to turn a little transparent. Enough to say for certain that another potion wouldn¡¯t guarantee the return of her stamina. But she only walked for five minutes before she ended up like this? Who gets this winded after such a short walk?

    Forced to arrive at the conclusion that this girl was just irreparably lazy, it took several seconds to work out something coherent to say.

    ¡°No reason. Then, um, are you okay getting back on your own? I¡¯d like to help if I can.¡±

    If she was this weak, then I at least wanted to make sure she stayed safe. I used to be the sort of lazy bum that would rather inhale a bag of chips than go for a walk, so I know all too well how easy it¡¯d be to take advantage of someone when they¡¯re tired.

    After hearing out my offer, and seeing Yua nod in agreement, June¡¯s eyes widened slightly, as if she¡¯d only just fully woken up, before she looked away and fanned herself. Though I did notice a small smile appear on her thin lips before she bowed her head.

    ¡°N-no thanks. I appreciate the offer, but if my mistress knew I was aided, she¡¯d just get more upset. I¡¯ll be fine on my own. I just need a bit of rest. Plus, there¡¯s plenty of benches along the way for me to take breaks, so it¡¯ll only take me a few hours to get back.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­ Well, then, um, have a nice day?¡±

    Still confused, I waved and started back down the street. With all the knights patrolling the city, I figured she¡¯d be safe anyways.

    However, when I reached to take Yua¡¯s hand again, only to grab at nothing, I turned back to find that she was bent over June and shared a few whispers with her. For her part, June grew visibly more confused until she pointed to Yua and then to me. All Yua did in response was nod with a pleasant smile adorning her face.

    Her ears flicked when she caught me looking and she hurried back to my side. She grabbed my arm and led me into the crowd and away from June. Left behind on the bench, June slunk even further into her seat, looking as though my cat girl had graciously gifted her all of my confusion. Though, when her green eyes linked with mine, she pouted.

    I waited until we were a fair distance away, far enough for June¡¯s human ears not to catch what I said, before I said anything.

    ¡°What was that about?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Well, she wanted to talk to me alone, so I don¡¯t think she wanted you to know.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­¡±

    I suppose that, if she knew to whisper low enough to grab only the attention of a cat folk like Yua and nobody else despite the busy hour, then she must be fairly familiar with their people. After mulling it over for a second, Yua went ahead and explained.

    ¡°All she asked was how we knew each other.¡±

    ¡°Really? What, um¡­ What did you tell her?¡±

    I¡¯d already done my time as a dense idiot after we first met, so I wasn¡¯t about to question the existence of our relationship. But I was curious to know how she really saw it.

    ¡°I was honest,¡± Yua said matter-of-factly. ¡°I said you are my mate and my master.¡±

    As happy as it made me to know she was willing to admit we were together to complete strangers, mates was the only word she ever used to describe us. I suppose her people must not have a word for relationships past mates and not mates.

    Still, why bring up that she¡¯s a slave too?

    ¡°Alright then¡­ Look, even if the city¡¯s likely safe now, I don¡¯t plan on staying here for long. So why don¡¯t we get on with our shopping?¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡±

    Gearing up to tackle our shopping mission, Yua pulled at the straps of the backpack she carried.

    ¡°Hold on, take this first.¡±

    From within my cloak, and my item box, I pulled out a small green bag filled with coin. Curiosity striking her leagues more than greed, Yua accepted the bag and¡­ sniffed it. Her nostrils flared once or twice before she looked at me. Knowing what the look in her eye was asking, I answered.

    ¡°I made the bag out of that old rag shirt you used to wear. That¡¯s why it smells like you.¡±

    Ever since we filled up her wardrobe with clothes that didn¡¯t look like they were made from dumpster leftovers, I¡¯d been wondering what to do with the rags she wore when we met. I knew she had no attachment to them so, trying out Material Destruction and Creation to see if it also worked on leather and fabric instead of just wood and stone, I dismantled her pants and reformed them into a pair that looked brand new. I gave the new pair back to her, but I never told her what I did with the shirt that never fit her right to begin with.

    ¡°Really?! Thank you, but what¡¯s the coin for? I thought we were going to shop together.¡±

    Her eyes lit up like fireworks at the gift, but she ended up pouting as though she took the gesture as meaning I was going to send her off on an errand. I laughed.

    ¡°It¡¯s for you. I want you to be able to buy the things you want, too. And I won¡¯t take no for an answer here.¡±

    Hitting her with a preemptive rejection of the want to return the coin, if not the bag, I¡¯d seen furrowing her brow, she sighed. Smiled, but sighed as she tied the bag under her cloak. It was surprisingly hard to get her to accept the coin she herself worked so hard for. Even if, as a salve, she technically couldn¡¯t own the coin, I say it was still hers.

    ¡°Good. Now let¡¯s go.¡±

    I put my hands on her shoulders and walked her into the crowd buzzing through the merchant¡¯s district.

    Having already familiarized myself with most of what the merchant¡¯s district had to offer, I walked Yua through the city. However, unlike our last visit, where we were more or less focused only on pre-cooked foods we could eat on the run, we stopped by several stalls and shops selling all sorts of raw foods and ingredients to save what coin we still had.

    With a much better understanding of how much we needed, we bought enough food to last us at least another couple of months. Each time Yua¡¯s bag overflowed with ingredients and we had to stop in a nearby alley to secretly stuff it all into my item box, I found myself drooling at the delicious thought of how I¡¯d soon be able to enjoy her cooking. I can¡¯t really see myself experiencing the modern-day fantasy of being greeted by my beloved and a lovingly prepared homemade meal after a hard day¡¯s work, but that¡¯s more my fault for not having a proper job. So, maybe helping her in the kitchen would be the next best thing.

    As soon as I confirmed our shopping was done, Yua excitedly grabbed my hand and, with her impatient tail whipping up a storm, pulled me straight towards the barbequed pork stall that so enraptured her tastebuds.

    Seeing this cloaked girl, looking both so out of place and so happy, and over something so simplistic to boot, it was no wonder why I haven¡¯t been missing all of the conveniences Earth held for me in the past. Sure, my magic and abilities made up for some of what was missing and, despite doing little else with my free time than enjoy her company, I haven¡¯t felt the least bit bored without my computer or headphones to keep me secure.

    As if she were trying to stop me from thinking of the past, Yua¡¯s giddily-quick steps drew both me and my attention fully onto her. Enjoying the playful bounce of her tail as she sped through the throng of people, a sudden force struck and caught my left arm. I barely staggered from the surprise blow, but the person that bumped into me fell back and hit the stone sidewalk with a hard thud, letting out a cute ¡°oof!¡± as she did. Before I could fully register what had happened, the thud was quickly followed by a desperate wail from a second person before the sound of glass shattering against the cobblestone ruptured the pleasant atmosphere.

    Catching wind of the commotion she¡¯d failed to see with a flick of the ear, Yua doubled back to see what happened. As did the crowd around us.

    ¡°Hey! Watch where you¡¯re going, jerk!¡± said a red-haired girl. The aggravated glare she shot at me conflicted greatly with her otherwise cute face and the frilly maid¡¯s dress she wore. At first glance, I thought she was one of the maids from the auction house, but there were enough differences in their uniformed outfits to suggest otherwise.

    Unlike her angry declaration might have suggested, it was not her that I accidentally knocked over. Hardly taking notice of me, a second maid sat, half-kneeling on the ground where she landed. Surprisingly, this girl had bright blue hair styled impossibly into a pair of drill-shaped twintails that continued to bounce long after she herself stopped moving.

    More curious was how that odd hair color looked entirely natural on her, as if she had been born with it. And she probably had been. I hadn¡¯t thought much on the various hair colors in this world, but now that I was faced with a glaring, fiery redhead and by the blue-haired girl staring vacantly at the broken glass bottle whose contents were currently soaking the cobblestones, and after meeting a second green-haired girl just an hour ago, I realized that hair color must just be another way this world differed from Earth.

    This world continues to fascinate me in incredibly stupid ways.

    ¡°What are you standing there gawking for?¡± the redhead barked, prodding my chest with her finger. ¡°You trying to look down her top, or something?¡±

    ¡°Wha¡­ N-no,¡± I stammered. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I wasn¡¯t looking where I was going.¡±

    ¡°Hmph! Obviously,¡± the redhead said, grabbing her fellow maid by the elbow. ¡°Come on, Silla. Stop spacing out or your dress will get dirty.¡±

    The blue-haired girl, Silla apparently, hefted herself up without sign of any actual injury. Despite this, she couldn¡¯t pull her eyes off the shattered remains of the bottle. Its info box labeled it as nothing more than a ¡°broken bottle,¡± but the scent emanating from it stung my nose in the way only alcohol could. I knelt to pick up the shards of glass for them by way of apology.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Yua bolted over and grabbed my wrist before I could pick up the bottle to read its label.

    Unfamiliar with alcohol other than the general scent of it, I didn¡¯t know what it was, or had been, specifically, but whatever it was made her wince when her extra-sensitive nose caught wind of it. Maybe the beast-kin, or at least those with powerful noses, weren¡¯t fans of alcohol as a general rule. Realizing that the bottle didn¡¯t belong to me, I let her pull my hand away.

    ¡°Would touching it make me a Thief?¡±

    ¡°No. But you might cut yourself.¡±

    Yua turned my hand over to search for cuts even though I hadn¡¯t touched the glass yet. Just a month ago, she looked like she¡¯d rather beat me to death for just thinking of touching her, now she was handling me as if we¡¯d been together for years.

    The redheaded maid¡¯s glare darkened just as I caught myself smiling like an idiot at Yua¡¯s fussing.

    ¡°Can you two stop flirting?¡± she said. ¡°Do you have any idea what you¡¯ve done?¡±

    ¡°Er, uh¡­¡±

    ¡°Mary¡­¡± Silla said, a despondent look in her eye as she tugged the redhead¡¯s, Mary¡¯s, skirt like a worried little sister. ¡°The mistress is going to kill us.¡±

    Checking their info boxes to confirm their names revealed that they were both slaves. Unlike with Yua¡¯s status page, it didn¡¯t tell me who they ¡°belonged¡± to, but it certainly sounded like they were a woman. Apparently, there were more female slave owners than I would have guessed. And with how scared Silla looked, even female slave masters were known to act violently towards their slaves.

    As if she came to this same conclusion, Yua forgot all about my non-existent injury and turned a worried look to the girls. It took fighting through several life-or-death situations together to really instill the proof that I wasn¡¯t going to abuse my power over her, but as a slave herself being reminded of the life she almost had yet again today, she couldn¡¯t just shrug off their plight.

    ¡°Wait, wait,¡± I said. ¡°Please, this was my fault. How about I buy you a new bottle to give to your¡­er, mistress?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Mary scoffed. ¡°If it was a question of coin, the mistress wouldn¡¯t bat an eyelash at your fuck up. This is Mont¡¯s Black Barrel! Her favorite rum, you idiot!¡±

    ¡°A-And it was the last bottle in all of Amoranth!¡± Silla added, raising her hand into the air, as if she felt she needed permission to join the conversation she was already a part of. ¡°We went to every tavern and inn in the city looking for it!¡±

    ¡°I, uh¡­¡±

    Shit. I was already being overly cautious of potentially running into Alphonse¡¯s thugs to the point of wearing a hood despite the weather being pleasant. But did I really just piss off someone wealthy enough to not only buy two slaves, but who could also afford two as cute as these girls? Not to mention being wealthy enough to give them well-tailored dresses to wear as they did their chores.

    I barely scraped by putting a down payment on Yua¡¯s contract and had to rely on my luck to finish paying it off. But imagining how much Yua cost and how much these two must have cost in comparison, I had to wonder if I just unintentionally picked a fight with some powerful noble or merchant.

    ¡°Look, I¡¯m really sorry. If that was the last bottle, how about I buy you a couple others to replace it? Your mistress may not get what she wanted, but at least she¡¯ll have something to tide her over until another shipment arrives in the city.¡±

    The maids looked to each other; confusion etched clearly on their faces. Silla¡¯s shoulders hiked up as she timidly latched onto Mary¡¯s shoulder, eyeing me wearily all the while. Mary on the other hand, scratched her cheek.

    ¡°Well, um¡­ I suppose my attitude reflects poorly on our mistress, so please accept my apology,¡± Mary said, looking like she were trying her best to sound sincere. ¡°But why are you being so¡­ nice? Most would just brush us off after realizing we¡¯re slaves.¡±

    Before I could say anything, Yua laced her arms around mine, unintentionally drawing my bicep into her cleavage, and smiled for the girls.

    ¡°It¡¯s because my master is nice to slaves!¡±

    ¡°Eh?!¡± Silla gasped. ¡°You¡¯re a slave, too?¡±

    ¡°Yup. And Master has been nothing but kind to me. He¡¯s even going to let me eat pork for breakfast!¡±

    Come on Yua¡­ Aside from threatening to make me blush in public, in front of two cute girls nonetheless, they¡¯re clearly worried about how their own mistress is going to react to what happened. I can only imagine they aren¡¯t being treated as kindly as you are. Why rub it in their faces?

    Was this what she was like when she spoke with June? Was she bragging?

    Mary crossed her arms in a barely hidden huff.

    ¡°Pfft, lucky. I mean, we eat just fine in the mansion, but we have to deal with the mistress¡¯s harassment all the time.¡±

    ¡°S-Sorry to hear that,¡± I said, trying and failing to extract my arm from Yua¡¯s cleavage. ¡°I¡¯m from a place that looks down on slavery, so I try to treat Yua here with respect.¡±

    ¡°That so?¡± Mary said, eyeing Yua up and down. Given that the cat girl was nothing but smiles, she couldn¡¯t really deny what I said.

    Still, on the other hand¡­

    ¡°But if your people look down on slavery, why did you buy a slave?¡±

    Yea. Yea, no. Definitely not telling them why. I don¡¯t even want to remember the answer myself. Not even after acknowledging the fact that, in the end, I technically got what I wanted from buying her in the first place. Now that Yua and I reconciled it, my dark past should stay in the dark.

    ¡°I, uh¡­ So, how much was the rum? I¡¯ll give you three times its worth to make up for breaking it.¡±

    ¡°Th-Three times?! What¡¯s with rich people and this stuff? It¡¯s just booze!¡±

    Haha, sorry, but I¡¯m not really rich. I¡¯m just sitting on a fairly robust pile of coin I only managed to collect purely because of my Luck stat. My actual income is basically nonexistent. But if waving around a bit of coin will help me save face in front of these two innocent-looking girls, then I¡¯ll play the part of a rich merchant. I mean, I did at least have the Merchant class and the coin to back up what I said.

    Forcing a straight smile, hoping they forget their question, I pressed on.

    ¡°So, how much was that bottle?¡±

    ¡°T-Two gold¡­¡±

    ¡°Really? Two gold for a single bottle?!¡±

    What the hell?! Health potions don¡¯t even cost that much and those things are capable of closing life-threatening wounds almost instantly! And regular food, even pre-cooked meals, only costs a few coppers. What the hell was in that bottle, the elixir of life?! Who the hell pays that much for booze?!

    ¡°Y-You don¡¯t need to pay us,¡± Silla said meekly. ¡°We¡¯ll just¡­ The mistress¡¯s punishments usually aren¡¯t too¡­ severe.¡±

    For whatever reason, she blushed deeply. Mary¡¯s cheeks reddened too, but she pat her fellow maid on the shoulder in what looked to be a resigned solidarity.

    ¡°Yea. She¡¯ll just wine and moan about it for a little while. The most she¡¯ll make us do is join her in the ba¡­¡±

    ¡°M-M-Mary! Shush!¡±

    The crimson in Silla¡¯s cheeks deepened several shades as she lunged to cover Mary¡¯s mouth. The redhead just rolled her eyes and let her cheeks get squeezed by the smaller girl.

    Seeing her fellow maid¡¯s blood pressure rise enough to turn even her ears a bright red, Mary sighed through her nostrils, the only part of her still capable of breathing, and pulled Silla¡¯s hand off of her.

    ¡°Fine, fine. Look, Mr.¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, Alex.¡±

    ¡°Okay, Alex, you don¡¯t need to pay us. Our mistress has plenty of her own coin and is usually pretty lax with it. So, don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    ¡°No, I said I¡¯ll pay. So, please, let me do so.¡±

    Yua ended up becoming a Thief because she promised to pay off the Adventurer that saved her life, but ended up being unable to do so completely by accident. Good will aside, I already made a promise myself. Should the world already have decided that my promise was set in stone, I¡¯d rather not run the risk of the same happening to me.

    After checking with Yua, mainly to see if she thought the girls were lying about the rum¡¯s cost, I hid my hand under my cloak and reached into my item box. I held the promised 6 gold out to the maids. Silla¡¯s eyes glowed with what might have been reverence, but Mary eyed the small pile dubiously. Neither of the girls reached for it.

    ¡°Come on. I know it¡¯s a lot, but let me make up for my mistake.¡±

    Seeing that I wasn¡¯t going to back down, Mary slowly stretched out her hand while Silla stayed behind her. It almost looked like they were expecting me to grab at them.

    Carefully reminding myself again of the silver tray¡¯s purpose, I turned my hand over to drop the coins into the offered palm. The coins clattered uneventfully into her hand and, after a quick check of my status page to confirm I didn¡¯t become a Thief, the transaction was completed.

    ¡°Thank you for this,¡± Mary said, stuffing the coins into the pocket of the weirdly small apron she wore around her hips. ¡°We¡¯ll let our mistress know what happened. Hopefully this will be enough for her.¡±

    ¡°Sorry again.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± She squat down, letting her knees rest wide open in rather tomboyish-manner to pick up the broken bottle. Unconcerned for how she looked doing this in public while wearing a skirt, she quicky cleaned up the mess and continued. ¡°Between you and me, I think it¡¯s about time she took a break from the drink anyways.¡±

    With that casual comment on her mistress¡¯s apparent drinking problem, Mary scooped up the last of the glass and gestured to Silla with her chin to have her follow. With nothing more than a small smile as her goodbye, and a timid bow from Silla, the two maids hurried off.

    I hope I didn¡¯t cause them too much trouble.

    ¡°Yua¡­ If you happen to notice my attention slipping in public, please let me know.¡±

    I¡¯d rather not have a repeat of this. Especially not with someone of a higher status than me. At that, I quickly scanned the info boxes of those around us to make sure nobody of concern found us in the commotion.

    ¡°Okay, but should I have said something while they were here?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s just that you were staring at their boobs a lot, so¡­¡±

    ¡°I-I was?!¡±

    I don¡¯t remember actively ogling them and, if my Memorization trait was anything to go off of, then that had to be true, right? Then again, aside from their cuteness and shared petite frames, I do somehow vaguely remember that they were both on the flatter side, with Silla being near-cutting-board levels of flat and with Mary only being slightly bustier, it was a little difficult to deny. How the hell did I notice that without noticing that I noticed?

    Also, and more importantly, was that why Silla kept hiding behind Mary?

    A few of the women walking past us giggled at my expense, forcing me to draw my hood lower over my face. I guess finally becoming a man didn¡¯t cure me of my bad habits.

    ¡°¡­ That¡¯s not your fault, Yua. I shouldn¡¯t have¡­¡±

    ¡°Eh, I think it¡¯s fine, though. They seemed used to it.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not¡­ Ugh. How about we stop talking about this and go eat? I don¡¯t know about you, but I¡¯m starving.¡±

    I rubbed my stomach, positive that it didn¡¯t make so much as a peep that Yua could hear and she beamed at me with a renewed determination to finally get the food I promised her. Seemingly having forgotten how she used to berate me for ogling female Adventurers wearing enchanted bikini-armor, she completely ignored my unintended lecherous gaze with ease and started walking again. Grateful for her mercy, I let her lead the way.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 3

    ¡°You know, when I promised to get you your pork, that meant I was going to pay, right?¡±

    ¡°So?~¡± Yua said back with a catty twist to her lips.

    She puffed out her ample chest and patted her bag of coins, smirking as though she pulled one over on me.

    I¡¯d given her about 10 gold¡¯s worth of assorted coins to work with, but the only thing she bought today was our meal. As a slave, she technically couldn¡¯t own the money I gave her, but it¡¯s hers to use. However, she was being unnecessarily frugal. Even more than I was myself. Still, it¡¯s not like I can force her to use it.

    With our bellies now full and shopping done, we were headed towards our second main objective for our visit to the city.

    Just like everywhere else in the city, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild was packed to bursting with people. Humans and beast-folk mingled and enjoyed their afternoon brews as the thick scent of sweat and alcohol permeated the air. Likewise, Adventurers filled the tables, schmoozing it up with city girls and friends as they regaled all in their daring exploits, their bravery and the valor they claimed during their last quests. More still were taking care of business as usual with the guild staff, like we needed to do.

    We made our way through the crowd, past a small group of friends enjoying a game of throwing small knives at a board with a target painted over it to the cheers and jeers of those who¡¯d clearly been betting on the outcome. Unlike those that chose to drink their worries away this early in the day, those on this side of the guild were all intently looking at the posted quests that were still up for grabs. And there were many, many more quest slips tacked to the board than there were during our last late-night visit here.

    Watching the armor-clad men and women of the guild diligently reading the quest slips and imagining how full the board must have been before the morning rush, the place was really starting to feel more like a proper adventurer¡¯s guild. Rather than a tavern that happened to offer jobs.

    Feeling as though I finally got the chance to really start my life in this fantasy world, I eagerly and carefully pushed my away into the mess of Adventurers clamoring about in front of the board. I could practically feel Yua¡¯s tail waving about curiously as she joined me in scanning the quest slips.

    ¡°What type of quest are you looking for?¡±

    ¡°Nothing in particular. I would like one that could take us to another city, so we could make better use of a trip by getting paid to go there. But right now, we¡¯re just here to make sure we don¡¯t run out of coin.¡±

    The experience we would gain from doing these quests may or may not be enough to level us up, but after a quick check of the board, it was clear quests paid more than the average romp through the dungeon. And those were only the C-rank quests, the only ones I could currently accept. The posted rewards for the higher ranked quests not only made me a little jealous, they suggested that leveling up to pursue work exclusively through the guild might actually be better for us than finding a regular job. No wonder why the place was so packed.

    Ignoring the regret I had for not attempting to convince the guild to let me start at a higher rank, I forced myself to focus on reading through the variety of C-ranked quests. Most of their objectives seemed kind of simple, boring and worst of all, easy. But I refused to complain. Work was work and it was clear that these were quests meant for beginners. Which I technically was. The only real problem was¡­

    ¡°I don¡¯t know any of these places,¡± I said after checking the destinations printed at the bottom of the quest slips.

    With Amoranth being the only civilized place I¡¯ve seen, let alone set foot in on this world, I had very little knowledge to work with.

    ¡°Yua, do you know this one?¡±

    I picked a particularly easy-looking quest that only required us to collect a certain rare herb called a ¡°Connifery Plant¡± in the ¡°Dumort Forest¡± near a certain city called ¡°Guerraway.¡± Being that I am not originally from this world, I had no idea where either of these places were. I did remember the owner of the Bubbling Cauldron, Madame Turquesse, mentioning the name Guerraway during an argument I accidentally started, but she said nothing of its location.

    Yua leaned over my shoulder and carefully read the slip. Her emerald eyes ran through the words, but once before she ultimately shook her head.

    ¡°Hmm. Nope. Sorry, but I don¡¯t know them either.¡±

    ¡°Damn¡­¡±

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just ask the ¡­ Waa!¡±

    Yua staggered and slammed into me, nearly knocking the both of us over. The impact was so sudden that it was like she¡¯d tripped while standing completely still. She only just managed to catch herself on my arm, forcing me to turn and see what happened.

    ¡°You okay?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but¡­¡±

    Yua looked over her shoulder and we spotted a blonde-haired girl still in the middle recoiling from the impact as well. She¡¯d clearly bumped into Yua pretty hard.

    ¡°Oops. Sorry about that. Guerraway is a city just north from here. It¡¯ll take ya about three days by horse to get there.¡±

    Before either of us could complain about how swiftly she moved on from shoving us, our assailant pulled a hand out of her pocket to scratch at her head. With a small smile that suggested her apology was only customary, she played it off with all the nonchalance I would have expected from any of these brutes. But somehow, this girl and her oddly laid back attitude gave off the aura of being both entirely at home in this place as well as a complete anomaly.

    Why is this? Because she wore a pair of loose, baggy pants that by all means should have fallen off her slim waist the second she pulled her hand out of her pocket. Stranger still, up top, instead of a shirt, she wore nothing but what looked like an extra-wide leather belt that covered only the center of her small breasts, leaving the bulge of their undersides plainly visible. And at the same time, this belt had the same effect as a push-up bra in how its tight bindings amplified the sight of her miniscule cleavage.

    Curiosity building from her appearance once I realized her attire wasn¡¯t skimpy because it was enchanted, I checked her info box and found that she was both a level 5 Adventurer and Thief and my confusion almost overwhelmed my curiosity.

    She had the Thief class, not tag.

    I may still have a lot to learn about this world, but what I do know is that committing an act of thievery earned you the ¡°Thief¡± tag in your info box. It was supposed to appear under your name, but hers was under the Class section. Knowing that the first class someone had was the class they were born into, with hers being Adventurer, and with how your sub-class being achieved through your own effort, I came to the quick conclusion that not having a second one before stealing must earn you the class instead of the tag.

    Discovering all this within the first five seconds of meeting her, I quickly shook my head and helped Yua to stand. None of what I just learned about this girl necessarily meant that she was a bad person. Yua sure as hell wasn¡¯t. She might¡¯ve just fallen on hard times or got screwed over in some way I¡¯d rather not imagine.

    Due in part because of this, I decided to pretend I didn¡¯t see anything. Though I did keep weary of her, just in case. Regardless of how she started off, if she was a level 5 Thief, then she¡¯s been at the thieving game for a while yet. At this point, it had to be either a necessary habit or a profession.

    Besides, I couldn¡¯t exactly report her to the guild without explaining how I knew she was a Thief in the first place.

    ¡°Ya okay?¡± the Thief said, eyeing me suspiciously. ¡°Sorry I bumped ya, but I don¡¯t think I hit ya hard enough to rattle your brain.¡±

    Realizing that my observing her info box (and her skimpy outfit) for so long might have given the impression I was ogling, I hurried to answer, only to find that her gaze was switching from Yua¡¯s bust to her own. Her own wide-eyed staring could have been seen as retribution for my own, but the comparison she made seemed to make her blush.

    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m Alex, by the way. And this is Yua. Have you been to Guerraway?¡±

    ¡°Name¡¯s Lilt. And no. I haven¡¯t been there myself. I¡¯ve just seen it on a map a few times.¡±

    She flipped her palms up and shrugged as if what she said was no big deal and, since nobody in this world had the benefit of a phone¡¯s GPS always at the ready in your pocket, she was clearly being modest. Maps were surely on the more expensive side here and without them, Yua¡¯s sonar-like senses and our limited knowledge of the city, I¡¯d be running around this world completely blind.

    ¡°Could you tell me where I could buy one of these maps?¡±

    ¡°Buy one? If that¡¯s what yer after, isn¡¯t the answer obvious?¡±

    With a wry smirk, she leaned in to whisper to Yua, as if she were the one that asked, like she wanted to share a juicy secret.

    ¡°Just go check in with the Cartographer, of course. Haha. Well, sorry. I guess a tourist wouldn¡¯t know that.¡±

    ¡°And what makes you think I¡¯m a tourist?¡±

    ¡°Because I saw ya on the way here. The way ya were looking around the city like everything was brand new kind of makes it obvious.¡±

    Apparently, my revitalized enthusiasm for exploring the city caught the attention of a Thief. Wonderful. At least I know where to find the answer to my questing woes.

    ¡°Can you tell me where to find this Cartographer?¡±

    ¡°Sure. She¡¯s in the northern quarter. She¡¯s a little¡­ weird, but ya should be fine. And, just a little bit of advice by way of apology,¡± she paused, her voice and expression instantly turning serious. ¡°Take these words to heart: Do. Not. Make. Her. Angry. If ya so much as think you¡¯ve ticked her off, even just a little, run for it. Otherwise, you¡¯re a dead man.¡±

    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    ¡°Um, okay? Thanks for the info and... warning, I guess.¡±

    ¡°Thank you for your help,¡± Yua added.

    ¡°No problem,¡± Lilt said, her cheeks growing pink when Yua bowed to thank her on my behalf. Frantically waving off the polite, if not unnecessary, gesture, she took an exaggerated step back. ¡°O-Oh, and the northern quarter is where all the snobby, rich folk and the city¡¯s nobles live. So, if anyone gives ya trouble, I recommend just apologizing and getting yourselves out of of there before they call the guards on you.¡±

    Great, so this Cartographer was likely some sort of rich snob with an anger problem. Fantastic. I better be careful. If this being-an-Adventurer-thing pans out, I may need to seek out her maps from time to time. Let¡¯s not have a repeat of what happened at the Apothecary¡¯s place.

    ¡°Thanks again.¡±

    ¡°No problem,¡± Lilt said, wrenching her gaze off of Yua¡¯s chest again. ¡°If you¡¯ll excuse me¡­¡±

    She leaned past us to collect a quest of her own. It almost looked like she had picked one completely at random, but she didn¡¯t hesitate. After a brief wave and a playful wink aimed at Yua, Lilt turned and disappeared into the crowd.

    Briefly wondering how she intended to accept the quest without getting outed as a Thief, I decided it wasn¡¯t any of my business and tore the Guerraway quest slip off the board. We hurried back through the crowd to join the line behind the other Adventurers waiting to speak to a guild employee.

    The wait, thankfully, wasn¡¯t long as most of those ahead of us were just accepting quests too.

    When we stepped up to the small reception window cut directly into the wall, I found that, true to form for a place such as this, the guild girl behind the counter was a busty, beautiful woman. Not only this, but she was a bunny girl with lilac-colored hair tied into a neat braid over her shoulder. I admit I gulped a little when her abundant chest jiggled provocatively when she waved us forward, but I did my best to not let on that I noticed. Yua already made sure I reentered the world as a true man, I can¡¯t go letting myself get flustered here. Not even if her guild outfit left a plentiful amount of cleavage on display.

    There was a polite air about her, from the way she met my gaze with a soft smile to how she offered a small bow in greeting before sitting up straight in her chair. Though, it was clear from a glance that her smile was nothing more than a professional curtesy as, despite her good looks, it didn¡¯t hold a candle to Yua¡¯s.

    ¡°Good afternoon and welcome to the Amoranth branch of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. How may I help you?¡±

    Without introducing herself, leaving me to spy the name Milly from her info box, she got straight to the point. I handed her the quest slip and without a word, she started reading its contents. One of the tall bunny ears atop her head twitched when she reached the bottom.

    ¡°Something wrong?¡±

    ¡°Not at all,¡± she said easily, handing the slip back. ¡°This quest was pushed through in haste. The one that requested it made it very clear that they need it to be completed quickly. I was worried nobody was going to take it in time.¡±

    They, huh? The Guild must have some sort of policy not to out their customers¡¯ personal details. And if they are adhering to that rule enough to not even mention their gender, then I won¡¯t pry.

    The quest slip said we had a week to bring the plants back and what Lilt said was true, then that meant anyone else would have to take a three-day trip, spend one days searching for the plant, then take another three days just make it back in time. Anyone without access to teleportation would have it rough. Must be why nobody¡¯s taken it yet, even though the reward was a healthy 30 silvers.

    Not bad for just picking some flowers.

    ¡°I can handle it no problem.¡±

    When I gave her a confident thumbs-up that heavily relied on my Dimensional Step spell, Milly let out a small sigh of genuine relief.

    ¡°Excellent. Then, if you would.¡±

    She pushed a scrying orb to me. Without question, I set my hand on the smooth surface of the blue glass globe and let a little mana flow into it. As soon as my info box appeared between me and Milly, she seemed only to check for the guild rank posted there before nodding and replacing the orb with a silver tray.

    ¡°Perfect. If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll take the quest deposit now.¡±

    ¡°Oh, uh¡­¡±

    ¡°Is there something wrong? I can¡¯t let you accept the quest unless you¡­¡±

    ¡°No, I know. I don¡¯t mind, but I was never told how much I¡¯d need to give you.¡±

    When I joined up, I learned that all Adventurers had put up a downpayment to accept a quest so that the guild could still get a cut of the profits in the event that the Adventurer either failed the quest or if they died during it. It was a rather callous insurance policy for them, but it didn¡¯t stop me from pulling out my coin purse.

    ¡°I see. Then let me apologize on behalf of the Guild Master for not informing you properly.¡± Milly cast a side-long glance to the man himself, Cade. He may have been the guild¡¯s leader, but he was busy enjoying himself by serving drinks over in the bar area. ¡°You need to offer thirty-percent of the quest reward to accept it. It will, of course, be repaid to you upon completion of the task.¡±

    Part of me wanted to say that Cade was just being greedy asking for so much, but I did see just how dangerous the details of the higher ranked quests really were and why level mattered so much. Adventurers must actually die fairly often.

    After quickly doing the math, I set out the thirty-percent on the silver tray without complaint. If anything, I was honestly surprised at how easy the process of accepting a quest was.

    ¡°There you go, sir. Please bring the plants back here so we can confirm the quest¡¯s competition. I wish you luck on your travels.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, but is there anything else you can tell us about the area? Neither of us have been there before.¡±

    Milly lifted one corner of her lips into a contemplative dimple and crossed her arms. She furrowed her brow in an honest attempt to think up something useful, but only ended up shaking her head.

    ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯ve never been there, either.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Someone already suggested we see the city Cartographer, anyways. So, I¡¯ll just see what she knows.¡±

    I was sure that, given how she couldn¡¯t just browse the internet to find references for the maps she no doubt had to draw by hand, she had to have been there before in order to chart the land. So, she might know something useful about the area. Anything that could get us there and back in one piece.

    ¡°Th-Th-The Cartographer?¡± Milly stammered, sweat beading on her brow.

    At the mention of just that woman¡¯s class, the bunny girl immediately broke into a fit of shivering. Her face growing pale, she made a grab for my hand before I could pull it away.

    ¡°S-Sir, as a guild employee, please let me remind you not to anger that woman. Or it won¡¯t just be your guild rank on the line!¡±

    This again?

    So, not only was this woman apparently quick to anger and might resort to violence, she¡¯d go after my guild rank too? Moreover, on top of how mentioning just her class was enough to make this bunny girl quake in her boots, a sudden silence stole away with the jovial air existing around all within earshot.

    Drinks stopped flowing. Games ceased. Hardened Adventurers froze in place. And only the conversation over by the bar kept the world from going completely silent. Man, woman, Adventurer and civilian alike all stood stock still and stared at us wide-eyed as if I¡¯d threatened Milly with just those words. None drew their weapons, but a few did make a pointed effort to look away.

    Was the Cartographer a noble? Who else would have the power to thoroughly ruin your life and scare even this bunch of seasoned fighters?

    ¡°Why would you want to meet that¡­ woman?¡± one such person asked, her voice trembling until she took a long swig of ale to calm her nerves.

    ¡°Yea,¡± another echoed. ¡°Just stay away from her.¡±

    ¡°Kid, just take your girl there and head to the dungeons. You¡¯d be loads safer there.¡±

    Thinking back to all the pain and near-death experiences we had in the dungeons, I almost laughed. I wasn¡¯t about to assume these guys were playing a prank on the newbie, their fear was too real to deny, but they sounded crazy.

    Yua, too, looked just as taken aback as she slowly inched her way in front of me to make her return to the vanguard of our party.

    ¡°What are you talking about? How could¡­¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s all this about?¡±

    At the sound of gruff voice of an older man, I felt the hard thump of a hand land on my shoulder. Keenly taking note of the stillness we caused, Cade appeared beside. The bulky muscle of the older man and all the battle scars he proudly bore and all the experience both gave him allowed the man to keep a level head and not crush my shoulder after noticing the sudden mess Milly had become. Thankfully, he had the patience to notice we hadn¡¯t actually caused any trouble, but he crossed his arms all the same.

    Milly sucked up the fear that nearly took her and bowed to her boss as though his appearance was reassuring. But I hadn¡¯t even noticed him leave the bar, and judging by the bewildered was Yua¡¯s ears seemed to need a second to catch up with what her eyes were seeing, neither had she.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I think. I was just asking for directions to the city Cartographer.¡±

    Cade raised a brow at this. Then he smirked after looking at Yua.

    ¡°You want her too, eh? Greedy, ain¡¯t you?¡± he said with a laugh that visibly calmed the mood. I think I heard a few people suck in a breath they¡¯d apparently been holding. ¡°Not possible. She¡¯d tear you apart.¡±

    ¡°I just want a map¡­¡±

    ¡°Ha! Sure, sure, kid.¡±

    ¡°¡­Can you just tell me where to find her?¡±

    ¡°Nope. I have no idea. Never cared to learn. Last time I met her, she caused a huge mess here. All because someone that used to be an active Adventurer tried to get a little handsy. So, I banned her from coming back.¡±

    ¡°Wait, you banned her for protecting herself?¡±

    ¡°Oh, no. That guy got what he deserved when she broke both his arms. Poor bastard can¡¯t hold a sword anymore. I banned her because she broke every table in this place throwing him around. People like us need a place to sit down and relax after a good adventure. Can¡¯t do that without a table to hold your beer, right?¡±

    Cade thumped the nearest seated Adventurer on the shoulder, causing him to remember the fact that he was holding a mug of ale when it sloshed on the table. He quickly tried to salvage what he could and glugged the rest. He then threw the mug at Cade¡¯s head to request another and the Guild Master snatched it out of the air long before it could hit him. Those around the two started laughing.

    ¡°Can you at least give me her name?¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡± Cade grinned mischievously. ¡°Easy. It¡¯s Elane Bellenfort. Hard to forget once you see her. But don¡¯t go engraving that on your heart, ya hear?¡±

    Having said his piece, and laughing deeply, Cade returned to the bar and got right back to serving his drinks.

    Feeling as though I stepped on a landmine by bringing up my plans, I quietly thanked Milly, stuffed the quest slip in my pocket, grabbed Yua¡¯s hand and made for the door just as the mood started to repair itself.

    We once more entered the throng of people bustling about through the city streets and somehow, the air out here was much less imposing.

    Strictly speaking, we didn¡¯t need to visit with this supposedly scary woman. Lilt said Guerraway was to the north, so while I could easily just use my Dimensional Step spell to teleport in the general direction of the north, I might end up getting us lost. There was a lot of north to be had out there and only one Guerraway.  Besides, it¡¯s not like a quest marker suddenly appeared on my compass to direct us.

    That aside, I had some interesting ideas on how a map might work for me. So, it couldn¡¯t hurt to pay the Cartographer a visit. These people may already be on her bad side, but that didn¡¯t mean we were. As long as we didn¡¯t do anything to anger her and, though I am loathed to admit it, my years of passive timidity was likely going to make that easy. Add on to that Yua¡¯s all-around good-natured self, we ought to be fine.

    As we walked the streets towards the northern quarter, Yua gradually grew a little fidgety and she started patting her thighs like she was trying to hold down her skirt from some invisible assailant attempting to flip it. Though the minimal presence of wind inside the city wasn¡¯t going to be enough to cause an accidental flash. So, I stopped her for a moment and pulled her aside to talk.

    ¡°Something wrong?¡±

    ¡°No, sorry. It¡¯s just¡­ skirts are so breezy.¡±

    To emphasize her discomfort, she wiggled her hips and forced the fabric to sway. I guess she must not have noticed earlier because we were enjoying ourselves. And back at the cabin she usually didn¡¯t get to wear them for very long when around me.

    What can I say? I have my preferences and I filled the majority of her wardrobe with skirts for that very reason. Changing the topic for her sake, I asked a different question.

    ¡°Do you know anything about this Cartographer?¡±

    Patting down the front of her skirt one more time, she shook her head.

    ¡°Nope. Never even heard of her. Or that class.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±

    If Lilt and Milly didn¡¯t already make it clear, it was already abundantly obvious that this woman inspired fear. I needed a map to test out my hypothesis, but it might not be worth the risk.

    ¡°We could ask someone else for directions,¡± Yua said. ¡°I¡¯m sure someone else in the city knows the way.¡±

    The sheer abundance of traveling merchants that were setting up temporary shop in Amoranth suggested that was likely true, but I thought better of it.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be taking at least one quest every month. It¡¯s how I plan on keeping our purses and bellies filled. But that means we¡¯ll be needing to ask directions almost every time. I think it¡¯ll be for the best if we¡¯re on friendly terms with the map maker. At least until we know our way around the area.¡±

    Some quests could end up taking us hundreds of miles away, if not further. So, we wouldn¡¯t have time to waste running all over the city, trying to track down someone able to give us directions. And that was only if we could find someone. We had a full week this time around, but that may not be the case in the future.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just be as polite as possible when we talk with her.¡±

    "Right. You''ve been practicing, so you''ll be fine."

    With that little detour settled and in mutual agreement that our plans hadn¡¯t changed, we made our way over to the northern quarter.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 4

    Though neither of us had been there before, it was easy to tell when we¡¯d found the northern district of Amoranth. And it wasn¡¯t because there was a large, secondary wall complete with gate and guards protecting it from the rest of the city.

    Each and every one of the buildings were several times larger than any others in the city. Where the merchant¡¯s district was packed with dozens and dozens of small shops and houses all closely knit together, here each building stood alone. Each large enough to call them mansions and each gaudier than the last. A few were so opulent and over the top that they could have easily been mistaken for some sort of historical government building. But the number of servants they had tending the grounds as we passed suggested I might need to step up that estimation and call them palaces.

    A wealth gap was something I expected to see in a great trading city like this, but the disparity between what I knew and what I saw now was insane.

    There were fewer people out and about here as well. Most of those that deigned to travel under the sun rode in horse-drawn carriages, usually with a professional driver behind the reigns to carefully steer the horses. Those being ferried around all looked about as stuck-up and self-important as anyone would assume they¡¯d be. Fancy clothes. Faces caked with makeup. And of course, a haughty disregard for us peasants. We had to step aside to let them pass several times, only to have them scoff at or berate us for slowing them anyways.

    It was thanks in part to them ignoring us that we had trouble asking for directions. Aside from them, everyone we asked made a pointed effort to either deny knowing where this Bellenfort woman sold her maps, or they warned us to stay away from her. A few even started to sweat a little under the miniscule pressure of our questioning like we had a gun aimed that their head.

    When one of the knights patrolling the area fled after stuttering out that he didn¡¯t know her or where she lived, both statements of which Yua¡¯s ears were fairly certain were barely veiled with lies, a man called out to us.

    ¡°Hey! You¡¯re looking for Miss Bellenfort, right?¡±

    He was a salt-and-pepper-haired man, who just so happened to be a level 48 Merchant and was dressed in some clothes so fine that Gideon over in the Threaded Spool might have flush with jealousy. Yet, he greeted us as though we were equals.

    To our great benefit, when those around us grimaced at the mention of that name, his face instead brightened into a knowing grin.

    ¡°I heard you earlier,¡± he said, lifting his hat to reveal a pair of rounded ears not unlike a squirrel¡¯s. ¡°You¡¯re looking for the Cartographer, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Can you tell us where we can find her?¡±

    ¡°Heh. Another challenger, then. A young man like yourself. I see¡­¡±

    He laughed and cupped his thickly bearded chin between his thumb and index finger to look me up and down. He prodded my biceps and chest with an inquisitive glint to his eye, like a master blacksmith testing the edge of a newly forged blade.

    Getting the same weird vibe I got from Amoranth¡¯s flamboyant armorer when he tried to get me to put on his armor in the middle of his shop, I almost stepped back. He then shot an appraising look to Yua.

    ¡°Heh. Greedy, aren¡¯t you. You don¡¯t look half bad, but¡­ I can¡¯t remember the last time someone without a title or heavy purse came knocking at her door. Hells, I tried myself and I practically got thrown out onto the street.¡±

    Confused, I looked to Yua to see if she clear up what he meant, but all I got was a shrug.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but what do you mean by challenge?¡±

    ¡°Nothing. Don¡¯t mind me. Miss Bellenfort¡¯s just down the street on the left. Just look for the mansion with the large globe out in the garden.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. Let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°Wait.¡±

    Ready to be rid of the man and his prodding, we both turned to leave, but he called out to me again. Reluctantly, I turned back and found him smirking at me. The slow way he shook his head at me almost felt like a father trying to teach his son how pointless it was to try and fly without wings as they stared into the sky together.

    ¡°Kid. A bit of advice. Man-to-man. She¡¯s turned down every offer thrown her way. So, don¡¯t get your hopes up.¡±

    ¡°Um, Okay¡­?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not here to fight,¡± Yua added, though the prospect of the challenge he mentioned did cause a stir in her tail. ¡°We won¡¯t anger her.¡±

    ¡°Haha. See that you don¡¯t, Miss. Good day to you both.¡±

    With that said, he left us with a wave and for some reason, I felt as though the smile he wore as he turned held a great deal of sympathy. Finally, he shook his head and wondered off, shaking his head as though he was sending me to inevitably fail in my endeavors.

    Still more confused than anything, but also a little surprised that I wasn¡¯t feeling all that much dread at the thought of meeting with her despite everyone telling us not to, we kept on and eventually found the Cartographer¡¯s place right where the Merchant said it¡¯d be.

    Compared to the others in the area, it was a smaller mansion, but was still easily four times the size of a regular four-bedroom house. For what it lacked in size, it more than made up for with how expertly the garden out front had been tended. Several neatly trimmed bushes bordered the red brick wall guarding the place. A robust flower garden added some color to the bright green grass that looked like it had been plucked directly from our backyard. And there in the middle of it all was a mass of marble chiseled perfectly into a ball. Even from a distance, it was easy to see that the only markings on its surface came in the shape of continents. And not a single one of these looked familiar to me.

    ¡°This terror of a woman lives here?¡±

    After seeing how the Cartographer lived in such a picturesque mansion, despite knowing that she sold maps and was therefore a merchant, it felt more and more likely that she was a noble. How else could she afford this from just selling maps?

    Seeing that they were left open, I led Yua through the black iron gates that fenced off the yard and down the carved stone steps leading straight to the mansion.

    Weary of leaving a scratch, we knocked on the finely crafted doors that made me want to try even harder with our cabin¡¯s redesign. But unlike our exceedingly humble abode, behind these doors lay the lap of luxury, a home fit to comfortably hold a dozen people without any of them getting in each other¡¯s way.

    Yua looked a little tense, likely because of the idea of this woman being a noble reminded her of those that tried to buy her during her stay in the slave house, but she managed a smile when she caught me looking. It only took around ten seconds before her ears perked up and a woman answered the door.

    She took only a single look at us and offered a polite bow. When she lowered her head, the only thing I could see of her were the floppy dog ears resting atop the short black hair that perfectly framed her cute, mostly expressionless face. Clearly, she was a member of the dog-kin, but the sight of her brought back the memory of the first time I ever met one of her people in the Lazy Cat¡¯s outdoor bath.

    It was because of that eventful flash of inspiration that I found my eyes dropping down lower to notice that, not only did her bustline rival Yua¡¯s, but that she wore something close to a traditional French maid outfit, but unlike the maids I remember from the auction house, her dress had no sleeves. And the small apron resting on her skirt looked like more for fashion than function.

    Wait¡­ Weren¡¯t those maids we ran into earlier wearing this same dress? Mostly, anyways. The tiny apron was a dead giveaway, but the fabric cupping this girl¡¯s breasts was white, not black like theirs. But everything else looked to have been designed by the same person. Right down to the placement of the stitching, the length of her skirt, the apron and to the ribbon they all wore over their chests.

    All these points were the same and that was a fact that made me realize my perfect memory really forced me to memorize a lot of useless information.

    Still, searching for further similarities, I checked this girl¡¯s info box. Her name was simply Erika. A level 1 Beast-Warrior and she was without a second class. A maid with an under-leveled combat class was nothing special. It was understandable. But my breath caught when I found that she too bore the Slave tag under her name.

    Crossing my fingers in hope that, if I was right about their relation to this maid, that Silla and Mary hadn¡¯t made it back yet and to tell their mistress what happened. Starting our business off by mentioning that I was the one that ruined her absurdly expensive booze could only make it harder not to anger her.

    Realizing this, I couldn¡¯t escape the thought of Silla and Mary dragging me into a police lineup with a bunch of other seasoned criminals, only to then point their accusing fingers my way. No doubt the relative excess of gold that I handed them would be proof enough of my crime.

    ¡°Ahem.¡±

    When Yua cleared her throat to draw my attention off Erika, she had an oddly sympathetic smile plastered to her lips. Erika, however, pursed hers. Her cheeks reddened just a little as she strained herself to feign a polite indifference.

    Did I just get caught unintentionally ogling a woman again? Right in front of her?

    ¡°Hello, Sir. Miss,¡± Erika said. ¡°This is the manor of Miss Elane Bellenfort. How may I help you?¡±

    ¡°P-Please excuse my rudeness. We¡¯re actually here to buy a map to Guerraway. And maybe some others.¡±

    Erika looked to me again, scrunching up her brows just a little, but not truly enough to say that she, as both a slave and maid, was disrespecting me. Though, when she glanced at her own chest as if my eyes were still burned into it, I figured there was a lot of disrespect going on inside her head.

    At least she was a bit more cautious with her emotions than the fiery Mary was.

    ¡°Some maps, eh?¡± Erika parroted with a hefty sigh.

    Or maybe she wasn¡¯t.

    ¡°So, it¡¯s this again¡­ Fine. Understood, Sir. Please, come in. You may wait in the drawing room while I fetch Miss Bellenfort for you.¡±

    What¡¯s wrong with asking for a map from a person that makes maps?

    Feeling as though Erika¡¯s sudden brusk attitude was a byproduct of my ogling, we followed her into the mansion without comment.

    Although, when she closed the door behind us and the afternoon sunlight disappeared from sight, something about this maid drew my attention even more than her appearance had.

    There was no hole for her tail sewn into her dress. Instead, I found its fluffy tip dangling beneath the hem of her skirt.

    Before I could consider whether or not she was forced to keep her tail uncomfortably pinned beneath her clothes all day, she gestured with an open palm down a hall and we followed her through the mansion.

    As we let Erika set the pace, it quickly became clear that the mansion appeared much smaller on the inside than it looked on the outside. Unlike the Mage¡¯s Guild, whose mismatching interior and exterior was made possible by magic, the cramped feeling here came from the copious amount of furniture that filled each room we passed. It even spilled into the hall. All of it looked expensive, even by my modern standards, but it was all left to sit here and there as though nobody cared.

    Still, on closer inspection, the odd placement of all the furniture didn¡¯t truly look to show off how small the building was. Rather, there was just too much of it. Couches, chairs, tables, nightstands and for some reason, even a few dressers were scattered about the main hall. There was enough here to properly furnish several houses.

    Was this mansion supposed to be part map shop and part furniture store?

    ¡°Miss Bellenfort has collected all of what you see from her travels around the world,¡± Erika said. She must have noticed me looking around. ¡°My mistress prefers to keep these treasured things close at hand¡­ No matter how they get in the way of cleaning.¡±

    ¡°I see. Around the world¡­ That explains why the styles of all the furniture look so different from one another.¡±

    ¡°That is correct, Sir. This way, please. It¡¯s not much further.¡±

    Erika brought us to a much more organized room that contained a small library¡¯s worth of books, all packed tight into the bookshelves lining the wall. A quick glance at their titles and I found that most were all related to Cartography. This, coupled with the large oak desk that was littered with various rolls of parchment, ink quills and several other map-making instruments, made this less of a tea room and more of an office.

    ¡°Sir¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, sorry. My name is Alex.¡±

    ¡°Then, Sir Alex, please wait here while I fetch Miss Bellenfort for you.¡±

    ¡°I will. Thank you.¡±

    With another short bow, Erika left us.

    Left with nothing to do but wait, I thought to make good use of my Memorization ability to read and learn as much as I could from all these books, I held myself back. My want to not be labeled as a Thief for touching what wasn¡¯t mine forced me to keep to myself just in case I didn¡¯t have permission.

    Regardless of worldly thieving laws and potential anger I might find coming my way for a bit of light reading, we might be seeking help from again in the future prevented such wants from becoming actions. Best just keep to myself.

    As it was, we were already lucky enough to be let in without some kind of appointment. And if Erika¡¯s ears were anywhere near as sensitive as Yua¡¯s, I¡¯d be found out immediately if I did anything I wasn¡¯t supposed to.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just sit down,¡± I said. ¡°They might be a while since they didn¡¯t know we were coming.¡±

    I went ahead and plopped down on one of the lime green sofas surrounding a small glass coffee table sat a few feet from the desk. As I let my weary body sink into the softness of its cushions, a sudden, overwhelming relaxation struck me hard in the ass and back. After a month of sitting only on our hard wood bed and our equally hard chairs, this was enough to say that I desperately needed to up the quality of our furniture back at the cabin.

    Despite my contentment, Yua didn¡¯t join me in the cushiony goodness.

    ¡°Master, I think it is best if I stand behind you.¡±

    I blinked at the return of her calling me Master without it being accompanied by a playful, or sexy, smile.

    ¡°Why? Just sit with me.¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°This is how most masters treat their slaves. We are to stand behind them so that we may carry out any task needed of us the moment we are asked.¡±

    She turned towards the door Erika left closed and flicked her ears before leaning in to whisper.

    ¡°Some would see it as rude if their guest¡¯s slave doesn¡¯t act like their supposed to. So, don¡¯t be too nice to me.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­ I guess it¡¯s better to blend in for now. But you don¡¯t need to do that when we¡¯re alone.¡±

    Yua smiled happily at what I felt to be a casual statement of fact. Normally, I would have ignored this ridiculous custom and had her sit with me, but if this Miss Bellenfort was the sort of haughty noble that refuses to treat slaves as anything but trash, then we should just play along for now. And if she proves to actually be this sort of woman, we can just take our future business elsewhere.

    Then again, how would she even know Yua was a slave to begin with? It¡¯s not like she wears a collar. Nor is she wearing a nametag that says as much. Maybe the people of this world just somehow know without needing to ask.

    Letting my mind wander as we waited patiently, I couldn¡¯t help but focus on the desk and all the drawing implements laid there.

    ¡°Still, to think she actually meant that this is where Miss Bellenfort draws her maps. I thought she meant this was going to be something more like a waiting or living room, like how it was back home.¡±

    ¡°Living room? Hmm¡­ Where is Master from, anyway?¡±

    ¡°Where I¡¯m¡­Oh.¡±

    Right. I never told her any specific answer. We¡¯d spent so much time talking about this world that Earth never came up. But I can¡¯t exactly tell her I was reincarnated into this world only a month ago. She¡¯d think I was lying. At least, I would if in her shoes, anyways.

    Besides, I particularly didn¡¯t want her to know that we only met because a Goddess found the life I¡¯d been living so pitiable that she had me killed and reincarnated here. That, more than anything else, would be harder than hell to explain. Plus, even I wasn¡¯t entirely sure of the Goddess¡¯s motivations for doing all this yet.

    But with Yua¡¯s face so close and her big emerald eyes curiously searching for an answer, I felt compelled to come up with something.

    ¡°Er, well, I¡¯m from very far away. So¡­¡±

    But before I could vomit the poorly thought out answer I¡¯d come up with to tide her over, I was saved by a pair of rapid knocks sounding against the door.

    Erika pushed the door open. Still mostly expressionless, but now with a slight somber twinge to her eyes, she stepped inside. A brief look my way and a small hand gesture to urge me to stand, she politely held the door open as she turned her gaze to the floor in wait.

    We heard the heavy footfalls of someone slowly drawing near. The longer they took, the more my imagination and the repeated warning got the better of me. After taking on the dungeon¡¯s challenge and facing off against several fearsome beasts, I felt no need to tuck my tail and run. But the soft footsteps of shoes on hardwood started to sound more like the metallic screeching of some undead knight in the shape of a woman. Clad in thick plate mail and carrying a heavy executioner¡¯s blade, they¡¯d burst through the door to give my neck a good chopping if she found me to be a waste of time.

    The fact that this place was so hard to find and that nobody wanted to fess up with her address should have been a warning. The same sort of warning one should feel when accepting a contract that was clearly too good to be true.

    I knew this was all in my head, though. I wasn¡¯t about to let the stupid thoughts win out this time around. Had there been a real threat, Yua¡¯s cat ears would have caught on long before I did. So, I instead focused on Erika, as she repeatedly kept looking down the hall with that same somber look about her.

    And finally, a figure appeared in the doorway.

    The woman that walked, or rather stumbled, into the room before making grab for the doorframe to keep herself from falling, not only shattered the darker workings of my imagination, but she made my heart seize the moment our eyes met. Everything else just melted away.

    I was instantaneously at a loss. As her chest heaved from whatever effort it took her to make her way here, all I could think was¡­

    ¡°Is that¡­¡±

    The Goddess?

    No. I firmly clamped my lips shut. This absolute bombshell of a woman did share a few characteristics with the Goddess that reincarnated me, but a second glance confirmed they were not one and the same.

    As she drunkenly caught herself on the doorframe, she looked completely out of place in the sheer elegance of this mansion. She wore a blue, pirate-esque long coat, but the thing hung so low on her that her shoulders were left completely bare, save for the long golden hair draped over them. More importantly, more visually striking, more unmissable and utterly breath-taking was the fact that the coat was all she wore to cover her utterly massive breasts.

    And it was doing a poor job of it. There was more perfectly soft cleavage visible than there was coat covering her. This state of undress was severe enough to the point that even the undersides of those tightly packed melons strained against the buttons holding it all together. Said buttons had to fight for their lives to keep this woman¡¯s chest from exploding outwards into a guaranteed a wardrobe malfunction from occurring.

    I swear, I could almost hear her coat¡¯s threads screaming in agony from the constant effort it took to keep this meeting PG.

    Finding it almost impossible to look away, down below, she wore a black pair of what looked like yoga pants due to how tight they fit against her shapely legs. The only reason why I couldn¡¯t assume they were made of a softer type of leather was because of the lax hold they had on her body, since her plump thighs and ass jiggled every time she stumbled through a step.

    Running from the right side of her belly button all the way up to the middle of her left breast was a long scar that immediately caught me off guard. Not because it was so strange to see a beautiful woman with such a noticeable blemish to her otherwise perfect skin, but because I knew health potions didn¡¯t leave any traces of the wounds they healed behind.

    Was she not able to get a potion in time and had to wait for it to heal on its own?

    Her awe-inspiring looks aside, her limp posture made her appear as nothing more than a slovenly noblewoman that couldn¡¯t even handle putting on a shirt on such short notice.

    Fascinated beyond words, and dying to know more, I checked her info box. She was indeed a level 50 Cartographer and, surprisingly, that she had the Adventurer class. Not Merchant. Given how famous she was as a map maker and doing well enough at it to afford this place, this surprised me quite a bit. I knew you didn¡¯t have to actually have the Merchant class to open a business, but it sure helped.

    But still, how did she get that scar? Maybe her Adventurer class could answer that question for me.

    ¡°Sir Alex,¡± Erika said, giving another polite bow as she gestured to her mistress, who was half-leaning on the door for support and glaring at me past her flushed cheeks. ¡°This is Miss Elane Bellenfort, Cartographer of the Great City of Amoranth.¡±

    Yua discretely prodded my shoulder, urging my brain to restart and to stop staring.

    ¡°Ah, um, pleasure to meet you, Miss Bellenfort,¡± I said, offering a small bow of my own. ¡°I am not a knight, so please feel free to drop the Sir and just call me Alex.¡±

    I tried to act as politely as I could and correct a small error in Erika¡¯s introduction, but the second I clarified that I was essentially a commoner, Miss Bellenfort¡¯s alluringly cobalt-blue eyes locked on me. They, of course, did not share the comforting silver hue of the Goddess¡¯s.

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Uggh¡­ This one¡¯s not even a lower noble,¡± Miss Bellenfort sneered. ¡°¡­ I guess I¡¯ll give him points for trying, though.¡±

    Miss Bellenfort sighed and ambled over to sit down across from us. She all but fell into the other couch¡¯s cushions and it sent her voluptuous breasts bouncing so wildly that it almost felt like they could have caused an earthquake on the other side of the planet. But coming back to reality, all it did was cause further strain to the coat¡¯s buttons.

    ¡°My maid has already introduced me. So, you mind if we skip the formalities?¡±

    ¡°S-Sure.¡±

    ¡°Good. Erika, go fetch me the bottle of rum on my bedstand. Oh, and bring two glasses.¡±

    Without even looking at the maid and with only a snap of her fingers to signal that she was done giving her orders, she sank into the seat. Erika bowed and quietly left the room.

    Rum? And those maids dressed. Shit¡­ Silla and Mary really do belong to her, don¡¯t they? I didn¡¯t know much of anything about alcohol, but the glare she skewered me with reminded of how much that one bottle had cost before it broke.

    Still, hadn¡¯t she already had too much? She can barely walk.

    ¡°Um, thanks for the kind offer, Miss Bellenfort, but I don¡¯t drink.¡±

    ¡°Hoho? What kind of person can call themselves a man if they don¡¯t drink?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a personal choice. I have nothing against it.¡±

    In reality and back on Earth, drinking any kind of alcohol, even a cap full of a cheap boxed wine, would upset my stomach so much that I couldn¡¯t eat for the rest of the day. I had no idea if that held true, but I already went one lifetime without drinking. So, abstaining from it now wasn¡¯t going to be an issue.

    Miss Bellenfort rolled her eyes, slouching on the couch.

    ¡°Miss Bellenfort, I¡¯m just here to buy¡­¡±

    ¡°Hold it,¡± she held up a hand, seemingly unaware of how that quick gesture made her bust jiggle. ¡°Before I hear it, I want a drink.¡±

    My mouth and confidence floundering, I could do nothing but wait for Erika to return.

    This wasn¡¯t the first time I¡¯d spoken to someone with an absurd amount of money or power, but her standoffish behavior was bewildering. I¡¯d met plenty of merchants by this point, some kind, some angry, and one that was downright evil. But I¡¯d never met one that needed to get buzzed ion order to complete a deal. And with her already swaying slightly as she sat across from me, I couldn¡¯t¡¯ say that sharing a drink with a customer was a possible custom here.

    A few minutes of awkward silence and me trying not to stare at the chest Miss Bellenfort was basically begging me to look at, Erika finally returned holding a tray with two glasses and a crystal decanter filled with a reddish-brown liquid. It wasn¡¯t exactly printed with the same label as the bottle Silla and Mary were carrying, but I furthered my hope that the maids didn¡¯t make it back before we did.

    Erika set the tray down in front of Miss Bellenfort, removed the thick glass stopper from the decanter and started pouring. When she started on the second cup, I stopped her.

    ¡°Thanks, but as I was telling Miss Bellenfort, I don¡¯t drink.¡±

    ¡°Oh, please,¡± Miss Bellenfort sighed, taking a generous sip of her glass the second it was readied for her. ¡°You don¡¯t refuse a drink offered by a Captain. Pour it, Erika.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mistress.¡±

    Her already floppy ears drooping further, Erika filled the second glass, but only halfway, unlike she did for her mistress. She set it down on the table and slid it to me. Her task completed and without another to tide her over, she left to stand back behind her mistress, just like Yua.

    Miss Bellenfort drained half her glass before she looked my way again. A bit apprehensively, and wanting to avoid pissing her off by denying her further, I took a tentative sip and found the rum to have an almost smokey-sweet flavor that my untrained tongue found confusing. I was surprised to find my stomach uninjured, but I still wasn¡¯t a fan.

    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ve had my drink. Out with it.¡±

    ¡°R-Right. I¡¯m here to buy a map to¡­¡±

    ¡°Uggh.¡± Miss Bellenfort sighed gutturally, as if I¡¯d deeply annoyed her. ¡°What? The alcohol hasn¡¯t loosened your lips enough?... Whatever. Erika, go suck his cock to loosen him up.¡±

    Erika¡¯s entire body went rigid in the face of the ridiculous order suddenly thrust upon her, but unable to deny her the demands of her mistress, she reluctantly bowed to her. Clenching her skirt defensively, she actually started walking towards me without so much as a question to give her pause. So, I quickly put a hand up to stop her again.

    ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. I¡¯m not here for¡­¡±

    ¡°What? My girl¡¯s not enough for you? I happen to think she¡¯s super cute. She even has great tits. Just look at ¡®em. Eh, fine, whatever. You, slave girl, suck your master¡¯s cock so we can get this over with.¡±

    With another careless snap of her fingers, she pointed to and ordered Yua around like she was just as much her master as I was. The second I heard the slight shifting of Yua¡¯s clothes, I held up a hand to stop her and met Miss Bellenfort¡¯s annoyed look with a glare of my own.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you order Yua around! She¡¯s mine!¡±

    Yua let out a small yelp when my voice boomed that I was sure only I heard it. And Erika froze so hard that her tail actually kicked up the back of her skirt to stand on end. She stiffened so hard as she slowly turned to the woman I just yelled at, that I thought her spine might actually have broken from the force.

    Before I could remember that only I viewed Yua as someone other than a slave and before I could apologize for the outburst, Miss Bellenfort tapped her glass against her knee. It¡¯s amber contents sloshing about and her deep blue eyes still glaring.

    ¡°Then what is it you really want?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to tell you,¡± I said, only just managing to keep from blaming her for interrupting. ¡°I would like a map to Guerraway. And maybe some others of the surrounding area.¡±

    Miss Bellenfort squinted at me, as if testing the truth in my words. She then turned to Erika for the first time since entering the room.

    ¡°You said he was here for a marriage proposal.¡±

    ¡°I¡­ Um¡­ Mistress¡­ He said he wanted a map and¡­ T-That¡¯s how all the other men¡­ And every time, you¡­¡±

    Judging by her scared, unending mumbles and half-finished sentences, I worked out that Erika was trying to say that several other men had not only come to try and propose to this admittedly gorgeous woman, but that they all lied about wanting her maps to get their foot in the door. Otherwise, they were sure to be rejected by the maids before they could make their true requests.

    Trembling, Erika tried to give her reason for her apparent misunderstanding and Miss Bellenfort only glared at her further. Her already flushed cheeks darkening just a little.

    ¡°A map isn¡¯t anywhere close to a marriage proposal. I make maps, you idiot! Why would you assume anyone asking for a map wanted marriage?!¡±

    ¡°S-Sorry, Mistress!¡±

    Erika started bowing over and over, begging for forgiveness, but her admitting her fault only seemed to piss off Miss Bellenfort more, as she shifted in her seat like she was about to reach out and strangle the poor maid girl.

    ¡°Excuse me, Miss Bellenfort,¡± I said, trying to step between them and save the girl from getting hit. ¡°It is my fault for not making an appointment with you beforehand. And I wasn¡¯t very clear with your maid with my specific needs. Please, blame me.¡±

    I forced myself to meet her cobalt gaze directly to get her mind off of Erika. I may be a coward in some, maybe even most respects, but I didn¡¯t want to see this girl get beat over something so ridiculous. Not after seeing how the strong Yua herself had trembled at just the thought of me hurting her when we first met.

    Meeting my eyes with her own steely-blue ones, Miss Bellenfort let out another long sigh and finished off her drink before waving off Erika.

    ¡°Whatever. Leave us.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mistress!¡±

    With one last bow, Erika hurried out of the room to save herself another scolding. Miss Bellenfort then poured herself another glass of rum, but stared into it instead of bringing it to her lips.

    ¡°Sorry for my slave¡¯s stupidity.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Really.¡±

    Miss Bellenfort sat up on the sofa, downed another half glass of rum and sighed when the crystal left her lips. The generous glug calmed her a bit.

    ¡°Ever since I settled down in this city, every man I¡¯ve met from noble to merchant to commoner has tried for my hand. Frankly, I¡¯m sick of it.¡±

    Has she really turned down that many men? I mean, any fan of big-breasted women would no doubt be unable to get her out of their head the moment they become aware of her existence. But to be proposed to so many times that she and her maids to outright expect it every time a man walked through the doors?

    That¡¯s insane enough for me to say I would have jumped to conclusions too, were I in her place. But the concept of any one person having so many potential suiters was too baffling to say I could easily imagine such a scenario.

    ¡°Miss Bellenfort, if I may ask out of curiosity, why did you reject all those men? Has nobody met your standards?¡±

    ¡°Pfft. Standards? As long as they like ass¡­ Well, I suppose that¡¯s not it.¡±

    Even after saying something so dirty, she took another casual swig of rum as if what she¡¯d said was completely safe for the most eloquent of conversations.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been all over the world,¡± she continued. ¡°My crew and I. I¡¯ve fought monsters and demons that would make you and most in this city wet yourselves just to look at them. And I¡¯ve explored and mapped every continent known to man and¡­ There¡¯s just nothing left.¡±

    ¡°Nothing left?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± she said somberly. ¡°My only joys in life is map making and booze. And with every inch of this world already mapped out by yours truly, this is all I have left.¡±

    She held up her glass in a half-toast to herself and threw back the last of its contents.

    ¡°If you are so unsatisfied, why don¡¯t you just head out in search of some new lands to explore?¡±

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you listening? I told you. I¡¯ve mapped every known continent in its entirety¡­ Hell, if you actually manage to find me somewhere knew to explore, I¡¯ll let you fuck my ass.¡±

    Despite this incredibly provocative statement, she casually started pouring another glass of rum for herself. I could almost feel Yua tense up behind me, as if the sound of liquid repeatedly refilling the glass cup pained her.

    ¡°Th-That won¡¯t be necessary,¡± I said, feeling my difficulty speaking rear up again. ¡°Maybe you should put the rum down.¡±

    ¡°Oh please,¡± she said, taking a swig. ¡°A little bit of rum isn¡¯t going to bother me. Besides, I¡¯m serious. Bring me information on some new lands to discover and you can fuck my ass all you want. Hell, I¡¯ll even marry you. No, better yet, I¡¯ll become your slave and we can explore it together.¡±

    Once more, the casualty in her provocative statements were brought up by the alcohol and then washed down with more.

    ¡°At this point, as long as I get to have some fun exploring again, I don¡¯t care.¡±

    While her words were certainly alluring, and she was more than beautiful enough to pique my interests, that¡¯s just not what I was here for.

    ¡°As¡­ Tempting as that offer is, Miss Bellenfort, I¡¯m only here for a map to the Dumort Forest near Guerraway.¡±

    ¡°Yea? Whyzzat? Izzit because I¡¯m too old?¡±

    The hell? I thought she was against the idea of marriage in the first place. Besides, her info box says she¡¯s only twenty-five years old. She¡¯s hardly considered old, even in a time period like this where life expectancies were much lower.

    Wait, she¡¯s supposedly already travelled and mapped the entire world and she¡¯s only twenty-five? How is that even possible? Even with or without teleportation magic to ferry herself from continent to continent, that just sounded absurd.

    And just how much did she drink before meeting today if she¡¯s already slurring her words?

    ¡°N-No. You¡¯re plenty young and more than beautiful. It¡¯s just¡­¡±

    ¡°So, then you are here after mine asshole?¡±

    What? Why your asshole specifically?!

    Feeling it foolish to argue with a drunk, I took out the quest slip I got from the guild and slapped it on the table.

    ¡°T-This is why I¡¯m here. I just want a map to Guerraway!¡±

    Feebly, and with a generous wobble of her massive bust, Miss Bellenfort leaned over the table and snatched up the paper and read it. She let out an admittedly cute hiccup as her eyes ran down the page. When she finished, she slid the paper back over the table to me and poured another drink, unintentionally knocking aside the decanter with her tits when she picked up her glass.

    ¡°Collecting herbs in Dumort Forest, ay? Ifzats all, why didn¡¯t you say so?¡±

    ¡°I did¡­¡±

    ¡°Whatever. If a maps to Guerraway what¡¯s you¡¯re after, then my asshole is safe.¡±

    Again¡­ Why your asshole specifically?

    Rum in hand, Miss Bellenfort staggered to her feet and shambled over to one of the many bookshelves lining the room. She set her glass on an expensive-looking box that was most definitely not a coaster and shuffled through a bunch of papers there before suddenly lifting her head with a furrowed brow. She stared at the ceiling for several seconds before moving over to the bookshelves.

    After a few minutes of her attempting to read the contents of the dozens of atlases she had and possibly even made herself, she found one and brought it back over and set it on the table.

    She pointed towards a small drawing of an octagonal wall encircling the word ¡°Guerraway¡± to the north of an even larger box labeled ¡°The Great City of Amoranth.¡± Along with this was an exquisitely detailed map of the surrounding area. From the minute details of the shape of the mountains and coastline Guerraway sat on, to the excess of trees making up the Dumort Forest, which was extended to and pressed up against the city¡¯s western wall.

    Miss Bellenfort plopped back down onto the couch with a satisfied smile, her legs spread eagle as if she needed to kick back and relax after an incredibly long walk. It was then that I noticed that, resting above the tight, detailed creases of her pants, existed two thin strips of cloth leading up from her groin up to and around her backside.

    Apparently, she was wearing a thong and didn¡¯t mind showing it off any more than she did her massive bustline.

    ¡°Howzzat?¡± she said with a cocky grin.

    ¡°T-This is great,¡± I said. ¡°Exactly what we need. How much for it?¡±

    ¡°Eh¡­ I can¡¯t lets you have my atlas. So, I¡¯ll haveta copy it down fer ya. I¡¯ll only charge you for the paper, though. I like drawing¡­ *hic*¡­ maps.¡±

    She let out another hiccup and I once more realized the limitations of this pre-modern world. She really was going to have to do this by hand. Guess my luck stat wasn¡¯t enough for her to have copies already made.

    Then there was another issue that caught my curiosity.

    ¡°You¡¯re only charging for the paper? How do you own such a big house if you sell your services so cheaply?¡±

    My Merchant class was tingling again. Both because it sounded like a foolish business practice and because I wanted to know how she managed to live in the lap of luxury when practically giving her services as a map maker away for free.

    ¡°Pfft¡­ Idiot. I used to work fer the King¡¯s army. Who do you think funded my espediction around the world? He let me borrow horses and boats and things. He even made me a lower noble, thanks to all my¡­*hic*¡­ hard work.¡±

    An insult and another swig later, and from my glass since she left hers on the shelf, I had my answer.

    To put it simply, the king paid her directly to explore and map out everything she found. Now she¡¯s rich and the king knows more about the world than most if not all the other people currently living on it. Coming from a world where information warfare was the main source of conflict, it sounded like she put the king at a major advantage over his enemies. That alone justified this mansion.

    ¡°Alright. I see your point. Sorry for doubting you. But how long will it take to copy the map? We¡¯re in a bit of a hurry.¡±

    I¡¯d already memorized the map¡¯s contents, of course, but for the little test I wanted to try out, I was sure I needed to own the map myself.

    ¡°Eh, copy it? I dunno. Gimme like five minutes. Wait, no. Six minutes. I¡¯m a little tispy.¡±

    A little tipsy? Only a little?

    ¡°You can copy the whole map in only six minutes?¡±

    ¡°Pfft. Six minutes¡­? Please, I can do it in five.¡±

    I pinched the bridge of my nose.

    ¡°¡­ Can you make it, please? I will pay double the cost of the paper.¡±

    ¡°Eh¡­ If I must.¡±

    Miss Bellenfort clapped her palms down on her knees to force herself back up. She sauntered back over to her desk, stumbling only a couple times, where she picked up the pen and was about to put it to the paper when she suddenly looked up. I thought she might have realized she¡¯d forgotten to take the atlas with her, but then she looked at me.

    ¡°Whaddar ya doin? Get over here and tellnme what you want.¡±

    Sighing heavily, I pushed myself off the couch, took up the atlas and brought it over to her. Yua gave me a concerned look, but I didn¡¯t need to know why. The strong stench of alcohol on Miss Bellenfort¡¯s breath the second I was close enough to hand her the book made even my nostrils burn.

    Geez, did this woman drink a whole other bottle before we even got here? No wonder why Silla and Mary were so worried about how she was going to react to them breaking one.

    ¡°Eh? I dun need that thing,¡± Miss Bellenfort said, staring at the atlas as though she¡¯d never seen it before. ¡°Just tell me whatdyu want.¡±

    I drew a deep breath to calm myself and pointed back to the page she just showed me and she looked at it, again, as if she had never seen the thing before. With a shrug, she then unraveled a blank piece of parchment and pinned it down on the desk using a large magnifying glass to hold the top and her breasts to hold the bottom.

    Gotta make use of your assets, I suppose.

    ¡°Okay. Okay. Map to Guerraway. Don¡¯t forget to¡­*hic*¡­ forgetta add the Dumort Forest. That¡¯s a good place. Heh.¡±

    Before I could protest if she was even capable of doing the task I was asking her to do, she dipped the tip of her feathered quill into a bottle of black ink and then put it to the paper. She held it there for a second or two, letting the excess ink stain the page and I all but expected the map I was paying for to come out looking like a child¡¯s drawing. But then her quill began to move.

    Her hand moved so fast across the paper that nobody could have doubted me if I said it caught fire. Her slender hands flew across the paper, leaving little ink trails behind with all the exactitude and precision of a laser printer as she sketched out little trees, roads, mountains and hill formations, only to then label them all before moving onto the next point of interest.

    What was more impressive was that, judging from the comparison between her drawing and the picture in the atlas, there were no noticeable differences between the two. As she basically painted a mural of the world, she perfectly scaled the map to fit on the parchment so that it could include all of the lands connecting Amoranth to Guerraway. She even went as far as to add in further details that wasn¡¯t in the atlas, as if the world had changed since the original atlas was made.

    And she wasn¡¯t even looking at said atlas as a reference. It was all from memory. And she was using ink from a pot.

    Despite my awe at her skill, the next thing, or things, that caught my attention were her breasts. Due to the speed at which her hand moved, her melons shook so wildly that the captain¡¯s coat she wore to hide them started to slip down. Before I knew it, two pink buds started to poke their heads out from beneath the fabric to bounce along with the rest of her bosom.

    Before I could fully draw my attention away from her nipples, she threw her quill down onto the desk, splattering the ink still left in it. And she was done.

    ¡°There you go. Soons as the ink dries, itzall yours. That¡¯ll be¡­ 5 silvers, right? Gimme 5 silvers.¡±

    I lifted up the paper, weary of the wet ink and used Appraisal. Unsurprisingly after witnessing her skill, it showed the map was not actually worth way more than 5 silvers, but that it was valued at 8 gold coins.

    Is this woman just really generous or really stupid? No, probably just really drunk.

    Not wanting to look this gift horse in the mouth, I took 5 silvers out of my pocket and the moment she saw them, she snatched them right out of my palm without a second thought. She then looked at me with a smug smile, as if she thought I was a fool she¡¯d just ripped off, even though her nipples were still poking out of her coat.

    She then buried those lucky coins between the mountains on her chest, into some sort of pocket dimension that only women had access to and that would have made my item box fly into a jealous rage had she not done this without first noticing her predicament.

    She gave me a pat on the shoulder and sauntered back to the couch, where she fell face first into the cushions.

    ¡°¡­ Thanks for your help, Miss Bellenfort.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    I sighed when I heard her snoring.

    ¡°Yua¡­ Could you go get Erika please? I don¡¯t think it would be safe to leave her like this.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master.¡±

    Yua left to search the mansion for the maid. Once she was gone, I sighed and sat back down across from the drunk.

    [New Class Acquired: Cartographer]

    Of course. Why not?

    [New Menu Option Has Been Added]

    Wait, what?

    Quickly opening my menu, I saw that there was a new tab called ¡°Map.¡± I focused on it and before my eyes spread an exact copy of the continental formations pictured on the globe in the garden. Only, they were mostly greyed out.

    I focused on and zoomed in on the one of only a couple bits of the map that had any color to it. What I found was a diamond-shaped box labeled ¡°The Great City of Amoranth¡± connected to a large cropping of tree labeled ¡°Amoranth Forest.¡± This then drew a zig-zagging line all the way to another bulge of color called ¡°Home.¡± It took only a second to realize that the odd shape of our cabin was pictured there, right where I remembered it.

    ¡°So, I had to buy a map to unlock this feature? Or was it because I watched her draw it?¡±

    Either way, zooming in closer on the map, I saw the details of Amoranth and the locations of all the shops and other buildings I had been to or passed by. Seems my terrible sense of direction has been fixed.

    This was perfect. I wasn¡¯t expecting a menu option to appear, but what could be better? Most RPG games let you do something called Fast Travel, which would allow the player to instantly travel to any location they had already been to, in order to prevent the player from getting bored walking back and forth across giant in-game maps. This world may only partially work on game logic, but I¡¯d be able to travel even further than I could with Dimensional Step. If it worked.

    Grinning to myself, I angled the map so that its window looked to be resting on my lap and zoomed in on the Home icon and focused on it, willing a smaller window to pop up and ask if I wanted to travel there.

    It lit up to indicate it had been selected, but nothing else happened. So, I focused on it again and held my focus there for a few seconds longer and got the same result.

    What¡¯s the point of being able to select the icon if I can¡¯t travel to it? I tried again and failed again. I turned to the Help menu to see if any additional information about it appeared, but I failed there too.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t I get it to pop up?¡±

    Just then, Yua and the maid Erika came through the door and were staring at me with a pair of concerned looks stretched across their faces. Following their gazes to my crotch, where my menu was, and then to Miss Bellenfort, who had at some point flipped onto her back. When I noticed that her nipples were still in plain sight, I suddenly remembered that only I can see my menu.

    ¡°Uh¡­ It¡¯s not what you think.¡±

    ¡°Sir Alex¡­¡±

    ¡°No, no. Master is telling the truth. He can definitely get it up!¡±

    ¡°Yua!¡±

    ¡°Eep!¡±

    The people in this mansion are going to kill me.

    Part of me wanted to thank Yua for her loyalty as she clenched her fists and fought, needlessly, for the sake of my manhood, but Erika very clearly forced a smile to hide the flush in her cheeks.

    If Miss Bellenfort, drunk or not, was so gun-ho about having Erika suck me off, then I had to question whether or not she made this poor girl do that sort of thing for the other men that visited. But judging by the deep crimson tint to her cheeks, I doubted she had much, if any, experience.

    I pinched the bridge of my nose and pointed to Miss Bellenfort.

    ¡°I was talking about something else¡­ As you can see, Miss Bellenfort has passed out. I can help you carry her back to her bedroom, if you¡¯d like.¡±

    Erika looked to her mistress and smiled weakly. I got the not-so-strange impression that she was happy the woman was unconscious.

    ¡°Thank you, Sir Alex. That would be very helpful.¡±

    While Erika was a beast-kin, her level was still only 1. And, beast-folk or not, I doubted she was all that strong. So, after she fixed Miss Bellenfort¡¯s coat to finally conceal the woman¡¯s nipples, I picked up this classic drunken sailor and Erika guided us upstairs. Despite the entirety of her body fat going straight to her chest, she was almost as light as Yua. But I chalked that up to the points I put into my Strength stat after spending that first night together with Yua leveling up my Sex Master class.

    Still had no idea why leveling that class allotted me stat points, but I wasn¡¯t about to complain about the thing making me stronger and my ability to support Yua growing from us having fun.

    After a short walk upstairs, we brought the woman into a large bedroom I was surprised to find was just as girly as anyone could expect from a woman. Even one as brash as this one. All of the furniture in the room was either pale white or pink and covered with various feminine objects such as hair brushes, stuff that looked like beauty cream and even some makeup, likely only for when she needed to schmooze it up with the other nobles, since she wasn¡¯t wearing any now.

    I set the drunk down on to her fluffy four-post bed and Erika quickly covered her with a blanket. Seeing her properly covered and sleeping with a stupid grin on her face and a matching trail of drool running down her chin, I had to really admit that she was absurdly beautiful.

    Not that that fact was up for debate.

    ¡°Thank you again, Sir Alex.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯ll go grab my map and get out of your hair.¡±

    Erika bowed and turned her attention back to her mistress.

    Just as I put my hand on the doorknob, I heard the sound of a certain drunk someone sitting up in bed. Her face was flushed with the proof that her brief slumber had not sobered her up. Or so I assumed, as I was sure she hadn¡¯t noticed that her left nipple had popped out again when her blanket fell from her body.

    ¡°Hey, wait¡­ If you¡¯re going toozat Dumort Forest, you should vitis the apothecary and buy some Cure Poison¡­ potions. Lots of the animuls there are poisonous¡­.. I¡¯ve been there before¡­¡±

    After her warning, Miss Bellenfort fell back into her pillow. I thanked her again, but when I opened the door to leave¡­

    ¡°Ohya¡­ Don¡¯t forget, Mr. Adventurer. Ifyu bring me news of some new lands to discover, you get to fuck my ass and all of my slaves will become yoursss...¡±

    I slammed the door shut on the drunken sailor and Yua and I hurried back to the drawing room to grab our map.

    This was the woman everyone thought would kill me the second she got even the tiniest bit angry? Beautiful or not, she¡¯s just a drunk.

    As I stormed out of the building before my mind could become any more corrupted by her lascivious offer than it already was, Yua had to break into a small jog to keep up.

    After we left the mansion and started back down the path to the street, Yua stopped me to ask a heart-stopping question.

    ¡°Master, what does fuck my ass mean?¡±

    ¡°¡­Yua.¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    For some reason, seeing the face of this beautiful girl ask such a lewd question while her tail swished about with a genuine curiosity, made my face grow hot. And not for the reason I was expecting.

    ¡°Why were you about to follow that woman¡¯s order?¡±

    ¡°Eh? But you asked me to lick your penis this morning, right? I thought it¡¯d be fine.¡±

    Fine to do it in front of them?

    ¡°Was¡­ Was that wrong?¡±

    I pressed my palms to my face. Yua¡¯d been mostly calm throughout the time we¡¯d been in the mansion, but my question caused her to shake. Remembering her trembling that first night together, I let out a long breath to calm myself before another outburst could happen.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Sorry I got mad. I just don¡¯t like others ordering you around. You¡¯re my girl, not theirs. I don¡¯t want to treat you like a slave, and her ordering you around like that ¡­¡±

    ¡­ is a reminder that she was and always will be a slave no matter what I thought or did for her.

    ¡°Y-Your girl, Master?¡±

    All at once, her shaking stopped. But before I could take in her smile, I realized again that she was still calling me Master. And, as if on cue, Erika burst through the mansion doors to show Yua had been listening for her.

    ¡°Excuse me, Sir Alex. A moment, please.¡±

    Holding up her skirt so she didn¡¯t trip, Erika ran down the steps of Bellenfort manor. She stopped in front of me and bowed much lower than before. Shaking, like she was expecting to get hit for speaking out of turn.

    ¡°I¡¯m terribly sorry for my mistake.¡±

    ¡°You mean about the marriage proposal thing? It¡¯s fine. Given the circumstances, I guess I could understand why you thought that way.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not just that. Thanks to you, my mistress decided not to punish me. So, I thank you for asking for mercy on my behalf.¡±

    She bowed again.

    ¡°Like I said, it¡¯s fine. Would she really have punished you that badly for such a small slip up?¡±

    She raised her head and bit her lip before nodding.

    ¡°My mistress is fair, but she insists on equal punishments for her slaves. The punishment for causing pain to someone is to have pain caused to you. Likewise, the punishment for embarrassing her like that would be to embarrass ourselves.¡±

    ¡°Embarrass yourself? What would she have made you do?¡±

    ¡°M-Master¡­¡±

    Yua tugged on my sleeve lightly, the tone of her voice almost telling me that I was probing too much.

    ¡°She¡­ She would have told me go out into the street and flash my b-breasts at the first man I saw.¡±

    ¡°What? Making a woman do that¡­ It¡¯s so cruel!¡±

    Erika looked like she wanted to agree, but shook her head.

    ¡°I disagree. Mistress Bellenfort¡¯s punishments are not usually so severe. She just really hates to be embarrassed like she was¡­ Plus, she only says those things when she¡¯s tipsy. She¡¯s never actually followed through on those kinds of threats, since she usually passes out soon after making them.¡±

    ¡°I see. And how often is she like that?¡±

    Erika bit her lip again and fidgeted. Clasping her hands together in front of her skirt, she bowed yet again to avoid the question.

    ¡°¡­ That is why I wanted to thank you, Sir Alex.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Anything¡¯s better than you getting punished over something so stupid. Still, that¡¯s a bit much for just embarrassing her. And for a woman that walks around her guests nearly half naked too. How is that alone not embarrassing enough?¡±

    ¡°Well, my mistress has never actually handed down such a punishment,¡± Erika said, blushing slightly now for some reason. ¡°She usually just threatens us with it. It¡¯s all just mean words.¡±

    ¡°Still, she even tried to make you suck my¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­W-While I don¡¯t have any experience with such a thing, I cannot disobey her. As a slave master yourself, I¡¯m sure you understand this. Some of the other maids though¡­ Sometimes the men that come to court my mistress turn out to be a little on the shy side, so she jokes about having us s-suck their c-cocks. To give them a backbone, as she calls it. Again, she has never actually done that and meant it. She normally just laughs it off once the man starts stuttering¡­ until today.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s probably just because she was drunk, then. Couldn¡¯t separate her joking thoughts from what she actually meant.¡±

    ¡°No, Sir Alex. I¡¯ve seen her when she¡¯s drunk. That was only her being tipsy. I think she really meant for me to suck your¡­¡±

    ¡°Alright. I got it. You don¡¯t need to say it again.¡±

    Cute as she was, her blushing only made me feel for her. Even if she was right and Miss Bellenfort doesn¡¯t force them in the ways she herself demanded, it was still too much. The emotionless fa?ade she¡¯d greeted us with was all but erased from her being.

    ¡°Oh, I shouldn¡¯t be speaking about my mistress this way.¡±

    After taking a moment to compose herself, Erika looked to Yua and gave her a smile that looked one part gracious and one part wishful.

    ¡°You have a good master. I pray to the gods that you treat him well.¡±

    ¡°I fully intend to.¡±

    Yua smiled happily at me and her tail brushed up against my legs. Erika too smiled and, though her dress hid her tail, I could see the backside of her skirt thumping about.

    ¡°Thank you for your hospitality, but we need to get going.¡±

    ¡°Good day to you both.¡±

    Yua and I gave the maid a wave goodbye and left before the drunk inside could wake up again. Also, I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, since it didn¡¯t look like Silla and Mary made it back yet. If she was drunk enough to make Erika service me to just get me to talk, then I didn¡¯t want to see what she¡¯d do after she found out I ruined her chances of keeping her buzz going once she woke up.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 5

    <div>

    After sitting in a mansion that stunk of alcohol fumes and ink for what felt like hours, we wasted no time in leaving the Bellenfort garden. And only once Yua was sure we were out of range of Erika¡¯s ears, did either of us speak. Thankfully, her question had nothing to do with Miss Bellenfort¡¯s perverted offer this time.

    ¡°Are we heading to the forest now?¡±

    ¡°Not yet. You heard that drunk. We need to visit the Apothecary for some Cure Poison potions.¡±

    ¡°Eh? But most animals in the forests are weaker than the monsters on the first floor of the dungeon. They shouldn¡¯t even be a threat to us.¡±

    I shook my finger at her and she pouted, as though my caution wounded her pride.

    Miss Bellenfort may have only mentioned the potions as an afterthought, a drunken afterthought no less, but I wasn¡¯t about to risk either of us getting poisoned.

    ¡°Miss Bellenfort may have been drinking, but she knows enough about the area to draw a map of it from memory. Ignoring her advice would be a risky waste. Besides, you promised to take care of me, but I want to take care of you too.¡±

    ¡°¡­ F-Fine. I suppose it wouldn¡¯t hurt to be safe.¡±

    Still pouting and still mildly put off by my preemptive request for caution, Yua pretended to huff. I gave her a pat on her hooded head to prove I meant no harm to her pride. Her cheeks warmed at my touch and the pout faded.

    Stopping on an unfamiliar street corner, I opened the new map menu and zoomed in on Amoranth. Thanks to it being detailed enough to show the exact positions of the buildings in the city, I was able to plot out a shorter route, instead on just relying on the streets we already knew. While fast traveling unfortunately didn¡¯t seem to work, little numbered map markers did appear when I focused on one point for a second or two. But that was about all the interaction the menu gave me.

    ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s that?¡±

    Yua¡¯s cat ears twitched curiously, but from the looks of it, what she pointed to was my map. Confused myself, I leaned to check behind it and found only more of the cobblestones that made up the street.

    ¡°No. I mean the floating glass thingy in front of you.¡±

    ¡°Oh, this is¡­ Wait, you can see it?¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    Yua tilted her head cutely and her tail swished.

    ¡°Come here.¡±

    I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her in close to me. She let out a small yelp of surprise, but didn¡¯t complain in the slightest when my sudden action forced her breast to press against my side.

    ¡°Yua, can you see this?¡± I said again, pointing to the map.

    ¡°Yes. I thought we agreed we weren¡¯t supposed to¡­in public¡­¡±

    ¡°Focus. How about this. Can you still see it?¡±

    I switched from the map tab back to the main menu. She cocked her head and took a moment to check our surroundings before replying in a whisper.

    ¡°No, I can¡¯t. The glass went away. Did you put it in your item box?¡±

    ¡°No. What about these?¡±

    I switched again to the Help menu. Then to my Item Box. Then to the other pages in my menu. She shook her head, denying the existence of all, save for both her and my status pages, but I already knew she could see those because of our time in the dungeon.

    So, she can see the map, but not the other parts of the menu? I know it had nothing to do with maintaining contact with her, since my hand was still on her waist. But to her, as soon as I switched tabs, the map and the entire menu system just disappeared.

    Maybe she can¡¯t see the other menus because they are considered private? She did mention before that showing your status page to someone was about as embarrassing as showing them your underwear. Meaning you generally were only supposed to do so with someone you really trusted. Maps you can buy for a handful of coin aren¡¯t exactly private. But then why can¡¯t she see the item box menu when she already knows about it?

    ¡°Something wrong?¡±

    ¡°Oh, uh. It¡¯s nothing. Here,¡± I said, opening the map again. ¡°This is another ability of mine. It¡¯s a map of the world.¡±

    ¡°Really!¡± her eyes sparkled, as if she were about to start praising me again. But she stopped and raised a brow. ¡°But if you have this, why did you want to buy a map?¡±

    ¡°I kind of just got it. Plus, look at this.¡±

    I pointed to one of many blacked out areas of the map and her confusion grew more and more apparent the longer she stared at it.

    ¡°The map looks like this because I¡¯ve never been to this area, so I don¡¯t know anything about it. Not even its name. But look here.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    I moved the map to show the location of our little cabin and how it and much of the area around it was filled with color in an otherwise sea of black. While I¡¯ve been there long enough to know the general shape of the small forest in our backyard and the surrounding mountains, nothing but our cabin was named. Miss Bellenfort¡¯s map was much more detailed.

    Before I could decide whether or not the lack of detail was due to me just not knowing their specific names yet, and while Yua¡¯s lips slowly converted into a smile of recognition, a man approached us. With the same reflexive speed of a young boy being caught reading a dirty magazine, I quickly dismissed the map menu and faced him with a poorly made and easily forced smile.

    Due to how large the window was, I was half sure he might have seen it too, but he showed no signs of surprise at seeing it disappear into thin air. Assuming that Yua could only see it because of how close we were, or simply because she¡¯s my slave, I let out some of the tension in a sigh.

    The man¡¯s thick mustache lifted into a playful smirk before he slowly shook his head at us. Unlike the bearded merchant that gave us directions earlier, he was chuckling to himself as he walked on past us. I only then realized that I was still holding Yua by the hip. It certainly didn¡¯t help when I found Yua gazing up at me lovingly, as if she found the appearance of our cabin on the map heartwarming. Nor did it help our case to realize we had stopped in the entrance to an otherwise secluded alley way, where nobody should have noticed a couple hiding away for a moment of daring public privacy. So, I quickly let her go.

    I checked the man¡¯s info box just to be safe and found nothing to worry about.

    Need to be more careful. We got lucky he misunderstood, but I was already painfully aware of how strange it must look to others to have me staring at them through a window only I could see. Let¡¯s not have Yua suffer that same embarrassment.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just go buy some potions¡­¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡±

    Thanks to the new map menu and the aerial view of the city it offered, we made it to the Bubbling Cauldron where it stood at the back end of the merchant¡¯s district in record time.

    If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    As usual, now that the morning rush of Adventurers were done plundering her wares for any and all sorts of potions they¡¯d need to tackle the dungeons, the place was mostly empty. Even some of the planters hanging in the store front were emptied, likely picked clean once their plants were ripe enough to concoct who knows what sort of potion.

    On our way in, the only other people we passed were a pair of what looked like housewives from how they were dressed, but upon a glance at their info boxes, I saw that they were merely a couple of teenagers. One of these girls, the one whose cheeks were flushed, was carrying a glass bottle filled to the brim with a pink liquid before she slipped it into her shoulder bag. Her friend giggled to herself, clearly enjoying the other girl¡¯s embarrassment.

    When the embarrassed girl¡¯s cheeks heated up twice fold after noticing my presence, she held her bag protectively to her chest and whipped her face away, as if to deny the fact that she¡¯d been seen. Her giggling friend had to stop in the doorway for a moment to hold her ribs as she begged for the one-sided hilarity to end.

    The ruckus she made not only made sure her friend would never forget this moment, but it drew the attention of the shop¡¯s owner on us. For better or worse, she recognized us instantly.

    ¡°Welcome back to the Bubbling Cauldron, dear customer.¡±

    The Apothecary Madame Turquesse brushed her frizzy hair back over her shoulder as she greeted us with a tired, yet oddly bright smile. Wearing just a black, skin-tight dress that showed off way too much of her nearly non-existent cleavage, she looked like she was trying, and failing, to cosplay as a seductive older woman. Only, everything about her was so petite that nobody without direct access to her info box would have been fooled.

    As if noticing my thoughts her appearance, Madame Turquesse leaned over her counter, touched a finger to her lip and smirked up at me from beneath the brim of her large witch''s hat.

    ¡°Dear Customer, are you back for more stamina recovery potions so you can keep entertaining your sex slave there?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not why we¡¯re here!¡±

    Feeling my face heat up, I forced myself to ignore the semi-truth to her question and relaxed. I¡¯d accidentally and unintentionally insulted this tiny potion-fanatic¡¯s work a while back and ever since, she¡¯s gotten back at me by hitting me with a provocative joke each time I walked into her shop. It was better than her glaring or outright banning me from her shop, but she really liked to hit me where it hurt.

    I guess a month wasn¡¯t long enough to help her forget the things I said.

    ¡°Oh, but we do need more stamina potions, Master,¡± Yua said matter-of-factly. ¡°You used the last one this morning.¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha! Oh my. Oh my.~ ¡±

    Yua¡­ Why have you betrayed me, Yua?

    Clearly not understanding the reason for the tiny witch¡¯s laughter, Yua¡¯s eyes flitted from me to her, trying to eke out some sort of understanding. I, however, slapped my palm over my face while Madame Turquesse completely failed to hide her laughter behind her hand.

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t be so embarrassed, Dear customer. Young men come in all the time asking for stamina potions. Women too. They¡¯re my best-selling product!¡±

    Yea¡­ Knowing that people in Amoranth favored potions that helped them to keep their bedtime antics going, instead of ones literally capable of saving their life doesn¡¯t make me feel any better.

    Though Yua didn¡¯t seem at all bothered to be called a sex slave, I don¡¯t want the only other apothecary I know to think I¡¯m a massive pervert. I mean, I did notice her revealing dress before the bags under her eyes. But what man wouldn¡¯t?

    ¡°Anyway,¡± I said. ¡°We are here for Cure Poison potions.¡±

    Her laughter stopped almost immediately. Frozen mid-breath before uttering so much as another Ha, her brow furrowed and her face twisted with the sort of sadness you¡¯d expect to find on someone attending the funeral of a long-time friend.

    ¡°Oh, no. I¡¯m so sorry, but I don¡¯t have any more of those.¡±

    Looking as though she wanted to take off her hat to offer condolences, rather than apologize for running out, Madame Turquesse¡¯s lips quivered. I breathed slowly through my nose before I could let myself say something stupid.

    ¡°Then could you at least sell me the ingredients so I can make it myself?¡±

    Handling it myself would be no problem. I was by no means a master apothecary like this woman, but in our down time this last month, I did manage to prove that my own Apothecary class was no joke. Thanks to the innate knowledge that came with it, I managed to use the ingredients we found in the dungeon to brew us up a sizeable batch of smaller health potions to add to what we already bought.

    It wasn¡¯t much and I only managed to level up the class once, but who knows, maybe if I level enough, I¡¯ll be able to make us some super overpowered potions someday. The sort that, once drunk, could heal all your wounds instantaneously and keep them healed for weeks at a time. Or some sort of strength-boosting potion that would let Yua lift up an entire castle. Or maybe even ones worth so much gold that just selling one could cripple Amoranth¡¯s economy.

    However, Madame Turquesse shook her head, dismissing my child-like wonder with a lazy flap of her hand. The smile she wore at my expense was gone and replaced by a look so sympathetic it almost hurt.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t have those either. King DeGarmo is sending some his men to fight off some big demon in the east. It¡¯s supposedly well-known for its poison breath attacks, so they bought up all my stock on their way through the city. I¡¯m completely out of the main ingredient.¡±

    Demons again, huh? I¡¯d heard something about some ancient demon king that may or may not have existed, but I marked it off as nonsense and avoided pressing for more details, just in case I accidentally started some new questline I didn¡¯t want to be a part of.

    Guess this at least means demons, if not demon kings, are real in this world.

    ¡°Then would you be willing to tell me where to get the ingredients, then?¡±

    If they were in the dungeon like the others we found, we might be able to hop back in, pick a few and get out in no time. Assuming they weren¡¯t on one of the deeper levels, of course.  I¡¯m sure Yua would enjoy the chance for a quick fight after a month of sitting on her hands. Madame Turquesse, however, shook her head.

    ¡°Normally, I¡¯d keep quiet about where I source my ingredients, but this one isn¡¯t exactly a secret. They¡¯re imported from Dragma. However, those jerks put an embargo on all their potion ingredients, which means I have to collect them myself here in Vierre. But these days, I don¡¯t have time to leave my shop. That¡¯s why I sent a request to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild this morning to have some gathered for me¡­ Geez, first sugar and a few veggies and grains, and now potion ingredients? Apothecaries over in Dragma must be cackling behind their cauldrons right about now. How depressing.¡±

    ¡°A request? By chance, do you mean this?¡±

    I handed her the quest slip we¡¯d taken and a small smile made its return to her lips before handing the slip back.

    ¡°That¡¯s it. How lucky that it was you that accepted it. Must have been your inner Apothecary that made you want to take it, huh? You just had a hankering for some ingredient harvesting, didn¡¯t you? Tell you what, since you want to be an Apothecary too, I¡¯ll make you a deal.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m listening¡­¡±

    ¡°Bring back as many Connefery Flowers as you can and give half of them to me. Do this and I will not only tell you the recipe, but I¡¯ll give you the other ingredients needed to make the Cure Poison potions. And if you use the other half of the flowers to brew some Cure Poison potions, I will buy all of the potions you make at their normal selling price on top of the reward for finishing the quest.¡±

    I nodded along with her every word, but kept quiet. My Merchant class was telling me that this was an amazing deal, but that it was also too good to be true. And it was easy to see why.

    ¡°But wouldn¡¯t earn more coin by making them yourself?¡±

    ¡°Not at all,¡± she said, puffing out her tiny chest. ¡°I probably shouldn¡¯t be telling you this, but DeGarmo¡¯s men are still requesting more Cure Poison potions. Apparently, they¡¯ve received reports that there is more than one demon out there causing trouble. And they¡¯re willing to pay extra just to get my potions faster. So, with you helping to brew half of the potions, I will be able to sell even more.¡±

    ¡°And you wouldn¡¯t be offended by a newbie passing their work off as yours?¡±

    ¡°Pfft. Dear Customer, if you managed to screw up a simple Cure Poison potion, you might as well toss your dreams of becoming an Apothecary out with the rubbish.¡±

    While my Merchant class was screaming at her for giving away the details of such a lucrative deal, common sense still won out. Knowing about their need for potions would have given me a chance to compete with her by trading directly with the king¡¯s army, but I knew I didn¡¯t have the connections or name to actually do so. And because I was still a low-level Apothecary, I surely couldn¡¯t manage the same kind of deal she got anyways.

    ¡°Sound like a deal?¡±

    I looked to Yua for her thoughts and to make sure agreeing now wouldn¡¯t act as some sort of magically-binding contract, and all I got from her was a safe smile and a nod.

    ¡°Sure. It¡¯ll be good practice for me anyways.¡±

    I offered her a hand and she all but leapt off her stool to shake it.

    ¡°Great! Please remember that I need the flowers in no less than a week¡¯s time. The officer in charge of procuring supplies will arrive in the city sometime after the weekend is over. So, we have to be ready by then.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure I can handle that.¡±

    With my Dimensional Step ability and my new map, getting to Guerraway and back should be a breeze.

    ¡°Fantastic,¡± she said, clapping her hands together, ¡°Now that that¡¯s been settled, how about I get you those Stamina Recovery Potions? How many would you like? Ten? Twenty? Or maybe fifty? Or should I be asking your sex slave there? She seems strong enough to handle at least thirty.¡±

    Having been mostly left out of the conversation, Yua¡¯s ears perked up the moment her strength was complimented. Even if for the wrong reasons.

    ¡°¡­Thanks.¡±

    I sighed at my past self. That damn bastard screwed up with this tiny witch so badly that not even my offering to help in her love for making potions, as well as making her money, was enough to mend the wound my words caused. I pulled out my coin purse all the same.

    <div>

 Volume 2 - Chapter 6

    Happy to be finished with the tiny apothecary, we left Amoranth on foot and made for the dirt road running along the city¡¯s wall. Just past the city was a sprawling field of wheat where dozens of people toiled away. A few gave us kind waves as we passed, but most ignored us. Feeding an entire city took a lot of work.

    We hurried along and once we were good and far enough away from any possible spectators, I opened the map menu. Curious still since her last look had been interrupted, Yua leaned against my arm and looked upon it as if it were some sort of revolutionary magic tool and, in a way, it was.

    Staring from our spot on the outskirts of Amoranth, I dragged the map towards Guerraway and skimmed the lands between, which were now thoroughly detailed thanks to Miss Bellenfort.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see. If Guerraway is where we want to go, the fastest route to get there would be to go¡­¡±

    Mostly north. Shocker.

    I¡¯d already noticed the perfectionist detail of that drunkard¡¯s map, but it was so exquisitely made that the safest route to Guerraway practically begged for attention. The path did zig-zag through trees and around small mountainous ranges a bit, but it deftly avoided all the dangers she marked for us. The same one we stood on lead right to where we needed to go. Though, it was actually just a line that cut through the plains where the grass and soil had been trampled flat over years of travel. The distance between the two cities was a little longer than the distance between Amoranth and our chain.

    Assuming that the road was born from years of traders passing between the two cities, I turned to Yua.

    ¡°With this, we¡¯ll be there in no time. Are you ready to¡­¡±

    ¡°Ehhhh?!¡± she gasped. ¡°Alex, look! Look right there!¡±

    Excitedly, she pointed towards a small village marked just below and to the left of Guerraway called Pumaria, right in the eastern center of the same forest we¡¯d come to plunder. It wasn¡¯t at all large and, in fact, I¡¯d completely missed it. It was so out of place and so well hidden in the depths of the Dumort Forest that I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the people of Guerraway didn¡¯t know about it. And just the sight of it had her tail whipping my side.

    I guess Miss Bellenfort was no slouch at her job if she caught wind of it.

    ¡°Do you know that place?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s my village! That¡¯s where I was born and where my parents live!¡±

    ¡°Really? Then that¡¯s the northern tribe you mentioned when we met? Why didn¡¯t you say you were from there when we accepted the quest?¡±

    ¡°Because I really didn¡¯t know. We don¡¯t call the forest Dumort. To us, there is no name. It¡¯s the same for Pumaria. We just call it the village or home. The humans must have named them on their own.¡±

    ¡°Yea, we tend to do that¡­ But then how do you know it¡¯s the right place?¡±

    Sure, a village hidden in a forest wasn¡¯t exactly a rare occurrence, but it sure was convenient. And there were many forests in the world. In fact, Miss Bellenfort¡¯s map shows no less than three.

    Smiling giddily, her ears and tail sharing a delighted spasm, she pointed towards the western-most tip of the Dumort Forest where the trees gradually thinned into a curious short spiral on the map.

    ¡°There. I recognize this part of the forest. It¡¯s where parent¡¯s say goodbye to their children before they send them off for the dungeon challenge. It¡¯s where I last saw¡­¡±

    Biting her lip, her joy suddenly faded. She stared almost blankly at the map as she no doubt remembered that moment five long years ago. Remembered having to leave her home to chase her dreams, her love and passion for fighting that led to her being chained away in the city. The same city that once stole away her hope of tasting freedom again. Until we met, of course.

    Her chains may have only been metaphorical, or maybe just magical, but I could imagine how many times that last moment with her parents played back in her mind these last five years.

    It wasn¡¯t hard. After all, I¡¯ll probably never be able to see my own parents again.

    ¡°It¡¯s close to where we need to go,¡± I said. ¡°Why don¡¯t we stop by and say hello?¡±

    ¡°C-Can we, really?¡±

    Yua turned her emerald eyes to me, shining so clearly on the verge of tears that I almost couldn¡¯t speak. And as if her gaze wasn¡¯t enough to sway my very soul, she then added a bonus, completely forgetting that I already offered to take her.

    ¡°If we go, we might be able to get some Cure Poison potions. The village usually keeps a good supply of the essentials. A-And my mother is pretty adept at herbal remedies. Maybe she could help. They live inside the forest, after all!¡±

    ¡°Relax. Relax,¡± I said, throwing up my hands. ¡°You don¡¯t need to beg. I¡¯d be happy to take you. You were worried your parents might be thinking you¡¯re dead since you haven¡¯t come back yet, right? I bet they would be happy to know that you¡¯re alright.¡±

    ¡°Alex!¡±

    With joyous tears in her eyes, Yua lunged into my arms as fast as she could without building up a running start. She nearly tackled me to the ground as she squeezed the life out of me. Fighting back against the strength she surely didn¡¯t mean to put into her arms, I caressed her back, grit my teeth and silently enjoyed her happiness.

    Regardless of quests and promises, we now had a pitstop to make that I wouldn¡¯t let myself back out of.

    ¡°Okay,¡± I started, still rubbing her back as she wiped away her tears. ¡°I get the name, but what about the poisonous animals there. Or the fact that Amoranth was just to the south? Did you not know that either?¡±

    With a smile, she shook her head.

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. I knew there were poisonous animals, but the village kids aren¡¯t allowed to enter that part of the forest. Only the Hunters and the warriors that have proved themselves in battle by beating the fifth floor of any dungeon on their own are allowed.¡±

    Fifth floor? By themselves? I knew she was participating in some sort of test given by her people, but she almost died on the third floor! What the hell kind of standards are those?! And what kind of animals are we supposed to be worrying about that requires you to be that strong?

    We might actually be a bit over leveled for the fifth floor at this point, but her people live right next to such dangers?

    ¡°I never knew Amoranth was to the south,¡± she continued, oblivious to my worry. ¡°When leaving the village to train in the dungeons, our parents take us to that spot in the trees, have us close our eyes, face us in a direction of their choosing and then they give us a push. And we just go. We are to train using whichever dungeon we find first in that direction, regardless of how far away it is or how long it takes to get there.¡±

    ¡°They make you walk to a city at random? But there are so many. And they¡¯re so far apart.¡±

    Our teleporting across the Vierre kingdom the night we fled Amoranth took us what I estimated to be at least a few weeks¡¯ worth of regular travel time and not once did we spot another city. As was proven by my mostly empty map.

    ¡°The distance is part of the test,¡± Yua clarified. ¡°Although, I think my father might have taken it easy on me. He had a really hard time making up his mind on where to send me. He twisted and turned me so many times that I was a little dizzy once I started walking. To think Amoranth was so close. Haha. It felt like it took months to walk there, but this map makes the distance look so small.¡±

    Her curiosity for the map had turned into a full-blown affection as she traced a finger along the path from her homeland to the city. Meanwhile, I was struck speechless at the lengths her people went through just to prove themselves.

    Their standards were baffling, so strict, that it was no wonder she was scared that she¡¯d become weak and failed them. Her tears after beating the third floor of Amoranth¡¯s dungeon must have weighed more on her than I ever could have thought.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about my younger self,¡± she said. ¡°Our parents give us good clothes to wear and plenty of food and water for the journey. It¡¯s not like they were leaving us to die¡­ Although, if we ever ran out of what they gave us, we¡¯d have to work or forage for our own meals.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s good, I suppose. You had me worried for a minute there. Still, we need to get going. It¡¯s a little out of the way, but I¡¯ll definitely take you there.¡±

    ¡°Yes, please! Let me show my parents how strong you¡¯ve made me!¡±

    She bowed her head low to plead for something that, as far as I was concerned, was already a done deal twice over. So, I patted her head and gave a small laugh of approval.

    ¡°Let¡¯s get going then. Judging by the distance compared to the size of Amoranth, even with teleporting, it might still take us a few hours to get there.¡±

    It really was no wonder why Madame Turquesse hurried to get the quest to the guild when she did. She needed the Connefery flowers ASAP, but even by horse, I had to guess that your average Adventurer would need to travel two to three days nonstop just to get there, spend a day picking the flowers, only to then make the same trip back. No wonder why nobody took the quest before us.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me about your village on the way?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d love to!¡±

    As she started talking, I peered down the path ahead of us, memorized the detail of the furthest point my vision could reach and, after double-checking to make sure nobody was watching us, cast Dimensional Step. Blue specks of light swirled into existence and when the spell finished taking shape, I took her hand and stepped through the portal.

    We came out at the other side and our line of sight switched instantly from the edges of farmland to a lush, green grassy plain the bent in waves beneath the gentle touch of the wind. We were already far enough from Amoranth that it looked as though I could pluck the city off the horizon and stuff it in my pocket. Traveling like this by day is so much easier. And with Yua¡¯s homeland as our destination, it¡¯s like this quest was made just for us.

    Free from needing to worry about any magically-inclined voyeurs peeping on my magic, we had free reign to teleport as we pleased. I wasted no more time in opening the next portal.

    As we walked, stopping only to prepare the next portal, Yua explained to me some of the history and customs of her people.

    According to her tribe were similar to amazons, in that everyone practiced basic fighting and strength building exercises so they were always ready to fight. However, she told me that only those that show the most potential are allowed to leave and challenge the dungeons. Those that couldn¡¯t hack it stayed behind to serve the village as guards, hunters, cooks and so on. Taking on the dungeon test was also a choice one had to make themselves. It was never forced.

    ¡°¡­ Because, if you yourself don¡¯t think you¡¯re ready, then you will inevitably fail.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty harsh. What if you just doubted your own abilities because everyone around you was so much stronger?¡±

    She shook her head, her long hair and cloak swaying in the generous breeze.

    ¡°When our parents train us, they fight us with most, if not all of their strength for that exact reason. They rarely hold back. All to make us stronger and eliminate those kinds of weaknesses. There¡¯s no point in worrying about who is or isn¡¯t stronger than you. All that matters is how strong you are.¡±

    Yua pumped her fist with the same look of pride in her own power that she wore every time we faced the dungeon together. She smiled a bit and continued.

    ¡°It also prepares us for our journey to the dungeons, because we are expected to meet many tough enemies along the way. And even more once we are inside the dungeon. If you can¡¯t handle that much, then you aren¡¯t even allowed to try. For your own safety.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s nice that your people don¡¯t seem to force you to do what you are incapable of. But when you¡¯ve completed the challenge, are you expected to go back to the village?¡±

    ¡°Only if you want to. By the time you get that far, you are already expected to make your own decisions in life. So, whether or not you go back is completely up to you. Many do, but not everyone.¡±

    ¡°But then, why were you so scared your parents thought you died in the dungeon? Wouldn¡¯t they think you chose to stay and live with the humans?¡±

    Yua took on a bit of a somber look as we stepped through the next portal, but she quickly put on a forced smile to keep up with her own determination.

    ¡°It¡¯s because I swore to come back. My father is the chief of our tribe. So, it was my duty to join the ranks of the Expeditionary Force and prove myself further.¡±

    What? Her father is the chief?! Did I unknowingly turn the daughter of a village chief full of beast-kin trained since childhood to be warriors into my slave?

    ¡°E-Expeditionary force?¡± I stammered, hoping I wouldn¡¯t be executed on the spot once I brought her back. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    Her grin restored, she immediately launched into an explanation.

    Though it may have sounded similar on paper and in title, the Expeditionary Force doen¡¯t do what Miss Bellenfort had done. They don¡¯t go around mapping out new lands for their people. Instead, they are more like traveling merchants that head to faraway lands to bring back foods and tools that they are otherwise unable to make themselves. They would use the foods they grew near their village, the leather and pelts dropped from the animals they hunted, the weapons they made and any coin their tribe had on hand to facilitate these trades.

    And this was apparently done mostly on foot, which is why they needed to be so strong. They were expected to face many dangers during their trips and had to defend both themselves and their cargo. They were also going to need a tremendous amount of stamina to make it to their destination and back without dying.

    According to Yua, this was the most dangerous job anyone in her village could take on. And therefore, it was a well-respected position.

    ¡°So, if I failed in the dungeon, I would only shame my father.¡±

    ¡°Well, you are plenty strong enough to finish the test, but¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already chosen to live by your side. I know that, even after seeing my tribe again, I won¡¯t be changing my mind.¡±

    My heart burst into a fluttering panic. I was only going to try and suggest that she could prove to her parents that she was capable of doing such a task, then she hit me with a line that made me want to put off meeting her parents so I could drag her back to our cabin. Specifically, back to bed.

    ¡°Good to know. I wasn¡¯t planning on giving you back to them anyways.¡±

    ¡°Hehe. The cat-kin do mate forever, remember? And we¡¯ve mated plenty of times.¡±

    ¡°Right!¡±

    We continued our travels while Yua filled me in on more small details about her people. It only felt like a brisk walk to us, but we were actually making about a mile per jump. I watched the beautiful scenery fly by time and time again and was once again taken by the sights of nature that I was denied by living in a big city back on Earth.

    It was only supposed to be a temporary stop, but after a month of living there, I come to love the area where we set up our cabin. But I wouldn¡¯t mind moving it out here if Yua decided she wanted to be closer to her people. I bet that would make her happy.

    The way she smiled so brightly as she held my hand and how her every step almost started as a skip, already had me drawing up plans for upgrading our cabin. Maybe moving and starting over while we actually had time to plan out our home would make the process easier.

    I closed my eyes for a second to imagine it. Our little cabin in the middle of nowhere moved between two cities, one a large trading hub and the other a port city. And to their side, her homeland. If we positioned our home just right, we could teleport between the three at will. Assuming we could find places within them that were secluded enough to keep the spell a secret. And even if we couldn¡¯t, the walk to any of the three wouldn¡¯t be so bad.

    ¡°Oh, look! There¡¯s the edge of the forest now!¡±

    Still full of excitement, Yua pointed towards what looked like a small bundle of tree tops about a mile or two away. As I thought, a quick look at the clock on my HUD showed that it only took us about an hour to make it this far. Considering how a horse probably would have taken a full day or two to make it this far, I definitely couldn¡¯t complain. I mean, thanks to my new body and improved stats, I wasn¡¯t even sweating yet, let alone tired.

    I opened up another portal and we stepped through and onto the edge of the forest that had been so far away only a second ago. Excited to see the village I had spent the last hour learning about, I stepped forward, ready to switch our teleporting travels to a nice hike through the trees, but stopped once I noticed Yua hanging back.

    She bit her lip and, staring down at her feet, an almost pained apprehension drew itself plainly across her face, afflicting her beauty with doubt. She didn¡¯t look up again, not until she stopped hearing my boots crunch the fallen twigs and leaves that were scattered about.

    Thinking back on everything I just learned about her and her people, I wondered if her hesitation was born from returning without completing her dungeon test. Having even more time to play with than I thought thanks to my magic, maybe we should have made a quick stop at the dungeon. At this point, she was strong enough that clearing the fourth and fifth floors probably wouldn¡¯t have taken all that long. Especially if she let me help.

    ¡°Something wrong? If you¡¯ve changed your mind, we can¡­¡±

    ¡°I-It¡¯s not that, Alex. It¡¯s just¡­¡±

    She pressed her knees together and wrapped her arms around herself and her hips started to sway. At first, I thought she might have been trying to give herself a reassuring hug before meeting with her parents again after a five-year absence to prove she wasn¡¯t dead, but then a thought came to me.

    ¡°Oh, uh, if you need to pee, I can turn around¡­¡±

    ¡°N-No. I, um¡­ To go any further, I would have to break one of your¡­ One of Master¡¯s orders. So¡­¡±

    ¡°An order? What order did I give you that would make you think you can¡¯t walk through the forest?¡±

    Baffled, I sprinted through memories of our daily conversations in search of something I said that she could have misunderstood as an order, but nothing really stood out to me. Hell, due to my want to treat her as a normal girl, most of the half-assed orders I did give her were more along the lines of requests, rather than actual honest-to-Goddess orders. And most of these were centered around trying to help her feel normal again. Like, say, forbidding her from sleeping on the floor.

    ¡°Does it maybe¡­ Have something to do with your parents learning you were enslaved. Or something like that?¡±

    I wasn¡¯t taking her back entirely on a whim. I was well aware that once they found out she was enslaved, her parents might end up trying to force me to give her back to them. And I¡¯d be on their turf, surrounded by their people. Yua herself already made it clear she¡¯d side with me in such a scenario, but that didn¡¯t mean they¡¯d take it lying down.

    Although, I would like to be on good terms with her parents. She may still occasionally call me her Master, but if I could prove to them that I didn¡¯t treat her like a slave¡­

    ¡°N-not that,¡± Yua said, shaking her head emphatically to deny my guess. ¡°Th-The one I mean is how you ordered me not to show my naked body to any man other than you. And as your slave, I cannot willingly break that order.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Pardon?¡±

    I blinked hard, confused enough to wonder why my eyes couldn¡¯t somehow unhear what she just said.

    I was not expecting to have to relive the one order I made out of a jealous caution when we shared a bath in the semi-public space behind The Lazy Cat Inn.

    ¡°¡­ What does that have to do with entering the forest?¡±

    ¡°Well, um¡­ It¡¯s just that, um, the cat-kin of my tribe don¡¯t wear clothes unless we are planning to visit a human city. A-And I really want to return to my people as a cat-kin, not a slave. S-s-so I would need to take mine off and, um, well¡­ there are men in my village, so¡­¡±

    She gripped the front of her skirt and my eyes widened at her immediate lack of a laugh to prove she was only joking. Seeing Yua turn into a stuttering mess for the first time since meeting her, I instantly felt my thoughts on moving over here vanish in a cloud of white light.

    ¡°Wait, are you saying that everyone in your tribe is a nudist? Really? Why didn¡¯t you mention that on the way here?¡±

    ¡°S-Sorry! It just slipped my mind because I was having fun talking to you. I don¡¯t have really good memory like you, so¡­¡±

    Yua sharply dipped her head in apology, her shoulders shaking, as if still expecting to be hit after repeatedly telling her I meant to treat her better than that.

    ¡°Uggh¡­ I had fun too, but this is a bit much to spring on me at the last second, Yua.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡±

    She hurriedly bowed again. With a sigh, I patted her on the head to let her know she could stop. If I could trust her to shave my face with a blade as sharp as a sword, then I could trust that she was at least not lying to me now. Still, better safe than sorry.

    Pinching the bridge of my nose, I gave her the answer she was waiting for.

    ¡°Alright, Yua. This is honestly really hard for me to believe, but if you are serious about this, then please listen carefully to my next order.¡±

    I hated using my rights as her master to prove a point, but I felt it couldn¡¯t be avoided. As long as I worded it correctly, she wouldn¡¯t be able disobey. Meaning I¡¯d have the truth from how she responded. Her expression was way too serious for this to be some misguided joke, but just the thought of her parading herself around the forest in her birthday suit had my cheeks burning.

    Yua, however, stood firm and nodded without hesitation.

    As baffling as this sudden declaration was, she clearly had no issues undressing around me anymore. So, there should be little to no embarrassment for her now. We may be in the open, but we were alone. And if she was telling the truth about her people, then that could lend some idea as to why it only took a few days to get her to open up to me that much. And on a lesser note, why it was she as a young woman had absolutely no sense for fashion.

    ¡°Right here and right now, I order you to undress. Take off every single piece of clothing you have on right now, but only if you are telling me the absolute truth about your people.¡±

    Besides, if she was truly serious, then there was a strong possibility that the men in her village wouldn¡¯t necessarily look at her in a lecherous way, anyway. To a village of nudists, the naked body, even that of a beautiful girl like her, should just be a common sight. So, there should be no need for me to feel jealous, right? And I¡¯d be in the same boat, seeing parts of other women that should be hidden, right? That probably even goes for her mo¡­ther¡­

    Shit. Can I undo the last five minutes?

    ¡°Yes!¡± she exclaimed, robbing me of my chance for a do-over. ¡°Oh, thank you! Thank you!¡±

    Without further pause and with her bright smile returned to her, Yua skipped the bow this time and lunged into my chest to kiss me. Then, right there under the unrestrained eyes of the Sun up above and in front of the audience of trees making up the forest beside us, she began to undress.

    With a bright, cheery smile completely devoid of any ill meaning or trickery, Yua began to undress as casually as though she were simply getting ready for a bath back home. Quickly and quietly, she pulled off her backpack and set it on a nearby stump. She then unbuttoned her cloak and unceremoniously shrugged it off her shoulders to stuff it in her bag.

    As far as my breath-stopping bewilderment went once her dainty fingers drifted up to start untying her blouse, once the leather straps holding up her breasts loosened and the two soft mounds fell into a more relaxed position, I realized once and for all that she truly wasn¡¯t joking. But that was not all that I noticed.

    Something curious caught my attention. And no, it was not because I was reminded of just how much of her slender beauty that thick cloak truly hid. Instead¡­

    ¡°Um, Yua, where¡¯s the bag of coin I gave you?¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Somehow, it was my ears that caught the lack of clinking coins when she dropped her cloak. Likewise, there was no green bag tied to her hip where I saw it last. And while her diet had improved since meeting me, she was still slender enough that noticing the bulge of a coin purse on her person would have been easy. Only, nothing was there.

    Her ears shot up before she even looked, hearing the lack of that distinct sound all too late. Then, trembling, she let go of her blouse to face me.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m so sorry! The bag was just so light that I barely felt it. I don¡¯t know where it went!¡±

    Light?! I gave you at least 10 gold¡¯s worth of small coins. It should be at least a little heavy.

    ¡°Is it in your bag?¡± I said, pulling it open.

    But as I had already stored our supply of stamina potions in my item box, the only thing inside was her cloak. I checked in all the bag¡¯s pockets just in case, thinking she might have just forgotten stuffing it away, but nothing was there.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m so sorry,¡± Yua cried. ¡°You trusted me with your money and I¡­¡±

    ¡°Yua, it was your money. Not mine. Besides, I still have plenty of coin for the both of us in my item box. I guess¡­ No, it¡¯s not that big a deal.¡±

    Although, I did work pretty hard trying to turn her shirt into a nice bag, so she wouldn¡¯t regret wearing it¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m more worried about how you lost it.¡±

    The only thing she bought was breakfast. So, she definitely didn¡¯t run out of coin. But she couldn¡¯t have dropped it. Sure, we had some fun chatting as we walked the streets of Amoranth, but her ears definitely would have picked up the sound of a bag of metal coins hitting the street. Then how?

    You know, when I promised to get you your pork, that meant I was going to pay, right?

    I was no detective, but my Memorization trait caught on to the most logical course of events.

    As we walked to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, Yua had pat her bag of coin to boast about buying my breakfast. Then that Lilt girl bumped into her by the quest board. She even said she saw us before that, saying that I looked like a tourist.

    She must have seen Yua pat her bag. So, she knew where it was and how to grab it when she bumped her. How the hell did I not notice?

    ¡°Goddess, damn it,¡± I said, palming my forehead. ¡°I¡¯m too na?ve.¡±

    I¡¯d jumped to conclusions again. This time, I assumed Lilt was innocent, because I knew accidents and bad situations could easily turn people into thieves. After all, Yua was innocent, too. At least in my book.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± Yua cried again.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ fine. I think I know what happened. The info box of that Lilt girl we ran into at the guild said she was a Thief, but I ignored it. She must have taken your coin when she bumped you.¡±

    ¡°Wha¡­ But, I didn¡¯t feel¡­.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Yua, really,¡± I said, heaving a great sigh. ¡°It¡¯s just a bag. And we can make the gold back by beating the first boss in the dungeon again. It¡¯s really not a big deal.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not fine,¡± Yua barked, stomping hard enough to shake her blouse loose. ¡°It was a present you gave me! I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll definitely get it back!¡±

    Stomping again, this time with honest tears streaming down from a glare fierce enough to know she was out for blood, Yua started back towards Amoranth. But I jumped to grab her wrist and stopped her.

    ¡°Yua, calm down. She¡¯s probably long gone by now.¡±

    Lilt ended our conversation by taking a quest slip of her own. I may not be able to suggest how it was a Thief would be able to accept a guild quest without being caught by the scrying orb, but I distinctly remember there being no quests available within the limits of Amoranth. Which means she may have already set off to who knows where, same as us. So, even if we teleported straight back to the city, we were still likely too late.

    ¡°I can make you a another bag later. Really. We can try and track her down later. But for now, let¡¯s go see your parents.¡±

    Perhaps seeing my logic, or maybe it was just the reminder of why we came here, Yua stopped her march. She turned on her heel, biting her lip as if to try and stem the flow of tears before giving in and wiping them away with her arm.

    In a situation such as this, seeing how her blouse had been left in such disarray for me to see the entirety of her cleavage, I should have carefully fixed her clothing for her to save her some embarrassment, but my promise to take her home stood firm. I didn¡¯t want to use her anger with Lilt to let me back down from this.

    While she composed herself, and as I tried to suppress my jealousy for what her people were about to see, I undid the last strap holding her top together and helped her to pull it over her head. The moment the perfected shape of her breasts and their pink tips were left bared to the sun and her connection to her people had gotten just a little closer, she found the strength to let out a small smile.

    ¡°We¡¯ll deal with Lilt later when we go back.¡±

    ¡°O-Okay. Sorry.¡±

    Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    With her breasts now free and with them feeling the same breeze that cooled my face, she let her smile broaden just a little as she bent over to carefully stuff her blouse into her bag, looking as though she really didn¡¯t want to let any of my presents touch the dirty ground.

    She turned a hopeful look to the wall of trees and her tears vanished. Working quickly, she undid the small clasp holding up her skirt, loosened and stepped out of it only to then immediately put it away with her shirt. There wasn¡¯t so much as a hint of embarrassment on her cheeks. Nor was there a single thread of clothing to cover her bare vagina.

    Wait, what?

    Yua knelt to start on her boots and the knees socks she wore only at my behest, but I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off the perfectly smooth slit that had happily handled all of my desires this last month. And how utterly defenseless it looked. The discrepancy between what I gawked at and my expectations was too jarring.

    Then it dawned on me. How did she lose her bag of coin without noticing?

    The answer: this world worked partially like a video game.

    ¡°Um, Yua¡­ A question.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°You said that the slaves you lived with in the slave house taught you a few things about thieves, right?¡±

    This caught her attention and, perhaps assuming I meant to bring up her lost coin again, she stood up straight.

    Yup. She definitely wasn¡¯t wearing anything down there.

    ¡°Yes, why?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ Did they ever mention thieves having some sort of ability that lets them steal from their victims without even touching them?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes. But only the really, really skilled. They have an ability called Snatch that lets them do just that. Only, they have to know the person is holding the item they want to steal. Why? Do you think that¡¯s how she stole the bag?¡±

    ¡°Maybe...¡±

    That was a definite possibility, though it also gave reason to why Lilt bumped into her not once, but twice.

    ¡°She¡­ Lilt, uh¡­ Took something else from you.¡±

    ¡°Eh?! What?¡±

    Flustered and furrowing her brow, Yua started digging through her bag again, looking for what clearly wasn¡¯t¡¯ there. And as she did, she bent over. Facing me, staring at me, was proof of her second loss.

    ¡°Yua¡­ You were wearing panties when we left the cabin, right?¡±

    Her head shot up, her eyes growing wide yet again.

    No, sorry. It¡¯s just¡­ skirts are so breezy.

    Leave it to a girl that was apparently a former nudist not to notice that her underwear had been stolen. But why the hell would a thief like Lilt steal another woman¡¯s underwear? They weren¡¯t exactly expensive.

    After a brief look down between her thighs, as her eyes apparently needed to see what she definitely couldn¡¯t feel, Yua glared in the direction of Amoranth. Feeling as though she might start off towards the thief, this time butt naked, I stepped in front of her.

    ¡°Again, Yua. Your parents now. Lilt later. And when we catch her, you can punch her square in the face for both of us. But for now¡­ Um¡­ do you think I should join you? In, uh, taking off my clothes?¡±

    I blurted the question in the spur of the moment, influenced in no small part by the unbearably sexy girl in front of me, but when the words left my mouth, Yua¡¯s face brightened once more.

    I never would have thought the promise of nudity coming from a man could brighten anyone¡¯s mood so much. And now it feels like I¡¯m bribing her to do what she already wanted to do.

    ¡°W-Would you really do that for me? You don¡¯t have to.¡±

    Maybe not, but putting Lilt aside to think logically, if this tribe were truly all nudists, then me wearing clothes while walking amongst them would only make me stand out all the more. And my being a human likely meant I was already going to be somewhat of a pariah. Moreover, Lilt¡¯s theft of her things was entirely my fault for not speaking up as soon as I noticed what she was.

    I¡¯d hate to be the reason why she gave up on meeting her parents. So, it was on me to fully support her now. Maybe I could just siphon off some of the easy-going confidence she had in just standing here fully nude. And maybe, just maybe, I won¡¯t die of embarrassment.

    Not to mention that me being around her might help keep the other men¡¯s eyes off of her. They haven¡¯t seen her in five years. They don¡¯t know how beautiful she is now.

    ¡°I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯m here with you, Yua. If this is how your people live, then I want to stand by your side how they would¡­ At least while we¡¯re here.¡±

    Clasping her hands over the smile she utterly failed to conceal, Yua let out a small squeal of delight. Dashing to me, she grabbed hold of my arm and hugged it dangerously between her breasts. Her tail fluttering about behind her, she gazed excitedly into my eyes.

    ¡°Thank you! Thank you so much! Do you want me to help?¡±

    ¡°Huh? Oh, no. I can handle it myself.¡±

    I drew in a breath and separated myself from her. Coming here was my idea in the first place, so showing up as the only one wearing clothes in a village of nudists seemed like it would be just as weirdly rude as it¡¯d be showing up to a suit-and-tie dinner wearing only a dirty track suit.

    Still, now that I know she really wants me to join her, and seeing her standing there so easily with her breasts, ass and pussy all equally and totally exposed, I still felt the need to ask if this was somehow a joke.

    But I shook my head to jazz up some resolve. Just enough to make her happy.

    Attempting to discard enough of my embarrassment to take my cheeks down from a boiling mess to just a steamy nightmare, I pulled of my cloak and handed it to Yua. She set about stuffing it into her bag with her things as I worked on my belt. Because I was forfeiting my cloak and my belt pouch, I wouldn¡¯t be able to discreetly access my item box like I usually do while here. We¡¯d have to carry our things normally.

    I handed her my shirt, boots, socks and then my pants, but hesitated a bit to remove the final piece while she put the rest away, locking it all away behind the barrier that was my will to see my promise through to the end. I gulped and gripped the band to my underwear, but didn¡¯t move any further.

    Am I really doing this? I mean, it¡¯s already pretty chilly just standing here like this, but I nearly had a heart attack when someone walked in on me while I was taking a bath back at the inn. And now I¡¯m about to bear it all in the middle of an entire village?

    Yua gave me a sympathetic smile, like she knew exactly what I was thinking, and when I hesitated once more in removing the last line of defense towards my sense of modesty, she stepped forward. No doubt she meant to offer her support once again, but I put up a hand to stop her.

    What sort of man would I be to let her go through this while I clung to a safety net? My idea of doing better in this new life didn¡¯t mean to involve willingly partaking in public nudity, but I could see how much it meant to her that I at least try.

    Seeing that my mental debates would go on forever if I didn¡¯t take action, I yanked my underwear down in one quick motion and handed them to Yua. She gave an appreciative smile for my efforts while I did my best to endure the sudden rush of what felt like an arctic blast against my nether region. I had crossed the line of no return.

    Without so much as a glance at the monster now dangling freely between my legs, she pulled her backpack back onto her shoulders before she wrapped her arms around me to enact in some public indecency together.

    ¡°Thank you for this, Alex. I know it¡¯s not normal for humans, but it makes me really happy. If it ends up being too much for you, don¡¯t hesitate to let me know.¡±

    I swallowed my embarrassment along with her thanks and hugged her back. Hugged her probably a little too tight, considering our physical location and which of our bits and pieces touched each other.

    ¡°D-Do you know the way from here, Yua?¡±

    ¡°I do. Please, follow me.¡±

    She took my hand, apparently unconcerned that those of her tribe might use our affection against us as she did in the city, and took us into the forest.

    I had trouble at first, walking all over and around dead leaves, fallen branches and twigs and all while wondering how doing so didn¡¯t hurt Yua¡¯s bare feet as much as it did mine. But like she probably had years before me, I was slowly getting used to it. Instead, I had to fight the constant temptation of covering myself while Yua carried her nudity with a completely natural ease.

    Yua continued to lead us through a small dirt path that casually wound through the trees. I hadn¡¯t exactly stopped to observe her feet last night in bed or this morning in the bath, but were they tougher than they looked? I supposed they would have to be if she used to live out here like this. Or maybe it was just a beast-kin thing?

    Doesn¡¯t matter. Just have to take it one step at a time and be thankful that the map showed us as being a ways away from the village, where nobody could see us. Yet.

    ¡°Oh, hey. A Jack Rabbit.¡±

    Distracting myself from the ungracious breeze between my legs that, unlike the pain in my feet, was growing harder to ignore with each step we took, I pointed to what looked like an exact copy of the first animal I saw in this world. It lifted its crown of thorns to the sky, saw me pointing at it, but stayed cautiously still.

    Yua in turn giggled, much like a mother amused by her child¡¯s na?ve wonderment upon seeing literally anything even remotely interesting for the first time.

    ¡°There are many Jack Rabbits in this side of the forest. There are also a several kinds of birds, foxes and even some Brawler Bears in the caves not too far from here.¡±

    ¡°Brawler Bears?¡±

    Suddenly alert at the name drop of one of the forest¡¯s deadliest predators, I tensed up and started running through my list of spells and how I might use them incase danger found us.

    I now had two spells that would risk burning down this entire forest if misused. And while I knew Water Ball was about as powerful as its fiery counterpart, for some reason I felt as though all I¡¯d achieve in using it against such a creature would be to turn it from a Brawler Bear into a Soggy Bear.

    That leaves Rock Through and Strangle Thorn. Which were the ones I had the least experience using. And, if the bears here were as large as the ones on Earth, I doubted my sword would be of much help.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay to relax,¡± Yua laughed. ¡°The bears here a huge, but they know that my people are stronger than them. So, they don¡¯t come near the village often. Plus, they mainly eat fruits and honey.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t come often? Doesn¡¯t that mean they still do?¡±

    ¡°Mm. Sometimes, but that¡¯s only when their leader wants to fight for dominance over the forest. Happens every few months or so. And when it does, it¡¯s up to the village head, my father, to fight their alpha-male one on one.¡±

    Every few months? Well, if Yua can handle a wolf half her size, hearing that a likely more experience fighter could handle a bear honestly wasn¡¯t all that strange.

    ¡°Really? Your dad must be really strong then.¡±

    ¡°Yes, he really is,¡± she said, proudly puffing out her bare chest. ¡°In fact, the only time he` ever got hurt in a fight, was because he¡¯d been drinking when a particularly large bear showed up to challenge him. After the fight, when he came back covered in blood, he threw away the Health Potion my mother gave him and chose to let the wound heal on its own. That way, he¡¯d remember his mistake every time he looked at his scar¡­¡±

    As she spoke, she raked her fingers down over her cheek and to the center of her chest, likely mimicking where his scar was. Then she smiled a bit wryly.

    ¡°He¡¯s told me the story so many times that I kind of got bored of it.¡±

    Your dad fought a giant bear while drunk, won and wears a scar on his presumably naked body to prove it. And you think that¡¯s boring? That sounds like something that should be turned into a legendary fable!

    We continued through the forest a while longer until Yua¡¯s cat ears pricked up and she stopped. I recognized it immediately as a sign of danger that I couldn¡¯t yet see. Assuming it was none other than one of those bears, I readied myself for battle, but she threw up a hand to block me before I could pull my sword from my item box.

    Seconds later I heard the faint snap of a twig somewhere nearby.

    ¡°Alex, quickly. Raise your arms like this.¡±

    She raised both of her hands in the air and stood with her feet hip¡¯s width apart, making an X-shape with her body. Feeling the seriousness in her voice, I did as she said.

    ¡°What¡¯s this for?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s to show that we have no weapons and that we mean no harm.¡±

    Ah, yes. Being naked and splaying your body out like this ought to be more than anyone could ever be needed to show you aren¡¯t armed. Hopefully they don¡¯t take the sight of my monster as a literal threat to their safety.

    The sounds around us all stopped in unison. Whoever was out there was observing us cautiously as they hid amongst the trees. I could see nothing, but Yua was focusing on one spot where the number of trees was most dense. Once the forest had gone deathly quiet, Yua started to speak.

    ¡°I am Yua, daughter of Chief Tama. I am back from my training in the dungeons. I¡¯ve brought someone with me. Please do not harm him!¡±

    Soon after her declaration, a pair of slim, yet muscular men holding spears appeared from behind the trees. As they approached, I saw that they were indeed wearing nothing on their bodies but the pointed cat ears atop their heads. And like Yua, were without a hint of shame as their bits and pieces dangled out in the open.

    They walked up to us, spears at the ready, and stopped only once they had gotten about ten feet away. They looked me over fast enough to assess that I truly wasn¡¯t a threat, but their attention openly lingered on Yua. However, just as I thought, they didn¡¯t seem to be looking at her with any sort of mal intent.

    On the contrary, after a brief moment of squinting, both men broke into jovial smiles and nodded to one another once they got a good look at her, not at her naked body.

    ¡°It really is you, Daughter Yua. We had started to give up hope that you would return ¡­ Who¡¯s this man?¡±

    ¡°He is my mate and my master.¡±

    ¡°Master?¡±

    ¡°W-Why would you tell them that?¡± I whispered hoarsely and likely pointlessly considering the combined ear twitch of all non-humans present.

    ¡°Because they¡¯d know if I lied,¡± Yua said honestly without taking her eyes off them.

    Apparently these two, if not everyone else in the village, were walking talking lie detectors like Yua. Fantastic.

    The men turned a pair of sour gazes towards me and clenched their spears. They clearly knew what the title Master implied. I tensed up, ready to defend myself however I could if the need arose. Though I was most definitely shaking in the boots I wasn¡¯t even wearing.

    These men weren¡¯t mindless monsters like what we fought in the dungeons. They were trained warriors. And if they were trusted to guard the perimeter of the village like this, then they must be good at what they do. Meanwhile, the only knowledge I had in fighting came from the free class I was given for just touching a sword.

    However, despite my mind racing to come up with a combination of spells that would end the fight mostly painlessly for Yua¡¯s sake, she bravely stepped up between the three of us before anything could happen.

    ¡°I asked that you do not harm him. Alex has been incredibly kind to me. I am his slave, but I swear on my ears and tail that he treats me as his mate. More importantly, he has made me much, much stronger.¡±

    Casually dropping the same promise that ended with her being enslaved in the first place, Yua lifted her arm to flex her bicep at them, but her arms were so thin that I didn¡¯t think they would buy it.

    Then one of the men, the one with his long dark brown hair pulled back into a pony tail sniggered.

    ¡°If you let yourself be captured as a slave, you can¡¯t be all that strong.¡±

    Wow. No love for finding out your fellow tribesman was enslaved? You could at least ask what happened, you dick.

    Unlike my annoyed mental backlash, Yua only smirked right back at him and adopted her signature fighting pose, that of a mix between a boxer ready to strike and the mountain-like rigidity of a professional martial artist. Somehow, likely due the lack of clothing, it was clear as day that her legs were steady, but limber enough to move her entire body with ease.

    ¡°Care to test my strength, then?¡±

    Despite the fact that this rather thin girl was completely naked and had barely any visible muscle to her name, she was completely in her element.

    The pony tail man sniggered again and readied his spear. His friend stepped aside, but I quickly checked the former¡¯s info box to see what Yua was getting herself into.

    The pony tail man¡¯s name was Haru and he was a level 8 Beast and Spear-Warrior combo. Yua held a level of 10 in both her own Beast-Warrior and Monk classes, which meant that she at least had the upper hand where numbers were concerned. But this man had a spear. And it wasn¡¯t one of the worthless pieces of trash the dungeon goblins dropped. Haru¡¯s spear was about as tall as he was and was clearly well-made.

    But Yua¡¯s fierceness was unwavering.

    She remained confident in her ability to fight, regardless of the handicap. So, I stepped back as well, but readied myself to sneak a potion and my sword from my item box.

    The two warriors stared each other down, quietly sizing each other up. As if meaning only to meet her challenge head on, not once did Haru¡¯s eyes wonder down to the softer parts of her body. Not in the slightest. For that, at least, he had my thanks.

    Since the challenger, Yua, did not make the first move, Haru did. With a deep howl to show his strength, he lunged at Yua with the spear tip aimed for her chest. This was only supposed to be a test of strength, but his strike left no doubts that he fully intended to kill.

    However, Yua smacked the spear away with the back of her hand just before the tip could reach her. Surprised, Haru staggered. She lunged at him, kicking up forest debris in her wake. Dipping down beneath his thrust without stopping charging her Iron Fist, she launched into a full-forced punch straight into the man¡¯s unguarded stomach.

    It connected and he lurched. His eyes went wide from the sudden blow and the speed at which it was delivered to him. He dropped his spear on the spot and held his stomach. A single cough filled with spittle and blood escaped his mouth before he almost blindly put a hand on Yua¡¯s shoulder for support.

    Before either of us could protest his touch, his friend quickly came to collect both him and his spear. I could tell Haru¡¯s touch was not meant for his own gratification, but as a genuine attempt at preventing himself from falling down. So, I chose to let it go and so did Yua.

    ¡°Daughter Yua,¡± Haru¡¯s friend said for him. ¡°You truly have become stronger. We¡¯re sorry for doubting you. Please follow us.¡±

    Wait, that was it? That didn¡¯t even last ten seconds. Did three days with me in the dungeon really give Yua so much of a boost strength that overpower one of the village¡¯s guards seconds after meeting him? In a single punch?

    Purely for Yua¡¯s sake, I checked Haru¡¯s info box to make sure she didn¡¯t accidentally kill him.

    This second man, Maki, lifted his injured friend up over his shoulder while Haru himself blinked repeatedly. At first, I thought he might have been confused, but when his gaze started to look a little empty, I guessed he was just trying to stay conscious. Unconcerned with this, Maki carried him much like a sack of potatoes, seemingly equally unconcerned for the fact that a certain bare, unfortunately-male appendage of Haru¡¯s was most likely pressing against him.

    He walked ahead of us without looking back to make sure we were following. Given their cat ears only differed from Yua¡¯s by color and size, they could easily tell if we were following.

    Yua, though, wasn¡¯t moving. She continued to stand where she¡¯d finished the fight and, with her arms still up in front of her face, her entire body started shaking. Before I could say a word, she jumped into the air with a cry of success that sent her chest bouncing wildly.

    ¡°Alex, I did it! I won my first duel since coming back!¡±

    ¡°Congratulations¡­? I¡¯m proud of my strong Yua.¡±

    Confused, but taking her joy as a sign that we were safe again, I patted her head after she leapt into my arms for another hug.

    Feeling a bit less tense now that I had undeniable proof that Yua wasn¡¯t lying about the nudism and that I had some of an idea of how this tribe worked, I hugged her back. And when she was done celebrating, we followed our guides to the village. They wasted no time bringing us there.

    The second the endless rows of trees came to an abrupt halt, we set foot into a clearing nestled deep within the forest and a sprawling, but noticeably homey-looking village opened up before us. My eyes widened so much at the sight of it that the fear of them popping out of my head was definitely real. Yua smiled wryly at me as she pulled me along, but for the life of me, not even for the price of every single coin I¡¯d ever own in this life, could I look away. I could never look away.

    All around me were cat-kin and as promised, every single one of them was completely naked. Not a shred of protective cloth or armor could be seen for miles.

    From the men guarding the boundaries of the forest, with both their spears and their spears eternally at the ready, to the women sticking chunks of meat onto skewers and lining them up to cook over the large bonfire at the center of the camp, before letting their breasts wobble freely as they wiped away their sweat. Naked bodies of varying shapes and sizes, all of them lean and perfectly fit, were walking, standing, sitting, working and playing around or just talking and enjoying each other¡¯s company without so much as blushing.

    What¡¯s worse, was that all of the women I could see were gorgeous enough to say that I had no other choice but to accept that being born as a cat girl meant that you were destined to be beautiful. It was a fact set in stone. Their breasts and butts varied in sizes and shapes just like their bodies, just like anyone else¡¯s, but they hid none of it. Not even when the men with their equally varyingly-sized members hanging out walked by to greet them, chat or give them a kiss as they returned from what looked like a hunting trip, judging by the fallen deer draped over their shoulders.

    ¡°My village is pretty amazing, right?

    Seeing off Maki and Haru with a nod, and with her ears and tail flicking about excitedly, Yua held out a hand to present her village as though she¡¯d turned into a gameshow host. I scrambled to pick my jaw off the floor to answer.

    ¡°Y-Yea. It looks really nice. But do you all really sleep in tents?¡±

    The only sort of housing in the village, the only forms of leather available that could hide one¡¯s body from the others, were the dozens of tents stretching over the entire clearing. There were no other solid structures found anywhere in eyesight, save for the thicker tree branches holding up some of the tents and the large stone temple-like building nestled away where it sat barely visible at the back end of the village.

    ¡°Yup,¡± Yua answered happily. ¡°Cat-kin prefer to be one with nature, so we sleep outside. Sometimes, if the weather is nice, we don¡¯t even use the tents.¡±

    So, everyone just sleeps outside naked? These people took living with nature to a whole different level.

    ¡°Amazing...¡± I mumbled, wondering if she could hear the sheer turmoil of my heart as a group of cat girls stood from the logs they sat on to move somewhere else, their tails drawing my attention before I snapped out of my perverted delirium. ¡°I¡¯m, uh, glad I brought you here.¡±

    ¡°Hehe. Thank you. Now, let¡¯s go find my parents.¡±

    Yua took my hand and led me straight through the crowd of naked cat-kin without any regard for her, my or their privacy. And naturally, none of them seemed to care. A few of them did look confused when they saw me, but not because I too shared in the nudity. Their eyes quickly found out about my lack of cat ears or tail.

    Again and again, my humanity was noticed, taken into consideration, mulled over, then to my surprise, all but completely ignored. Their initial confusion and the occasional cautious glances they shot my way all quickly flew away when they noticed the beautiful girl holding my hand.

    ¡°Hey! Daughter Yua is back! Daughter Yua has returned from the dungeons!¡±

    We¡¯d been on our way to the back of the village near the temple where the largest tent was sat at the crest of a small hill, when one of the men that noticed Yua started to shout.

    In all my years, no matter how long I live this life, I will never forget the sight of an entire village of cat-kin prick up their ears in unison. It was as if the village grounds were suddenly filled with hundreds of small furry spikes trying to spear the sky itself.

    Without exception, all stopped what they were doing and ran to surround us, all of them smiling, all of them vying to greet Yua in what felt like a hero¡¯s triumphant return.

    Confused as I was, and despite the presence of no less than fifty equally naked men, I had a hard time controlling my eyes once all the cat girls joined the fray. Never before had I thought it¡¯d be possible to experience whiplash while standing completely still.

    As they gathered, a sense of claustrophobia that reminded me of my past loner¡¯s life started to set in. But none touched her. Though they filled up enough of the space to make my every breath feel a little strained, none tried to touch her. No hugs. No pats on the back. Not even a handshake. A few even glanced at our interlaced fingers and took a step back. Then, several of them flicked their ears, hearing something amongst the clamor that drew their attention.

    ¡°Big Sis!¡±

    A loud cry from behind the mob sounded out. Yua smiled warmly at the sound of the voice, but it took the crowd between us separating before I could put a face to it.

    There, a girl noticeably slimmer and much more petite than Yua stepped into view. Sporting long, messily black hair that fell low enough on her body to almost look like she was wearing a top, she shoved her way through the crowd as if they were holding her back.

    None actually stood between them, but every single one of them smiled softly for this small girl.

    When she saw Yua, saw the girl that had so suddenly become the center of everyone¡¯s attention, her eyes widened in a disbelief that suggested she had doubted her own cat ears at the sound of her voice. It took less than a second for this girl¡¯s eyes to start to water and, her lips quivering, she sped through the crowd and jumped to latch onto Yua.

    Once Yua wrapped her arms lovingly around the crying girl and patted her head to comfort her, I almost instantly felt as though I didn¡¯t belong. That I could not dare step in between this reunion.

    ¡°I¡¯m back, Mana.¡±

    ¡°Big Sis!¡±

    The girl, Mana apparently, buried her face between the much taller girl¡¯s breasts and sobbed openly. All the women around us continued to smile softly at the loving reunion, a few even followed in Mana¡¯s footsteps and started to tear up. Meanwhile, all the men let out a raucous round of cheers for the return of their chief¡¯s daughter.

    The deafening celebration seemed to go on forever until this Mana girl sniffled and, without removing herself from Yua¡¯s cleavage, started jumping for joy against her.

    Looking only slightly troubled, Yua lifted the girl out of her bosom and pulled her over to stand before me. She probably only meant to give the girl a proper introduction, but the moment I fully saw this cat girl¡¯s face, all other thoughts ground to halt so jarring I almost fell over.

    What stood before me in this wonderfully petite package was none other than the purest exhibition of adorableness that could ever hope to exist in this world or any other. Her hair, jet black in color, held a messy wildness that gave her the appearance of having only just now rolled out of bed. But at the same time, it was nothing a quick comb of your fingers couldn¡¯t fix.

    The great big, irrefutably adorable eyes making up the centerpiece of her otherwise equally cute face were a pair of light blue globes that each had a picture-perfect image of a clear sky imprinted in them. Wiping her tears, she gazed up, first to Yua in confusion, then at me. Her lips, a glossy, vibrant shade of sakura petal pink twisted in a mild confusion that suggested she wanted to ignore me to spin around and hug Yua again. But her nose, sniffing the air in front of me was, well, it was cute as a button.

    Her body was, as mentioned, petite, but in every way imaginable. Her breasts were tiny enough to say they¡¯d only barely fit in my hand if all sanity had been lost on me and I dared to reach out and touch her, just to see if she were real. Everything from her chest to her waist was incredibly slender, but not in a way that suggested she was malnourished. In fact, she had the tiniest bit of plumpness that rounded out her hips perfectly.

    She tilted her head, blinking, and then looked at my chest for some reason. Then she smiled.

    Along with her curiosity, came with the most unmissable aspect of her cuteness. A pair of pointed cat ears flicked atop her head as she met my staring with some of her own. Upon closer inspection, notably after she removed her face from Yua¡¯s breasts, even her ears were smaller than her ¡°Big Sis¡¯s.¡± The same couldn¡¯t be said for her tail, though. The same shade of jet black as up top made itself known there as well as it repeatedly swished against and entangled itself with Yua¡¯s.

    In short, this girl was cute. Ungodly cute. And too tiny. Much too tiny. She barely stood as tall as my chest. The second I realized this, regained my faculties and my brain restarted, I focused hard on her to check her info box. Assuming this girl to be a child and that, upon observing her in so unerring much detail, that I was about to be arrested as a pervert by whoever policed the tribe, I desperately checked her age.

    Upon finding my answer, I sighed almost hard enough for my knees to buckle and for Yua to tilt her head.

    The girl was eight-teen. Same age as Yua. Apparently, genetics just hadn¡¯t been as kind to her as it was her Big Sis. Though this girl¡¯s cuteness was on a whole other level.

    Not higher than Yua¡¯s, mind you. Just different. Yua definitely had the girl-next-door vibe when it came to beauty, but Mana was cuteness incarnate.

    After that mini heart attack, and while I was chastising myself for thinking of this girl in any such way when I already had Yua, Yua put her hands on the girl¡¯s shoulder¡¯s and finally began her introduction.

    ¡°Alex, this girl is Mana. She¡¯s been like a sister to me ever since we were kids. We used to play and fight together all the time. Mana, this is Alex. He is my mate and my master.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Um, it¡¯s nice to meet you.¡±

    While it was mildly disturbing to think Yua had actually ever raised a fist at this girl, mainly because she was barely a level 2 Beast-Warrior, I still felt it was my guilt for allowing this girl to make my heart flutter that made my greeting feel forced and awkward.

    However, when Mana looked up at me with a deeply confused expression, I got the impression that it wasn¡¯t because I was trying so hard not to look down once her hair uncovered her petite bust and the light pink tips she left out on display.

    ¡°Master?¡± she said. ¡°Big Sis, are you this male¡¯s slave?¡±

    I blinked. I thought my brain had done a complete reboot once I managed to calm myself, but memory served to show that Yua once more introduced me as her master.

    Here we go. I knew it was going to come, but I didn¡¯t think I needed to hope that it wouldn¡¯t while I was surrounded by the entire village. Why hadn¡¯t my Luck stat kicked in to at least prevent this girl from airing out that natural question until we were alone?

    And just as naturally, everyone in the village with a pair of cat ears, meaning literally everyone, heard this. And because they heard it, that meant that Mana just pointed out to everyone that Yua was my slave. Instead of falling on her the way Maki and Haru¡¯s did, everyone¡¯s gazes turned towards me and I suddenly felt very small.

    Unconcerned with the crowd¡¯s reaction, Yua hugged her friend again and spoke sweetly.

    ¡°Yes, I am. And I couldn¡¯t be happier to be with him.¡±

    ¡°Happy? But¡­¡±

    Just when I found myself admiring Yua for how calmly she managed to both answer the question and defend me at the same time, Mana broke free from her hold and ran over to me. Thinking that Mana was finally going to dole out the punishment Yua was unable to, I braced myself for the impact of a well-deserved punch.

    But she didn¡¯t hit me. Didn¡¯t even raise a fist or pull out an unscrupulously hidden blade to stab me. And I honestly couldn¡¯t figure out if what she ended up doing was worse.

    The second she was, damn myself for thinking so, within touching distance, she raised her chin to the sky much like Yua does when searching for enemies, but her smaller ears didn¡¯t flick cutely. Instead, she inhaled sharply through her nose. And when her chin came back down, she started to flip-flop between glaring at me and tilting her head curiously.

    Said curiosity didn¡¯t last long, however, as she immediately started running circles around me, sniffing me loudly from every direction and angle. All while wagging her tail. Under the chorus of painful glares, I could do nothing but stand there and let it happen.

    Seriously. I know their ears define them as cat-kin, but with her circling around me to catch my scent the way a dog would another dog while on a walk in the park, I couldn¡¯t help but¡­.

    Oh! What?! Yup. Nope. Definitely a dog. No doubt about it now. Those cat ears are a damned lie.

    Ending her one-girl race around my stiffened body by coming to a rest directly in front of me, Mana bent down and took a nice, long, very audible whiff and came right back up. Pulling her face unceremoniously away from my crotch, she once more tilted her head, confusion so apparent on her face that it very nearly detracted from her outright strange behavior.

    ¡°Mana, why are you smelling him like that?¡± Yua said, looking confused herself. ¡°Is your nose stuffed up?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that,¡± Mana said, taking another deep sniff, letting her chest expand to twice its normally petite size as she did. ¡°It¡¯s just that he smells like you.¡±

    Yua¡¯s eyes shot open in surprise, almost like she¡¯d been gone long enough to have forgotten how it felt to meet someone else capable of distinguishing between people¡¯s scents the way she could. She smiled so sweetly at the girl that I was sure she was in for another boob-suffocating hug, but then Mana spoke again.

    ¡°But he also smells like when my parents mate.¡±

    So. This is the day I die¡­ again?

    In the span of seconds, Mana successfully outed me as Yua¡¯s slave master and then told the whole tribe that I had sex with her. And there was no doubt in my mind that the only connection these people would be able to make between the words ¡°slave¡± and ¡°mate¡± in this context would be that I forced myself on her.

    I could feel the already dagger-like glares surrounding me to prevent my escape sharpen as they stabbed into me.

    ¡°Did this male mate with you, Big Sis?¡± Mana said, driving the knife deeper.

    Yua, however, continued smiling as though nothing in the world was wrong with this situation, despite knowing full well how male masters preferred to treat their female slaves.

    ¡°He sure did,¡± she said, pulling out the dagger and replacing it with a spear. ¡°He even taught me how to have an orgasm!¡±

    Oh, Goddess, what have I done? Why did we come here?

    Yua pumped her fists, as though that were some great accomplishment. And, as my consciousness was beginning to fade, I thought I might have heard more than a few confused mumbles flutter about amongst the crowd.

    ¡°Eh? What¡¯s an orgasm?¡± Mana said, tilting her head yet again, her cuteness never wavering.

    I have sinned. That¡¯s what I¡¯ve done. Yup. No denying it. Yua forgave me and even said she loved me, but I have sinned against her. And I have now sinned against her people.

    Feeling my heart trying to kill me in an attempt to spare me the painful  torture these people no doubt planned inflict upon me for my crimes, I chanced a glance at them, ready at least to meet my killers in the eyes¡­.

    ¡­ Only to find that more than a few of them looked confused as well, muttering the word orgasm over and over, as if they thought saying it repeatedly would unlock its meaning. Others were indeed still glaring at me, but the concept seemed utterly lost on the rest, despite some being old enough to have had kids of their own.

    Ah, right. Yua didn¡¯t know about it, either. Maybe these folk just don¡¯t have a word for it. I mean, after all the screams of pleasure I made Yua let out into our little cabin in the middle of nowhere, I was sure these people at least weren¡¯t entirely unfamiliar with the feeling itself.

    Yua, though, puffed out her chest, thrust her hands on her hips and looked entirely too happy to share this information with them. I, on the other hand, failed to remember how to breathe fast enough to allow enough oxygen to reach my brain so I could think up a way to stop her.

    ¡°An orgasm is when you mate and all the good feelings you feel while doing it suddenly burst out all at once. When Alex orgasms, he lets out a lot of semens from his manhood. And when I do it, I kind of feel like I¡¯m peeing, but it feels really, really good.¡±

    Goddess. O¡¯ Sweet, beautiful Goddess up above, just fucking kill me. I have failed this life. I have besmirched your attempt to make right on our shared wrongdoings and fucked up spectacularly. There is no coming back from this one. She even named and pointed at me!

    ¡­ Or so I should rightly think, but the crowd¡¯s confusion only seemed to grow further at her, sort-of-cutely-worded explanation.

    Goddess, are these people truly so impossibly na?ve that they don¡¯t know how they themselves were brought into this world? Or, what? Do cat-kin reproduce asexually, or something? No, that can¡¯t be. Yua very clearly has a little belly button hidden between her lightly defined abs. She was most definitely born normally.

    ¡°Daughter Yua,¡± one of the women in the crowd stepped forward to speak. ¡°I think I understand this orgasm-thing, but what¡¯s this semens stuff you said? Is it this?¡±

    Proving to be the epitome of nonchalance, this woman, a beauty in her own right, though not on the level of Yua herself or Mana, spread her legs and then spread herself for the whole village to see as if the gesture meant absolutely nothing to her. And what did they see if not her shimmering, aroused pussy?

    Oh, well, let me tell you. What they, we and I all saw was nothing less than a stream of thick white liquid running down her inner thigh.

    Without noticing, or perhaps without caring for the half a dozen heart attacks she¡¯s caused me so far today, Yua knelt in front of this woman, put a contemplative knuckle to her chin and examined the white stream openly. Thankfully, for my soul, my heart and for the sake of not allowing myself to become aroused out here in public, Yua did not actually touch this woman. She stood back up with a smile.

    ¡°Yes. That is semens. Though, Alex lets out a lot more than that.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Really?¡± the woman said, then turned to the man beside her and said, ¡°My Mate, you gave me your semens? In my special place?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? I suppose so.¡±

    Goddess, just strike me down now. I have corrupted these people to a completely unfixable extent.

    This level of naivete and curiosity should not be allowed to exist within a single body, let alone a people.

    Also, special place? Are you kidding me? What¡¯s so special about it when you live your life with said place completely and fully on display?! Hell, you even just went and showed the entire village that you just had sex!!!!!

    Grinning triumphantly, Yua turned and gave me a thumbs-up, apparently proud to have shared some of what she¡¯s learned during her time with the humans. I, on the other hand, rubbed at my temples.

    I didn¡¯t just now realized this, but I had to begrudgingly accept the fact that the loving comfort of modern medicine was nowhere to be seen. There may be a potion aimed at curing headaches, but I sure as hell didn¡¯t have one. And the thought of swallowing a bottle of painkillers was starting to look pretty good right now.

    How can this be? My beautiful Yua comes from a people so secluded in the forest, away from the rest of the world, that they are all apparently insanely na?ve when it comes to sex. But somehow equally as insane, entirely open about it? I mean, for Goddess¡¯ sake, Mana even went and compared the sweet scent of our love-making to her own damn parents! Apparently, the soap we used in the bath was defective.

    If there was anything to be gleaned from this ungodly embarrassing situation, it was that the people in the crowd all stopped glaring at me at some point. They were all too fixated on what Yua said to care.

    That, or, judging by their half-smiles, some of which were directed at me, hopefully out of sympathy, they might have forgiven me for what I¡¯ve done to Yua. And why shouldn¡¯t they when Yua said all that with a great big smile? I had no idea what she was like when she was younger, but I had to imagine that they took notice that she was happy with me.

    My vision fading in and out of existence, I only just caught the sight of Yua¡¯s ears giving a curious flick as she started scanning the village for something the same way she would in the dungeon. I was of half a mind to ask her to stop, as she was effectively showing off every angle of her own nudity to these nudists, but my headache got the better of me and managed to remind me that I basically gave her permission to exist like this in the first place.

    ¡°Mana, where¡¯s¡­¡± she started, then shook her head. ¡°Mana, I want to show Alex our village. Want to come with?¡±

    ¡°Sure!¡±

    Forgetting all this talk about orgasms and semen within the span of a second, Mana¡¯s lips curled into the cutest of smiles that all but cured me of my headache and darted over to Yua. Grabbing her by the arm, she pressed her head and ears against Yua¡¯s breasts. Yua, for the first time since my little slip up in the dungeon when I accidentally groped her, strained a smile at anything having touched her breasts and just let Mana nuzzle against them.

    Was this girl trying to rub my scent off of Yua, or what?

    With this slightly worrisome thought in mind, I let the two girls lead the way through the village. And to my surprise, the villagers let Yua go without further question, even though they were all over her just seconds ago.

    I staggered to follow them, thankful my execution had been postponed.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 7

    Everyone in the village lived in tents. With the dozen or so fires scattered across the area, it looked closer to a large campground than an actual village, but only at first glance. What I was initially too distracted to notice was how well they used these tents to fashion little homes for themselves. Between blinks, when my eyes were closed and I had a chance to focus, I had wondered how they managed to tell them all apart, but many of them were actually very distinguishable.

    From regular tents to those that used the leather as a gate surrounding their exposed bedding, to some using the leather as just a make-shift doorway to cover up their semi-underground abodes while they used the soil as walls and the leaves of the overhanding trees as a roof. And everything in between. There was no apparent limit to their imagination when it came to using the pelts they hunted.

    As simple as it all was compared to the city, none of it looked flimsy. They built their homes how they wanted them. They built them how they needed them. They built them for the purpose of declaring ¡°this is my spot¡± and no more.

    These tents, however, were not what Yua and Mana wanted to show me. While they did touch on them, and I stupidly didn¡¯t think to ask how they survived when it rained or snowed, they quickly moved on to the next topic of the tour . Meanwhile, I tried my damdest not to stare too hard at their backsides or their swaying tails as they took me on a tour through the village.

    Why did I need to feel so much caution when Yua effectively and explicitly gave me permission to look at her whenever I pleased? Well, the simple answer should have been ¡°out of respect for Mana,¡± but it was also due to how there were several others from their tribe mixed in with the tents that apparently hadn¡¯t wanted to join in the crowd earlier.

    They at least seemed to have heard all or most of what happened there, as they didn¡¯t immediately glare at me. They just waved and called out to Yua, who then waved back, her paying no mind to how her breasts swayed as she did. Or to how Mana seemed to nuzzle against them harder each time they bumped against her cheek.

    Some of these people also waved to me, surprisingly. I, in my attempts not to notice how beautiful the other women were or by the equally revealing amount of skin the men around them showed to Yua and Mana, forced myself to wave back as coolly as I could.

    This is going to be a tough visit.

    If Yua¡¯s earlier declarations of how content she was with our sex life hadn¡¯t been enough, the sheer strain it took me to keep my libido from acting up in the face of the constant eroticism of just existing in this space was going to kill me.

    ¡°This way, Alex.¡±

    Yua turned back to me, arm still wrapped up by Mana, and smiled lovingly. It was just enough to soothe my worries some, but noticing the occasional glimpse of her vagina as her hips shifted drove the worries right on back.

    She pointed ahead of us to a large, mostly flat area between the rest of the village and the edge of the forest. She smiled proudly at it, but all I could see were several lines of small trenches dug into the soil to make six squares, each about thirty feet wide. At first, I thought this was supposed to be some sort of soon-to-be farm land, but besides them in a square tent without a front were a couple dozen or so barrels, each filled with the weapons that weren¡¯t already resting on the accompanying racks.

    Swords, axes, spears, flails and even slings and bows and more. All of them sharp, all of them pointy, and all of them dangerous, there was not a weapon style that was left underrepresented. It was undoubtedly an armory.

    Seeing how readily available weapons meant for war were, I decided then and there to redouble my efforts to keep myself from offending these people. This was Yua¡¯s first trip back to her people in years. I couldn¡¯t give into the temptation of her allure and pounce on her.

    ¡°This is our training ground.¡±

    I must remain rigid. I must compose myself to be as calm and collected as I was during our first nights together back in the inn. While not looking wasn¡¯t really an option for me anymore, I could, at the very least, look respectfully and do no more.

    ¡°I see,¡± I said, trying to sound stoic as I crossed my arms. ¡°So, this is the place where you got so strong.¡±

    ¡°Hehe. Yup. But I¡¯ve gotten much, much stronger since my last time here. All thanks to you.¡±

    As if trying to break my stoicism and concentration all at once, she turned my compliment back onto me and leaned in for a kiss. Naturally, I accepted it without pause, but when doing so brought the girl hugging her along, I froze up.

    Mana¡¯s petite body squished against mine as Yua and I shared a brief, but wonderful kiss and, like a man trapped in a crowded train filled with nothing but women constantly on the alert, my hands shot into the air so that nobody could say I touched her. Not that anyone tried, Mana herself included.

    Yua, for her part, found this amusing and giggled, while Mana¡­ well, she just kept nuzzling into Yua¡¯s breast. It was as if she didn¡¯t even notice when her own tiny bust rubbed up against my abdomen. I wanted to chalk it up to a little skinship like that just being nothing to their people, but it was likely more because of how utterly content Mana was in hugging Yua.

    They said they were as close as sisters, but isn¡¯t it about time for the greetings to end already?

    ¡°Big Sis,¡± Mana said, finally drawing her face away from Yua¡¯s bosom to look up at her. ¡°Did you really get stronger?¡±

    ¡°Yup! Way stronger. So strong that I was able to break the leg of the dungeon¡¯s first boss in one hit!¡±

    ¡°Eh?! Really?!¡±

    Mana¡¯s shock was understandable, but I had to wonder how she even understood what Yua was essentially bragging about. Hasn¡¯t this girl spent her whole life with her tribe? How can she know how big that boss was to be appropriately amazed?

    Or, no. Maybe it was just an excuse to rub up against Yua again.

    ¡°Um, Yua, is your entire tribe as interested in strength as you are?¡±

    ¡°Yup,¡± she said without missing a beat. ¡°Living out here is tough, so you won¡¯t last long if you¡¯re weak. Plus, fighting is really fun!¡±

    I feel like one of those reasons is a lot less understandable¡­

    ¡°Oh! Speaking of,¡± Yua grabbed Mana by the shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, do you wanna spar?!¡±

    Yua¡¯s tail excitedly swished through the air, displaying her love for the fight more than her beaming expression never could. Mana, however, rejected the idea on the spot.

    ¡°Nope.¡±

    I had never seen the energy levels of Yua¡¯s tail plummet so fast. It was actually a little alarming. I couldn¡¯t tell if it was just her or her people¡¯s love for the fight being denied by a single word, or if she was just looking forward to fighting her long lost friend again, but Mana¡¯s curt answer left no room for negotiation. Not that Yua didn¡¯t try.

    ¡°Eh? Come on, Mana. It¡¯s been years since I was able to properly spar with someone!¡±

    What, did all the thugs in the slave house and the monsters you brutalized in the dungeon not count? I feel like I¡¯ve been left out of a loop I didn¡¯t even know existed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t wanna. Fighting is boring and you always win anyways.¡±

    ¡°What?! Since when did you¡­ Oh, right. I suppose you gave up a long time ago.¡±

    ¡°Hmph. Why not? You kept getting bigger and I¡­ Hmph.¡±

    As Mana tore her face away from Yua in a pout that nearly caused my heart to explode from sugary overload, Yua¡¯s ears followed her tail and drooped. Apparently, the love for fighting wasn¡¯t as prevalent in each of this tribe¡¯s members as she thought.

    ¡°If you wanna fight, then just wait for the Chief to get back.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right,¡± Yua said, her ears shooting right back up. ¡°Where is he? I haven¡¯t been able to find them since we got here.¡±

    Yua raised her chin to the sky again to search, but came up with nothing. Mana shrugged, trying to lunge forward again to bury herself back into Yua¡¯s cleavage, though Yua unwittingly kept her in place by not letting go of the girl¡¯s shoulders. Mana sighed.

    ¡°The Chief went with my parents on a hunt¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh? Did Mother go too? I can¡¯t find her either.¡±

    Mana nodded, looking slightly annoyed to have to explain.

    ¡°They all went. They¡¯ll probably be back soon. Maybe.¡±

    Which is it¡­

    ¡°Darn. Alex, I¡¯m sorry but you¡¯ll have to wait to watch.¡±

    Wait to watch? Watch what? I thought we were here to let her parents know she was safe and sound. What¡¯s this about waiting? Fight?

    I looked over my shoulder back to the village and saw that, aside from the tents and the few fires burning for the warmth their lack of clothing denied these people, and came to the realization that there seemed to be nothing to do here.

    While Amoranth, and presumably every other human city, had other things to keep you entertained such as the dungeons, the various merchants hawking their wares, and taverns for drinking with your buddies, this place looked to have nothing of the sort.

    Did this love of fighting spring up from having nothing better to do?

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind waiting,¡± I said, trying to cheer her up a bit. ¡°But while we wait, could you tell me how this sparring business works?¡±

    From the looks of things, they had a dedicated training grounds and they most definitely had the want, so there had to be some sort of rule set to go with it. What worried me, though, was that since Yua and likely many others here had the Monk class and could therefore use Healing Punch, they might get a little too enthusiastic and take their brawling too far.

    And, as I thought, Yua immediately launched into an explanation.

    ¡°The first rule of sparring with someone is that you can¡¯t use any abilities, since your opponent might not know them. So, it wouldn¡¯t be a fair fight. The second rule is that nobody is allowed to interfere, no matter how the match goes. The third and final rule is that, unless someone surrenders or is knocked out, the match only ends once someone draws blood.¡±

    Yea¡­ I knew they¡¯d take things too far. With approximately half the village having the class that allows them to heal one another, it¡¯s too easy to let things escalate.

    ¡°Oh, and you can¡¯t hit a male in the penis,¡± she added quickly. ¡°That¡¯s considered cheating and everyone would look down on you.¡±

    I don¡¯t know why, but I continue to be baffled at how easily Yua could sling words like those around without ever breaking her smile. Even a literal porn star would probably think twice before letting something like that slip in public.

    ¡°Eh? Big Sis, what¡¯s a penis?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the human word for manhood.¡±

    ¡°Mm¡­ Penis?¡±

    Clenching my fists so I didn¡¯t notice Mana noticing my crotch, I asked,

    ¡°Aren¡¯t those rules a bit dangerous? Sounds like you could get really hurt.¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Not really. I¡¯d show you if Mana would fight me.¡±

    ¡°Nope!¡± Mana rejected again, this time sans pout. A brief raise to her brow said she wanted to further deny her, but then she changed the topic. ¡°Hey, Big Sis, why do you keep getting bigger and I don¡¯t?¡±

    Just when I thought her change in subject was referring to her obviously lacking height, Mana reached out with both hands and groped Yua¡¯s breasts, squeezing them with as much enthusiasm as I usually did.

    Yua, though well within her rights to be annoyed by this, let it happen and shrugged back.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably because you never eat your vegetables.¡±

    ¡°Bleh! They¡¯re too gross. Meat is all I need.¡±

    ¡°So, Mana¡¯s small and hates eating vegetables¡­.¡±

    Just when I focused on her again to reconfirm her age, she growled, summoned up the strength to break free from Yua¡¯s softness and lunged at me.

    ¡°I¡¯m not small!¡±

    Without hesitation for our mutual lack of clothes, Mana jumped into my arms. Or rather, she jumped onto my chest, wrapped her legs around my back to hold herself tight to me. And hold herself tight to me. And hold herself tight to me¡­ And growling fiercely (cutely), she pinched my cheeks and pulled.

    The pain she inflicted was no joke, but after having already experienced the joyous ecstasy of taking a girl to bed, I was all too aware of how certain parts of our bodies were touching to fully notice.

    ¡°Come on, Mana. Stop it. Alex wasn¡¯t being mean.¡±

    Sighing at her sister/friend¡¯s sudden outburst, Yua scooped Mana up by the armpits. Mana tried to resist and clung to me tighter, making it harder not to notice her softer bits, but Yua¡¯s strength proved the deciding force as the smaller girl was made to let go, where she then dangled in the air, pouting like a kitten that had been picked up by its owner.

    ¡°I¡¯m not small,¡± she repeated, still growling. She then, for some fucking reason, pointed to her crotch. ¡°See, I have woman¡¯s hairs. I¡¯m an adult, too.¡±

    As she said, Mana¡¯s crotch held a small tuft of hair that really didn¡¯t cover much of anything. In fact, it looked like it would have left her completely exposed to the elements regardless of how she stood.

    So, she¡¯s small, hates veggies, but also has pubes? None of these factors line up.

    ¡°Alex?.... Alex?..... Hello, Alex?¡±

    ¡°Huh. Who? Oh¡­¡±

    ¡°Are you okay, Alex? Your heartbeat went crazy for a second when you stared at Mana¡¯s pus¡­ vagina.¡±

    ¡°Er, I, uh¡­ Sorry. It¡¯s just¡­.¡±

    I guess my brain short-circuited so hard that I didn¡¯t even notice I¡¯d blacked out.

    Also, please stop saying those things in public!!!

    ¡°Sorry,¡± I repeated, coughing into my fist to both clear my throat and to have an excuse to look down and make sure that my legs were the only part of me currently standing. ¡°I was just a little surprised that she jumped on me.¡±

    ¡°Hmph. I know,¡± Yua huffed, setting Mana back down. ¡°She won¡¯t fight me, but she¡¯ll fight you, apparently.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the point?¡± Mana huffed right back, crossing her arms. ¡°I couldn¡¯t beat you before you left the village and if you got stronger, then what chance could I have now?¡±

    Even though Yua slumped her shoulders after being hit with another sound rejection, she apparently wanted to savor the fight more than the easy victory. But Mana had a point. She was still only level 2 and, while Yua herself was an easy example of how a thin body didn¡¯t necessarily mean a weak one, Mana was even thinner. If these two were really to duke it out, I¡¯d be too worried to just sit by and watch Yua pummel her, knowing exactly what sort of damage she could do to a person.

    I didn¡¯t have a concrete answer on all of what a healing potion or Yua¡¯s Healing Punch could actually heal, but I didn¡¯t want to test it on this girl here. No way. If she said she didn¡¯t want to fight, then I was on her side.

    Ugh. What am I doing siding with this girl I just met over Yua?

    Well, no. I suppose giving into her wants here would just be wrong. The only real fight Yua¡¯s had since her power up had been against dungeon monsters strong enough to send me flying through a brick wall in one hit. Aside from that fight in the forest earlier, she¡¯s had no recent experience fighting a non-monster.

    ¡°Fine,¡± Yua pouted, showing a bit more of her cuter side. ¡°Then, Alex, how about I show you the village¡¯s¡­¡±

    ¡°Daughter Yua, how about you face me?¡±

    While I was in a three-way deadlock of stupid thoughts consisting of wondering why she didn¡¯t just ask to fight me, then remembering that if she hurt me, she¡¯d just end up hurting herself through the slave spell¡¯s rebound, and then trying to focus on the section of village she was pointing to instead of noticing the cute way Mana continued to huff, even though she¡¯d effectively won the argument, another cat girl appeared seemingly out of thin air.

    She was beside me so suddenly that it took a full five seconds to realize she was just as naked as the rest of them. Her face, while keeping with the status-quo of most if not all cat girls being attractive, was so fierce that even her short-cropped hair looked to be running away from her. She was easily fifty-percent thicker than Yua when it came to muscle and was proud to show it with by grinning as she flexed her exceedingly-defined muscles at Yua. She didn¡¯t even notice Mana and I.

    Yua, showing that true warrior spirit of hers, didn¡¯t so much as flinch when presented with this challenge. Instead, she instantly un-slumped her shoulders and turned to face the girl directly.

    ¡°Oh, Miso,¡± she said, fighting back with an equally fierce glare. ¡°So, you were here after all. And here I thought you were hiding.¡±

    ¡°Hiding? From you? Ha. As if I would ever need to. Do I need to remind you that I¡¯ve won the majority of our fights?¡±

    ¡°Pfft. Only if you count scratching me with your little claws a win. If the first blood rule wasn¡¯t in place, I think we both know who would have won.¡±

    ¡°Oh? You¡¯ve always thought yourself the best just because your daddy is the chief. How about I show you that you¡¯re still full of it?¡±

    Hoping Yua¡¯s original cockiness didn¡¯t spawn from her being the chief¡¯s daughter, I thought to remind her to keep things peaceful so we didn¡¯t upset her parents before we even met them. But as her eyes locked with Miso¡¯s, I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d listen.

    Seeing rather than feeling that a fight was about to break out, I focused on this apparent rival of Yua¡¯s, making sure that I didn¡¯t look too hard on her overly-muscled chest and mostly flat chest, and read her info box. Miso was a level 9 Beast-Warrior. So, she¡¯d likely be on par with Yua. Though I had to wonder how she managed to keep up with Yua¡¯s level without my EXP boosting trait, since they were the same age.

    Then again, it was likely the three years Yua spent in captivity that prevented her from leveling more.

    As if noticing that I looked at Miso¡¯s chest, which I most definitely did not do, Yua turned to me, a fierce grin still on her face and it was almost impossible to believe that that same face only just hours ago held the sweetest of smiles as we relaxed together in the bath.

    ¡°Master, may I have permission to spar with this fool?¡±

    I opened my mouth to protest her choice in name, but sensing the animosity between them, couldn¡¯t quite bring myself to answer for fear of what might happen to Miso.

    ¡°Fool?¡± Miso laughed. ¡°Ha! You went and got yourself enslaved and I¡¯m the fool?!¡±

    ¡°Ha! That was just because someone took advantage of me after a fight in the dungeons. At least I¡¯m not hiding from my betters. Where were you this whole time, huh? The whole village knows I¡¯m back by now.¡±

    ¡°Oh, please. I was with my mate.¡±

    Yua¡¯s ears twitched, her fierce expression slipping for the smallest of seconds before she once more furrowed her brow. In that split second, I could have sworn I saw a warm smile on her lips. Though it was quickly erased with a sneer.

    ¡°So, someone finally managed to pin you down?¡±

    ¡°Finally? Do I need to remind you that you left us when we were still young? We weren¡¯t even allowed to have mates back then. But the second I became a woman, he stormed into my tent and pounced. Can¡¯t say the same for you, late bloomer.¡±

    Miso chuckled provocatively into the back of her palm and, while I would have thought that Yua would have taken that slight at the prolonged existence of her maidenhood as a deeply-cutting insult, as I would have, she just smiled back.

    ¡°Alex here was worth waiting for. So, brag all you want.¡±

    Oh. My heart!

    I was not expecting that sneak attack, Yua! Please, we¡¯re in public and you¡¯re making me blush! Also, I¡¯m supposed to be the one doing the flirting!

    ¡°Which of the males here was dumb enough to make you his mate?¡±

    ¡°Kai, of course. You were too busy punching everything that moved to notice, but it was clear what his intentions for me were for the longest time. Like with yours, my mate can¡¯t exactly hide his love for me, you know?¡±

    ¡°Ha,¡± Yua rolled her eyes. ¡°Glad to see the two fools of our village managed to find love.¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯m glad you managed to find a man fool enough to love your worthless self too, despite being a slave!¡±

    ¡°Thank you!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome!¡±

    Both Yua and Miso crossed their arms and turned away from each other in a huff. Meanwhile, I just blinked, at a complete loss.

    Where did all the animosity go? These two looked ready to kill each other a second ago, and now they are offering up back-handed compliments and platitudes to each other? Are they enemies or rivals or friends or what?!

    I looked to Mana for the answer, who had at some point taken root beside me to watch the two ¡°argue,¡± but she shook her head and sighed.

    ¡°These two have always been like this. Just a couple of muscle-heads that can¡¯t admit they¡¯re friends.¡±

    I nodded. If that¡¯s true, then maybe Yua wasn¡¯t as cocky as Miso suggested and that was just her being overly provocative for no reason. But given how Yua didn¡¯t exactly deny it, it was hard to come to a conclusive decision there.

    Both of their ears twitched after Mana¡¯s comment on the true nature of their relationship, but it was Yua that turned to me. Still glaring fiercely, or rather, having picked up that fake menace again, Yua growled a question at me.

    ¡°Alex, please let me put this fool in her place!¡±

    ¡°Ha. Having to ask for permission from your master to fight.¡±

    ¡°Please. I bet you already asked your mate, too.¡±

    Miso shrugged, completely unmoved by Yua¡¯s apparently truthful assumption. Or, was it just the cat-kin way to ask for permission from their significant other first? I mean, I could imagine it being deeply troubling to have your wife/husband to come back home with their face and body covered in bruises.

    ¡°Alex?¡± Yua repeated, no longer glaring at me, but at her not-friend-friend.

    ¡°Oh, uh¡­ Go for it. You have permission to fight anyone here you want¡­ But only if they want to, though.¡±

    Can¡¯t have her going around and picking fights with anyone that looked at her.

    Yua grinned widely, baring her canines as she tossed me her bag, who smirked right back and shrugged as if she were actually expecting Yua to run away from the proposed fight.

    Without further debate and with no more pointless banter, Yua and Miso sauntered past Mana and I straight for the nearest sparring ring. Both side-eyed the other the entire time they walked beside each other, but when they passed us, I got a clear look at their true emotions by how their tails flicked about happily. Yua¡¯s above her soft, shapely bottom and Miso¡¯s above an exceedingly chiseled backside.

    The two squared off against each other in the center of the ring. They¡¯d already spent more than enough time sizing each other up, so came to a stop about ten feet away from each other. They bowed to one another, neither taking their eyes off the other even as they lowered their heads. Their movements were so perfectly in synch that I was instantly sure they¡¯d done this countless times before.

    When they came back up and Yua adopted her usual stance, Miso squat down, much like a cat ready to pounce on its prey. Her thick thigh muscles bulged and her sculpted abs folded in on themselves, as if trying to make her body a smaller target. Miso then held her forepaws (hands) up, one in front of her and one behind. Slowly and without a word, all ten of her fingernails began to extend on their own until they were each about four inches long. At a glance, I knew each one was as sharp as a knife.

    Watching the two square off felt like it should have been the sort of moment where the world around us would have gone silent, waiting for a battle to the death to start, but the day-to-day sounds of the village people going about their usual routines remained ever present in the background.

    ¡°Hey, Mana,¡± I whispered, thinking it¡¯d be best not to distract the fighters. ¡°I thought abilities weren¡¯t allowed in sparring matches. Why is she using her claws?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Oh, Big Sis didn¡¯t tell you? That¡¯s not an ability. All cat-kin can do that with our nails. See?¡±

    Mana stuck out her hand, palm down like she were just admiring her freshly manicured nails, but they extended into five little blades as well.

    She offered me her hand to examine them and, once more being filled with elation at getting to experience the joys of a fantasy world, I took her up on her offer. Careful not to cut myself, I took her hand in both of mine to examined it. Turning her hand over, I saw that her nails, which looked completely normal seconds ago, had become just a little thicker than a pocket knife¡¯s blade.

    Wondering where she¡¯d been hiding them, I ran my thumb along the backs of her fingers. She wiggled them, as if my touch tickled her, but she didn¡¯t seem to mind me anymore than she did with her earlier sniffing. However, when I noticed the casual flicking of her tail and how I was being just a little overly friendly here, I quickly let go.

    Yua, seemingly unawares or just too preoccupied with her stare down, didn¡¯t seem to notice this slight.

    From the looks of things, there was no starting signal for the fight to begin, so I didn¡¯t want to see her lose just because Miso took advantage of the distraction. Mana didn¡¯t seem to mind all that much and just retracted her claws, her tail swishing about against the back of my leg, reminding me that I too, wore nothing and of how strangely comfortable I¡¯ve been with that fact since actually entering the village.

    Goddess¡­ here I am watching the girl I love square off against another fighter that basically brought a bunch of knives to a fist-fight and I¡¯m over here messing around.

    This Miso girl was a pure Beast-Warrior, so she didn¡¯t have the Monk¡¯s ability to heal an opponent after a fight. Which means that, in the event she managed to land a hit on Yua, winner of the fight be dammed, I didn¡¯t want to stand here and watch her bleed for a bit of sport.

    Deciding to discretely air on the safe side so I didn¡¯t wound Yua¡¯s pride, I shoved my hand into the backpack and pulled a few Health Potions out of my item box to keep them at the ready.

    As if the slight clinking of the two glass bottles settling into the bag were the starting gunshot, the fight began. Miso lunged at Yua.

    With the distance between them so miniscule, and with how fast she was, I knew I wouldn¡¯t have been able to dodge her attack. But Yua blocked it perfectly. Piercing her hands through the gap between the twin sets of claws, Yua pushed the dangerous weapons aside before pulling her arms back to throw a punch straight for the smug face of the girl whose grin remained unbroken.

    Miso dodged this easily by ducking down to the side, her feet skidding in the dirt to stop herself. There, she sped around to try and attack Yua from her blind spot. Using her hand like a spear, she made to jab Yua in the gut and run her through, but Yua jumped to put distance between them.

    After their brief exchange, they stared at each other again. Neither made a move, like they both needed a minute to sum up the other after testing them out.

    Slowly, Miso lowered herself again. Her grin shifted into a confident smile just before she lunged again.

    This time, she swiped at Yua¡¯s chest, who only barely managed to dodge by the skin of her teeth due to her sizable bust actually making her a bigger target. My heart clenched at the thought of Yua getting cut by such a vicious attack, as there was no way those claws would have left a shallow wound.

    Just when my worry for Yua¡¯s safety, the very safety I fought for three days straight to protect, had reached its limit and I considered forcing her to throw in the towel, Mana¡¯s tail once more brushed up against my leg.

    The girl looked bored out of her mind as she watched, leading me to believe that not everyone in the village was as obsessed with violence as I thought they were. Likewise, seemingly to guide my train of thought, her tail swished from me to point to the barrels filled with practice weapons sitting off to the side. None of which where dull or blunted.

    Everyone in the tribe must spar while putting out their maximum effort. No wonder Yua was so eager to face death in the dungeons. She¡¯s probably been fighting with her life on the line from the moment she first balled her hand into a fist.

    I took a breath, silently thanking Mana for keeping me from doing something stupid. Their village, their rules. Just like this world, I suppose. Yua knew what she was up against and still accepted the fight without hesitation. She wouldn¡¯t forgive me for interfering.

    Miso lunged and swiped again. When Yua so easily dodged the attack, I thought she was letting her opponent strike first so she could safely counter, but she didn¡¯t. Instead, she took a long step back. Miso swiped at her stomach again, but all Yua did was take another step back, fists still raised and lips still smirking. It was enough to provoke Miso into leaping at her again.

    Swipe. Miss. Swipe. Miss. Jab. Miss.

    Her grin gone, fury now openly boiling more and more the longer this continued, the faster Miso¡¯s movements became. Soon, Yua was bobbing and weaving so fast that I didn¡¯t even have time to consider the generous sway of her bosom as she continually retreated backwards. Always backwards.

    Then her foot hit the edge of the arena.

    I didn¡¯t know if a ring-out was considered a win, but when Miso noticed the corner she had backed Yua into, her grin returned as fiercely as ever before. She pulled back her elbow, stiffened her fingers into another spear-like jab and lunged for Yua¡¯s stomach.

    The memory of when Yua had been backed into the corner by the Great Proud Wolf made my breath catch, but Mana¡¯s tail brushed me again. She looked up at me and her ears flicked, as if she¡¯d noticed my worry.

    I almost smirked. Just as vividly, the memories of Yua¡¯s countless bouts with the monsters in the dungeon reminded me of her expert spatial awareness. The Great Wolf was just a cocky mistake. A brief look into their surroundings proved Yua was just fine.

    With hardly any effort, Yua jumped into the air over the jab, suddenly showing off a speed that outclassed Miso¡¯s enough to both baffle her opponent and prove that she¡¯d been holding back the entire time just for this moment.

    Missing her mark, Miso¡¯s claws dug into one of the weapon barrels and got caught. Using the brief delay it took her to pull them back out, Yua grabbed her by her outstretched arm, locking her unmovable grip around the other girl¡¯s comparably beefier wrist and yanked it backwards.

    At the same time, with two sharp strikes, Yua kicked out the backs of Miso¡¯s knees. Miso began to fall backwards, and still holding her by the wrist, Yua spun around her and yanked her hard enough to flip her onto her stomach. Still not finished, Yua jumped onto Miso¡¯s back and continued pulling her arm around her neck, choking her with her own bicep.

    Barely grunting from the effort, Yua then wrapped her legs around Miso¡¯s to prevent her from putting any strength into them. This had the unintentional benefit of spreading the muscled girl to show off her everything to us spectators, but I didn¡¯t let myself ogle.

    Gasping for air, Miso tried to kick, tried to dig her toes into the soil for leverage, but couldn¡¯t move her legs enough for it to matter. With her free hand, she tried to claw at any part of Yua she could. First with an attempted jab to the side, trying to end the fight by drawing blood before she could be rendered unconscious, but she failed as Yua was too careful with her positioning to give her enough room to touch her. Miso then tried to claw at Yua¡¯s forearm, but Yua caught the hand flying at her well before it became a threat. Pulling it back, she pinned Miso¡¯s face down into the dirt.

    Watching the visibly stronger girl get so easily overpowered by another girl roughly the same level as her made it abundantly clear how overpowered my ability to distribute Yua¡¯s stat points truly was.

    Miso¡¯s face was starting to turn blue from oxygen deprivation. Pressing her eyes shut, she opened her mouth to try and draw in a breath that just would not come. The movements of her legs gradually became slower, weaker. Her eyelids did their best to work against her to close themselves, but the fight was done.

    Miso instantly retracted her all ten of her claws and slapped her palm on the dirt floor, tapping out. Yua, just as quickly, let go and leapt off of her to let her breathe.

    As soon as she was able, Miso sucked in as much air as she could and pushed herself up to sit crossed-legged in the dirt to catch her breath. Yua stood behind her, still breathing normally. She looked as though the fight had been no more rigorous than a casual walk down the street.

    ¡°Ha¡­ Ha¡­ Daughter Yua¡­. You got stronger.¡±

    ¡°¡­ And you got faster. Have you been training this whole time?¡±

    ¡°Obviously,¡± Miso said with a wry smile, still trying to steady her breathing. ¡°With you off training in the dungeon, I wasn¡¯t about to just let you surpass me¡­ But I guess beating up on my little brother and his friends can¡¯t compete with slaying monsters, huh?¡±

    ¡°Hehe. No, it¡¯s not that,¡± Yua said, her warm smile now fully returned to her lips as she offered the girl a hand. ¡°It¡¯s thanks to Alex that I got this strong.¡±

    Yua shot me a loving glance, which made Miso look my way too, but her gaze didn¡¯t linger anywhere near as long as Yua¡¯s did. She smirked and, despite nearly being choked out just a few seconds ago, she laughed and took Yua¡¯s hand and pulled herself to her feet.

    Facing each other, they moved to shake hands, but clasped each other¡¯s forearms instead. They then leaned forward and touched their foreheads together before going silent.

    Without any explanation set aside for me, I was forced to believe that this was some sort of ¡°good match¡± gesture to show that both sides were content with how the fight ended, as both girls were all smiles.

    Before I could even put any real thought into the stupid idea of how they looked like a pair of passionate lovers about to share a kiss, they go.

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna go have Mother heal me,¡± Miso said, rubbing at her neck. ¡°Let¡¯s try again sometime soon, yea?¡±

    Stolen story; please report.

    ¡°Sure. But I¡¯ll beat you then, too.¡±

    ¡°Pfft. You got lucky this time.¡±

    ¡°Oh, wait,¡± Yua said as Miso turned to leave. ¡°Did you manage to join the Expeditionary Force like you wanted?¡±

    While I was surprised to hear her bring up the dream she¡¯d given up on herself, Yua instead looked excited to hear the answer. Unfortunately, Miso shrugged and waved her off.

    ¡°Nah. My Mate asked me to stay here with him. He¡¯s a proper Hunter now and doesn¡¯t want me gone for long stretches of time. So, when I¡¯m not helping patrol the village, I just sit back and help the other females cook or train¡­ Though, mostly I train.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Yua said, sounding honestly disappointed. Though the smile she showed her friend looked true. ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear you¡¯ve been doing well.¡±

    ¡°Heh. You too.¡±

    With that said, Miso shot me an unintelligible look and, with the tails of both girls swishing happily, walked off back towards the village. Yua watched her go for a short while and only when she was a fair distance away, did she turn back to me. With a gorgeous smile carrying her forwards¡­

    ¡­ she stampeded straight towards me. Kicking up a cloud of dust as she ran, she dove full force into my chest, knocking me to the ground.

    Where there should have been a burst of pain when my ass hit the dirt, it was immediately overshadowed by the twin mounds of pure softness that pressed firmly against my chest. It was further dampened and then erased completely when Yua pressed her lips to mine. I could practically hear her tail whipping up a storm behind her.

    ¡°I won! I won my second match today!¡±

    ¡°Haha. Yea, I saw. Great job.¡±

    From the looks of it, beating this rival of hers was one of the things she was looking forward to the most. Her happiness was so palpable that I almost didn¡¯t notice which part of her was pinning my member down as she sat atop me. Her level of excitement was right up there with reuniting with Mana and her parents. Maybe even more so.

    With two of those three objectives now completed, I was happy to have brought her back. Even if I had a couple dozen heart attacks already.

    As Yua squealed with utter delight and continued raining kisses down on me, Mana squat down next to us, completely unashamed with how much of her crotch she was inadvertently showing us and watched us with a curious expression.

    Please don¡¯t tell me that even the concept of kissing is lost on these people!

    ¡°Big Sis, when was the last time you mated?¡±

    What the fuck?! Does this girl have no boundaries?

    Yua had to stop her squealing to tilt her head in confusion. Then, much to my surprise, showed exactly zero restraint in her answer.

    ¡°This morning, why?¡±

    ¡°Because his manhood¡¯s gotten bigger.¡±

    Both Yua and I simultaneously looked down to where she straddled me and saw that I was indeed, very erect. Given the state of this village¡¯s stance on clothing, I could say that it was only a matter of time, but to have it called out like this¡­

    It¡¯s like one of those dreams where you realize you¡¯re butt naked in front of your classmates, but it¡¯s actually happening. And I had a boner.

    ¡°That happens when males want to mate, right?¡±

    Mana, apparently unconcerned with my growing embarrassment, stared openly at my monster, her tail swishing about all the while. Then, as if suddenly alerted to something we weren¡¯t privy to, her ears perked up and she scrambled over behind Yua. Her hands shot up behind her Big Sis and, from the looks of it where I laid on the ground, grabbed her ass and spread it wide apart to look inside. And I forgot how to blink.

    Apparently unbothered by the very sudden and very intrusive inspection, Yua just tilted her head. The only reaction the girl got for her efforts was the sort of forced smile that any parent would give their kid when they were doing something they didn¡¯t understand was stupid.

    Meanwhile, with the way Mana kneeled next to us, I was compensated for her getting such a clear look at Yua by having her entire petite backside put on near-direct display in front of my face. Her tail showed no concern as it whipped about in tandem with her curiosity.

    ¡°Um, Mana, what are you doing?¡± Yua said, her tone more concerned than embarrassed.

    ¡°¡­ How does his manhood even fit in there?¡±

    Oh, Goddess¡­ Why?

    Yua opened her mouth to respond, wearing a happy smile for whatever reason, but she was cut off by another question. Mana jerked her head so suddenly, you¡¯d think she¡¯d been struck by lightning. The way the fur on her tail stood on end was concerning, but all she did was tilt her head and squint at Yua¡¯s crotch, looking even closer.

    ¡°Big Sis¡­ Where¡¯d your woman¡¯s hair go?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Against my better judgment with the absolute feast set out before my eyes, I closed my eyelids. Pressed them shut. Sealed them tight, hoping Mana wouldn¡¯t look at me.

    With her face practically buried in Yua¡¯s crotch, speaking of hair that no longer existed, there was only one thing she could be talking about.

    ¡°Oh, that? I cut them off because he asked me to.¡±

    And there it is.

    One day, maybe a week into our living in the cabin, I¡¯d noticed that a full set of stubble had appeared on my chin. Naturally, since my beard grew in super slowly back on Earth, I hadn¡¯t noticed until Yua pointed it out and offered to help me shave.

    See, I didn¡¯t and still don¡¯t know how to use the straight razor we bought, but she learned how to through her former slave masters. And once she¡¯d helped me out and my chin was baby smooth, again, ever so naturally, I wondered what it would be like to feel such a freshly-shaved smoothness on her as well.

    So, with the tiniest bit of hesitation, I asked her to shave her pubes to give into yet another of my long-lived desires. And she responded with an ¡°Really? Are you sure? Okay then.¡±

    And now that request has come back to haunt me. Mana further parted her knees to check on hers. There was a dubious arch to her brow. Though clearly confused, I was spared a spiteful glare from the girl that, for some reason, took her woman¡¯s hair as a token of pride.

    ¡°Hmm. Well, if your mate asked you to¡­¡±

    ¡°Yup. He really likes it.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    ¡°Daughter Yua!¡±

    As the two continued as though I weren¡¯t even here, I was saved further embarrassment by a faraway voice that even I heard. But both Yua and Mana let their ears draw them to the source before I could find it myself.

    A young man roughly a couple years older than us waved as he ran towards us. I won¡¯t bother to state whether or not he was dressed, but I will say he had a pair of cat ears that pointed off in two different directions instead of straight up like Yua¡¯s.

    ¡°Daughter Yua, you just finished sparring with Miso, right? I heard the whole thing. Please, fight with me next!¡±

    He jogged over and stopped by our feet. With Mana still groping her sister¡¯s ass with a great deal of curiosity flicking her tail, he must have had a completely unfiltered view of Yua¡¯s still freshly-shaven state, but he didn¡¯t even glance at it. He just beamed a chiseled smile at her.

    Growing deeply concerned with how much of her he could see and with how admittedly handsome he was, I opened his info box on reflex to see if he was Miso¡¯s mate after how he name-dropped her, but his name was Hiroki, not Kai. And he was a level 5 Monk, not a Hunter.

    Yua smiled brightly at him, happy to see yet another familiar face, but then her expression froze. Her gaze once more turned down towards my crotch where it took a decidedly uncomfortable turn towards reluctance.

    ¡°Um, Alex, do you think you could wait? I¡¯d really like to fight first.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Y-Yea. Go ahead. Don¡¯t mind me. In fact, just forget about it. Go on and have fun.¡±

    I¡¯d rather we all forget about it, honestly. So, if anything, I was glad to have her distracted so suddenly. Although, I would be grateful if this Hiroki would step aside so he wasn¡¯t within peeping distance of Yua¡¯s unmentionables.

    ¡°Thank you!¡± Yua said, quickly planting another kiss on my lips before jumping to her feet to help me stand. ¡°I¡¯ll make it up to you later.¡±

    ¡°D-Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    I took her hand and stood, only to then hunch over on reflex to hide my erection. However, do to the gift the Goddess bestowed upon me, this was effectively a pointless effort without any clothes to help hide it.

    Yua grinned happily, unawares of my plight and dashed back to the same arena as before. Hiroki followed close behind her, leaving me and Mana alone by the side lines. I thought to offer her a hand up since she was still on her knees, but when I caught her staring at my crotch still, I thought now should be the last time anyone should ever be attempting to touch a girl this cute.

    ¡°U-Um, Mana, don¡¯t you want to watch the fight?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Why? Fighting is boring.¡±

    As Yua and Hiroki faced each other and bowed, only to then adopt a nearly identical fighting stance, Mana just stared up at me. At a part of me. At only that part of me. I tried not to look down, as her tiny bust would only fuel the desires I was trying to repress. Though, I did my best to press it down with my hands, so that it did not offend her eyes.

    ¡°S-Sorry if this bothers you.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Why would it bother me?¡±

    ¡°B-Because it¡¯s, um¡­ hard?¡±

    I definitely couldn¡¯t say that she was a good part of why it was still standing. I really, really didn¡¯t want to see a girl this cute look at me like I was a disgusting degenerate. Such an impactful blow would no doubt cause my heart to collapse.

    Thankfully, I think, Mana just tilted her head, ever the curious one, and looked up to me proper.

    ¡°So what? Males get like that because they want to mate. There¡¯s nothing wrong with it, right? Besides, look. My special place is wet because of it.¡±

    Without further ado, Mana widened her stance and spread her legs to let, or rather force, me to look at her crotch. Reluctantly, for the want for my third leg to stand down and stop saluting this cutey, I noticed that she was indeed a little aroused.

    What the hell is going on here? Why and how was she so openly admitting to how the body of another left her wanting? I used to fear this sort of admittance from happening whenever I caught myself admiring a woman on the streets, but she admitted to it like it was only natural. And the worst part is that she¡¯s not technically wrong. But her reaction to this sure as hell was!

    As I was gazing at her unbearably cute, inquisitive expression, her ears suddenly twitched and she let go of herself to turn to the two fighters already duking it out in the ring. I was intensely grateful for the distraction.

    Unlike with Miso when she had to avoid a set of very sharp, bladed fingers, she was standing her ground while Hiroki unleashed blow after blow on her. She looked to have been blocking them all perfectly, but Mana¡¯s attention seemed to have been caught because one of his punches managed to land.

    Right as I turned to where my attention should have been this whole time, I found Yua doubled over while Hiroki pulled his fist away from her gut. Showing no mercy whatsoever, he then pulled back his fist to drop a punch down on her head while she was distracted by the pain. But he couldn¡¯t have noticed how her tail swished about excitedly.

    ¡°Raah!¡±

    He threw the unrelenting punch he promised, but it didn¡¯t land. Without even looking, Yua whipped out of its path and used her momentum to spin on her heel and kick him across the face.

    Hiroki stumbled back, grabbing at his nose while Yua stood back up. Without pause, she jumped right back into her fighting stance, looking as though she¡¯d never even been hit. She looked to him and waited. There, she smirked and raised her chin, seemingly gesturing for an explanation on his condition.

    A good sport, Hiroki smirked right back at this and let go of his nose to run his thumb under his nostrils. When he showed it to her, showed that there was no blood, the fight continued.

    ¡°Was Big Sis like this in the dungeons?¡± Mana asked, her own curiosity making her forget that she wasn¡¯t supposed to be interested in the fight.

    ¡°Mostly. But she wasn¡¯t having this much fun.¡±

    ¡°Mm.¡±

    Remembering the good ol¡¯ days when she risked her life because it was in danger, and not because it was fun, I watched as Hiroki threw yet another southpaw at Yua. It landed in her gut again, but he didn¡¯t fall for her pretend pain a second time and continued his assault.

    Pulling his fist back just enough to matter, he tried for an uppercut. Yua dodged this easily enough by jumping to the side. But the second her feet left the ground and Hiroki smirked; I think Yua and I simultaneously realized that this is what he wanted as she clenched her teeth.

    It was the same tactic we used to fight the dungeon wolves and she fell for it.

    Using her lack of free movement as his chance, he expertly released the tension of his missed punch and dove into Yua¡¯s abdomen, tackling her to the ground much the same way she did to me a minute ago.

    Her back hit dirt with a heavy thud and she gasped from the forced exhalation of her lungs. Grinning fiercely, Hiroki threw a leg over her stomach to straddle her. Paying no mind to where his exposed parts dangled just over her flesh, he rained a barrage of savage punches down on her.

    Yua put up her arms to block, but forcing her non-Iron-Fist-empowered fists to block the repetitive blows was sure to cause some hefty bruising. Aware of this, Yua grit her teeth and endured. Hiroki seemed to be waiting for her guard to slip as he relentlessly continued his assault, waiting for a chink in her shield to open so he could hit her with a match-ending strike. I don¡¯t think either of them noticed that his punches were chipping away not wholly insignificant chunks of her life bar.

    Right when I noticed the real danger this posed, Yua¡¯s ears twitched. Either she found an opening herself or she had simply had enough of his assault, because when Hiroki pulled back his fist for what must have been his twentieth strike, she suddenly and very forcefully bucked her hips as hard as she could.

    I almost let slip an ¡°I see¡± in admiration for Yua¡¯s skill and patience even under his assault. Because of how much strength she put into her blocking, her arms hadn¡¯t budged in the slightest. Instead, she powered through and pushed them towards him as she started to lift her back. Unawares of this, he was slowly forced to draw further and further back down her abdomen where he came to a rest over onto her crotch, all so he could continue throwing his punches. But this put him in the best position to be bucked off of her.

    It was a good plan if she could endure the pain. I would have applauded her with a hearty pat on the back and a health potion regardless of how the fight ended, were it not for what happened right after she bucked him off of her.

    Yua tried to use his momentary flight through the air to slip under his legs to place herself behind him, but in a panic after being thrown through the air, Hiroki flailed his legs to try and touch ground again. Because of this, when Yua slipped under him, his penis slapped itself against her cheek.

    Nearly forgetting where I was and that I was vastly outnumbered here, I took a step towards them, about to rush over there and kick the shit out of him myself, but Mana grabbed me by the wrist and pulled.

    ¡°It was an accident,¡± she said hurriedly. ¡°It happens all the time when sparring. Please, don¡¯t be mad at Big Sis.¡±

    ¡°What? ¡­ I¡¯m not mad at her.¡±

    Not at her, anyways. Hiroki, though¡­ He just made my shit list. Just like with Alphonse, I was prepared to help Yua end his ass and teleport us away to avoid the repercussions.

    But Yua got right back to her feet and faced him again. Once more adopting her fighting stance as if nothing happened. she didn¡¯t even look remotely upset.

    ¡°See?¡± Mana pressed. ¡°Stuff like that¡¯s happened to me before, too. It doesn¡¯t count.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t count¡­?¡±

    I would and should have protested at that, saying that a girl this ignorant of such things shouldn¡¯t be telling me to calm down, especially after the thought of it happening to her doubled my concern, but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to do it.

    In actuality, there was some logic to it that made it easy to believe she was serious. Aside from those that use weapons, Monks like these two had to get up close and personal with their opponents to land their attacks. And with nobody here ever wearing clothes, I suppose accidents like that were truly bound to happen.

    The logic made a little sense, but I sure as hell didn¡¯t like it.

    Perhaps sensing this in me, Yua put strength into her legs, her toes digging into the soil beneath her, and launched herself at Hiroki the moment he stood and righted himself. However, because he landed with his back to her, he had to spin to face her. He was fit enough to only need a fraction of a second to do so, but that tiny gap was all Yua needed.

    As if intending to take revenge more on my behalf than for her sake, she threw a heavily weighted punch straight into his face the second he managed to look her way. The strike audibly shattered his nose and sent him back onto his back. Then, showing that he was at least worthy of a little admiration himself, he reeled for less than a second before jumping right back to his feet. And when a thick rivulet of blood dripped from his nose down his chin, he didn¡¯t groan in pain, but slumped his shoulders in defeat. And as soon as she noticed the crimson streaking down his face, Yua dropped her fists and walked over to him.

    Just as she did with Miso, she shook the hand he offered with an easy smile and the two pressed their foreheads together. The mutual respect they showed despite one having his nose broken to the point of it actually twisting discomfortingly to the side, was so strong that Yua didn¡¯t even react when his blood dripped onto her chest.

    It was the strangest of sights, but Yua looked to be nothing more than proud of herself as she smiled back at him once they parted.

    ¡°It was a good fight, Daughter Yua,¡± he said, only now trying to staunch his bleeding.

    The amount of blood draining from his nose was concerning enough, and his life bar was dropping steadily, but not so fast that he¡¯d need to worry. Can¡¯t say anything about his broken nose, though, but it was a fitting punishment for what he did.

    ¡°It was,¡± Yua agreed. ¡°Do you know where you went wrong?¡±

    ¡°¡­When I was on top of you, right?¡±

    Yua nodded, then raised a teacherly finger, almost like she was trying to imitate Madame Turquesse during one of her lectures on potions.

    ¡°Yes. You should have pressed your hips down on me and held me in place with your legs. I was only able to push you off because you were hovering.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Hiroki said, lifting his nose to the air to help with the bleeding. ¡°I was trying for more leverage to strike harder. My mistake. Next time, then.¡±

    ¡°Next time.¡±

    Baffled at how Yua had essentially told him the winning strategy would have been to straddle her properly, she instead agreed with his assessment and watched him leave the arena without another word.

    I had to admit, the willingness of these people to seemingly hold no grudges even after being soundly beaten and broken was amazing. Monks or not, potions or not, hitting someone¡¯s nose just right might mess it up permanently. For all he knew, he was about to live the rest of his life with a crooked nose that would whistle every time he breathed.

    I didn¡¯t have time to ponder this further, as Yua once more giddily lunged into my chest. This time I was prepared and caught her properly, but that didn¡¯t stop her from forcing another kiss onto me. Though, it¡¯s not like I would have stopped her anyways.

    ¡°Did you see that?!¡±

    I blinked, then realized she meant her victory, not the little incident. Seeing how utterly happy she looked, I didn¡¯t have the heart to complain about it. All things considered; it really did seem to be an unfortunate accident. So, since she was fine, I decided to suck it up and let it go.

    ¡°I did,¡± I said, wiping the blood from her breast with my thumb. ¡°I think you broke his nose.¡±

    ¡°Hehe. Yea, I did!¡±

    She beamed at me, her smile stretching ear to ear before she squeezed me again. My heart relaxed significantly when I thought back on how the smile she wore this morning in the bath and upon meeting Mana again were brighter still. Thankfully, Yua wasn¡¯t just a ¡°muscle head.¡±

    But comparing this happy, excited Yua to the one that seemed to have spent equal amounts of time being understandably angry at me for buying her, then sobbing over the most basic of niceties that I tried to give her, I could say without hesitation that I preferred her like this. That little incident was free to be forgotten by all, even if my Memorization trait wouldn¡¯t allow it.

    Or so I would have like to say¡­.

    ¡°Daughter Yua, can we spar next?¡±

    Pulling her lips away from our elongated, passionate kiss, we turned and found that her last fight had drawn a crowd. Seeing some of the familiar faces of those that had been glaring at me earlier made me flinch, until I saw how openly they smiled at us in our embrace.

    Geez. If all it took for them to calm down was to see her kissing me so, I would have done this sooner.

    The man, or rather boy, that stepped up to challenge her next was a couple years younger than us, but his bravery in challenging his elders showed no signs of slowing him down. Yua smirked and, taking to my promise to let her fight whoever she wanted, didn¡¯t wait for my approval this time and eagerly led the boy to the ring.

    She beat him soundly. It was barely a contest. The only thing of note in the fight was that he tried to punch, not touch, her chest but she dodged him easily. She then jumped onto his shoulders, pressing her crotch into his face, before twisting her hips sharply, while spinning her body around to use its weight and momentum to throw him off balance.

    The movement looked to be an incredibly convoluted way to toss him to the ground, but her movements were so fluid that it worked. And the moment it did, Yua jumped onto him, pressing her knee down on his chest and tossed a savage punch straight into his cheek.

    After this, seeing how dazed he was, she immediately backed off and let him get up. Staggering, he did just that, but when he touched a thumb to his lips, he pulled back a bit of blood and sighed. She must have made him bite his cheek or tongue with that hit. Regardless, this gave her, her third victory.

    ¡°Alex!¡±

    ¡°Daughter Yua!¡±

    Just like the last two fights, Yua lunged into my chest in order to be praised for her win, and after I patted her head, yet another challenger strode up to face her.

    This pattern repeated for no less than five more fights. The more matches Yua won, the more of her people seemed to want to challenge her to put her happy reign of terror to an end. And each time she beat them down, she ran to me to celebrate until the next challenger made themselves known.

    Had I not experienced her willingness to fight all day in the dungeons, I would have stopped her after the fourth fight. I didn¡¯t want her to end up meeting her parents covered in bruises, but I could tell she would have pleaded for me to let her continue if I even suggested she stop.

    That being said, as Mana told me, there was one more incident we were forced to witness. And it came from the second, but not last, woman to challenge Yua.

    Thankfully, all that happened was that Yua herself, in the heat of battle, grabbed her opponent between the legs and by the shoulder. She then used the momentum of the girl¡¯s failed punch to lift the girl into the air, before ending the fight by slamming her on the ground, knocking her out. After a quick check to make sure her opponent was still breathing, Yua then unapologetically readied herself to take on her next opponent.

    As we watched, Mana and I allowed ourselves to be surrounded further as the crowd wanting to enjoy their beloved ¡°Daughter Yua¡¯s¡± brilliant return by watching her create a one-woman blood bath. The violence and pain were real, but they watched on with the same level of awe as someone watching a cinematic masterpiece.

    Yua hadn¡¯t lost a single fight yet and, while she did accept a Health Potion to top off her health bar during a short break, she didn¡¯t look at all tired. She was drenched in sweat from all the physical exertion, but she was having so much fun that she looked like she could go on like this for days.

    Likely realizing this themselves, the crowd continued to cheer for her as she beat down yet another opponent, but she never let this go to her head. I could feel my pride in her swelling and an odd sense of happiness in how her people were now reveling in the strength she held so dear. As if powering through and finishing the third floor of Amoranth¡¯s dungeon wasn¡¯t enough to prove she¡¯d gotten stronger where she once failed, this was all the proof she should ever need. This I knew because each time she ran to me for praise, she was happier and happier.

    It was during one of these quick praise-breaks that the festivities had suddenly and forcefully been ended.

    ¡°What¡¯s with all the noise?!¡±

    A booming voice broke out over all of our heads, cutting off Yua mid-way during her retelling of the fight I¡¯d just watched myself and making half of those present wince and reflexively grab at their ears.

    The voice threw the gathering into a slight frenzy as nobody seemed to know what to do. Given their extra-sensitive ears, everyone but me seemed to have heard where the voice came from and turned towards it. Where I had been within eyeshot of a seemingly endless lineup of bare crotches, I now saw only a line of well-toned butts. Most notable of all was Yua¡¯s, as even my lovely cat-girl¡¯s ears perked up as she spun around.

    Once they saw who the voice belonged to, the crowd instantly parted, all except for me, who had no idea what was going on, and Yua, whose eyes were sparkling. The voice sounded pissed, but Yua giddily squeezed Mana roughly back into her chest as she watched.

    Growling as he walked strode past the parted crowd was a tall, bulky man with short black hair. Once all the noise ceased, the sneer he wore faded, but that did nothing for the air of menace around him. His emerald glare cut through the tribe and struck me. I''d never met him before, but I recognized him instantly.

    Chief or not, forget being born with a silver spoon in your mouth, this man was so heavily muscled that he must have been born chewing on a barbell. The ground practically quaked beneath his every step.

    But it was not his impressive muscle that caused the crowd to shy away. The anger afflicting his brow made more than a few of the cat-kin to retreat into their tents to avoid his gaze. Fewer still, those with weapons at their hips, lowered their heads in a bow as he moved through the crowd.

    He said nothing. From the uncomfortable twitch of his own sharp, black cat ears and his sneer, I guessed all the cheering had been beating the daylights out of his eardrums.

    I could easily say, and unfortunately so for my noticing completely by accident after following the sway of his tail, that the man shared a certain kinship with me in that he too had a monster dangling between his legs. It was impossible not to notice. Which I definitely didn¡¯t.

    Goddess¡­ Is that what I look like?

    Given how everyone reacted to his presence, I knew at once that he had to be Yua¡¯s father, the village chief. I checked his info box anyways and saw that his name was Tama, just like Yua said earlier, and that he was a whopping level 60 Beast-Warrior and Monk combo, again like Yua.

    Seeing him, Yua beamed with sheer girlish delight.

    ¡°Daddy!¡±

    Daddy?

    I checked the man again and found that his lightly tanned chest bore a thick set of scars right where she¡¯d said they¡¯d be. A mark of shame for him, apparently.

    Yua finally released Mana, letting the poor girl catch her breath, and ran straight over to the man. She slammed into him much the same way she did me and pressed her cheek cutely against his well-sculpted chest. Seeing this girl¡¯s affection run at him, the man¡¯s eyes rounded out for a whole second and he almost let slip a smile. Almost. His confusion was too overpowering.

    He put his hands on her cheeks and lifted her gaze to get a better look at her.

    ¡°Daughter, is it really you?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Daddy. I¡¯m back!¡±

    I could hear in her words that she was starting to tear up, but he brushed them away with his thumb before they could fall. He watched her for but a moment, then his eyes sharpened again.

    ¡°Does your return mean you have completed the fifth floor of the dungeon?¡±

    Uh oh...

    Yua took his hands in hers and shook her head.

    ¡°No, father. I failed, but¡­¡±

    Before she could even tell him what happened, he threw Yua to the ground without a moment¡¯s hesitation after receiving his answer. She hit the not-so-soft-looking dirt by one of the nearby bonfires with a heavy thud that no doubt hurt. He looked angry, but at the same time, when he crossed his arms, I saw his fingers digging into the flesh of his impressive biceps. Everyone else just stood there, unmoved other than the frowns that stretched across their faces.

    Not even Mana moved to protest. If anything, she looked strangely calm.

    Is nobody going to say anything? Who treats their daughter like that?

    ¡°If you came back a weakling, then you are not my daughter. Leave... Leave and never come back.¡±

    Looking only briefly shocked to have been thrown to the dirt, Yua quickly jumped back up without bothering to dust herself off when her father turned to leave.

    ¡°Daddy, wait. I may have failed in the dungeons, but I¡¯ve become much, much stronger since then.¡±

    Her father stopped, but did not turn around. The air of menace he gave off seemed to make everyone else shudder. But my eyes clouded over a bit when his black cat ears twitched and his tail revealed his true feelings by swishing about.

    ¡°Chief Tama. I can vouch for her strength.¡±

    Haru, the man Yua nearly put her fist through back in the forest, shambled over, still clutching his gut, to address his chief.

    ¡°Chief Tama, she beat me in only one punch.¡±

    ¡°What? My daughter beat one of my best guards in only one punch?!¡±

    While I was wondering how someone that was only level 8 could be considered one of the village¡¯s best, Haru bowed his head before showing Tama the bruise on his stomach. Seeing this, Tama turned back to Yua. He was glaring, but his lips were clearly trying their best not to break out into a smile. His tail, however, could not hide the joy he was feeling as a few of those in the crowd that had been watching her back-to-back sparring matches further vouched for her.

    Yua, however, somehow managed not to notice and glared right back.

    ¡°Alright then, Daughter. Prove your strength to me here, right now, in front of everyone. And if you are telling the truth, I will give you another chance.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Daddy!¡±

    Like with Haru and all those after him, Yua took up her fighting stance and readied herself. Her father, on the other hand, met her challenge by uncrossing his arms. As he watched her, his matching emerald green eyes glowed like the search lights of a lighthouse in the middle of a deep fog. Neither of the two looked intent on making even the slightest move until they fully and completely sized up their opponent. The crowd, too, was silent. Their once boisterous cheers were replaced with dead silence.

    I didn¡¯t like this. Weapons or not, Haru and Miso were lower level than Yua, so it made sense on a numerical basis for her to beat them. She did then go on to beat others roughly the same level as her, and even a few that were slightly higher than her, but that was due to her general skill in a fight.

    But this man was level 60! Her father or not, he looked like he fully intended to fight her seriously with everything he had. And he¡¯s six-times her level!

    Is everyone in this tribe so quick to jump into fights?!

    Finding whatever she was searching for as her father stood firm, Yua kicked up a cloud of dust as she ran to him. Roaring, her fist raised, she flew at him. At once, it became clear to all that this was less a match of skill, but pure, unrestrained strength.

    Multiplying the force she¡¯d used against her tribesmen, putting even more into it than she did when she brutalized the Proud Great Wolf, she rocketed her fist straight into her father¡¯s sculpted abs.

    The meaty thud of the impact shook the trees. His body gave and bent forward, but only slightly. Almost imperceptibly so. And only for a second. He easily straightened right back up. And when Yua removed her hand from his body, there wasn¡¯t even the beginning of a bruise to show he¡¯d been hit.

    Clicking her tongue, Yua bent her knees to distance herself, but Tama lunged at her so fast I barely saw him move. His fist buried itself so deep into her stomach that his hand all but disappeared until his force lifted her clear off of the ground. Her eyes widening in shock, she let out a brief cry of pain, coughed up a clot of blood, then fell back into the dirt holding her stomach with both arms.

    Heaving, she coughed up another glob of bright crimson, only to stare at it vacantly.

    ¡°Yua!¡±

    I shouted and tried to run to her, but Mana got in front of me before I could. I tried to push her away, but she put her hands on my chest and pushed with all her might.

    ¡°Don¡¯t go! Even if you are Big Sis¡¯s mate, interfering in a match is against the rules. Especially when Chief Tama is the one fighting!¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    Yua coughed again, her trembling fingernails digging into the dirt. And Mana smiled sweetly, as though nothing was wrong.

    ¡°Just keep watching.¡±

    Finding her words oddly compelling after how she immediately burst into tears upon seeing Yua again, but could somehow smile in the face of her coughing up blood, I forced myself to do as she said and watched. If someone she cared for like a sister could put enough trust in this match to not even flinch after watching her get hurt so badly, then there has to be something more to this. There had to be. There better be.

    Tama looked down over his daughter and crossed his arms menacingly. The look on his face said it all. If she couldn¡¯t stand up on her own after that one hit, she was not strong enough.

    Gritting her teeth, Yua put her knuckle to the ground where her blood had pooled and struggled to lift herself up. But she did. She managed it. She got back to her feet and much to my shock, she brought up her fists again.

    ¡°Yua¡­¡±

    Strengthening her body, Yua lunged again. Once more, her father took the blow without even blocking and shrugged it off.

    ¡°Why isn¡¯t she using Iron Fist?¡±

    ¡°Big Sis can use Iron Fist now? I mean, using abilities in a test of strength is forbidden. Same as sparring.¡±

    Frowning at the rule I found pointless when the disparity in their strength was so obvious, I could only clench my fists and watch.

    Yua may be mine now, but this was their village. We had to play by their rules. Yua knew that and still unleashed another powerful blow that went nowhere without the aid of her trademarked ability.

    Her father dodged the hit this time, and countered with a merciless punch to her cheek. This one hit her hard enough to send her flying back to the ground, but she caught herself and bounced right back up before he could recross his arms. She charged again without stopping to wipe the blood from her lip.

    Eerily cool after striking his daughter so viciously, Tama raised his arms, seemingly ready to fight back seriously now. He smacked Yua¡¯s flying fist out of the air the same way she did Haru¡¯s spear, throwing her off balance before he shot another fist into her stomach. Her knees gave way. Once more, she collapsed, this time into him, but she pushed herself off. Gritting her teeth, she threw another, clearly weaker punch of her own.

    Tama blocked it with his forearm and returned the blow once more to her face. His fists moved so fast that I don¡¯t think Yua even had the chance to dodge it.

    This time, Yua¡¯s body slammed back into the dirt and I could see that she was struggling to breathe. Yet she tried to get up anyway. Her limbs shook beneath her own weight and she collapsed right back into the dirt. Ever the fighter, Yua tried to get up one more time, but only succeeded in flipping herself onto her back, wheezing.

    The fight barely lasted a minute.

    Still glaring at her, her father knelt and stretched a hand out towards her.

    ¡°Yua!¡±

    Once more I tried to move and once more Mana got in the way. With her this time, another woman I didn¡¯t even know put a hand on my shoulder.

    ¡°Just watch.¡±

    Still smiling, Mana pointed to Tama and Yua.

    Crouched down over her, Tama put his right palm directly onto Yua¡¯s chest, right between her breasts. While I would have outright killed any other man for doing so, his intentions did not look even slightly impure. He left his hand there for a moment, then it started to glow green and I realized what was happening.

    ¡°Healing Punch!¡±

    In almost an instant, strength returned to Yua¡¯s battered body and she sucked in a breath as desperately as though she¡¯d been drowning. Moreover, all of the bruises she had just earned were healed almost instantly. His version of Healing Punch worked so much faster than hers that it was like the fight never happened. And he didn¡¯t look remotely tired, when doing so for me left Yua so fatigued that she couldn¡¯t even stand by the time she finished.

    Was this the difference in their levels or was there a way to improve the ability?

    Seeing his daughter breathing normally again, Tama pulled away and sat down crossed-legged right beside her. Her health and strength instantly returned to her, Yua crawled away from him, only to sit in the same pose not even four feet away. There, they stared into each other¡¯s eyes. And for some reason, I felt the mood in the crowd lighten.

    ¡°Daughter,¡± Tama said, his arms folded across his burly chest, his back arrogantly straight. ¡°You really have gotten stronger.¡±

    ¡°Thank you Da¡­ Chief Tama.¡±

    His tail whipped the ground particularly hard when she changed up how she called him midsentence, but he took a deep breath. Everyone around us was quiet, waiting for his response. He¡¯d already threatened to forsake her once and now that he¡¯d beaten her soundly, I couldn¡¯t have been the only one scared for her right now.

    But the pressure exuding off of him lasted for only a minute or two. Any and all animosity between the two faded instantly, as if it had never existed to begin with.

    ¡°Daughter¡­ Welcome home.¡±

    ¡°Daddy!¡±

    Tama delivered his line with a genuinely happy, toothy grin and Yua threw herself at him, this time wrapping her arms around his bulky form in a tight hug.

    ¡°Daughter!¡±

    He took her hug in stride and pushed himself off of the ground, only to then land on top of her where they fell right back down to the ground together. Merrily, the two rolled around and around like the speeding tire of a race car as they hugged and laughed and kicked up dirt, tumbling their way through the village. The entire tribe then broke into another jubilant round of cheers as they welcomed the now triumphant return of the chief¡¯s daughter.

    I, however, was left dumbstruck.

    ¡°What the hell am I watching¡­?¡±

    ¡°Goodness. Those two were always like this.¡±

    An alluringly gentle voice chimed behind me, almost directly into my ear, tickling my braincells before my eardrums could even parse out the noise as an understandable language. So, thinking that the person this voice belonged to also somehow didn¡¯t hear me, I turned to repeat my question. However, my mouth refused to move once I caught sight of the aethereal beauty standing there.

    Her long, brown hair dangled over one of her shoulders and a pair of beautifully pointed ears of the same color stood on the top of her head, one bearing a slight crook in its tip. The soft features of her blue eyes accentuated the gentle smile on her peach-colored lips. The bare breasts that she freely let out into the world were noticeably much larger than Yua¡¯s, but at the same time, gravity seemed to have no effect on them. Down below was a set of hips so plump that they alone could inspire as much lust as what wasn¡¯t at all hidden by the gap in her incredibly toned thighs.

    ¡°S-Sorry, but who are you?¡±

    ¡°Goodness,¡± the woman said, putting a hand to her cheek. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry for failing to introduce myself. I am Yua¡¯s mother. You may call me Kimiko or, if you would like, Chief Mother, like the rest of our tribe does.¡±

    What the hell?

    Now that I think about it, her facial features looked close enough to Yua¡¯s for that to hold true. But it was the same chestnut color of her hair that cemented that fact for me.

    Wait¡­ I just ogled Yua¡¯s mom¡¯s naked body, didn¡¯t I?

    ¡°Wait,¡± I said, shaking off my embarrassment to deal with it later. ¡°If you¡¯re her mother, why didn¡¯t you stop them?¡±

    ¡°Because, as Mana told you, it is forbidden. And because I knew it would end this way,¡± she said with a small sigh. ¡°My Mate always doted on Yua too much. So, this kind of outcome was expected. But I am proud of Yua for coming this far.¡±

    My Mate? Are they not married?

    ¡°Coming this far? He barely moved when she hit him as hard as she could.¡±

    She turned her kind eyes from the loving father-daughter pair still rolling around in the dirt, forcing countless people to have to side step or leap over them to avoid getting run over, and let them fall on me. Somehow, I was both put at ease and worried by the look in her eyes.

    ¡°Exactly. Each of her punches made My Mate budge. Even if it wasn¡¯t much, it was more than anyone else in our tribe could hope to accomplish. And well more than she could do during their last match before she left us.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ Would you really have let him throw Yua out of the village? Your own daughter?¡±

    This aethereal beauty put a soft hand on my shoulder and smiled.

    ¡°I know that you are human and that humans do things differently, but that is how our tribe works. Were it not for her efforts just now, My Mate would have turned her away without hesitation¡­¡± she said, glanced at the pair again, then leaned into whisper in my ear and I put all of my strength into not reacting to the large melon-like breast that pressed into my arm. ¡°Between you and me, if that truly happened, My Mate would have spent the next month crying himself to sleep in my arms.¡±

    Finding it pointless to whisper when everyone around us had such good hearing, I saw that many of the people around us were nodding with smirks on their faces. Though, they made sure not to look at us and show they heard.

    ¡°Why are you telling me all of this? That sounds like something you should keep secret about your hus¡­ Mate.¡±

    ¡°Goodness. No. Our people don¡¯t keep many secrets from each other. Didn¡¯t Yua tell you that? Aren¡¯t you her master?¡±

    ¡°Y-You heard that?¡±

    Wasn¡¯t she out hunting with Mana¡¯s parents? Was her hearing really that good?

    She smiled sympathetically, like a mother might at a child¡¯s misunderstanding, and seemed to purposefully flick her cat ears to prove a point.

    ¡°R-Right. But¡­ You aren¡¯t mad at me for essentially stealing your daughter?¡±

    Seeing as how there was no point in whispering any more, I went ahead and spoke normally. I was concerned the crowd¡¯s anger might return, but they either continued to watch the pair rolling around in the dirt with contented smiles or went back to what they were doing before we arrived now that the show was over.

    Kimiko tilted her head in a way that was almost too beautiful and shook it. Her bountiful chest wabbled generously in front of me, but I was already transfixed by her eyes.

    ¡°I reserve the right to pass judgement on you until I have heard Yua¡¯s story. Although, she seems to like you quite a bit. So, I won¡¯t complain even after I hear what she has to say.¡±

    ¡°R-Right¡­¡±

    ¡°That settles it then,¡± she said, clapping her hands. ¡°How about we go break those two up and go have a nice chat somewhere private?¡±

    Without waiting for my response and with a very Yua-like manner, Kimiko grabbed me by the hand and led me through the still dispersing crowd and towards the pair now coated in dirt. Mana trailed behind us and Kimiko said nothing of it bothering her.

    ¡°Daughter! You¡¯ve gotten so big! It¡¯s only been five years and you¡¯re almost as big as your mother now!¡±

    ¡°Daddy¡¯s as hard and strong as always! But imma be able to beat you up one day!¡±

    ¡°Hahaha! I look forward to it!¡±

    With his back on the ground, Tama lifted Yua up into the air by her hips and she held her arms out like an airplane. As he was waving her around in the air, his eyes went wide for a moment when they happened across a certain part of her body and he stopped moving.

    ¡°Daddy? Wah!¡±

    That instant, he threw her up in the air, shot up onto his knees, caught and flipped her over so that her butt was facing him and forcefully spread her legs. There he grabbed her ass much the way Mana did earlier and spread her, putting on full display his daughter¡¯s shaven pussy in its entirety to the remnants of the crowd that hadn¡¯t departed yet. All of whom only looked at them in amusement.

    But as he did this, he stared openly at her, a look comparable to disgust causing him to sneer.

    ¡°Daughter, where has your woman¡¯s hair gone? Don¡¯t tell me you actually got younger! You had it when you left!¡±

    Not even slightly embarrassed to have her father¡¯s face mere inches away from her privates, close enough to feel his breath on her, Yua turned back to him and shook her head without making so much as in inkling of an attempt to break free of his hold on her.

    ¡°No, Daddy. My master and my mate says he prefers me this way.¡±

    ¡°Your what and your master?¡±

    As if on cue, that was the moment Kimiko had chosen to bring me over to them. Or rather, drag me, as I¡¯d stopped moving the moment he flipped Yua. Once she saw me, her mother and friend together, Yua scrambled out of her father¡¯s grasp without a shred of embarrassment coloring her cheeks and ran to me. She then held out a hand to introduce me.

    ¡°Daddy, this is my mate, Alex.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    Suddenly looking leagues more menacing than he did during their fight, Tama got up off the ground. His eyes did not break free from mine even once as he stomped right over to me. Watching this mass of muscle stampede towards me already had me forgetting how to breathe well before I could consider the fact that Yua referring to me as her mate pissed him off more than being called her master did.

    Standing before me, he was only about as tall as I was, but his sheer hulking frame easily made him feel ten feet taller than me. Seeing the supremely happy look Yua was wearing as she introduced us, I strengthened my resolve the best I could.

    I may or may not have messed up in meeting Kimiko, but I¡¯d been feeling as though my relationship with Yua had skipped a step or two. I had to be at my best meeting her parents. So, I met his emerald gaze with my own and stood firm.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Sneering again at whatever he saw in me, he started circling, speedily jumping around from side to side to take me all in. He, like Mana, might have even sniffed my scent a couple of times, but he was thankfully not as thorough as she had been in that regard.

    Done with the visual inspection, he drew his face up to mine. Or rather, he pressed his forehead against mine and glared directly into my soul through my pupils. The furrow in his brow deepened tremendously. Apparently, he didn¡¯t like what he saw.

    ¡°What¡¯s this about being her mat¡­ master, boy?¡±

    Steeling my resolve further, all in an attempt not to show weakness to the man that clearly, if not begrudgingly, values strength more than his own daughter, I nearly suffocated on the spot.

    However, I was saved, then further endangered by the supremely gentle woman that moved close enough to leave her breast pressing against my back again. Doing so seemingly unintentionally, as if the sheer mass of those two globes led to this sort of mistake all the time, she put her hands on my shoulder to plead my case.

    But seeing me flanked by both Yua and Kimiko did nothing but fuel the rage he barely bothered to bottle up.

    ¡°My Mate,¡± Kimiko said. ¡°Please hold off on your judgement until our daughter can tell us what happened.¡±

    Tama looked from me to his not-wife without his forehead moving away from mine and grimaced when he saw her unwavering smile. He then backed off, but only far away enough to look at Yua again. He took note of her matching smile, but sneered again all the same. He then looked down between my legs and, I swear, I felt the monster shrink back.

    ¡°This human boy is the one that enslaved my daughter? Impossible. He looks weak¡­ And he¡¯s not even smart enough to wear clothes like the rest of the humans.¡±

    What the hell, Yua!

    ¡°My Mate, Alex here probably undressed to meet you as equal males, right?¡±

    I opened my mouth to lie, ready, willing and grateful to accept the life line she so graciously cast for me, but Yua beat me to it.

    ¡°I asked him to take off his clothes, Daddy. He is my master and my mate. And he wanted to meet our people as one of us.¡±

    Tama¡¯s eye twitched.

    Why do you keep calling me that, Yua! Give the man a minute to think!

    Switching his glare from me to her, Tama grimaced. Knowing himself that his people mate for life may have eased the blow of finding out what I was to her. But at the same time, she essentially and inadvertently said we¡¯ve had sex.

    Grumbling, looking all the more furious for my existence having ruined the touching family reunion, he turned to Kimiko.

    ¡°¡­ Come!¡±

    Grabbing her forcefully by the hand, she easily and without a word let him drag her towards the largest tent in the village.

    ¡°Daughter,¡± he barked over his shoulder. ¡°Come. And bring that boy with you. Mana, you stay out of this.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Daddy. Please, hurry.¡±

    Yua grabbed me by the hand and my legs were forced into motion again as she pulled me after him.

    Do all the people in this tribe just pull each other around like this? I guess I¡¯m no better when it comes to Yua, but come on! If I¡¯m going to die here, I want an audience. I need a jury for when I state my defense!

    ¡°But Big Sis!¡±

    Yua turned back to offer an apologetic wave and told the cutely pouting girl they¡¯d talk later. Swallowed up by the momentum of these cat-kin, we all entered into the chief¡¯s tent together, hand in hand and I prepared myself for the worst as the flaps making up its door were closed.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 8

    The chief¡¯s tent held several more furnishings than the rest. Where most had only a pile of hay or a lump of blankets to act as their beds, Tama¡¯s had two military-style cots. This was not much of an improvement, but there were also several woven baskets, clay pots, a few wooden crates, all of which were filled with random knickknacks, herbs and even a few potion bottles as Yua promised. Tying it all together was a heavily trodden rug, which they had place directly in the dirt to greet their visitors.

    But the most striking and concerning ornamentation to the tent was a large, doorless cabinet filled with what I could only describe as mementos of fallen enemies. Battered helmets, chunks of split armor, broken blades, a strangely shaped bone or two or three, a couple of finely-furred pelts and more.

    Given what we were about to talk about, I easily imagined my skull ending up on the top shelf. I quietly resolved myself when Yua closed the tent flaps, shutting out all but a thin line of sunlight.

    I thought to question why we bothered separating ourselves when anyone that wanted to listen had but to turn their ears towards us, but thought better of it. Tama was still very much glaring at me.

    Without breaking eye contact, he sat down on the cot closest to the left-side wall. He then pulled Kimiko rather forcefully onto his lap. Her legs parted easily, as if she were used to this treatment, and straddled his right thigh without a word in complaint. Needless to say from how she sat, her vagina was now fully in view.

    ¡°Sit down, boy.¡±

    I did as he asked, worried he may have caught me looking and sat on the cot opposite them. Unprompted, Yua then sat comfortably right next to me. Possibly because this cot used to belong to her. This made her father scoff.

    Did I say scoff? I meant sneer. Sneer ferociously. Like he not-so-secretly wished that he held a loaded shotgun on his lap instead of a beautiful woman.

    ¡°Daughter,¡± he started and it took all I had not to jump. ¡°Tell us how this boy stole you from me¡­ I mean our tribe. I want to know everything.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Daddy.¡±

    Without commenting on his slip up, or just being used to his doting as Kimiko suggested, Yua gave a slight bow. Tama stiffened, maintaining a grimace even after frolicking with her moments ago. He must really hate her being so formal with him. Quietly, her parents waited for her to drudge up her explained what happened after she left the village all those years ago. Being that this was not my story to tell, I kept my mouth welded shut for the duration of it.

    There were parts I didn¡¯t know, mainly consisting about her short journey to The Great City of Amoranth, her life there, and everything that happened in the dungeons up until she failed to finish the third floor. Once she got to that part, she struggled through it and sought my hand out with hers as she explained. I let her squeeze it without a word and, to my surprise, Tama sympathized enough with the tears she barely held back to forgive this offense.

    He growled with as much menace as humanly possible when she mentioned the Adventurer she¡¯d run to for help and how he betrayed her. And again when she had been enslaved, only for the same Adventurer to try and buy her for obviously perverted reasons. Then, doing a complete one-eighty, he laughed uproariously when Yua detailed the many fights she started with the slave house thugs whenever someone came to buy her. Then, as if he couldn¡¯t decide what to do with his emotions, he growled again when Yua got to the day I bought her.

    It was my second time hearing the story and it wasn¡¯t any happier this go around, but her mother looked like she was teetering somewhere on the border of calm and outright sobbing right along with Yua, but she pressed her lips in an attempt to compose herself and listened.

    ¡°That was when Alex bought me, Daddy,¡± Yua said, squeezing my hand. ¡°And I swear on my ears and tail, that he¡¯s been nothing but nice to me. And he even buys me tasty food and clothes!¡±

    I was surprised that her backstory changed from a dramatic retelling of the worst part of her life, only to then spin right into defending me the moment she mentioned me buying her. But I quickly realized that this was because Tama¡¯s glare had darkened further, as if he hadn¡¯t truly thought she was my slave until she said so directly. His muscles had been tensed, seconds away from shooting up, ready to fling Kimiko off of him to get at me.

    Kimiko gently put a hand on his thick forearm to calm him and used her other hand to wrap his around her waist. Holding her, his muscles visibly untensed themselves and I let out a breath I hoped he was too worked up to hear. The change was so abrupt that it was almost like she used some kind of calming spell on him.

    Say what you will about them, but they were close enough for Kimiko to know exactly how to soothe him without needing to speak a word. Even if they weren¡¯t properly married, I had to admire their relationship.

    Yua continued.

    ¡°After he bought me, he took me back into the dungeons to fight the monsters with him. And because of his help, we not only beat the third floor with ease, but I¡¯m much stronger than I should be for my age.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t see how this boy could have made you so strong,¡± Tama said, openly sneering at me. ¡°He doesn¡¯t even look as strong as you.¡±

    Technically, in terms of pure numbers, he was right. After each leveled up, I put more points into her Strength stat than I did my own. Although, that was mainly because I over-leveled my Luck stat in hopes it would help us.

    ¡°No, Daddy. Alex is definitely strong. If I could guess, his magic is strong enough to kill the first-floor boss of the dungeon in one or two hits.¡±

    ¡°Pfft. So? I could do that with my bare hands¡­ Leave it to a human to rely on magic.¡±

    ¡°My Mate¡­¡± Kimiko chided. The ever so slight furrow to her brow at his boasting had the effect of instantly shutting him up.

    ¡°Yes, yes. Go on, Daughter.¡±

    ¡°Well, after he bought me¡­¡±

    Her story ended with her explaining how her old master Alphonse tricked me, tried to steal her back and how we defeated him. Much like us, her parents did not seem to bat an eye at the fact that their daughter essentially assisted in murdering a man. But that was likely because she had just finished explaining how cruel he was to her.

    ¡°So, this boy bought you, saved you, and somehow magically leveled you up much faster than anyone else in the history of our tribe? Daughter, even if it¡¯s you, I find that hard to believe.¡±

    ¡°It is true, Daddy. Alex, um¡­¡±

    Yua turned to me, pressing her lips shut. Knowing she both wanted and needed my permission to continue after once ordering her to keep my abilities a secret. I gave her a nod. She¡¯d explained this much to them. Not much point in hiding it now.

    ¡°Alex has a special ability to help level people up faster. When he bought me, I was only level 3, but I am now already level 10 and have properly learned the Iron Fist ability. And that¡¯s only after fighting beside him for a week.¡±

    ¡°Goodness, you already know Iron Fist?¡± Kimiko said, placing a hand to her lips to cover her surprise. ¡°My Mate, by the time you learned it, weren¡¯t you already twenty-f¡­¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    Tama shouted, looking more like he wanted to hide his own embarrassment than to disagree with Yua.

    ¡°Daughter, I do not believe you have the Iron Fist yet. It is simply impossible at your age.¡±

    ¡°Daddy, I swear it is true. Please, allow me to show it to you.¡±

    Sneering again, looking her up and down, as if searching for the lie that I knew to be entirely non-existent, Tama sneered and said, ¡°¡­ Fine. Do it.¡±

    Whether it be because he was confident that she really didn¡¯t know it, or if he just believed that he could handle anything she dished out, all he did was raise up his open palm for her to use as a punching bag.

    Yua got to her feet, took her fighting stance and¡­

    ¡°Iron Fist!¡±

    With a shout as she chanted her ability, Yua¡¯s fist began to glow silver. Tama¡¯s eyes widened when he saw this and I saw the muscles in his arms tighten just as Yua threw an unrelenting punch directly into his palm.

    Like before, he barely budged, but when Yua pulled back her hand, he grinned a toothy grin and shook his hand. He then stood up, letting Kimiko down onto the floor and threw his arms around Yua once more to press her into his chest. Patting her head with an honest-to-goddess smile, he spoke.

    ¡°You¡¯re even stronger than I could have imagined. I am sorry for doubting you.¡±

    ¡°Hehe. Thanks Daddy.¡±

    Kimiko and I stood by and watched them hug it out, her smiling warmly and me fighting back the eye-rolling confusion on why her skill mattered more to him than her enslavement.

    Their embrace over, Tama sat back down and pulled Kimiko back onto his lap the same way as before. Yua sat back down next to me and, this time, Tama didn¡¯t grimace. He turned his gaze from his smiling daughter to me.

    ¡°Boy, I have heard my daughter¡¯s story. Now what is yours?¡±

    Shit. I did manage to make up a backstory for myself, but I wasn¡¯t sure it was full-proof enough to whip it out yet. Though the look in his eye suggested his impatience began the moment he asked his question. I gulped, hoping that his anger with me would stop him from noticing my lie.

    ¡°Oh, uh, I¡¯m from a faraway place called¡­¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about where you¡¯re from!¡±

    Before I could even get out the name of the country I made up on the spot, I was shouted at.

    ¡°Th-Then what did you mean?¡±

    ¡°What I mean is, if you own my daughter¡¯s soul and body, what have you done to her?¡±

    Oh, sweet, beautiful Goddess. Please spare me this conversation. I entered this tent ready to meet you again, but I know now that I am not ready!

    ¡°Well? Daughter, what does this boy make you do?¡±

    Yua¡¯s ears perked up at the conversation being thrown back to her, but she opened her mouth to speak without hesitation.

    And she did so with a smile.

    Please don¡¯t tell him. Please don¡¯t tell him that I fucked you until you couldn¡¯t stand anymore our first night as mates. Please don¡¯t tell him that I made you suck my dick. Please don¡¯t tell him that I let you walk around Amoranth without panties. Well¡­ I guess he wouldn¡¯t care about that, but still. Please just say you clean the house or something!

    ¡°Every morning, Alex has me kiss him awake.¡±

    Oh, thank you, sweet beautiful goddess.

    ¡°Goodness. That¡¯s sweet.¡±

    Kimiko took the order I gave her as a type of loving affection, which it was, but since I ordered her to do it, it was something she was technically forced to do. Not that she minded. If anything, she enjoys it as much as I do. Her father, though, didn¡¯t look too amused.

    ¡­ But then, with her fists clenched as if pumped, she continued.

    ¡°And then he has sex with my pussy. A lot. Oh, and he had me drink his semens!¡±

    So, this truly is the day I die again, isn¡¯t it? I look forward to meeting you again, beautiful Goddess. It was fun while it lasted. At least I got to lose my virginity this time.

    I closed my eyes and awaited the powerful death blow Tama would no doubt use to send me rocketing into the upper atmosphere, but it didn¡¯t come. Chancing the possibility that he demanded I acknowledge his anger before killing me, I cracked my eyes open, only to find both of her parents staring at me. Not with anger or revulsion, but in puzzlement.

    ¡°Daughter, what are pussy and semens?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    What¡­?

    ¡­ I think I actually felt my brain cells short circuit. Is everyone in this tribe really that naive? Come on, you two! The child you gave birth to is right in front of you! I know you know how this works!

    ¡°My Mate,¡± Kimiko started, her index finger raised high. ¡°I think semens is that sticky white stuff that comes from your manhood when we mate. I heard one of the merchant caravans passing through the village say something like that.¡±

    ¡°Eh? You can drink that?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. But if our daughter says she can¡­¡±

    ¡°Mmmph. Then what about this pussy?¡±

    I nearly had an aneurism when Yua spread her legs and flashed her parents her bare, recently shaven pussy and pointed straight to it. I mean, sure, they are used to the nudity and his face was practically within licking distance when he examined her earlier, but this is just¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s this part, Daddy. Alex told me humans call it a pussy.¡±

    ¡°Oh, goodness. So, then, is mine called pussy too?¡±

    Her ears flicking with curiosity, Kimiko spread her legs wider and flashed Yua right back. Instead of being angry or jealous, Tama leaned over to look at his mate¡¯s privates, looking like he was thinking about its new name while the last of my braincells banded together, said a fond farewell to the Goddess and threw themselves off of a cliff.

    Tama suddenly shook his head and glared at Yua. Shrinking under his gaze Yua quietly put her knees together.

    ¡°Daughter¡­ You mated with this boy?¡±

    So, you do know what that is then¡­?

    ¡°Yes, Daddy. Many times, every day.¡±

    Tama¡¯s glare intensified, but for some reason, it did not turn to me. Instead, it rested solely on Yua. At least, it did as far as I could tell. I was rapidly trying to blink this situation out of existence. I could be wrong. I was already so confused by this entire conversation that I couldn¡¯t question any of it anymore.

    ¡°Daughter, are you not aware of this tribe¡¯s rule regarding mates?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes, Daddy, I am. Members of the cat-kin tribe mate for life.¡±

    He nodded briefly at this statement, one that Yua shared with me before we slept together for the first time, but he shot back with¡­

    ¡°Then why are you not sitting on his leg?!¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡°Oh goodness. That¡¯s right, Daughter,¡± Kimiko said. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t forget our tribe¡¯s traditions just because you chose a human as a mate.¡±

    Yua bowed her head as her father scolded her and her mother wagged a finger at her for what might actually be the dumbest reason imaginable.

    ¡°Excuse me, uh, chief¡­ Does she really need to do that?¡±

    ¡°What?! Are you saying my daughter isn¡¯t good enough after you bled her?¡±

    ¡°Bled¡­? No! Yua¡¯s perfect! It¡¯s just¡­ Humans don¡¯t do that, so I don¡¯t understand why it¡¯s necessary. That¡¯s all.¡±

    ¡°Oh goodness. Yua, your mate said you are perfect.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mother. He¡¯s really nice, isn¡¯t he?¡±

    Yua blushed now for the strangest of reasons in this conversation that consisted of nothing but topics that gave me headaches.

    Tama cleared his throat.

    ¡°Boy, we males of the cat-kin sit our mates on our laps. It is in our arms that they spread their legs for those around us, because it is our protection that allows them to feel safe in knowing that only we, their mates, can touch them. They belong to us. And us to them.¡±

    Saying this, Tama put his hands beneath both of Kimiko¡¯s knees and lifted them. She was forced to flash me her bare, slightly hairy pussy and even the smaller hole beneath it. Blushing, she smiled at this, like she thought of this forced exposure as the sweetest romantic gesture. Then he plopped her back down on his legs. He shoved his right hand between her thighs and his fingers disappeared somewhere scandalous. She blushed more and he continued.

    ¡°Not letting my daughter onto your lap is as good as telling me you bled her for sport. Did you shed your clothes on a whim, or did you want to join us as her mate? While you¡¯re here, you live by our rules. All of them. Are you or are you not her mate? If you say no, then as thanks for bringing her back to me, I¡¯ll let you live. But I will personally throw you out of this forest if you reject her.¡±

    ¡°But Daddy!¡±

    ¡°Quiet!¡±

    I didn¡¯t know how to respond to his assumption on why I lacked clothes, but I could understand a bit of where he was coming from.

    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    If I couldn¡¯t at least perform this small tradition of theirs, I couldn¡¯t exactly hope to win them over. We came back to prove to them she was alive and well. I didn¡¯t know exactly when this trip became about winning them over, but I¡¯m here now. I¡¯m naked, they¡¯re naked, Yua¡¯s naked, most of my brain cells already offed themselves, so there¡¯s no point in getting embarrassed now.

    ¡°Yua, sit on my leg.¡±

    As her mate, I gave her an order and her face flushed. Somehow, that simple five-word sentence embarrassed her more than talking about our sex life did. But that was likely just because this would show to her tribe that she was well and truly mine.

    Her ears stiff as a spear, Yua stood. Tama held my gaze, testing my will instead of hers as she stepped in front of me. If this was something big for Yua, it must also be something significant for the men.

    She widened her stance, bent her knees and set her crotch directly and unreservedly onto my thigh. She then slid backwards, bringing out a small moan that seemed out of place here and leaned into my chest the same way she had in the bath. Just the act of sitting on my thigh right here made her short of breath.

    ¡°Goodness, aren¡¯t they cute together?¡±

    Her mom fawned over us like we were nothing more than a pair of teens taking a prom photo together. Her father, however, was apparently not satisfied.

    ¡°Keep going, boy. Show me you intend to take her.¡±

    ¡°Ahh¡­ My Mate!¡±

    Tama buried his fingers deeper inside of Kimiko, making sure I saw exactly what he was doing and she let out a pleasant moan. Spurred on by this, I slipped my own hand in between Yua¡¯s thighs and when I felt my fingertips touch her clit, I paused.

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, boy? Still not good enough?¡±

    He continued shoving his fingers deeper into Kimiko, but not with the intent on drawing out pleasure for her. Once they were in, he stopped moving. With how relaxed Kimiko was, no part of me could assume this was a sick joke.

    With my rapid blinking unable to blot out my consciousness or more animalistic thoughts at the forefront of my mind, I pushed my fingers inside of Yua¡¯s already love-drenched opening and held her.

    ¡°A-Ahh¡­ Mas¡­ Alex!¡±

    She cried just like her mother did, but she also arched her back. Her father, though, still did not look satisfied. He looked towards Yua¡¯s groin and lifted his chin at me. In response, I lifted up her left knee with my free hand, just like he did, and showed him the proof that my fingers were inside of her.

    None of the three cat-kin so much as blinked at the sight. I, however, was struggling to maintain my sanity.

    ¡°Good,¡± he said. ¡°We do this to show the world they are ours. Don¡¯t forget that.¡±

    ¡°R-Right¡­¡±

    His fingers slipped out of Kimiko and she fell forwards to catch herself on his knee. I eagerly released Yua too, her wetness still connecting my fingers through a strand of hot love. How was she enjoying this?

    ¡°With this, I can accept you as her male. But this is not enough for you to win my approval.¡±

    Then why did you make me finger your daughter?!

    ¡°Come with me.¡±

    He stood, once more setting Kimiko down lightly onto the floor, and walked out of the tent.

    ¡°Alex¡­¡±

    Yua looked at me with upturned eyes and a blushing redness still in her cheeks, but her mother took her hand.

    ¡°No, Daughter. You know the rules. We must stay put¡­ Alex,¡± when she called my name, she looked at me with a serious look on her face. ¡°You must go meet him inside the temple. And you must be ready to fight.¡±

    ¡°Fight? Him? What?!¡±

    What the hell? Yua is a much better fighter than me and she got destroyed! How am I supposed to fight that?

    ¡°You must, if you want our daughter as your prize. I promise you that he will not let you leave this place with her if you do not meet him in battle.¡±

    Yua looked to me, tears suddenly in her eyes, but her gaze was strong enough to keep her from looking sad. She nodded. She knew I didn¡¯t stand a chance in a physical fight with her father, but she was still confident in my abilities. More than I was myself. After seeing what he did to her just an hour or two ago, I was scared, but I couldn''t bare to let her or our relationship down here.

    What the actual hell is going on here? This was supposed to be a loving family reunion! How has our arrival already caused so many fights?!

    Reluctant to face my fate, but equally reluctant to spurn Yua¡¯s love for her parents by feeling with her, I stepped, or rather stumbled, out of the tent.

    If any of the other villagers overheard this conversation, they did not show it. They all just continued on with their days as normal. I saw a few women sitting on their mate¡¯s lap, so at least that part was true. Everything was so surreal here that I was still doubting the reality before me.

    I turned to face the large temple just behind their tent and, very much in a daze, started walking.

    The temple behind the chief¡¯s tent looked like something that might have been found in a deep jungle, lost to time centuries ago with how sun-bleached its stones were, but it looked well maintained.

    By the time I reached the steps, Tama was already entering the large cutout in the temple¡¯s face. There were no doors. Nothing to stop anyone else from interfering or watching, but nobody did or said anything when they saw their chief walking up its steps or when I followed behind him.

    Much like the outside, the innards of the temple were all made of bright white stones that stretched around a downward sloping staircase. It didn¡¯t look too far removed from one of the dungeon floors. However, the main attraction was the wrestling-ring-like square of stones raise above the ground.

    Tama jumped up on to the three-foot high ring with ease and walked to the center before turning around.

    ¡°This is our people¡¯s most sacred place. Here we settle all disputes between our peoples through strength. You did well for just coming this far, boy.¡±

    I still maintain that I wish for my death to have an audience.

    ¡°¡­ Why couldn¡¯t the women come? Are they not allowed in here?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that. The women in our village just know that it is unwise and distracting to get in the way of a match between men.¡±

    While I certainly agreed that it would be distracting to have even one of the naked beauties of this forest to stand on the sidelines, I could only guess what he meant by unwise. Even in terms of beast-kin and their already impressive strength, the men were likely stronger due to their size. So, if things got a little too heated and one tried to intervene, they could end up seriously hurt.

    ¡°How about it, boy? Are you man enough to face my challenge or will you surrender my daughter back to me?¡±

    But there was nobody here but us. There were no distractions and Yua didn¡¯t need to get hurt again. And I wanted to keep it that way.

    I climbed up onto the perfectly flat stones of the ring and stood to face him. He only nodded.

    I didn¡¯t know what I could do to hurt him, but thanks to my Memorize ability, I could clearly imagine his movements from his fight with Yua, even though he was moving too fast at the time. Thinking back, his fighting style was very similar to Yua¡¯s. He definitely trained her. So, knowing how she fights was going to be the only help I was going to get.

    I tried to intervene then, too. Guess I¡¯ll be finding out how that would have gone.

    Let¡¯s just not think about how this man willingly beat the piss out of his own daughter, or the fact that he already hates me.

    ¡°Boy, like my daughter, I am a Monk. So, all I need are my fists. You can use whatever equipment you want. Armor, swords, axes, magic, I don¡¯t care.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure? Wouldn¡¯t that put you at a disadvantage?¡±

    As I said this, I pulled my Parundum Long Sword out of my item box, completely ready to give up the ruse behind this me-only ability if it meant I had even a slightly better chance of winning. To him, I was pulling it out of thin air, but he didn¡¯t look anywhere near as surprised as Yua did the first time I showed her that ability. If anything, to him it probably looked like a cheap magic trick.

    ¡°Pfft. Tell you what, boy. If you manage to even pierce my flesh with that sword, I won¡¯t just give you my daughter. I¡¯ll give you My Mate.¡±

    While the offer was tempting, Kimiko certainly was a beautiful woman, I didn¡¯t like the idea of him bargaining her away like that. Either of them.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think you should be betting your mate like that.¡±

    ¡°Hmph. Like I tried to tell you, we can do as we wish with our mates. And if you beat me, that means you too.¡±

    Can do what we want with our mates? Is her upbringing here the reason why Yua gives into my pervy requests so easily, not the training she was forced into as a slave? Hell, even the rough treatment Tama used with Kimiko wasn¡¯t too dissimilar to how a slave would expect to be treated, but she only ever smiled at him, even when reprimanding him.

    ¡°You ready or what?¡±

    Tama brought up his fists to take a similar stance to that of Yua¡¯s, although his looked even sturdier, more practiced and significantly deadlier than hers ever could. He must have taught it to her, but didn¡¯t find it necessary to bring it out against her during their earlier fight. But he was now.

    ¡°Yea¡­ I¡¯m ready.¡±

    I raised my sword, not at him, but into a defensive stance. If he fought like Yua, he moved like Yua. If he moved like her, then I might be able to dodge his attacks when I see them coming. Blocking may not be a wise idea, but it¡¯s better than being defenses.

    ¡°Hmph. Not going to put on one of those tin suits you humans like to wear? Fine by me. Males should fight naked. It¡¯s better to face a battle head-on with proof you have nothing to hide.¡±

    His words sounding close to what Yua warned me about before entering the village, I was unfortunately reminded of the fact that I could still feel a slight breeze against my genitals. With all the commotion and mind-numbing show of how this tribe worked, I had almost forgotten the simple fact that the only thing I was wearing was my birthday suit.

    I shook the nudity out of my mind and readied myself.

    ¡°Good. Then I¡¯ll go first!¡±

    Without waiting to debate any further, Tama lunged at me, the image of a ravenous lion at his back.

    He threw a fist straight for my face. It was the same strike he hit Yua with. The same forward strike I watched her use on all of the bosses we faced together. I dodged it, but only just barely and I didn¡¯t have time to pat myself on the back.

    He continued into a combo of another fist before I could correct my footing. I swung my sword on reflex.

    ¡°Iron Fist!¡±

    Without pulling his punch, his fist glowed silver and my sword bounced off of it with a metallic clang, as if his skin had truly become hardened iron.

    So, he has the same healing ability and fighting ability as Yua. I suppose I already knew that, but fighting him might give me a chance to learn what else she might be capable of in the future. Letting thoughts of her settle my pounding heart, I jumped back, corrected my feet and raised my sword. The unrelenting force that he was, Tama charged straight for me before I was ready.

    Another punch flew towards my face and at first, I intended to block it to force him to use Iron Fist to save himself so I could strike where he was defenseless, but my Swordsman class whispered a better idea.

    I dodged his punch much easier now that I memorized his movements. His momentum carried him just a little past me, leaving his back wide open. Seeing my chance, I swung my blade down on his defenseless back.

    But then his ears twitched.

    ¡°Iron Fist!¡±

    Just as my blade connected with his back, the skin that should have been cut glowed silver. My sword clattered against it and bounced off. Tama ducked and drew in his right elbow for a follow up punch to make use of my bewilderment. So, I quickly jumped back as far as my legs would take me, landing on the other side of the arena. I nearly pleaded my thanks to the Goddess right then and there. If I hadn¡¯t watched Yua¡¯s movements so closely when she fought and learned through her efforts, I would have just lost the fight.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know Iron Fist can be used on your back.¡±

    ¡°Hmph. A true master can use it on any part of their body. That is why we Monks don¡¯t need armor.¡±

    If Yua didn¡¯t already know that, I had to make sure to tell her. Assuming I don¡¯t die here.

    ¡°Raah!¡±

    Yelling as he charged again, I realized that I wasn¡¯t going to win with my sword alone. So, this time, I didn¡¯t dodge just yet.

    Using Material Creation, I instantly dropped a tower of the dungeon tall enough to block his fist just before his arm could fully extend. His knuckles collided with the stone, almost effortlessly exploding it. Chunks and fragments flew backwards. I only barely managed to dodge the shotgun-like spray of debris because Tama¡¯s relentless charge carried him around the pillar for another strike. It was like he didn¡¯t even notice the stones appearing from out of nowhere.

    My ears still ringing from the concussive force of his fist impacting against my stone shield, I blinked my vision back into place and readied my sword again, this time with one hand. I needed to use everything I had if I even wanted to imagine winning. And that means magic.

    After using it so much in the dungeon and seeing just how powerful it could be, I wanted to spare this armor-less man my magic, but now I didn¡¯t even have the time to hate myself for daring to hold back.

    Tama threw himself at me like a wild animal, not caring in the slightest for what I was planning. And, as if it was his only attack, he went for my head again. I suppose that, given Yua¡¯s eager declaration to them that I took her virginity, I had to be grateful his fist wasn¡¯t flying south.

    Once more, I threw down another pillar of stone to take the hit and coupled it with a Dimensional Step portal right behind myself. His fist smashed against the pillar just as I slipped through it, appearing directly behind him. His ears twitched, but by then I was already swinging my sword.

    ¡°Iron Fist!¡±

    Once more, his back shone silver and deflected my blade. Cursing, I took several steps back.

    ¡°Oh, ho. Boy, you¡¯re pretty fast. I didn¡¯t even see you move.¡±

    He thinks that was just speed? Of course. Even with his ears, he can¡¯t hear me cast spells if I don¡¯t chant them.

    ¡­ Maybe I can use that.

    He lunged at me again, this time trying for a lower strike to my gut. My mind racing to find a counter, I tried the same trick. Another tower of stone appeared between us, but this time the portal I created was smaller, small enough for him not to see it. It was directly behind the stone. And its exit was right behind him.

    Tama¡¯s fist slammed into the stone, exploding debris violently right through the portal. The shards of stone appeared out of the portal¡¯s exit and erupted against his backside like a round of buckshot. He arched his back, pain striking his face, but he immediately put distance between us before I could perform a follow up.

    It worked. As long as he can¡¯t hear or see the attack coming, I might be able to make this work.

    That little trick did less than a tenth of his likely massive health pool. Confusion briefly stole away his pained look but he shook it off. And for some reason, his fierce glare looked slightly happy. Without checking the damage he¡¯d just taken, he bolted for me again.

    Trying to think on my feet for how I might make use of what I just learned, I threw down another pillar of stone and a portal connecting the imminent spray of debris to his back again. However, he apparently had had enough of my tricks and withdrew his punch a half-second before it landed. He darted around the pillar.

    Shit.

    Seeing my chance thrown away, I dove through the portal myself and appeared behind him. Throwing up my hand, I immediately cast Fire Ball before he could turn. I honestly wasn¡¯t expecting the spell to hit, just delay him, but the ball of flame collided with his back and set it alight.

    He howled with pain, just like the dungeons bosses had when I used it against them. Their bark and fur apparently had little to do with the flames sticking to them, as he was engulfed. The initial blast took still took less than a tenth of his health, but it was the constant fire damage of his continued burning that worried me.

    ¡°Arghh!!¡±

    The flames burned heavily against his skin. The arena was brightened by the unnatural light source as he stumbled and writhed in flame. I shrank back. Did I take it too far? He told me I could use magic, but was I supposed to suppress the spell¡¯s power? Yua¡¯s father was on fire. Large health pool or not, the body could only take so much pain. Panicked, I readied a water spell to quench the flame before it could reach his ears or tail, but before I could, he yelled.

    ¡°Iron Fist!¡±

    In an instant, his entire body glowed a shade of silver so bright that it overpowered the flame. With his entire body now as hard as metal, the flames fell from his body before fading into nothing now that they no longer had any fuel to cling to.

    Face still clenched in pain and his right eye twitching, his glare returned. Whatever shred of happiness he felt in the fight was gone. But when he readied his fighting stance again, I did not feel as though he thought of that attack as a cheap shot. He planned to continue.

    Okay, what next? If lighting this guy on fire wasn¡¯t enough to make him throw in the towel, what would?

    Tama charged at me, his only fighting capabilities that I know of being his fists, I continued to make use of his reckless charges since he had no other options to close the gap.

    Another fist to the face, a feint, intended to draw out my stone pillar and my portal. He circled around it and lunged at me again. I jumped through the portal and spun in the air, slightly disoriented from the sudden displacement and readied myself.

    As I thought, now that he figured out how my trick worked, he jumped through the portal after me. So, I used Material Destruction to disappear the stone flooring right before his foot touched it. His foot failing to touch stone when he thought it would, he lost his balance and fell forward. I used the opportunity and his bewilderment to kick him as hard as I could in the stomach.

    He took the blow. His mind unable to piece together the string of events that just occurred, he had no choice and he failed to cast Iron Fist in time. I was extremely lucky he didn¡¯t seem able to keep that ability active at all times. Although, the blow did significantly less damage to him than Yua¡¯s best punch had.

    Using the chance my kick gave me, I leapt backward and shot a Water Ball at him this time. The attack did little damage as facing the spell head on this time, he activated Iron Fist just before it collided with his torso. But it struck him, drenching him and the stone around his. I capitalized. Knowing now that he could handle a spell or two, I cast Lightning Bolt.

    Flying with three times the speed of the other two spells, the bolt shot through the air like bullet. He cast Iron Fist again, but he still reeled back in pain once it struck the water. Apparently, even if Iron Fist really made your skin as hard as metal, it didn¡¯t stop you from conducting electricity. Realizing this and finally feeling some hope that I could win, I shot another bolt at him. He took it head on with Iron Fist, gritting his teeth through the pain, but jumped away before I could land a third.

    Landing nimbly on his feet, he slammed his fist against his chest and grinned almost manically, as if to show that none of what he¡¯d been hit with hurt him. I shot a four more Water Balls. He used Iron Fist again, expecting the spells to bounce off of him. But each of the spells missed him completely and splashed against the stone flooring, flooding the area at his feet. Right where I wanted them.

    If he allowed himself to take that second Lightning Bolt, then he probably didn¡¯t understand how electricity worked. I was going to show him.

    Once the area was good and drenched, I shot another Lightning Bolt just to the side of him. As expected, he assumed I missed and didn¡¯t bother to dodge. But a split second after the lighting struck the floor, the water carried its power straight to his feet and up to his defenseless body.

    He writhed in pain, but gritted his teeth to endure his health bar getting knocked down another sliver of a percent, even as the lightning continued to crackle.

    Thank the Goddess I spent the last month practicing instead of lazing around in bed with.

    ¡°Arggh!... Not bad, boy,¡± he said, clenching and unclenching his hands to see if they still worked. ¡°But I think I see your little trick now. Overheat!¡±

    He shouted another ability name, this time one I didn¡¯t know, so I braced myself.

    The air around him warped, swaying as if bending under the pressure of an intense heat. The water still on his skin evaporated in an instant, like his skin suddenly turned red hot and became imbued with invisible flames that coated his entire body.

    Smirking at my continued bewilderment, he grinned and took a single step forward, deliberately onto the puddle of water coating the arena. That, too, boiled and evaporated instantaneously to fill the space between us with steam.

    Shit. Now fire and water were useless. Lightning might still work, but it¡¯ll be less effective without the water adding to its effective range. I ran through a mental list of my available spells.

    Can¡¯t risk wasting time on Ice Arrow. It might melt before it hit him. Rock Throw would only be countered by Iron Fist. Strangle Thorn couldn¡¯t be used without a plant nearby. And Fairy¡¯s Light is useless. I might be able to use Force Sleep, but that one really felt like it would be a cheap shot. And I didn¡¯t want to use the same spell that tormented Yua on her father. Not to mention that I don¡¯t want to get that close to him.

    My only option was to hit him where he couldn¡¯t see it coming to make sure he doesn¡¯t have time to strengthen his defenses. There was the Shadow Cloak spells and Dimensional Step as my remaining magical options. And I barely had any experience using Shadow Cloak.

    But it¡¯s better than nothing, I suppose. Like their sparring matches, all I needed to do was draw a bit of blood to end it. If none of my spells so far managed that, then my sword was the best option. Figures.

    Tama lunged at me, his body still bursting with the steam of the evaporated water. I could feel the sweat beading on my forehead start to burn the more he closed the gap.

    This time I met him head on with another portal instead of a pillar. He fell through, landing on the other side of the arena with his back to me. He ears flicked, instantly locking onto me and, not even slightly disoriented, charged yet again. I threw up a stone pillar to block me from his line of sight and a second one behind me. The light of the sun flooding in through the temple entrance cast a shadow on the second, creating an opening for me. To the sound of him stampeding towards me, I silently cast of Shadow Cloak on myself.

    Instantly, the world began to expand as I started to sink into the flooring. The pillar¡¯s long shadow cloaked me and I took it over, becoming the slim darkness itself until my line of sight lined up with the ground and my physical body was no more. It felt as though an impossibly powerful force had sucked underground through the stone, only to then hold me there. With nothing beneath my feet and nothing to hold onto, it felt as if I were floating underground.

    But I wasn¡¯t moving. Moving while using this spell was impossible. It was simply a tool to hide oneself. Nothing more. Not until the spell was cancelled.

    Only a second later, Tama came bounding around the pillar, ready to punch the first thing he saw, but stopped when I wasn¡¯t there. Confusion spread across his face. He looked around, likely examining the other half-destroyed pillars to try and find me. Then he turned his ears to the sky the same way Yua did when listening for enemies. However, he quickly gave that up. I knew he heard nothing.

    Thanks to Yua, I knew the effects of Shadow Cloak spell made no sound. I had to wonder how a spell like this was even available at the Mage¡¯s Guild since it seemed the perfect tool for assassinations, but I wasn¡¯t about to complain.

    Tama gave up on his ears, his tail flicking in a disgruntled annoyance. He turned his back to my shadow to make use of his eyes and seeing my chance, I cancelled my spell. The same force that sucked me into the stone now shot me out of it. Adding to this by kicking off with my feet the moment I felt floor beneath me again, I thrust my sword.

    His ears twitched, the second I left the shadow and I could only blame the sound of my heartbeat becoming noticeable again when he suddenly and quickly turned. I had aimed for a glancing blow on his arm, but he¡¯d misjudged whatever he heard and ducked.

    His eyes shot open and his head whipped to the side. But not before my blade cut a small gash into his cheek. We stood there, frozen in mutual bewilderment for what would have been a fatal blow to a less skilled fighter. A droplet of blood ran from his cheek down to his chin. He snarled at me and clenched his fist.

    Shit! His ears are just too good. I¡¯m not fast enough to capitalize on my own sneak attack!

    ¡°Raah!¡±

    He came at me, growling like a mad beast, and threw his fist at my face before I could protest and claim victory.

    Defensively, I threw up another, smaller teleportation door. His fist shot through it and out the other one I put beside his face, forcing him to punch himself. He took the hit, glaring and threw another one. I countered with the same portal and he struck himself again, drawing a bit of blood from his nose. And then he struck again as if he didn¡¯t notice. I cast my spell again, but he was relentless. Another punch came flying at me as soon as the previous hit his cheek. Feeling my vision dull, as if I were the one receiving his fierce barrage, I tried my spell again.

    But it didn¡¯t work. My portal did not appear.

    Panicked, but sure I¡¯d cast it properly, in the split second it took for his fist to fly at me, I looked to my mana bar to see what happened. It was empty. And I wasn¡¯t going to have a chance to chug a mana potion.

    His fist struck me square in the stomach. I felt my insides turn to mush and felt my body fly backwards. My vision quickly faded as the image of Tama grew further and further away until I was swallowed by blackness.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 9a

    The soft sensation of Yua pressing against my back stirred me back to consciousness. A wonderful feeling and I was already familiar with. With her parent¡¯s tent hanging over our heads. Must have been carried here. On the spot, I rejected the idea of just closing my eyes to enjoy her warmth for what might be the last time and cranked every gear in my mind to max speed to try and work out a solution.

    Tama had to know I didn¡¯t stand much of a chance and likely held back during our fight. And I still lost, naturally. Otherwise, I doubt I would have been able to hurt him. I could barely see him move when he fought Yua.

    So, this was either an excuse to beat up his daughter¡¯s master or it was some sort of test to see if I was good enough for her. I just have to prove that I am in some other way.

    ¡­ Still, I would have preferred the stereotypical scene of a father meeting his daughter¡¯s new boyfriend in the living room while maliciously cleaning a shotgun he didn¡¯t actually mean to use. Getting punched so hard I flew across the room wasn¡¯t even on the list.

    ¡°A-Alex¡­¡±

    Yua¡¯s voice panged my eardrums. She sounded so weak that just calling my name might as well have hurt her. Snapping up, I turned to her laying in the cot beside me. Only, she was fine. There were no wounds or bruises visible on her to suggest she¡¯d taken up another sparring match and lost, but her entire body was covered in a thick layer of sweat. Her heavy, labored breathing drew me in more than the weakness of her gaze right up until her eyes closed. When they didn¡¯t immediately open back up, I noticed a ghastly paleness to her skin.

    ¡°What happened? Are you okay?¡±

    I put my hand on her shoulder and gave her a light shake, but she barely managed a weak smile to show she was still alive.

    ¡°She¡¯s fine,¡± Tama said, his voice booming.

    The sharpness of his own emerald glare had diminished since our fight. Kimiko had returned to her place on his thigh and was rubbing some kind of homemade medicinal ointment onto a serious bruise on his cheek. One I was sure had not resulted from our fight. She must have heard him wagering her hand. Not that it showed, really. She looked as calm and serene as ever, just with a new slight furrow to her brow as she tended his wounds.

    ¡°What happened to Yua?¡±

    ¡°Hmph,¡± Tama huffed, looking like he wasn¡¯t going to answer until Kimiko poked his bruised cheek. ¡°You got punched so hard in the gut that you passed out, lost a fight¡­ and the first thing on your mind is my daughter?¡±

    Remembering the end of our fight, I looked at my stomach to find it entirely free of bruises. Where there might have been a hole or at least a giant fist-shaped indentation was only the set of abs that I hadn¡¯t earned. I touched my hand to it to test for signs of pain, but felt nothing.

    ¡°She healed you,¡± Tama said. ¡°I was going to do it, but she insisted. That¡¯s why she¡¯s like that now.¡±

    Turning back to Yua, I realized her symptoms were the same as when she last forced herself to use Healing Punch on me after I¡¯d been struck by a dungeon monster. That ability had drained her of most of her stamina, leaving her barely able to move, but now she looked significantly worse. I checked her stamina bar and found that it was nearly depleted. Meanwhile, my health bar had been completely reset.

    ¡°She said you¡¯d have something to help her when you woke up. If you do, I suggest you use it before you make me watch my daughter suffer any more than I already have.¡±

    Nodding, I tore a stamina potion out of my item box, uncorked it and lifted Yua¡¯s head to help her drink. Without any of her past reluctance, she slowly drank the potion, but not without spilling a drop here and there as she gulped it down. Her breathing gradually returned to normal as I watched her stamina bar slowly refill. By the time the bottle was emptied, she was back to about seventy-five percent stamina.

    Her eyes opened and she smiled sweetly at me.

    ¡°Alex¡­ Are you feeling better?¡±

    ¡°Much better, thanks to you.¡±

    ¡°Mmnn.¡±

    She cooed as I patted her head. Unawares of what struggles my loss put her through, I lifted her into a tight hug. She sighed contentedly into my chest.

    ¡°It was a good fight, boy.¡±

    Tama looked at me while Kimiko pressed some kind of leaf to the cut I put in his cheek and left it there, like a bandage. He caught me looking at her and a grim expression took hold of him. One even darker than what he wore during Yua¡¯s retelling of her enslavement. His fingers dug into his knee and he buried his face in Kimiko¡¯s hair with a look so forcibly-calmed that you¡¯d think he¡¯d just had a stroke. As he did this, she forced a smile herself and rubbed her thumb comfortingly over the leaf.

    I needed a moment to figure out why the winner of our fight looked to be fighting off a deep depression when it clicked.

    ¡­ He wasn¡¯t actually serious about wagering Kimiko, right?

    Don¡¯t tell me this man was so full of himself that he not only dared to bet his lover, but did so while assuming I wouldn¡¯t be able to scratch him as he pulled his punches. Yua told him I could use magic. Or did he just expect to knock me out the moment I found my spells to be useless against his Iron Fist? That¡¯s like taking the cockiness Yua showed in the dungeons and injecting it with a gallon of steroids.

    Regardless, I never took his wager as anything more than him being a show off. I didn¡¯t have to see how strongly he sniffed her hair, as though desperately trying to ingrain her scent in his memory for the last time, to know they loved each other deeply. Not only was this love of theirs the cause of Yua¡¯s existence, but it reminded of Kimiko¡¯s casual comment on how Tama likely would have cried in her arms all night long had he really banished Yua from the village.

    According to this same bet, since I managed to cut him, I didn¡¯t have to worry about him stealing Yua back from me, but I wasn¡¯t about to split them apart just because he won the fight itself. Even without considering how Yua would react, I wasn¡¯t so petty.

    With first-hand proof that Yua got her cockiness from him, but with the visible proof she got her smile from Kimiko, I sighed and reached into my item box again.

    ¡°Here¡­¡±

    I tossed him a couple of the Health Potions I made. His face still buried in Kimiko¡¯s hair, his ear gave a quick flick before his hand shot into the air to snatch the bottles, as if he thought I¡¯d thrown a knife. He looked at them a little skeptically, but considering the stash of potions he kept in his tent, he knew what they were. I, however, prepared myself to play the part of a dumb tourist that was unfamiliar with their culture.

    ¡°You know,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if your people use potions, but this health potion is definitely better than that plant ointment stuff. I made it myself. By the time you finish it, your wounds will have closed and your bruises will have disappear. And you won¡¯t have to worry about any scars, either¡­ It¡¯ll be like the injury was never there in the first place.¡±

    Still with a dubious arch to his brow, Tama¡¯s upper lip twitched, but the excited flick of his tail was all I needed to know that he understood the meaning behind this gift. He must have avoided potions and other faster methods of healing because he wanted that cut on his cheek to scar over, to be a permanent reminder of his failure. But this way, it would be like his failure never happened.

    He accepted the potion and, letting Kimiko uncork it for him, gulped it down. Not only did the cut on his cheek disappear, leaving the leaf to fall to the ground, it cured all of the burns and welts I hadn¡¯t even noticed on his body until they started to vanish. He quickly finished off the second bottle and Yua squeezed my arm. Guess she heard the bet too.

    ¡°Bah¡­ I hate health potions.¡±

    ¡°My Mate, it¡¯s important to take your medicine.¡±

    Brightness returned to Kimiko¡¯s smile as she chided him lightly with a wag of her finger. Tama scoffed at her, his tail still flicking, and tossed the empty bottles back to me. I sent them and Yua¡¯s bottle back into my item box.

    Holding one arm tightly around her waist, he let Kimiko wipe away the now needless first-aid she¡¯d given. She looked like she might break into a chorus of delighted humming at any moment, but I couldn¡¯t escape Tama¡¯s sight.

    He chewed something over for a moment before Kimiko once more prodded his now bruiseless cheek. Snorting, he thumped a hand on his knee and leaned towards us.

    ¡°Hey, boy¡­ What¡¯s that spell you keep using? You pulled your sword out of nowhere and now you do it with potions?¡±

    I opened my mouth, but paused. I¡¯d let him see my item box in action right before the fight since I didn¡¯t have much choice, but now I went and showed it off to Kimiko too. I meant to hide it from others, but I suppose Yua¡¯s parents would be safe.

    ¡°Haha¡­ Uh, it¡¯s not really a spell. It¡¯s a trait I have. One of many. It allows me to carry all kind of things without having to actually carry any of it on my back.¡±

    ¡°Interesting¡­¡±

    ¡°Yea, but I still lost the fight, though. Right?¡±

    I tried to play it off, hoping he wouldn¡¯t press for more information like Yua had when she first learned of it. Thankfully, he scoffed and scratched his chin before answering.

    ¡°Do you know why you lost, boy?¡±

    ¡°Because I ran out of mana?¡±

    ¡°Because I made you run out of mana.¡±

    Tama balled up his fist and thumped it on his knee.

    ¡°I may not be as smart as someone like you. And I can¡¯t use magic, but that doesn¡¯t make me stupid. Fighting is what I know. Fighting is in my blood. And the best way to fight a Mage is to figure out their tricks, power through and make them burn away all their mana.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why you kept letting me make you punch yourself?¡±

    ¡°Exactly. I could take the hit, but you were almost out of mana. I could tell by how much you were sweating and by the tired look in your eyes. After that, if you managed not to pass out immediately, the fight would become a test of strength. And you are nowhere near strong enough to match me there.¡±

    ¡°Daddy¡­¡±

    ¡°Quiet, Daughter.¡±

    Unlike the last time he demanded silence from her, he now spoke with a softer tone. So, she backed down a little easier.

    ¡°Not strong enough, yet,¡± he continued. ¡°You knew that before you faced me and yet you did anyway. You fought with that brain of yours, boy. That was the only reason why you lasted so long.¡±

    ¡°A lot of good that did¡­¡±

    ¡°Hmph. What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°I lost the fight. Doesn¡¯t that mean I lose Yua?¡±

    I won the bet, but lost the fight. And now that he had no cut to prove I won the bet, the loss stands out all the more. I gulped, ready to persevere.

    ¡°What do I have to do to gain your approval?¡±

    Tama grinned mischievously, his teeth sparkling in what little sunlight made its way in through the tent. He was the polar opposite of the beast-like demon I faced a few hours ago.

    ¡°What are you talking about? Didn¡¯t my daughter heal your head? Our deal was that if you didn¡¯t die in our duel, you¡¯d get to keep her. Right?¡±

    His tone suggested that, had we been alone, he might have winked. Hell, he might have even smiled honestly. He scraped off the already hardening ointment Kimiko had smeared on his cheek and showed his otherwise unblemished skin.

    I smiled back, relieved.

    ¡°Right. Just a little tired I guess.¡±

    ¡°Ha! Well too bad. I have one final test for you before I let you steal my daughter away from me.¡±

    So, I am being tested? At least he¡¯s not pissed off about the slave thing

    ¡°My Mate¡­¡±

    ¡°No, Miss Kimiko,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll do it. I¡¯ve already come this far. What do you need me to do?¡±

    Tama smirked, grinning and flashing his teeth. He thumped his chest, this time full of a pride that worried me.

    ¡°Since you still lost the fight, I must prove it to you.¡±

    Yua let out a small yelp, her cheeks reddening slightly as her ears perked up. Kimiko, seemingly unphased, did nothing but widen her sitting position on Tama¡¯s lap. Unawares of what their reactions meant; I questioned him.

    ¡°Prove it? Knocking me unconscious wasn¡¯t enough?¡±

    ¡°Hardly. In our tribe, we show dominance over the person we beat in a duel by taking hold of what they can¡¯t have. In this case, that means her.¡±

    He pointed towards Kimiko.

    With a small smile and a gentle look in her eyes, she widened her legs even more until the entirety of her pussy was visible. And without missing a beat, Tama lifted her up into the air by her hips and held her just above his crotch, her complete nudity facing us directly. Her tail continued to sway casually.

    ¡°What are you¡­¡±

    ¡°Just watch, boy.¡±

    Kimiko bent forwards to take hold of his manhood and began massaging it. Yua¡¯s blush deepened slightly, but her mother didn¡¯t look in the least bit bothered as she handled her man.

    Once Tama was good and hard, he lowered Kimiko straight onto his cock. Its impressive size forced her labia to part and, without any resistance, she swallowed him whole, all the way to the hilt. Kimiko bit her lip and arched her back, but said nothing in reproach. All this and without any sign of foreplay to get her ready to take him. And seemingly without a care in the world for the fact that Yua, their daughter, was literally right in front of them.

    ¡°Ahhh¡­ My Mate¡­ It¡¯s always so big after a fight!¡±

    ¡°I-I can go¡­¡± I said and tried to stand, but Tama shot me a vicious glare as he himself moved Kimiko atop his rod with as much ease as though her body held all the weight of a cotton ball. He stopped briefly to point at our cot.

    ¡°No, boy. You stay there and watch¡­ Grruuh¡­ That is your punishment for losing. If you cannot watch as I pleasure my mate¡­ then how will you know what you have lost?¡±

    What?! What kind of ass-backward logic is that?!

    ¡°Alex¡­¡±

    Yua watched them, seemingly with rapt attention. Engrossed by the sight of the large penis stretching her mother apart, leaving her repeated moans to leak out over her mate¡¯s insane speech and his grunting, she barely managed to look away to shoot me a sympathetic smile.

    ¡°You two sit there,¡± Tama said, leaning out from behind Kimiko to meet our eyes. ¡°And no mating. This is a punishment. Not¡­ fun.¡±

    Punishment? After I helped you out by denying the outcome of your own stupid wager?! That I technically won?!

    Unperturbed by my mental anguish, and while using Kimiko¡¯s body like a life-sized flesh-light, he continued to raise and lower her atop of his throbbing cock. Unable to look away, I watched in awe as he filled her so completely, that the end of each thrust left nothing of him to be seen. Kimiko¡¯s massive breasts bounced so wildly that it looked like it should have hurt, yet her expression betrayed nothing other than lust.

    Despite the force he¡¯d used to put her in this position, the shining love juices sliding down the shaft skewering her were an undeniable proof that she wasn¡¯t made the least bit uncomfortable.

    Goddess. Dear, sweet, beautiful goddess up in heaven. If this is a trial you¡¯ve set out before me because I got a little cocky after losing my virginity, then please don¡¯t. Please stop. You¡¯ve proven your point. I¡¯ll be good.

    Her strength returned to her, Yua stood. Just when I thought she was somehow going to interfere with the pair for taking this too far and stop them, she instead plopped her bare bottom down on my thigh. She did not hide the fact that she intentionally used the back of her own left thigh to hold down my cock, clearly to prevent it from rising.

    I mean, hey¡­ Kimiko was a beautiful woman. Until Yua, the only experience I had with such a sight existed behind a computer screen. How could it not react?!

    ¡°You have to watch. It is customary.¡±

    ¡°But I¡­ The bet¡­¡±

    Yua shook her head, then pointlessly whispered. ¡°It¡¯s not about who won the bet. You rejected Mother¡¯s hand. If he doesn¡¯t do this, it¡¯d be seen as an insult to her honor. He¡¯s proving his love.¡±

    ¡°Then he could have just kissed her,¡± I whispered back, my voice several times louder than I meant it to be.

    Apparently in on this to some extent, Yua smiled sympathetically before she wrapped her arms around my neck, pressed her breasts against my chest and held me in a way that forced me to continue watching the carnality unfolding in front of us.

    I was forced by my own slave to watch with her as her mother was deeply penetrated over and over. Again and Again. The sight itself did not seem to bother Yua even slightly, but every time I tried to look to her, to focus on anything else, she forced to continue watching by pushing my chin back towards the love juices dripping down her father¡¯s cock. My mind was so befuddled that I couldn¡¯t fight back.

    ¡°Ah. Ah¡­ My Mate¡­ I- I feel it... Ahhhn!¡±

    Feeling as though I blacked out for a while again, and unsure of how long this had been going on, Kimiko¡¯s cries of obvious pleasure kicked my brain back into working order.

    Tama¡¯s cock pulsated and, gritting his teeth, he slammed Kimiko back down onto his lap one last time, once more burying himself deep inside of her. He gave a grunt of pleasure and I watched as thick white semen spilled out of Kimiko¡¯s pussy and trailed back down his shaft. Breathing heavily, she accepted the load with a smile.

    Tama set her down and finally removed his hands from her. She took a moment to catch her breath, her massive breasts heaving all the while, and when she was finally ready to stand, his cock slipped right out of her. She let out a small, sexy yelp. I pressed my eyes shut when I noticed it was the same yelp Yua¡¯d let slip whenever we finished and did the same.

    True to their nudist nature, neither of the two stopped to cover themselves now that they¡¯ve finished and just let it all hang out. Yua didn¡¯t even flinch at the sight of her father¡¯s freshly squeezed cock falling back into sight.

    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    ¡°My Mate,¡± he said. ¡°Show him the proof of what he lost.¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­ My Mate.¡±

    Still breathing heavily, her breasts sweaty and heaving, Kimiko turned her back to me and bent over. As she did, Tama stood and forced her ass cheeks apart, spreading her. Yua lifted herself to hold my face in place by pinning me between her cheek and the hand she held my head with. I got a full and very up-close view of the semen dripping from the pussy right in front of me.

    Baffled, unsure of what to do with myself, I just looked. What other option did I have? Yua wasn¡¯t going to let me move and Kimiko held the pose as though she meant to stay like that for the rest of the night.

    ¡°Alright,¡± Tama said, finally. Thank fuck. ¡°He gets it. Get back over here.¡±

    He pulled on Kimiko¡¯s arm, picked her up by her hips, turned her around and set her on his thigh again. Her chest continued to heave, her nipples fully erect as she leaned on him for support. He reached around her back and groped the breasts I was unable to look away from.

    ¡°You did well to survive this and the fight,¡± Tama said unashamedly. ¡°Now, the last test¡­ Mana! Get in here!¡±

    What?! But you said watching you fuck your not-wife was the last test!

    Tama shouted towards the tent flaps acting as my only escape route and half a second later, an adorably petite cat girl popped into existence. My mind was still so frazzled by what I was just forced to witness that I must have blacked out and missed her entering the tent, as it really felt as though she¡¯d suddenly started existing beside us. Just, poof, cute cat girl.

    In stark contrast to the undefinable emotions swirling around in my head, this black-haired cutey was all smiles as she jumped into the cot beside me, pressing against my side completely unprompted. She sat and faced her chief with her hands waiting patiently on her knees.

    Without releasing his mate to spare me further agony, and with zero regard for how much of himself he showed her, Tama directed his next question to Mana.

    ¡°Out of everyone in the village, I believe it is safe to assume you¡¯ve spent the most time with this boy, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Chief. I was with him and Big Sis ever since they came back. Well, until you took them away.¡±

    ¡°Hmph¡­ Then what is your opinion of him?¡±

    Still a ball of curiosity, Mana leaned back in the cot to look up at me, as if searching for something entirely new so that her opinion could be as well informed as possible. Our eyes met and I got the strangest impression that she was sizing me up, not just the parts of myself and my personality that she¡¯d seen so far, but that she was somehow looking back into my past to discover my true self. Her eyes were easily her cutest feature, but now they filled me with a haunting gloom that persisted right up until she smiled again.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s weird that Big Sis is his slave, but he¡¯s nice to her. Also, for some reason, his heart went crazy whenever he thought she was in danger during her sparring matches¡­ Oh, and he got really mad when Hiroki¡¯s manhood accidentally touched her. Like really mad. Like he might have killed him if I didn¡¯t stop him.¡±

    ¡°Eh? That happened when they were sparring, right? Why the hell would he get mad at that?¡±

    What the fuck do you mean why?!!! If I rubbed my junk against Kimiko¡¯s cheek, I¡¯m sure you¡¯d¡­

    You know what, for both my health and sanity, I won¡¯t finish that thought.

    Likely noticing my dangerously escalating heart rate in the face of this absurdity, the four cat-kin sitting around me dropped that particular point. Tama huffed.

    ¡°My Mate,¡± Kimiko said, her voice sounding less labored now that she had a minute to rest. ¡°I think he was just getting a little defensive over her. You know, like you did with me back when that human caravan came through here a few years ago and a couple of them kept making excuses to be near me as much as they could.¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s it?¡± Tama asked Mana, completely ignoring Kimiko¡¯s comparison.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Mana hummed, pressing a finger cutely to her lips. ¡°I think so. I like him. I think he¡¯s really, really great. And him being around Big Sis and me makes me really happy.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­¡±

    With his only star witness concluding her testimony, Tama fell into deep thought. Glaring intently at me as he continued fondling Kimiko, I met his gaze purely because there was nowhere else to look. Odd as it may sound to actually say so, but after their display, the fact that everyone present was nude kind of left me too embarrassed to look anywhere but his eyes.

    Faced with this fact, I now truly felt that this village was going to kill me, but not for the reason I originally thought.

    ¡°Hmph¡±

    With a gruff grunt of annoyance acting as the prelude to whatever decision he came to, Tama¡¯s eyes quickly flicked between the three of us before he closed them and sighed deeply. Deep enough to show that he didn¡¯t particularly enjoy what he was about to say. I was sure I was the only one that tensed.

    ¡°I knew it was going to happen sooner or later, but¡­ Ahem. Daughter, take your mate to the tent I prepared for you two. You belong to him now¡­ Mana, you stay. I need to speak with you.¡±

    ¡°Yes! Thank you, Daddy!¡±

    With the sudden smile the spread across her face dimming the very Sun itself by comparison, Yua shot off of my lap and hugged him hard enough to almost knock the three over as he continued to fondle her mother, grumbling all the while. And I was confused. So, deeply confused that I couldn¡¯t speak a single word.

    ¡°Alex, come on!¡±

    Yua grabbed her backpack and took my hand. Practically yanking me off the cot, she pulled me out of her parent¡¯s tent to leave Mana to whatever fate her unfavorable testimony had earned her. Tama continued to glare at me right up until, and likely after, we left.

    Without needing to ask where it was, she led us through the crowd of smiling cat-kin and straight to another tent noticeably smaller than the chief¡¯s, but larger than all the others. My brain functioning only at half-capacity, I guessed that this tent was the one they used for important guests, like the caravans they kept mentioning.

    That being said, it wasn¡¯t far enough away from the rest of the tribe for me to feel any ease at all. Even my human ears could still clearly make out the sounds of Yua¡¯s people continuing to chat about this and that over whatever it was they were cooking for their dinner. And, if I wasn¡¯t mistaken, some of the chatter involved us.

    Yua pushed the leather flaps of the entrance out of the way and hurried inside. Standing there at the entrance, still more than a little dumfounded by what I just witnessed, Yua quickly poked her head back out and grabbed my hands once more and pulled me inside.

    ¡°Alex!¡±

    Yua embraced me in a full force hug and rained a dozen or so kisses down on my lips with a voracity that suggested she¡¯d been holding back since we got here. Her breasts pressed hard against my chest, her rock-hard nipples grinding against me as she repeatedly pushed herself against my body.

    Weary of our location, I tried to push her off, but she came right back and even added my penis to the mixture by clamping it tight between her thighs. Losing myself to the taste of the tongue she tried to shove down my throat, and very nearly giving into her building lust, I pushed her back again and this time, she stopped.

    I was always happy to have her actively pursue me, but this was just insane.

    ¡°What are you doing? Won¡¯t they be able to hear us?¡±

    I pointed back towards her parent¡¯s tent, but I might as well have been referring to her entire tribe. Her head tilted, but her ears twitched curiously.

    ¡°Of course. So what?¡±

    ¡°So what? Aren¡¯t you embarrassed of being heard? Besides, didn¡¯t you just watch your parents¡­¡±

    ¡°Yea, but I used to see them mate all the time.¡±

    She said this with such a straight face that I nearly fell backward.

    Of course, she would. She used to live with them and their tent didn¡¯t exactly have separate rooms. And if they were okay with doing that in front of me, someone they just barely met, then why hold back when it¡¯s just her? She was brought up in a village full of nudists that all had insanely sensitive ears. Surely, this was a place where privacy was nothing more than a figment of your imagination, so they probably never bothered to hide their passion.

    I could make my peace with that. If anything, I found it just as insanely erotic as it was hard to understand.

    ¡°C-Can they really hear us, though?¡±

    ¡°Yes, they can,¡± she said calmly, turning her ears to the ceiling. ¡°In fact, there¡¯s a couple in that tent over there mating as well. Oh, and over there.¡±

    She pointed towards one corner of the tent, aiming down the path we entered the village from and then to the opposite side of the village. Her ears twitched and she blushed, but only a little as she intentionally-unintentionally eavesdropped on those couples. I could only imagine what it was like to constantly be able to hear everyone around you, especially when you could tell they were having sex. That and their constant nudity had to be the reasons why they were all so open about all of this.

    And, if they all see this as normal to the point of doing it regardless of who was listening or watching, then was there really a need to hold back?

    No wonder why Yua went with all my sexy ideas so easily.

    And I¡¯ve just been given permission from her father, this village¡¯s chief, to essentially claim her as mine, almost right after confessing that I bought her as a slave and got my ass kicked¡­ What even is this day?

    Looking to her, this beautiful girl whose arousal was already dripping down her inner thigh, I was at a loss. She was too much. Standing there, completely nude, standing right in front of a pair of tent flaps that were still open enough to occasionally see a figure walk past, and with an entire tribe capable of hearing her proclaim what she wants.

    And even after all of that, I¡¯m what she wants?

    ¡°Yua¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡± she said and her voice sounded so sweet that it nearly calmed my rampaging heart.

    ¡°¡­ I¡¯ve been feeling really pent up since we got here.¡±

    ¡°I know. I¡¯m sorry for being selfish. I was just so excited to see my friends and family again.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not selfish. I¡¯d want the same thing.¡±

    Smiling softly, Yua slowly shook her head.

    ¡°No. As your mate, it¡¯s my duty to see to your sexual needs.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯re not¡­¡±

    She pressed a finger to my lips, refusing to let me deny her this.

    ¡°I said as your mate, not your slave.¡±

    She took my hand and turned those big emeralds of hers. Even with the leathery walls shielding us from nature, her eyes shone as though the moon stopped its stroll through the darkening sky just to light them for me. Without giving me the chance to really take in her beauty in its most natural state, she leaned in for a kiss.

    ¡°So,¡± she started. ¡°To make it up to you¡­ Would you like me to start with my mouth or my pussy?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Mouth, please.¡±

    ¡°Of course, My Mate.¡±

    Slowly, Yua let go of my hand and, without letting her emeralds leave my sight, knelt before me. There was no apprehension in her knees¡¯ smooth descent into the dirt. Nor was there a look of regretful force in the easy way her glossy lips held her smile. The rise and fall of her breasts were nothing but calm. She licked her lips.

    It was as if her first time at this was enough for her to master the level of seduction needed to captivate me so thoroughly that the simple act of placing herself on her knees before me nearly rendered me incapable of thought.

    Using both her hands to lift the half-erection I¡¯d been fighting back since the moment we set foot in this erotic place. She kissed and licked the tip, sending endless delighted tingles coursing throughout my being until it was nice and wet. Smiling as she took a moment to admire her efforts, she parted her lips and took me into her mouth.

    Heat enveloped me. The slippery wetness of her tongue and the calmness in which she took me instantly soothed my worries.

    She flicked her tongue around and around my tip, as if searching for way to further calm, then excite me. My arms fell limp to my sides, but my fingers seized when she found a particularly sensitive spot and attacked it repeatedly. Until she knit her brow, grabbed my thighs and suddenly pushed her face forward.

    Slowly, my cock began to disappear behind her lips. Swallowing me as deep as she could. Swallowing me deep enough to gasp, to almost choke. She could barely handle a third of my length this morning, but she was pushing well past the halfway mark now. Almost like she was trying to compete with the couple we just witnessed.

    ¡°Mmph!¡±

    ¡°Y-Yua. You don¡¯t need to force it so much. Just¡­!¡±

    ¡°Mmmhmm!¡±

    She denied me, my cock still in her mouth, and pressed her face forward still, taking me deeper and deeper. Her cheeks turned a little pink from the struggle, but she powered through and wrapped her hands around the backs of my thighs to hold me in place. With her treasured strength as an aid took me further than I ever would have asked. I was sure the head was in her throat.

    Yua looked up at me, her lips no longer able to make a smile, but I could still see it in her eyes. She stayed like this for a minute, maybe two, trying to get used to the feeling while her tongue flicked about the best it could where my cock tried to pin it down. I was worried she might not be breathing, but through the intense pleasure of being deep-throated for the first time, I took in the rise and fall of her chest.

    I couldn¡¯t tell if this was my reward for taking her back to her parents or for just enduring her people¡¯s customs, but it really didn¡¯t matter. I won. I won her completely.

    ¡°Yua,¡± I breathed. ¡°You don¡¯t need to force it. I know it¡¯s¡­¡±

    Yua pulled back, carefully letting the full length of my cock slide along her tongue. Without taking the head out of her mouth, she finally smiled at me and, still breathing heavily, licked at my urethra. Fireworks exploded in my mind, but before their beautiful display could settle in the darkening sky, she dove in for another taste. A quick learner, she took me with what might have been relative ease had her fingertips not gripped me so.

    Each time she repeated this process, her suction grew and the movements of her tongue became more erratic, attacking the places she found to be more sensitive through trial and error. Calmed but still dazed, I was sure I wasn¡¯t showing the pleasure she forced on me. It had to be her ears. She must have heard my very heart react to the prodding of her adventurous tongue. I couldn¡¯t have hidden it if I¡¯d wanted.

    The little minx had already brought me close to the finish line. Her cheeks caving in from the suction, she swallowed my cock to the hilt again and pummeled me with her tongue in each and every way she could think to and I very suddenly couldn¡¯t hold back anymore.

    ¡°Yua, I¡¯m gonna¡­¡±

    ¡°Hello? Big Sis, can we talk?¡±

    Just as my cock erupted in my newly-minted mate¡¯s mouth, Mana came in through the tent flaps without so much as a knock. Is this just part of their culture too?

    Unable to dam the flow of semen once it started, I couldn¡¯t pull out in time to feign ignorance. But instead of getting scared away, the petite Mana just walked into the tent, still completely naked, and looked straight at us. She stopped, tail swishing rapidly. Her ears flicked with unrestrained curiosity and she moved her face close enough to give me a reason not to pull out. I didn¡¯t want to dirty such a cute face.

    Once she got a good look at whatever it was she was looking for, her eyes widened.

    ¡°Eh? Big Sis, is his manhood in your mouth?¡±

    Yua nodded to her not-sister, still trying to suck me dry. For some reason, pleasure wouldn¡¯t stop flowing out of me. I could say nothing.

    ¡°Are you trying to eat it?¡±

    Yua shook her head, stirring up the mouthful of semen she was holding onto by using the head of my penis as a cork for her lips.

    ¡°Eh? But then why¡­?¡±

    Goddess¡­ So, their people really didn¡¯t know what this was? The inkling of understanding I had in assuming that Yua just left the village too early to learn died out. Meanwhile, Mana just stared fixedly as white flooded Yua¡¯s mouth.

    Concerned that I may be breaking some kind of law by letting this cute little girl watch such an obscene act, I checked her info box yet again and found that she was still eighteen years old. I let slip a sigh of relief along with the last of the semen trying to spill out of Yua¡¯s pressed lips.

    Working her lips against my shaft to lap up the escaping semen, Yua pulled back and let me slip out of her. She held her lips so tight against my cock that it came out wearing nothing but a thin layer of saliva.

    Leaning back on the floor, Yua let her mouth hang open to catch a breathe. Seeing her struggling to breath, Mana moved a little closer and bent to look in her mouth.

    This girl¡¯s curiosity really is on another level, isn¡¯t it?

    Yua closed her lips and started the process of swallowing the massive load.

    ¡°Eh? Big Sis, are you drinking his sticky white stuff?¡±

    Able to smile again after the first couple gulps, Yua nodded as she worked the last of it down.

    ¡°Really?¡± Mana said, refusing to drop the question. ¡°Mother never does that for Daddy.¡±

    Really? That poor, poor man. My only regret was not asking for this sooner. But to learn he¡¯s never even¡­

    ¡°Haa¡­¡± Yua let out a long sigh after she finally cleared her throat with a gasp and looked to Mana. ¡°This is something Alex taught me. He says it feels really good.¡±

    [Sex Master Class reached level 4]

    ¡­ You¡¯ve been radio silent since I hit level three almost a month ago. Why are you just barely kicking in now? In this pervy village of all places?!

    Goddess¡­ Are you just toying with me? You are, aren¡¯t you?

    ¡°Really? But how did it all fit?¡±

    She looked to my still half-erect cock, took in its size and that of Yua¡¯s comparably smaller mouth. Naturally, the math just didn¡¯t add up to what she¡¯d walked in on.

    ¡°He says it takes practice. Alex, is it okay if Mana and I talk while you keep going?¡±

    ¡°S-Sure¡­¡±

    Losing the last of my embarrassment and shame after letting this girl walk in on something like that, I gave up. After everything I¡¯d witnessed today, I was still unbearably horny. After spending hours around all these naked beauties, Mana most definitely included, while watching them finger and fuck each other right in front me had destroyed any desire I had to hold back.

    Not like they seemed to care anyways.

    I picked Yua off the ground and carried her princess style over to the large pile of hay with a blanket draped over it, our bed for the night, and sat down with her on my lap. I laid back and lifted Yua¡¯s left leg over my crotch to put her in position. Her pussy was already pressing against my erection, but she tilted her head in puzzlement.

    ¡°Is it really okay for me to be on top?¡±

    ¡°Ya,¡± Mana chimed, apparently unperturbed by what we were about to do. ¡°Mother is never on top of Daddy unless he wants to sit.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. This is perfectly normal where I come from. Yua, just put it in, please.¡±

    ¡°Hehe. Yes, Master.¡±

    Unable to give voice to the reminder that she¡¯d spent plenty of our free time on top of me back in the cabin, I watched as Yua lifted her hips and took hold of my cock. She guided it towards her entrance. Once the head slipped between her soaked labia, she slowly lowered herself until the pink unknown swallowed me to the root, bringing me back to my rightful place.

    ¡°Ahhhn!¡±

    Her pussy wrapped around me in a mind-melting pleasure that nearly had me bucking my hips the moment ¡®d passed through that entirely unguarded barrier to her lust. Yua, too, seemed to enjoy this scandalously-paradoxical new position in the place where it, of all things, was not normal. Her posture gave way and she fell, only catching herself by pressing her palms to my chest.

    ¡°Ah¡­ Alex¡­!¡±

    She let out another loud moan the second she tried to move. She was even more unconcerned for the horde of sensitive triangular ears that could very well be looking out for her voice this very moment. Entranced, I watched as my cock slowly disappeared and reappeared between her legs. Again and again. Her vaginal walls clenched so tightly that it was like she was trying to suck the thing off of my body and keep it all for herself. Love juices dripped from her pussy and onto my groin, drawing a new sticky slap each time our hips met. She continued moving all on her own.

    ¡°Hey, Big Sis,¡± Mana said, her ears twitching.

    ¡°Ha¡­ Ha¡­ Sorry, Mana. What did you want?¡±

    ¡°Well, Chief Tama asked me to ask you if you were bringing your mate to dinner.¡±

    ¡°Haaa¡­ Ha¡­ O-Oh¡­Alex,¡± Yua trembled. I had to pull my gaze off her bouncing breasts so she could continue. ¡°Can we eat dinner¡­ with my family?¡±

    ¡°Of course¡­¡±

    ¡°Thank you¡­ Anh!¡±

    Sliding her hands onto my abdomen to pick herself up again, she relentlessly pounded my cock against her womb. Unable to simply watch and enjoy their bounce anymore, I cupped and squeezed her tits. Finding a pattern of pleasure all her own, Yua randomly decided to stop bouncing on top of me and rolled her hips around my shaft instead. Mind numbing as it was, it felt like she was trying to scratch an itch my usual thrusting just couldn¡¯t manage.

    ¡°Okay. Big Sis¡­ Hey, Big Sis?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡­Hanngh!¡­ Mana?¡±

    ¡°Does mating really feel that good? You look really happy right now.¡±

    ¡°Ahnn!¡±

    Yua let out a sharp moan of pleasure when she scraped my cock against her now thoroughly trained g-spot. Then she turned back to Mana, suppressing her own lust as much as possible, just to give off the same air of calmness someone might when sipping a cup of tea.

    ¡°It really¡­ really does¡­ Hnngh¡­! Alex!¡±

    She failed her calmness.

    Yua¡¯s voice rang out with a velvety timbre when I lightly pinched her nipples. She started back on bouncing her hips, but she was beginning to look tired. I checked her stamina bar again and it had already dropped back down to fifty percent. After only this much, such a draining of her stamina was uncommon to say the least. She hadn¡¯t looked this exhausted since we stopped using the stamina potions in bed.

    I shouldn¡¯t have let her servicing escalate this far until she had fully recovered.

    Or so I would have thought, until Mana squat down right beside us to look at where we were connected. From this angle, and with her legs splayed carelessly apart, I couldn¡¯t help but enjoy the front row view of her pussy. The hairs around it were all damp with love juices that were all her own.

    ¡°Ahnn¡­ Alex, i-it got bigger!¡±

    ¡°Hey, Big Sis¡­ Can I try?¡±

    ¡°Huh?!¡±

    Mana ignored my confused utterance and just kept looking at her sister. Had her tail not been flicking with the same unbridled curiosity that kept her rooted in this tent, I would have thought she was ogling.

    ¡°You want to try?... Ahhn¡­ Haan¡­ Are you sure?¡±

    Wait, what?!

    ¡°Can I? It looks fun.¡±

    ¡°Let me¡­ Let me ask for you¡­ Haann¡­! A-Alex¡­ Can Mana try sex with you?¡±

    My brain continuing to fry and melt from the intense pleasure Yua was forcing on me despite her life changing question, I struggled for an answer that could help make sense this situation.

    I truly struggled. Beneath her pussy¡¯s pressure, its heat, only one question came to mind.

    ¡°I-I thought the people of your tribe mated for life?¡±

    Just trying it out was not something they could condone.

    ¡°Hannn!... Oh, right. I almost forgot about that¡­ Sorry, Mana. Ahn!¡±

    Yua quickened the pace of her hips and was completely unrelenting in the face of this absurdly cute girl¡¯s open request to steal me from her.

    ¡°Ehhh? But I want to try!¡±

    ¡°Haaaann!... You can¡¯t unless you become his mate too.¡±

    ¡°Then ask him to be my mate!¡±

    Am I just a penis between these two? Or is Mana so spoiled that she can¡¯t ask for herself? I¡¯m right here! Besides, why is she asking to become mine when we only just met? I mean, me doing so to Yua was one thing, since I had to buy her, but this girl was free to roam these woods all she wants.

    Is she seriously only doing this to try sex? I mean, I get it. I really do. I spent way too many years as a hopeless virgin myself, but even after all that lonely suffering, that still doesn¡¯t mean I would have just thrown myself at anyone!

    ¡°Alex¡¯s penis¡­ My hips won¡¯t stop shaking¡­ A-Alex, can you make Mana your slave, too?¡±

    ¡°M-my¡­?¡±

    I was so close to climaxing that I almost said yes on the spot. Despite my orgasm drawing near, ready to explode with the last lingering thread of my sanity, I forced a straight face and turned to Mana.

    Even as arousal was starting to cloud her face with a pink flush, this girl was still absurdly cute. Abundantly cute. An embodiment of cuteness. Her petite, slender body made me want nothing more than to just pick her up and squeeze her tight. Her tiny breasts were just the right shape to say that their lacking volume didn¡¯t matter in the least. And her personality, from what of it I¡¯ve seen, is equally as cute.

    Still, this was absurd. Yua wasn¡¯t even asking for her to be my mate, but my slave. After all the hardships she faced bearing that title, why would she want to give it to someone she saw as a sister?

    ¡°Mana, it¡¯s fine that you want to try this,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s normal. But¡­! Becoming my slave means you¡¯d have to come live with us. You know that, right? You¡¯d be leaving everything you have here behind.¡±

    Not to mention that you¡¯d become a slave, the lowest level of being in this world. It was a cruel fate for most, but the thought of having this absurdly cute girl by my side was so alluring that I couldn¡¯t quite think straight enough to outright reject the idea.

    ¡°So what? The village has been so boring since Big Sis left. I kind of wanted to leave anyway. But if I go with you and become your slave, then Big Sis and I can be together again.¡±

    Yua kept bouncing, drawing out the last of my will to talk some sense into this girl with just her hips. Biting back my eruption timer a notch, I explained what being a slave really meant. How limiting it was. But instead of being turned off by the information, she just shrugged and her tiny breasts jiggled softly.

    ¡°I know what a slave is. But Big Sis is your slave too and she¡¯s been happy ever since, right Big Sis?¡±

    ¡°Yesss! Alex¡­! I¡¯m gonna orgasm!¡±

    Goddess¡­ damn¡­ it. I can¡¯t do this right now! This whole place is just too stimulating!

    ¡°Go ahead, Yua. I¡¯m almost there too¡­ Mana, you watch her now. If you like what you see, then I will consider taking you with us.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Really? Okay!¡±

    She jumped up onto her knees and threw a leg over my head to straddle my face. Her hands on my abdomen and her pussy only inches above my nose, she was positively soaked. With an excited swishing of her tail, she watched Yua stir my cock around inside her with nothing but her hips.

    ¡°Alexxx!¡±

    Yua erupted into a squirting orgasm. Her vaginal walls clamped down on my cock so seductively that she forced me to my limit despite how hard I¡¯d tried to hold back. I gave my hips a good hard thrust, pushing my cock up to press against her womb and lifted her into the air as I burst inside her.

    Mana barely managed to keep on after she got caught up in Yua¡¯s orgasm and her hands slipped over my now wet abs. Her feet slipped as well in the excitement, as her legs gave out and her crotch fell directly onto my lips.

    ¡°¡­!¡±

    She, however, did not move despite most assuredly feeling my lips press against hers. Instead, she audibly gaped at where Yua and I were connected. She watched as an excess of milky white semen filled Yua up to her limits and as her womb then expelled all that it could not hold.

    The tiniest bit of sanity coming back to me as my prolonged ejaculation continued, and weary of their customs as this petite cutey continued to straddle me directly, I refused to give into the temptation of letting my tongue slip out of my mouth.

    Mana had fallen completely by accident. Just like what happened in Yua¡¯s sparring match. She wasn¡¯t trying to forcefully join us. That was all. Just an accident, nothing more.

    Do. Not. Give. In!

 Volume 2 - Chapter 9b

    Feeling spent, I slowly lowered both my hips and the girls back down to the ground where the three of us just stayed there like that for a minute. While we caught our collective breaths, I questioned why the clarity I usually felt in moments like this was entirely non-existent.

    When all was said and done, Mana was the first to get up. Removing herself from my face without so much as a flick of her tail to show she¡¯d noticed how she straddled me, she once more knelt beside us. Her cutely smiling face was spoiled by the love juice clinging to her blushing cheeks. She looked straight at me and her smile widened.

    ¡°So, can I be your mate, Big Bro?¡±

    How did that not scare her off? Shouldn¡¯t a girl this small be scared of being asked to take something this huge?

    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you ask your parents or something before you make such a big decision?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Nope. I can hear them. They already heard everything. They are talking about it right now.¡±

    What?! Doesn¡¯t that mean they also heard their daughter asking me to take her virginity and make her my slave?

    ¡°T-Then what are they saying?¡±

    Without pause, Mana lifted her chin to the sky and flicked her ears. A small smile spread across her lips a few seconds into listening and then she came back down to us.

    ¡°They said that it¡¯s about time I found a mate, anyway. And that leaving the tribe for a while would be good for me. At least, that¡¯s what Mother says.¡±

    She spoke as plainly and as calmly as possible. Given her stature, her naivete and her cuteness, you¡¯d be forgiven for thinking that this girl was just making up her parent¡¯s approval to get what she wanted. But I could tell she was completely serious. How could I tell? Well, Yua, still panting, gave me a thumbs up.

    But how could a girl this cute not have found a mate yet? Someone should have at least been interested, right?

    ¡°Are you really sure?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    ¡°Really, really sure?¡±

    ¡°Yup!¡±

    ¡°I-I feel like I should still ask your parents.¡±

    Mana puffed up her little cheeks and pouted at me. She then crossed her arms in front of her tiny breasts and turned to face the tent flaps before speaking in a mostly calm tone of voice.

    ¡°Daddy, can you come here?¡±

    Holy shit, she¡¯s really serious?!

    Soon enough, a medium-sized man that looked to be more slender than he was muscular slipped into our tent without a word of warning. He just opened the tent flaps and came right on inside like he owned the place. Like father like daughter, I guess. He seemed to completely ignore the fact that my cock was still buried inside Yua as she continued to try and catch her breath. Unperturbed, he walked around us straight towards his daughter.

    For the sake of all that is holy, and I say that as someone that has met and even kissed a literal goddess, I thought this man¡¯s brooding expression meant that he was about to tell this girl off for the ridiculousness of her request, but he didn¡¯t. He sat down in the corner of the tent and crossed his legs. Patting his thigh, he looked expectantly at at Mana.

    She quickly got up and moved to sit on his thigh. The man¡¯s frame was smaller than Tama¡¯s and from the looks of it, smaller than mine as well, but when she took to his lap, he still made her look extra petite.

    ¡°Daddy, Big Bro won¡¯t let me mate with him unless you say it¡¯s okay.¡±

    From behind a pair of sky-blue pleading eyes, she looked up at him. It would have been the perfect picture of a girl adorably begging her father for a favor, were it not for the fact that they were both completely nude.

    Finding her wording utterly scandalous, I bored a couple of holes into the man with my eyes, willing him to talk some sense into her, but all that I got from this effort was the appearance of his info box. He was a level 15 Hunter named Mochi.

    The man, this Mochi, wrapped his arms around his tiny daughter¡¯s arms and waist, as if trying to hold her in place to make her listen to whatever he had to say. He paused. After a long moment of silence between the two of them, him somehow not reacting to the ticklishness of the ears Mana let rub against his cheek, he drew in a deep breath and spoke.

    ¡°Mana, this male has already asked you this, but are you absolutely sure you want to become his mate and slave? This isn¡¯t one of your games.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Daddy,¡± she said instantly, adding a happy nod for effect. ¡°I want to become his and go live with him and Big Sis.¡±

    The man closed his eyes, bit his lip for a moment and squeezed his daughter lovingly to his chest. I couldn¡¯t even begin to imagine what it felt like to willingly give up your daughter to slavery, or to have her actually ask for it, but I could tell at a glance that their relationship was no less close than Yua¡¯s was with Tama. These two just showed it with actual familial affection, rather than beating the shit out of each other before playing in the dirt.

    Mochi looked to me and I gulped, still trying to figure out if all of this is some sort of long-winded ruse for daring to step into this cat-kin village while being human.

    ¡°Mr. Alex, I have already heard a lot about you from your talk and your fight with Chief Tama.¡±

    ¡°So, everyone really was listening¡­¡±

    I knew they would. After not seeing her for so long, why would they not be interested in what Yua had to say about her life with the humans, especially the one she brought back with her? For much the same reason, they listened in on our fight, no doubt to see what Yua¡¯s mate was capable of.

    ¡°Because of this,¡± Mochi continued, his tail thumping the floor uncomfortably. ¡°I am willing to part with my daughter, but only on the conditions that you treat her as well as you do Daughter Yua and protect her. She¡¯s not as strong as either of you, but if you managed to make her stronger, then you can do the same for my Mana, right?¡±

    I gulped. No part of my brain was allowing me to accept that it was this easy to get such a cute girl to stand beside me. Not after all I went through for Yua. Not when I already had Yua. Hell, not even after the months it took to build up the courage just to speak to that old neighbor of mine. And there wasn¡¯t going to be a distracted truck driver plowing into this tent the moment I opened my mouth to prevent it.

    ¡°I-I can, but¡­ Yua, um, just to be clear, you¡¯re my mate too, right? Officially? I¡¯m kind of having a hard time understanding how your people do things.¡±

    Holding a hand to her lower abdomen with a loving smile, Yua looked to me and nodded.

    ¡°Yes. Daddy has given us permission to be mates.¡±

    ¡°A-and being your mate is basically the same as¡­ being your husband, right?¡±

    My heart clenched up much like it did before our first boss fight in the dungeons. I more or less already knew the answer, but I nearly forgot to breathe when the mere seconds she took to think it over stretched into eons. She tilted her head confusedly, as if trying to compete with Mana¡¯s cuteness now that the smaller girl was really on the table.

    Then she smiled, almost laughing a bit before taking my hand.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. If I had known you didn¡¯t understand, I would have explained it to you before our first night together.¡±

    She paused and my heart¡¯s palpitations grew to an immediate halt when, in a brief moment of clarity, I began to think that I might rather not know the answer to that question. That it might be best to be blissfully unawares so that our current lifestyle could continue. Then she continued before the muscle in my chest could forget how to beat altogether.

    ¡°But yes. Mates are like what the humans call husband and wife.¡±

    ¡°S-so then¡­ you¡¯re my wife¡­ and mate?¡±

    ¡°And your slave, yes! I have been since the night you bled me!¡±

    Offering me up another of her patented, loving smiles, Yua leaned over to plant a kiss on my lips, as if to cement the fact in front of the whole world that our relationship held three different titles that shouldn¡¯t have been able to coexist.

    Yes! Yes! Yes! Fuck, yes!

    Goddess, I knew it, but¡­ Such a huge weight I wasn¡¯t even aware of just flew off my chest. Bye bye doubts and hello married life!

    Wait, no¡­. Celebrate later. Clarify now.

    Fighting back the urge to quite literally jump for joy in recognition for the fact that I was officially and legally not a loveless bastard anymore, I coughed into my fist, cheeks burning, and turned to Mana.

    ¡°Ahem¡­ So, Mana, you heard her. Being my mate means a relationship with me, right? And if the cat-kin mate for life, then¡­¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll always be your mate?¡±

    ¡°Exactly, yes¡­ Is that what you really want? And I don¡¯t mean because you want to be with Yua. If that¡¯s all you want, then you can just visit us from time to time, you know?¡±

    ¡°Eh? Yea, I know. I mean, I don¡¯t know where your village is or how to get there, but I know. But I wanna be your mate, too. Just like Big Sis is. Isn¡¯t that okay?¡±

    Just seconds ago, after a month of making love every night, Yua cleared up the last of my lingering doubts. I was so unbearably happy that I could have nearly cried from joy, but the moment Mana posed her question, my heart went still for a completely different reason.

    It wasn¡¯t from fear that caused all my bodily functions to cease. Nor was it worry, anxiety, or any other negative emotion. It was because Mana¡¯d leaned forward on Mochi¡¯s lap and stared straight into my eyes.

    Those once, big blue globes of sky-colored cuteness teared up just a little, just enough to say that every living soul on this planet had instantly begun to weep for her. Her little sakura-pink lips puffed up in a pout as they quivered, holding back a sadness that threatened to end the world itself should she break and let it out in a sob. At the same time, she raised her shoulders into a look of meekness so sincere that I very nearly wanted to rip her out of her father¡¯s arms just to hold her close and tell her everything would be okay. And most notably, most critically, her small pointed cat ears drooped and fell flat against her messy black hair. Her tail hung limply over Mochi¡¯s thigh.

    It was the fabled puppy dog pout. And from a cat girl, no less. It was a practically-paradoxical sentiment, but it was very real. And it was right there, in front of me. And it was instantly the most dangerous weapon I¡¯d ever faced. Even Mochi was deliberately examining the stitching holding the tent together to avoid her gaze.

    ¡°A-And, Yua?¡± I said, tearing every muscle in my neck just to look away from those all-too-cute eyes to grab at the last shredded, lingering attachments I still had to my sanity. ¡°Are you okay with this? We just officially became mates, but are you really okay with me taking another? Is that even allowed?¡±

    Yua nodded without pause and did so with a shockingly peaceful smile on her lips.

    ¡°It is. As long as you perform your duties as a mate equally, it¡¯s fine with us. And Mana and I are already close, so I don¡¯t mind at all if you love her too. Besides, you said this morning that you had a lot of love to give, remember? So, why not?¡±

    I nodded, trying to understand all that I just learned in those few sentences.

    This has to be too good to be true, doesn¡¯t it? Yua and I never actually beat Alphonse DeGrave, did we? This is all some sort of self-preserving hallucination I¡¯d subconsciously concocted in order to save myself the mental anguish of living out my new life as a slave myself.

    Or, no, maybe Tama actually killed me and everything from that moment on was just a merciful daydream of sorts that the Goddess was allowing me to watch as she shipped me off to heaven proper. Or more likely hell, if this is the sort of dream I¡¯m having.

    I just¡­ don¡¯t understand. What did I do to suddenly win this girl¡¯s favor?

    It¡¯s like time started speeding up all on its own since I arrived here. This is all going so fast.

    Noticing my panic, Yua placed a gentle hand to my chest and instantly, my heart began to calm. The warmth of her palm against my bare chest felt like it alone had to be proof that she and all of this was very real. Jokes aside, I could accept this as reality, but¡­

    ¡°Alex, really, I don¡¯t mind you taking another mate. Especially if it¡¯s Mana.¡± After saying this, Yua leaned into me again and pointlessly whispered in my ear, ¡°I know you like her. I heard how crazy your heartbeat became when you met her. So, that¡¯s part of why I¡¯m okay with this.¡±

    She heard that? I was only vaguely aware that I even felt it, since I immediately resorted to reprimanding myself for even considering another girl to be attractive enough to compete with Yua.

    ¡°Big Bro,¡± Mana called to me, puppy dog pout removed from her face as she scrambled to free herself from Mochi¡¯s hold to kneel beside me. Her tail had resumed its casual, almost hopeful swishing. ¡°I don¡¯t know if having two mates is bad for humans, but it¡¯s not for us. So, please, can I be your mate? I¡¯ll be your slave too, if you want. As long as I¡¯m your mate, I don¡¯t care.¡±

    I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed, but mainly at myself.

    First Yua proposes the idea, then Mana agrees, then Yua gives her open-minded approval, and now Mana¡¯s begging?

    In my earlier doubts towards Yua¡¯s true feelings, I at least had reason to believe she could have had it out for me for numerous reasons, but not this girl. Not Mana. I wasn¡¯t playing favorites already or anything of the sort, but due to how I knew so terribly little about this girl, not even the more pessimistic side of my brain could fathom her having any ulterior motives in this.

    I came here just as naked as everyone else, so it¡¯s not like she could have scoped me out wearing some fancy clothes and started to think I was rich enough to let her live in the lap of luxury. And she thinks we live in some other village, presumably one like this, so she can¡¯t be wanting to move into some big, luxurious house to rid herself of the literal tent she lives in now. And I can¡¯t imagine any sort of blackmail my being with her could cause to come my way since Yua¡¯s ears weren¡¯t catching any alarms.

    I was drawing blanks on all cylinders. I couldn¡¯t even say off the bat how I truly felt about her, other than the Goddess-given fact that she is adorable beyond reproach. Admitting that I do want her is one thing, meeting her stirred up my emotions just as much as meeting Yua had, but I¡¯m no longer backed by that desperate loneliness that convinced me to break my own moral code to make her my slave in the first place. And Mana was actually asking for this.

    Seeing that everyone in the tent was awaiting my answer, all of them patient-looking enough to say that the mental lapse I had taken myself on just now didn¡¯t actually take all that long, I looked over each of them. Yua was smiling happily. Mana had retreated back into her father¡¯s lap in my silence and was holding her knees up to her tiny chest. Mochi held her tightly, looking more concerned with the fact that I might be about to spurn his daughter than that I might say yes.

    Yua aside, how did I win over these two? Seriously. All I did was show up with Yua and get my ass kicked. Not exactly the sort of manly man these two should be happy to be seen with.

    I shook my head, mentally though, so I didn¡¯t give them the wrong impression. Mana¡¯s clearly serious about this. I don¡¯t know why, but she is. So, I need to take this seriously too. This is essentially a proposal and it needs to be answered properly.

    ¡°Yes, okay,¡± I said. ¡°I-I will take Mana as my second mate. No. Please, let me.¡±

    I spoke as clearly as my shaky voice could allow and Mana¡¯s tail started flicking about so rapidly that Mochi had to loosen his hold on her to avoid being bruised by it. She looked ready to squeal as she clenched her fists.

    ¡°Alright then,¡± Mochi said. ¡°You have my and My Mate¡¯s blessing to take our daughter. Both as your mate and as your slave.¡±

    ¡°W-Wait, she doesn¡¯t have to actually be my slave!¡±

    Him letting me take his daughter as my wife was one thing, an understandable thing for a girl her age, but to willingly let her be my slave? Do these people really not know what that word means? Why did they all get so angry with me earlier if they don¡¯t know?

    Yua, who most definitely knew, tilted her head at this.

    ¡°Hmm? Alex, doesn¡¯t she have to be your slave to get stronger? I thought that¡¯s how your trait works?¡±

    ¡°Er, uh¡­ Shit.¡±

    I forgot about that. When it came to Yua getting stronger through my experience-boosting trait, I¡¯d like to say that she was only affected because of us going into the dungeon together, but I didn¡¯t actually get any sort of prompt for us to party up. That left the slave contract binding us being the only thing connecting us. Other than love, obviously. And the trait didn¡¯t seem to care whether or not someone liked me, as Yua still benefitted from the boost back when she hated me.

    Because of these reasons, I could only assume that, to benefit from this trait, they had to be my slaves. Yua was likely right. And she knows I got the ¡°Slave Binding¡± ability when I completed her contract. She even shared this bit of info with Tama since learning that ability was the proof we''d beaten Alphonse, so I can¡¯t exactly say I can¡¯t do it knowing Mana and Mochi overheard all of that.

    Damn Slave Master class has been sitting there mocking me ever since, but now¡­ I hesitate to say that it might be able to do me some good.

    ¡°Well¡­ I guess that¡¯s true, but¡­¡±

    If she¡¯s doing this to get stronger, then I suppose that it is likely a must. But to turn her into a slave just for an EXP boost? Why? She¡¯s clearly not as obsessed with fighting as Yua is.

    Mana¡¯s ears twitched, her big blue eyes were jam-packed full of hope. There was no malice in her gaze, no laughing sneer to say this was all a joke at my expense. Her eyes betrayed nothing but the blushing look of a cute girl hoping her confession would be accepted. But those eyes of hers were no less deadly than a blade pressed against my heart.

    ¡­ I mean, I don¡¯t treat Yua like a slave, so all I need to do is match that effort for Mana, right? Yua approves, so wouldn¡¯t I be a failure as a man if I said no here?

    Assuming that I¡¯d made up my mind, Mochi leaned forward and in a voice just as shaky as my own, asked, ¡°M-May I watch her become your slave?¡±

    I drew in a deep breath and closed my eyes.

    ¡°¡­ You know how it works, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but I¡¯ve never seen it done. I just want to make sure I¡¯m giving her to the right man.¡±

    Ah. So, he means he wants to see my status page. Yua mentioned letting people see it was considered an intimate act, but considering how he was sitting there in the nude, and didn¡¯t bother to cover up his crotch at all despite the presence of two girls in this tent, I didn¡¯t understand why his question made him blush a little.

    Regardless, I nodded and pulled a gold coin out of my item box. No point in hiding its existence knowing he overheard our conversation with Tama and Kimiko.

    With the sudden appearance of gold, Mochi¡¯s ears shot to attention and he gasped in obvious shock. He looked at the small coin in my palm as though I¡¯d casually pulled out something worth more than his entire salary. Which, now that I think about it, might actually be the case.

    I ignored his shock and held my hand out to the girl on his lap, showed her the coin and after steeling myself to once more commit this taboo, I set it on the ground between us. Using the Goddess¡¯s advice to imagine what I wanted to happen, I forced the thought that the coin belonged to me and me alone to stay in the forefront of my mind.

    ¡°Mana, if you take that coin, you will be marked as a Thief. That is the only way I can make you my slave. This is your last chance to reconsi¡­¡±

    ¡°Hey Big Bro, is this real?¡±

    Before I could finish my explanation, Mana snatched the coin out of the dirt before plopping back down on Mochi¡¯s lap to look at it. She held the coin to the sliver of setting sun still peeking in through a gap in the tent to admire how shiny it was. Thanks alone to the utterly amused smile on her lips, I knew it was her first time handling coin of any kind.

    Bewildered by her complete lack of hesitation, I checked her info box and sure enough, she now bore the Thief tag below her name.

    ¡°Y-Yes, it¡¯s real¡­ You do realize you just became a Thief, right? You can¡¯t undo that.¡±

    She tilted her head cutely, squeezing the coin in her hand.

    ¡°Yea, so? Daddy told me all about how stealing things was bad when I was little. Didn¡¯t you say I had to do it so I can be your mate?¡±

    Holy crap¡­ She really is serious about this. All of it. Finding my face heating up at the idea of this girl so willingly changing her life in such a huge way just to be with me, I let a small smile slip.

    I don¡¯t understand the reason for her feelings just yet, but maybe I put too many points into my Luck stat.

    ¡°I see,¡± I said, trying to compose myself. ¡°Just wanted to make sure you understood. Then¡­¡±

    I sat up. Yua instantly lost her balance, but for some reason fought to remain on top of me, keeping me inside of her by wrapping her arms around my neck. I clenched my jaw, refusing to let the pleasurable sensation she was basically forcing on me at this point to show on my face.

    ¡°Mana, hold out your hand with your palm up.¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡±

    Her hand shot out so fast that her tiny bust was forced to jiggle. I placed mine on top of hers. She didn¡¯t flinch. Despite her being a full adult already, I was still concerned that she didn¡¯t actually know what she was really doing. But it was too late now. Now that she so hastily stole that coin, there was no going back. The only option I had now was to see this through. If I backed out now, she¡¯d be eternally stuck with the risk of ending up enslaved to someone like Alphonse.

    Without looking like she meant to, she basically forced my hand.

    Unperturbed by this massive red mark on her life, Mana continued to smile giddily from atop Mochi¡¯s lap. He too looked no more bothered than he did when he first showed up.

    ¡°¡­ Slave Binding.¡±

    With a short, verbal incantation of the Slave Master ability, I gave Mana one last chance to run away instead of casting it quietly. I willed the same window that popped up when I first bought Yua to show up again. A bright white light appeared between our hands and her status page popped up, showing me her personal information.

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Already knowing her sole class was that of a level 2 Beast-Warrior, I moved straight to her stats. Most were all relatively unimpressive where they sat around 5 to 15 for everything, but most were below 10. The only impressive stat she had was Speed, which was at 20. I saw firsthand through Yua and Tama how useful such speed could be, but without the power to back it up, she¡¯d be in trouble.

    Seeing this, it was easy to understand why she stayed rooted in the village all this time and why these two jumped at the chance to level her up faster.

    After quietly confirming her stats and that her only combat ability was the Rend ability given to Beast-Warriors by default, I couldn¡¯t help but notice that she was also a perfectly healthy virgin as well. Which seemed the only logical conclusion given how we got here in the first place. Though I made sure not to blurt this information out this time. Won¡¯t be making that mistake again.

    Satisfied with what I saw, I switched the window to show my status and let them look.

    Both Mana and Mochi looked at the small window as seriously as I could have expected, but once they saw what was written there, their eyes went wide. Hurriedly, they leaned closer for a better look, as if the already slight distance between us had blurred the text for them.

    With Mana now on all fours in front of me, her tail swishing about, and with Mochi directly behind her, pressing against her backside for a closer look at my status window, and with the two being naked, they had unintentionally adopted an incredibly lewd pose. I quickly reminded myself that what I was thinking was definitely not what was happening.

    I could understand why they were so surprised, though. Along with my relatively young age, I was already almost twice Mochi¡¯s level. According to Yua, such a level should have been highly unlikely, if not impossible to obtain this early on. So, the power of my EXP boost made itself loud and clear. Then there were all the classes that I shouldn¡¯t have been able to have, let alone the abilities and traits that so captivated Yua when I first showed her.

    A small twitch made Mochi¡¯s expression take a sudden turn for the worse. Rolling his jaw in contemplation, he took one more good look at the window, manually flipping through it again and again as if trying to memorize everything written there. Then he looked to Mana and squeezed his eyes shut.

    Did he not like what he saw?

    He grabbed Mana by the wrist and yanked her hand away from me. She let out a small yelp as he pulled her back onto his lap. Seemingly even more confused by his response than I was, Mana looked up to her father to find that he didn¡¯t look at all upset. If anything, he looked oddly determined as he looked me dead in the eye.

    ¡°I¡¯ve changed my mind.¡±

    ¡°B-but, Daddy!¡±

    Mochi clenched his jaw shut and forced himself to look away when Mana turned her big blue eyes on him. Apparently, the puppy dog pout was super effective on him too. He couldn¡¯t let himself be swayed by it now. Not when he had more to say.

    Ignoring her protest completely to the point of feigning deafness, Mochi once more locked his arms around Mana, who tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but with her Strength stat a measly 5, she stood no chance. His brow furrowed, he continued.

    ¡°I heard what happened between you and Daughter Yua in the human city. I also heard how you stood against the Chief without faltering. You even managed to wound him.¡±

    ¡°Hey, he was clearly holding back.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. Do you have any idea how few have managed that? You¡¯re not even half his level and you¡¯re a weak fighter, but you managed the fight just fine.¡±

    Okay, ouch. Did you really need to put it like that? Also, what, were you expecting my numbers to be higher than his? The man¡¯s at least twice my age and presumably spent his whole life training. It would honestly be sad if I were more powerful than him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t see the problem, then.¡±

    Mochi shook his head, but he couldn¡¯t hide the clenching of his teeth.

    ¡°There isn¡¯t a problem. But I¡¯ve decided that I won¡¯t be handing my daughter to you¡­ unless you do something for me. For us.¡±

    ¡°Daddy¡­¡±

    Despite Mana looking as though her heart had just been ripped out by the sudden betrayal, Mochi held firm. The good mood she¡¯d been clinging to for the last several minutes dropped like a lead weight in water, but I felt a sudden sense of relief creep up on me.

    Mana asking to become my mate and him agreeing to it happened way too easily. Way, way too easily.

    I almost made the same mistake I did in buying Yua. I didn¡¯t read the fine print. I thought there had to be a catch in this somewhere, but I was surprised that it took him learning the truth behind my status page for it to show up. Willing to hear him out, I nodded for him to continue.

    ¡°For the last few years, the humans in the nearby city have been trampling through the forest. We aren¡¯t able to see what they¡¯re actually doing, but we know it isn¡¯t hunting.¡±

    Hearing this, my first inclination was to assume the people of Guerraway had just made a habit of going for the occasional camping trip in the forest, but if that were true, he wouldn¡¯t sound so concerned.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand the problem,¡± I said and Yua nodded in agreement.

    Having been gone from the village for five whole years, this was most definitely news to her as well. And yet, Mana, face scrunched up in confusion as well.

    ¡°The problem is that their actions are wreaking havoc inside the forest. The animals have started to act in odd ways. The grass-eaters are straying further from their nests to forage for food. The meat-eaters are getting too full of themselves with how easy it is to catch their prey now. And most importantly, sensing all this, the bears have started challenging us more often for control of the forest.¡±

    So, the intervention of the humans is essentially throwing the eco system out of whack? Hardly a surprise. While I hated to play up the stereotype, we humans were known for doing that in pretty much every world, fictional or otherwise.

    ¡°Okay, but what does that have to do with Mana and me?¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯re a human, too.¡±

    ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t see why that matters. You know I¡¯m not from Guerraway, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not what he means, boy.¡±

    All four of us turned to look upon yet another intrusive guest that trampled his way into our tent without so much as announcing himself first. Mana gulped, almost as though his sudden appearance had sealed her fate where her becoming my mate was concerned. Mochi stiffened a little, but only in the sense that he felt the need to carry himself better in this man¡¯s presence. I myself blinked hard at him, most definitely trying to blink him out of existence. Meanwhile, Yua just continued to cling to me as though nothing was wrong at all in the world.

    ¡°He¡¯s saying that you being a human is the reason why you can help, because we cat-kin can¡¯t do it ourselves,¡± Tama said, then unapologetically squat behind Yua and I. Openly looking at how, despite all the intrusions, Yua¡¯d kept our erotic connection going, he grimaced. ¡°Then again, had you been one of us, I¡¯d likely be a grandfather soon.¡±

    Oh Goddess, I don¡¯t know how many times I can say it, but these people are going to kill me.

    As if he didn¡¯t just walk in on us moments after having sex and having an entire conversation about both becoming Mana¡¯s mate as well as enslaving her, Tama plopped himself down next to Mochi to casually join the conversation. Mana, for some reason I could only assume was a custom for them, scrambled off of Mochi¡¯s lap to take to his other side, as if not doing so in front of the chief would be considered rude. He looked at our connection again, but only shook his head.

    Wait, did that man, Yua¡¯s father, really just walk in on us right after we had sex and say next to nothing disparaging about it? Even though he could clearly see what we had been doing? That same father that forced me to fight him for the right to be her mate? What sort of family did I just marry in to?

    Tama stared at me, for all the wrong reasons, and waited for me to say something.

    Okay. Guess I¡¯ll bite, then.

    ¡°¡­ Why does me being human mean I can help? If you and I are able to talk, why can¡¯t you just ask them to¡­¡±

    ¡°Because the humans put up an anti-beast-kin barrier around their camp, you idiot!¡±

    Slowly and deliberately, I drew in a deep breath. Keep calm, me. He may be irrational, but we need to maintain what little sanity we still have in this situation. Surely, he was aware that I did not know about this supposed barrier, as even Yua and Mana looked taken aback by this.

    Besides, I already won this round by having my cock buried to the hilt in his daughter.

    Tama¡¯s eye twitched.

    ¡°Why did I get the sudden urge to punch you again?¡±

    ¡°N-no idea¡­¡±

    ¡°Is that why you and Mother went hunting with Mochi?¡± Yua asked, saving me, but Mochi answered for him.

    ¡°Yes. I consider myself to be good with a bow, but I¡¯m not much of a fighter. I needed protection. And since my job is to supply the village with food, the Chief decided to join us on our hunt.¡±

    So I didn¡¯t look to be dismissing their worries, I ignored the urge to shake of my head here, even though it¡¯d be fully deserved in this case. Because of the way this world worked, he as a Hunter had to be the one doing the hunting. Anyone else that killed an animal would, at best, be rewarded with a pelt, not meat. Mochi and the other Hunters losing the ability to hunt would be a serious blow to everyone¡¯s stomachs. Their caution was warranted.

    But that was just taking the more economical approach to the problem. If the carnivores of the forest hunted their prey to extinction, they¡¯d be forced to leave in search for more. And they might put the nearby Guerraway on the menu. The animals in the forest were supposed to be dangerous enough to warrant a drunken warning for us to be careful before we even left Amoranth.

    With these muscle-heads at the helm, I was fairly sure this place would be fine, but the humans settled outside of the major cities would be nearly defenseless. Especially if the bears that are both willing and capable of fighting Tama for control were to end up thinking the humans were food.

    Did the humans in the forest just not know what they were doing, or was this just another case of ¡°Eh, I don¡¯t care. Not my problem¡±?

    ¡°So, you want me to go talk to them and ask them to stop?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Mochi said earnestly.

    ¡°Kill them if you have to,¡± Tama added, scratching his backside. ¡°You have my permission.¡±

    ¡°I understand Mana¡¯s feelings towards you,¡± Mochi continued. ¡°But if you don¡¯t prove yourself capable of this much, then I won¡¯t allow you to be her mate.¡±

    Hearing this, Mana¡¯s entire being slumped so hard that, were Tama not present, she probably would have fallen straight to the ground and started crying. However, she didn¡¯t protest her father any further. From what I¡¯ve seen of them, the people of this tribe seem to view their mates as mostly equals, but the men, let alone their fathers, were still clearly in charge to an extent.

    Or so I would assume. It¡¯s really hard to tell given how Kimiko treats Tama almost like he¡¯s a child in need of an occasional telling-off.

    Then there was Yua to consider.

    With all feelings of lust seemingly gone from her, she took in what the men said with her knuckle pressed to her chin. After a few seconds of deep thought, her ears flicked and she pushed herself off my chest to stand.

    Naturally, this ended our connection. The abrupt expulsion from the warmth I¡¯d been locked in sent a shockingly sensitive pleasure racing up my spine, almost causing me to harden again. It also had the side effect of proving that there was yet another side of Yua that I wasn¡¯t aware of. For the second we parted, a variable sea of white spilled out of her womb and ran down her thighs and she didn¡¯t bat an eye at it. As if it wasn¡¯t there. The two men not only stared at it intently, they practically mimicked her in tilting their heads to show their confusion of its sheer amount.

    Yua, however, paid them no mind as she stepped over my leg to straddle my thigh, as was their custom, but she did so without so much as wiping herself down first. When she was good and comfortable, she did the unthinkable and grabbed hold of my penis right in front of everyone.

    She¡¯s not going to¡­ Not right in front of them, right? I mean them walking in on us was one thing, but doing it on purpose?

    ¡°Alex,¡± she said, her tone surprisingly serious. ¡°Please help my people. My village.¡±

    ¡°U-Uh, I ¡­¡±

    Even in the face of this request, I stammered like an idiot right up until I gave in and silently cast the Body Wash spell on the both of us. The feeling of her leaking on my thigh and of the men staring at the impressive amount was way too distracting. Unfortunately, however, my silent casting and check to make sure the spell worked betrayed me, as Mana started to tear up in the silence I let hang.

    ¡°Does Big Bro not want to be my mate¡­?¡±

    Apparently, she¡¯d taken my pause as second guessing her, not her father¡¯s request. When she turned an even more destructively cute look my way as she teared up, I hurriedly threw up my hands in protest before I even knew what I was going to say.

    ¡°I-It¡¯s not that, I swear! It¡¯s just¡­ Yua, do you need to hold me like that in front of them?¡±

    I gestured with my chin to the part of me in her hands and her ears shot up, as though surprised.

    I was starting to think that, after having spent the last month mostly in bed during what truly turned out to be our honeymoon, she just forgot where she was. She, however, tilted her head. This lasted only a second, though, as her eyes quickly widened and, betraying my expectations yet again, she didn¡¯t let go before jumping into an explanation.

    ¡°Oh, sorry. I guess I forgot to tell you about this too,¡± she said, giving me a light squeeze and a smile. ¡°We hold our mates like this both when we want to show others they belong to us and when we want to have a serious conversation. By doing this, I want you to understand that I am seriously asking this of you.¡±

    Is¡­ Is that why Tama kept fingering Kimiko earlier? Because we were all having a serious conversation? Also, what the hell kind of custom is that?!

    Allured by the idea, not because I wanted to do it, but because the way she was sitting on me left her delicates on full display to the three in front of us. Reciprocating her now would at least cover her up some, but I ended up staring a little too intently at her crotch while I considered it.

    ¡°I think you¡¯ve touched my daughter enough,¡± Tama snapped from behind his folded arms. ¡°I know enough to say the gesture it doesn¡¯t mean the same to you humans.¡±

    So, he does care about me and her doing dirty things? What a fucking way to show it, Daddy! Also, why the hell are you only complaining now when you basically forced us to do this earlier?! Don¡¯t start contradicting yourself on top of all of this! My heart can¡¯t handle it!

    ¡°Besides,¡± Mochi continued. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ Mana and I are the ones asking you. Daughter Yua may be asking the same, but I get the feeling she¡¯s only asking on behalf of Mana anyways.¡±

    Yua quickly nodded, as did Mana, but my gaze rested on the latter. Mana was in the process of trying to dry her tears after her little misunderstanding was cleared up and I couldn¡¯t help but feel as though I¡¯d been putting her on just as much of an emotional roller coaster as they have me. I mean, not even ten minutes ago we were seconds away from essentially getting married. And now this.

    If her feelings were genuine, which all signs pointed to this being the case, since she accepted the idea of being with me as a slave so easily, then I really need to take it easy on her.

    What I need to do is to continue my motto of do better and step up now where I¡¯d failed with Yua. I need to be clear with my intentions.

    ¡°Okay, okay,¡± I said. ¡°Mana, please stop crying. I do like you and I do want to be your mate. So, I will do everything in my power to get the other humans out of the forest for you guys.¡±

    My face felt like it was on fire having to admit to this in front of all these people, but mainly Yua. She may have given her approval, but admitting to liking another girl in front of her just felt odd. This place may be weird, but Yua and Mana are most definitely two parts of their culture that I wanted to take home with me. And seeing the unrefined adorableness that was the teary-eyed smile Mana showed when I declared this outright on top of Yua¡¯s nod of approval, I could say without a doubt that I would make them happy.

    ¡°What?¡± Tama snarled, his lip pulling back into a sneer. ¡°So, my daughter¡¯s not enough for you? You have to steal Mana too?¡±

    Why the hell is this guy so mad when Mochi looks mostly content with my answer? You know what, no. I won¡¯t take the bait this time. Yua already told me their people view polygamy as perfectly normal. I won¡¯t sweat the fire burning in his eyes.

    ¡°Daddy, stop it,¡± Yua said, finally letting go of me to wag a finger at him.

    ¡°But Daughter, he¡¯s¡­¡±

    ¡°No, Daddy. I already gave Alex, My Mate, permission to take another. Besides, he¡¯s my mate. You don¡¯t get a say here.¡±

    You tell ¡®im, Honey!!!

    ¡°Tch¡­¡±

    Clicking his tongue in obvious irritation, he dropped his chin into his palm and said nothing more on the subject. Though he did continue to glare at me.

    I don¡¯t know if it was the shock of actually getting told off by his loving daughter or if the acceptance of the others had anything to do with it, but he backed off. Yua, however, seemed to take his continued sneering glare as a sign that she hadn¡¯t made herself clear.

    ¡°Daddy¡­ I know you heard us talking earlier. Don¡¯t pretend to be surprised now. Alex will be taking Mana as his mate and, since you¡¯re not her father, you can¡¯t say no. So, stop being mean to my mate for no good reason!¡±

    Tama flinched beneath the pressure of her tone and ducked his head as if he¡¯d just been hit and was actually scared it¡¯d happen again. Watching how Yua¡¯s words and wagging finger caused the man that beat both of us to a pulp to cower made my love for her double on the spot. Forget confidence. The way she glared back at him suggested she was ready dust off her knuckles just to get him to shut up.

    Mochi grinned at the sight of his chief cowering in front of his daughter. The whole village understood their loving relationship more than I did myself, but the way he watched without even pretending to wipe off his smile suggested that this too was normal for them. That and he was friendly enough with Tama to know the village chief wouldn¡¯t reprimand him for laughing at his expense. He turned to me.

    ¡°I¡¯m happy to know you¡¯ve accepted my daughter, but I still won¡¯t let you have her until you do this for us.¡±

    ¡°Yes, I understand. How about we get back to discussing the problem then?¡± Throwing Tama a bone to pull him out of the daughter-imposed dog house, I asked, ¡°How do you know the barrier only affect cat-kin?¡±

    Weakened to the point of sweating, Tama jumping to answer. All to save himself from Yua¡¯s unwavering glare.

    ¡°Ahem¡­ We don¡¯t, really. None of us here know much about magic, but we¡¯ve seen humans walk straight through the barrier without issue. But when one of us tried, it burned him as severely as shoving your hand into a bonfire would.¡±

    ¡°Why test it with his hand? Why not a stick or something?¡±

    ¡°When we watched the humans enter, the one in front just held out his hand and part of the barrier opened. We thought that would be enough to let us in to figh¡­ talk to them.¡±

    That was a vaguely understandable thought process for someone unfamiliar with magic. While I couldn¡¯t say I¡¯d do the same, it was intriguing to learn that barrier magics exists too. Thanks to my gaming experience, I knew of at least a few kinds of barriers that they should have been weary of, ranging from kinds that repelled or weakened attacks, kinds that resisted certain elements and more.

    If the one the humans used caused intruders pain, then I had to assume it was a barrier similar to the one shielding the Amoranth dungeon in that it was meant to keep people out, but it apparently had the bonus of attacking those that aren¡¯t welcome.

    That means they were trying to keep the cat-kin out, not repel their attacks. And since most of the cat-kin in this village were melee fighters, specifically ones that didn¡¯t¡¯ wear clothes, then a barrier that burned your skin on contact would be more than effective against them.

    ¡°Is there anything else you can tell me? Anything you think may be important. Like, where they are and what they seem to be doing.¡±

    ¡°Yes. We¡¯ve been watching their movements since we first noticed them. They¡¯ve been keeping close to a cave in the northern part of the forest. Their camp is right next to it, but we have no idea what they¡¯re doing there.¡±

    ¡°Really? Does the barrier block sound, too?¡±

    ¡°No. There¡¯s a lot of noise coming from the cave,¡± Tama said, wincing as though he could still hear it. ¡°We just don¡¯t know what they¡¯re doing in there.¡±

    ¡°Okay. How many humans are there?¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t know. We¡¯ve seen a group five males travel to the city multiple times on a cart filled with boxes, only to come back empty handed. It¡¯s the same males every time, though.¡±

    So, they¡¯re in a cave, making a lot of noise and taking crates filled with something back into the city. Sounds like they¡¯re mining something and are selling whatever it is in the city. The barrier is probably meant to keep the cat-kin from stopping them and to keep others from stealing their profits.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t you tell how many humans are there? I imagine you¡¯d be able to hear them.¡±

    ¡°Normally, I could,¡± Tama said. ¡°But whatever they are doing in that cave echoes too much to tell to make sense of anything I hear.¡±

    ¡°Could you guess by the number of tents they have?¡±

    Mochi shook his head. Besides him, Mana looked to understand the seriousness of what we were talking about, but also looked completely lost. She only followed along by mimicking his head shaking.

    ¡°The humans are working in the cave non-stop. When one group finishes, another takes their place. And the entrance to the cave is well-hidden by the surrounding plants. And they take turns sharing one large tent. So, it¡¯s impossible to tell how many there are without getting closer.¡±

    ¡°Which we can¡¯t do,¡± Tama added with a sneer.

    ¡°The distance between the edge of the barrier and their camp is also too far for us to see clearly. Even during the day.¡±

    ¡°Tch. I thought about just tearing up the soil and punching my way through to make a tunnel, but that didn¡¯t work either.¡±

    So, the barrier covers a wide area and covers them from subterranean attacks too.

    Still, why is one of the village Hunters discussing this more calmly than the actual chief? Yua said that one¡¯s strength decided your position within the village, but the way her father acts is just too...

    ¡°Something wrong, boy?¡±

    ¡°N-No, nothing. Just¡­ Do you know what¡¯s in the cave? Whatever it is, it must be pretty valuable to them if they are willing to go so far protecting it.¡±

    Sneering, this time at me, Tama turned to Mochi for the answer. Apparently, the village Hunter was more knowledgeable of the area.

    ¡°All we know is that the cave used to be a spriggan nest, but that¡¯s all I know.¡±

    ¡°Used to be?¡± Mana repeated. ¡°Wh-What happened to them?¡±

    I was about to exclaim a bit of joy at hearing the name of a new fantasy creature, one apparently not tied to the dungeons, but stopped myself when I saw tears welling in Mana¡¯s eyes again. Mochi, too, stopped his explanation to pat her head with a reassuring smile.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Spriggans cannot truly be killed unless they are removed from the forest. I don¡¯t know where they went, but they were likely forced to make a new nest somewhere else once that barrier was put up.¡±

    ¡°O-Okay¡­¡±

    Mana sniffled, leaned into Mochi¡¯s side and drew her knees up to her chest. My heart clenched at her tears, and Mochi¡¯s ears flicked. He turned his smile to me.

    ¡°She likes to spend her time playing around in the forest. She knew the spriggans well.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­ So, in short, you don¡¯t know much about the humans?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I know asking you to handle this without sharing more is already too much, but¡­¡±

    ¡°I hate to admit it,¡± Tama interrupted with a grumble as he dug his pinky finger into his ear. ¡°But this is one problem we can¡¯t handle ourselves.¡±

    I closed my eyes.

    If Tama¡¯s brute force can¡¯t handle the issue, then they must really be at their wit¡¯s end. While the people here all did seem nice on the surface, if they loved fighting this much, enough to routinely duel the forest animals to maintain supremacy, then it probably wouldn¡¯t be too much to assume that they handled most of their problems with violence. Possibly restrained, honorable violence, but violence nonetheless. And this barrier made that impossible.

    ¡°Alright, I already said I¡¯ll do it, but when should I start?¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Mochi bowed his head. ¡°The longer we take to act, the worse the food situation will be.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since any human Merchants stopped by, too,¡± Tama added, climbing back to his feet. ¡°So, our food stores won¡¯t last through the winter at this rate.¡±

    Right. The merchants that pass through here, assuming they don¡¯t all die of severe nose bleeds on the spot after seeing all the nude cat girls living here before they can trade their goods, must be the cat-kin¡¯s main source preserved foods. Which I doubted they had the means to process themselves. Outside of, maybe, making jerky from their hunting kills.

    I already questioned how these people keep alive in the winter without clothes to keep them warm and, unless the winter here was exceptionally mild, not having enough food would only multiply their problems. I¡¯d really rather not find out that they had to resort to cannibalism the next time I bring Yua back here.

    Time was of the essence.

    ¡°Wait,¡± I said as Mochi stood. I immediately regretted it as I was once again reminded of his state of undress being flaunted when he turned back to us. ¡°Yua and I came here in part to collect something for the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. Do you know where we could find the Connifery Plant?¡±

    If we were going to essentially take on two quests in the same forest, we might as well knock both out at the same time. Plus, part of our reason for stopping here was to ask anyway.

    ¡°Conni¡­fery?¡± Mochi repeated, obviously confused. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t know. We don¡¯t refer to the plants or trees in the same way humans do. If you could tell me what it looks like¡­¡±

    At this, I reached into my item box and pulled out the quest slip. Handing it to Mochi, whose ears flicked curiously at the sudden appearance of the purple miasma, I pointed to the little hand-drawn picture of a flower set just below the quest reward.

    ¡°I know what it looks like, just not where to find them. All I know is that they are in the forest.¡±

    Mochi shook his head at the image and said, ¡°Never seen it. If you want to know about plants, you should ask the Chief Mother.¡±

    Kimiko, then? After watching her erotic display earlier, I wasn¡¯t too keen on speaking with her again so soon, but I suppose such is the price of my mercy.

    ¡°Pfft. Boy, you accepted that little fetch quest without knowing how to find what you¡¯re after,¡± Tama laughed, barely hiding his condescension. No¡­ I suppose he wasn¡¯t hiding it at all.

    ¡°Daddy¡­¡±

    At that one word from Yua, Tama¡¯s laughter and his smile vanished. His ears even drooped.

    Honestly, seeing the way he immediately chickened out under the pressure of her stern gaze, you would think she was the one that won their earlier fight. Is this the power of a daughter?

    ¡°Whatever,¡± Tama grunted, trying to save face, even though everyone other than me in the tent, and likely outside of it, were smirking at the two of them. ¡°Mana!¡±

    ¡°Eep! Y-Yes, Chief Tama?¡±

    Mana instantly quit her grinning at the call of her name and shot up to her feet to face him directly.

    ¡°I sent you here to ask my daughter and her mate a question. Not for you to try and mate with him yourself. Why didn¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°I, um¡­ I guess I forgot.¡±

    Mana shrunk back, but not far enough away that he couldn¡¯t see the obnoxiously cute, sheepish grin she turned on him. Her smile was clearly more forced than apologetic, but her eyes were large and utterly adorable. Seeing this, Tama visibly faltered, though unlike me, he whipped his face away from hers.

    ¡°Whatever. Just hurry it up and ask them.¡±

    With that, Tama stormed out of the tent. He¡¯d surely be able to hear whatever answer we gave even after leaving, but he clearly didn¡¯t want to ask himself as he grimaced on the way out. Mana¡¯s grin, however, turned honest and she faced us head on before speaking.

    Kneeling politely, she puts her hands on her thighs and asked, ¡°Big Sis, Chief Tama wants to know if you and your¡­ our, mate will be staying for dinner.¡±

    With the way Yua and Mana both grinned at each other, I didn¡¯t have to go too far out on a limb to guess that they both heard the way my heart skipped when she referred to me as their mutual mate. As if it were already a done deal.

    Still, after hearing how they were apparently on the verge of a food shortage, I was immediately reluctant to accept the kind offer. Rather, I was about to suggest that they just open up direct trade with the trading hub Amoranth, when Yua turned to me.

    Her pleading gaze didn¡¯t hold as much devastating power as Mana¡¯s, but since she so rarely asked for anything, I felt I had no power to deny whatever she was about to ask.

    ¡°Alex¡­ I know we need to hurry with the quest, but could we stay a while longer? Please?¡±

    She didn¡¯t look like she wanted to bring about another one-woman battle royal against her fellow cat-kin. Nor did she look like she wanted to fool around with her parents. What I saw in her, namely the way I saw her nostrils flare to catch a scent I myself could not sense, was more than enough reason.

    Mana came to ask if we were going to eat with them. They had a large bonfire going in the center of the village and had been preparing something for a while now. They were likely getting ready to eat. They might have even been waiting for us on Tama¡¯s order. And Yua, the girl who¡¯d been separated from her people for the better part of five long years, wanted to participate.

    In short, Yua wants to have some good old home cooking while we were here. It may not be the barbequed pork she loved, but it wasn¡¯t something she¡¯d be willing to miss out on unless I made her. On top of this, seeing Mana unable to sit still as she waited for my answer, how could I say no?

    Smirking, and inwardly scolding myself for not considering either girl¡¯s feelings on the matter, I nodded.

    ¡°It¡¯s getting late. I think it would probably be best if we just stayed the night and got an early start tomorrow morning. Besides¡­ I¡¯d like a chance to get to know Mana a little better.¡±

    Both girls grinned broadly, but when Mana skipped towards me to do Goddess-knows-what given their odd culture, she was suddenly and very abruptly stopped in her tracks. She let out a shrill shriek that made her eyes go wide as tea saucers, but before I could think she¡¯d spotted some crazed serial killer standing behind me with a knife, I noticed that Mochi had grabbed hold of her tail.

    Effectively rooted in place, Mana grabbed hold of her backside with a tiny tear in her eye and turned to him.

    ¡°D-Daddy, let go.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± he said curtly. ¡°He is not your mate yet. So, I won¡¯t be leaving you alone with him.¡±

    ¡°B-but I want to¡­¡±

    ¡°I said no.¡±

    Without pause, but likely considerate of her feelings, Mochi scooped the tiny Mana up into his arms. Holding her against his chest, he quickly and sharply turned his attention away from the pleading look that took to her face. Weary of its power, he instead looked to me.

    ¡°Alex, I won¡¯t let you have my daughter just yet. Not until you fulfil your promise to us. But you have my word that I will reject any offer any other males may make to mate with her.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Thank you. Please do that.¡±

    Not knowing what else to say, because what could I say when a father outright told me he¡¯d basically refuse any other men the chance to steal her away from me, I simply said a quick thanks. With nothing but a small, uncomfortable nod to show he was deadly serious to boot, Mochi carried Mana out of the tent and, finally, Yua and I were alone again.

    I was aware that I had been breathing throughout the conversation, despite the numerous times where I was sure that supposed automatic function had shut down on me, but once we were alone, I sucked in a breath so deep I actually felt a little light headed. Wrapping Yua up in my arms, I fell back into the hay pile that would be our bed for the night. To my surprise, it wasn¡¯t the least bit uncomfortable.

    Naturally, and probably just trying to be a good mate, Yua started kissing my chest and neck like she thought I meant to start something, so I stopped her by holding her just a bit tighter. She looked up at me, curious over why when I¡¯d never stopped her before.

    ¡°Something wrong?¡±

    ¡°Can you tell if whatever they are making for dinner is almost done?¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Yua tilted her head back, gave her ears a quick flick as if she was expecting someone other than her to answer my question so she could relay the answer to me. ¡°It¡¯ll be a little while. Are you hungry?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s¡­ Okay,¡± I lowered my voice to a whisper, knowing full well that doing so didn¡¯t mean all that much. ¡°Is there somewhere here where we can speak privately. I mean really privately. Just you and me. Somewhere where nobody else hearing what we talk about.¡±

    Yua seemed taken aback by this question, as if she found it odd that I could want to hide anything from the others here after partially integrating herself back into their culture, but then she smiled.

    ¡°There is, but only sort of,¡± she whispered back. ¡°Want me to take you there?¡±

    ¡°Yes, please¡­¡±

 Volume 2 - Chapter 10

    Night was heavy in the sky. The large bonfire in the middle of the village shone like beacon capable of keeping the entirety of the tribe warm. The light of the flickering flames stretched across the clearing and led the cat-kin in a joyous dance set to the tune of several stringed instruments that I couldn¡¯t find amongst the crowd.

    Most enjoyed themselves in dancing near the fire or were simply enjoying conversation as they sat around the dozen or so smaller fires built around the village. A few were embroiled in heated battles over in their sparring grounds and fewer still were showing the world that Tama and Kimiko were not the only ones that didn¡¯t mind sharing their passionate love with an audience. I was no longer surprised to see any of this.

    We sped past the some twenty or so women huddled around tables set near the fire. They prepped and stirred several massive pot¡¯s worth of whatever was owed to the admittedly delectable scent that that filled the air. The short distance they kept between themselves and the blaze made me worry for their tails, but all wore happy smiles.

    The celebration of Yua¡¯s sudden return had well and truly begun. Her ears caught wind of all this, but it was the sight of her people waving and calling to her as we pressed through the village that really stole her attention. I knew she wanted desperately to join them, but she shook her head and led me by hand through the forest.

    I hadn¡¯t realized how far we¡¯d gone until the light of the bonfire had all but vanished, leaving the job of lighting the forest to the still yawning moon. The sweet music of her people had easily been overtaken by the sound of the rushing river splitting the forest in two. Leading me by the hand, Yua guided me to sit at the river¡¯s bank first before taking her spot on my thigh.

    Letting her wrap my arms around her for warmth, the air near the water was chilly, I asked, ¡°They can¡¯t hear us from here?¡±

    ¡°Not unless they really try. The sound of the water cuts out most noise.¡±

    With a contented smile, Yua stretched one of her shapely legs out and dipped a toe in the river. A small shudder briefly took her, but she didn¡¯t pull it back when she leaned on me.

    ¡°This is where my people get our drinking water. It¡¯s also where we bathe and play when it¡¯s hot. I never would have thought I¡¯d miss this place after trying the bath you made us back home, but this is nice.¡±

    Closing my eyes to silently enjoy her calling our little cabin in the middle of nowhere our ¡°home,¡± I let her enjoy herself for a while until her ears flicked. Casting her gaze across the river, we found a couple of deer come to drink. She smiled softly at them, but seeing them reminded me of something.

    ¡°When you told me what animals were in this forest, why didn¡¯t you mention spriggans?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Yes. You asked what animals were in the forest. Spriggans aren¡¯t animals. They¡¯re something like spirits, I think. Nothing to worry about.¡±

    ¡°So, it was just poor wording on my part,¡± I laughed, wondering what else might be out there. ¡°But then why did Mana look so upset at the mention of their nest being taken over?¡±

    Her father was a Hunter, meaning he routinely hunted the creatures of the forest to put food on the table. If she had any fondness for them, then I would have imagined she wouldn¡¯t have to worry about them being hunted. Instead, she cried over them losing their nest.

    This question caused Yua to furrow her brow. Looking vaguely uncomfortable, she withdrew her foot from the river and took my hand in hers.

    ¡°Alex, I¡­ I feel like there¡¯s so many things I should have told you before bringing you here. The decision to come was just so sudden that I¡­ And you¡¯ve been so worried about everything from me fighting to where to look that¡­¡±

    I tightened my arms around her waist to comfort her. I¡¯d like to hope that I hadn¡¯t been ogling the other women here as much as she claimed I did the women in the city. But I let out a small breath when I admitted that I definitely had.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I said. ¡°I won¡¯t lie, it¡¯s been rough, but I¡¯m happy I brought you.¡±

    The moonlight bouncing off the river caught the smile cautiously spreading across her lips, but it didn¡¯t last too long.

    ¡°It¡¯s not just that. If you are going to be Mana¡¯s mate someday, there¡¯s something about her that I should have told you before I pushed the idea.¡±

    I wondered why she didn¡¯t say whatever she was about to say before she offered the girl to me on a silver platter, but I braced myself. Whatever it was couldn¡¯t have been too bad if she let Mana become a Thief. But it was best I knew what I was getting myself in to.

    ¡°Mana has always been a little, well really, spoiled,¡± she started. ¡°Everyone here learns to fight when they are young. Even if we don¡¯t want to fight, we are taught to defend ourselves. But she never took to it because she wasn¡¯t very good at it. And one day, after fourteen-straight wins, I knocked her into the dirt and she barely managed to pull herself to her feet before running off into the forest crying harder than I¡¯d ever seen before.¡±

    Yua turned over her palms and clenched them, remembering the punch she threw that made her friend cry. She continued.

    ¡°After that, she gave up fighting. I¡¯d been gone so long that I¡¯d forgotten how she refuses to spar with anyone. She was so blatant in her rejections that it was almost insulting, but all she had to do was pout if they got mad and she¡¯d get her way.¡±

    I opened my mouth to say something, then stopped, only to decide that, if she was also going to be my mate, then there was no harm in asking.

    ¡°Are you saying they never got mad at her because she¡¯s so cute?¡±

    Yua nodded softly at this and unclenched her hand.

    That would explain why her own father, and even the village chief, were so weary of looking her way whilst she pouted. And I had to agree with their refusal. Those big blue eyes of hers were dangerous.

    ¡°She knows she¡¯s cute and uses it to get her way. That¡¯s why she¡¯s so spoiled. Because it always works. Every time someone came asking to spar, or she was called to do her chores, she¡¯d run away into the forest to fool around. She spent a lot of her time playing in the trees to avoid the trouble. She simply doesn¡¯t like doing things she¡¯s not good at. I thought that she might have changed her ways while I was gone, but the way she acted today makes me think she only got worse.¡±

    ¡°So, she uses her looks to get her way.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what she used to do, but I could tell she was surprised when you didn¡¯t immediately give in to her. Especially since you fell for her the moment you saw her.¡±

    ¡°D-Did you have to point that out?¡±

    I don¡¯t want to think myself so weak that I¡¯d just throw myself at anyone with a pair of tits. Though it was hard to deny it when I had two humanoid lie-detectors besides me at the time.

    ¡°Hehe. Well, she certainly liked that about you.¡±

    ¡°¡­ I guess your people being able to hear each other¡¯s hearts makes confessing super easy, huh?¡±

    ¡°Hmm. I guess so. But it¡¯s more like it¡¯s not even needed. When one of our people finds someone they are interested in, and if that person feels the same, they usually just find a tent and make it official by mating.¡±

    ¡°Wait, find a tent? They don¡¯t use their own?¡±

    The thought of me coming home only to randomly find a couple of strangers going at it in my bed refused to let go of my attention until Yua spoke again.

    ¡°Usually, yea. Depends where in the village they are, though. Some don¡¯t even use a tent.¡±

    ¡°You mean they mate out in the open? Where people can see them?¡±

    Yua nodded with a small giggle aimed directly at the surprised gasp I let loose.

    ¡°Wow¡­¡±

    Tama and Kimiko aside, I did see a few of the cat-kin going at it while we walked the village, but to make a spectacle of their first time?

    Shaking my head, I laid back on the grass. Yua politely slipped off of me and snuggled up in my arm. Together, we watched the moon and the stars claim the sky as theirs for the night. Listening to the river and to the occasional light thump of her tail brushing the grass, I thought to return the conversation back to why I needed to speak privately with her, but then she rolled herself back onto me. Pressing her breasts against my chest, Yua laid on top of me as if the sight of me enjoying her softness was more interesting than the nature she¡¯s missed.

    She smiled warmly.

    ¡°I know Mana loves you.¡±

    ¡°Wh-What? Where¡¯d that come from?¡±

    Ignoring my question, Yua laid her cheek on my chest.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t suggest making her your mate unless she loved you too. I bet you were thinking she just wanted to get stronger with you, right? We don¡¯t just pair up with someone for the sake of convenience. Ever.¡±

    ¡°Then you heard her heart and knew?¡±

    Her smile took on the sudden twist of a smirk as she slowly shook her head, nuzzling her chin into my pecs.

    ¡°She told me herself when you were fighting Daddy. She ran to our tent and listened with us. I¡¯ve never seen her so interested in a fight before.¡±

    Despite myself, I snorted my way through a smirk. She of all people would relate a person¡¯s love to fighting. It was so like her that any doubt I had in the sentiment faded instantly.

    ¡°¡­ And you¡¯re really okay with this? Mana, I mean.¡±

    Yua opened her peachy lips to answer, but I stopped her and continued.

    ¡°I do love her,¡± I said, fully incapable of denying it. ¡°But you should know that when I made that little cabin for us, I only ever meant for you to share my bed.¡±

    I wanted to add that having her approval to take a second wife would make me endlessly happy, but I decided against it. With the way she was, I was worried she might make my wants her own and neglect her own feelings in the process. And I wanted to hear her thoughts when Mana wasn¡¯t around to influence her. So, I stayed quiet. I wanted her answer as my first wife, not my slave.

    ¡°Of course, I¡¯m fine with it. As your mate, I want to make you happy. I¡¯d be just as happy to hog you all to myself, but I know bringing Mana along would just make you happier!¡±

    I closed my eyes to draw in a deep breath, hoping that I could catch the scent of her boundless open-mindedness to make it my own. But hearing her proclaim both her love and willingness to let me share mine spurred a certain part of me to stand up.

    Yua¡¯s ears flicked, as if she heard it harden, and she started to grin wryly. I could practically hear her start to call me Master again, but taking a page from her people¡¯s book, I stopped her.

    ¡°Wah!.... Hahaha!¡±

    Grabbing her by the hips, I through her onto the grass and this time, I rolled on top of her. Laughing and holding out her hands to welcome me, she parted her legs without the need for me to ask. Confident that the trees shaded us well enough in the night¡¯s ever-growing darkness, I pressed my lips to hers the moment she let me in. After all the intrusions, I wanted to enjoy all her little gasps and moans to myself for a while.

    Not wanting to keep Yua from her people for too long, I once more cast the Body Wash spell on us and we returned to the village proper. While I felt just a little guilty for drawing her away for so long, I was happy to see that none of the festivities had come to an end in our absence.

    Having mutually enjoyed our little chat, Yua led me back through the crowd of cat-kin and, wanting to get back to business, brought me straight to Kimiko.

    The buxom cat girl was sat on a log besides one of the smaller campfires dotting the area. She¡¯d been enjoying a chat of her own with another beauty, but as soon as I was close enough to see the color of her eyes, her ears flicked and she turned to us. Looking just as inviting as her daughter might have, Kimiko pat the spot on the log next to her. I had no doubt that she already knew why I wanted to speak with her.

    We took the offered seat between her and this other woman. Yua sat beside me to cuddle up under my arm again. Enjoying her contented look, I noticed how this new cat girl, a woman roughly Kimiko¡¯s age named Chibi, grinned toothily at me. Her long black hair cascaded down over her shoulder to cover only one of her modest breasts, but it wasn¡¯t my noticing this that caused her to grin. Nor could I think of what I¡¯d done to deserve her staring. I just sat, carefully distancing myself from her.

    Meanwhile, Kimiko herself stared at Yua. Her smile stayed warm and inviting, but with the flickering flames of the campfire casting shadows over her more delicate features, she looked oddly menacing. I got the distinct impression that she might not be as accommodating of polygamy as Tama was, or that she was just upset that we snuck away from the celebration thrown in her honor to have sex, but her bright yellow eyes never once looked my way.

    Sensing this, Yua¡¯s ears jerked. When she looked to her mother, all Kimiko did was raise a brow at her. Pressing her lips together in contemplation, Yua¡¯s ears gave yet another sudden jerk and hefted my arm off her shoulders and stood. Turning her back to me, Yua widened her stance and lowered herself onto my thigh.

    Instantly, Kimiko¡¯s mood lightened up and the pressure I¡¯d been feeling from her vanished. Yua smiled apologetically and the flick Kimiko¡¯s tail gave might as well have said ¡°It¡¯s all water under the bridge.¡±

    However, village customs aside, I was forced to acknowledge the fact that the taken women¡¯s way of spreading their legs on their mate¡¯s lap meant that Yua¡¯s vagina was on clear display. This became no less obvious when I took note of the half dozen people, men and women alike, that passed by us, stopped and gave my Yua a brief congratulatory greeting.

    Yua paid their eyes no mind and greeted them back, while I heavily considered covering her with my hand again.

    ¡°So, Alex,¡± Kimiko started, sliding across the log to sit directly beside me. Without meaning to, her massive breast pressed into my arm. She was uncomfortably warm after sitting next to the fire for so long. ¡°Let me see that plant you want.¡±

    ¡°R-Right.¡±

    I handed her the quest slip and after giving it a good look, she shook her head.

    ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m not familiar with that one. I only collect the ones I can use to make healing salves.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I sighed. ¡°We¡¯ll figure something out.¡±

    I actually already had a backup plan in mind. With Miss Bellenfort¡¯s map and Kimiko¡¯s knowledge of the local fauna, it¡¯d be easier to search the forest by avoiding places where she knew the flowers didn¡¯t exist.

    ¡°I do believe we have some of those Cure Poison potions Yua asked about, though,¡± Kimiko added. ¡°But not many.¡±

    Before I could question why she¡¯d have so few of those when they lived in a forest that was supposedly filled with poisonous dangers, I figured they¡¯d likely used up their stock. But then I remembered Yua mentioning that they weren¡¯t allowed in that part of the forest and grew a little confused. Then I grew even more confused when I noticed that this Chibi woman was staring at me still. Still with that same cheeky grin plastered across her face.

    I¡¯d have scooted further away, but doing so would have caused me to sink further into Kimiko¡¯s breast, so I bore with it.

    ¡°I can trade you some Healing Potions for it.¡±

    ¡°No need. I know you two might end up in that part of the forest, so you¡¯d better take it. Besides, I know the Apothecary in Guerraway doesn¡¯t have any. I already sent someone to check.¡±

    ¡°I see. Well, I heard their potions were supposed to be disgusting anyways.¡±

    ¡°Hmm? They taste just fine to me.¡±

    Yua smiled as I stared blankly into the flames warming us. Was everything that tiny witch of an apothecary lectured me on just a lie? Or was she just bragging about her own work while belittling everyone else¡¯s?

    ¡°Anyways, thank you,¡± I said. ¡°We weren¡¯t able to get any in Amoranth.¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t worry about it. Think of it as me just helping my daughter.¡±

    I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s why I wanted them in the first place. Can¡¯t go letting her get poisoned.¡±

    Yua smirked up at me, cutely pressing a finger to my lips to tell me to shush and I hugged her close. Seeing this, Kimiko¡¯s ears twitched.

    ¡°Oh, right. Yua, I wanted to ask about¡­¡±

    Before she could finish, Chibi jumped off the log to stand directly in front of me. With the campfire behind her and almost close enough to singe her tail, she thrust her hands onto her hips and widened her stance, as if specifically trying to show off the small bushel of hair between her thighs. There she observed me for a couple quiet moments.

    Neither of the other cat girls with me bat an eye at her, but I felt an inexplicable pressure pouring off her. Right up until she grinned widely and leveled her index finger at my face.

    ¡°I like you. You¡¯d be a good mate. I want you.¡±

    With her impromptu declaration released into the wild, Chibi once more thrust her hand onto her hip, making her breasts jiggle. Watching her tail swish about, I started to wonder if I had unknowingly seduced yet another of their women and if I was about to be dragged off into a free tent, but all such stupid thoughts ceased when Yua and Kimiko let out a small giggle in unison.

    ¡°Alex,¡± Kimiko started, hiding her laughter unlike her daughter. ¡°This is Chibi. Mana¡¯s mother.¡±

    ¡°O-Oh¡­ Uh. Nice to meet you.¡±

    Of course. Here I was about to panic at the thought I had somehow drawn the interest of yet another cat girl, only to have Yua of all people laugh at me.

    But what else was I supposed to think?! With what she said and the fact that, other than her black hair, she looks nothing like Mana, what the hell else was I supposed to think!

    ¡°Heh.¡± Chibi laughed, crossing her arms. ¡°Yes. I like you for my Mana.¡±

    Say that the first time!

    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said, trying not to show that the three¡¯s laughter bother me. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best for her.¡±

    Chibi nodded, still grinning, and plopped down on the log right beside me. Boxed in by the two mothers and with Yua on my lap, I very suddenly felt like I had no way to escape this fleshy care. The only solace I could find was in that Chibi didn¡¯t press her comparably much smaller breasts into me like Kimiko did.

    Goddess¡­ Yua can hear my heart the moment I fall for a girl. What the hell is she hearing now?

    Well, whatever it was, she was still giggling.

    ¡°So, when do you plan on bleeding my Mana?¡± Chibi asked, exuding excitement as she rubbed her thighs together. ¡°I think right now would be best. Or maybe after dinner. She¡¯s happiest after eating meat.¡±

    I don¡¯t know why I thought I was done being surprised by these people. First Mochi refuses to let me near her, now Chibi is offering her up to me on a silver platter? Shouldn¡¯t she be guarding her daughter¡¯s chastity or something?

    ¡°I, uh, Mochi said we can¡¯t be together until¡­¡±

    ¡°Pfft. Don''t worry about him,¡± Chibi scoffed, dismissing him with a wave. ¡°I¡¯ll hold him down with mating. He definitely won¡¯t say no if I ask. You can use that chance to¡­!¡±

    Chibi¡¯s ears stiffened sharply and her shoulders jumped. Her excitement dwindled away almost instantly as she shrank back. Yua laughed again.

    ¡°Hehe. Chibi got yelled at again.¡±

    ¡°Heh¡­¡±

    ¡°Chibi, you shouldn¡¯t go against your mate like that,¡± Kimiko lightly chided.

    ¡­ I guess Mochi must have heard her offer. The ears on these people are way too dangerous. I can¡¯t even see the man and she heard him.

    ¡°A-Anyways,¡± Chibi said. ¡°My Mate already gave you permission to take her as yours, but you have mine too.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll do my best to keep her safe and happy.¡±

    Chibi nodded, her smile returning as she crossed her arms.

    ¡°Good. Now, when you finally bleed her, be sure to let me know. I want to check.¡±

    ¡°Check? How would you¡­¡±

    ¡°Eh? How? You just spread her special place open and look inside.¡±

    Chibi tilted her head at me, eyeing me as though I were some sort of idiot for asking. I skillfully pretended not to notice, though. That wasn¡¯t a subject I wanted to touch.

    ¡°That¡¯s what my mother and father did to me when I was bled.¡±

    Never mind. Apparently, Chibi wanted to further the point.

    ¡°¡­ Is that another of your people¡¯s customs?¡±

    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    ¡°Nah. Not the tribe¡¯s, just my family¡¯s.¡±

    I breathed a sigh of relief that made Yua¡¯s ears flick. Thankfully, she wasn¡¯t going to have to undergo any weird examinations. Though they would be mostly pointless since Tama walked in us and eagerly peeked at what we were doing. As for Mana¡¯s case¡­ Well, she was born into the wrong family. Nothing I can do about that but offer to not let her parents know.

    ¡°Then I guess I will¡­¡±

    ¡°Daughter Yua.¡±

    Before I could confirm or deny my willingness to participate in yet another tradition, two cat-kin men joined us by the fire. One looked to be around our age and the other a few years older. Given how young Yua¡¯s parents looked, these two could have been father and son.

    Denying Kimiko¡¯s offer to let them sit beside her to get warm, they faced Yua directly and despite their bits and pieces hanging out openly, her gaze never left their eyes. Honestly, I have no idea how they do it.

    ¡°Daughter Yua,¡± the older of the two started. ¡°We know that the food will be ready soon, but please spar with us.¡±

    ¡°Yes, please,¡± said the younger man, clenching his fists in anticipation. ¡°We absolutely have to fight before you leave again!¡±

    At the sound of yet another challenge, Yua¡¯s tail flicked against me. A fierce grin crept across her face as she stood to meet their challenge. She didn¡¯t need to ask my permission this time.

    ¡°Oh? Yuuma, Akio, did you both want to challenge me at the same time?¡±

    Confused, the men looked to each other.

    ¡°No, Daughter Yua. We¡¯d take turns.¡±

    Yua huffed, crossing her arms.

    ¡°Nonsense. I¡¯ll fight both of you at the same time. Come on! Alex, you can wait here. This won¡¯t take long.¡±

    With a smile and a wave to me, Yua eagerly took off running towards the sparring area. The two men looked to each other again and, unconcerned with how her easy acceptance of a two on one betrayed her confidence, they shrugged and followed her through the crowd. I watched up until they were no longer in sight, but kept my eye on Yua¡¯s health bar just in case.

    It made me happy to see her so excited, but watching her leave into this forest of nudity to go enjoy a good ol¡¯ round of ass-whooping instilled a new worry in me that I apparently was not prepared for.

    She left me alone with these two older women. Two beauties, nonetheless. Potential mother-in-laws or not, I suddenly felt very out of place.

    As if sensing this, Chibi slid over the log to sit even closer to me. She didn¡¯t have the assets Kimiko did that allowed her to somehow become spatially unaware of how close she was to people, but she did firmly press her thigh against mine, locking me down right after Yua vacated my lap to give me an exit. She looked to me, her deep grey eyes shining with curiosity under the moonlight.

    ¡°So, I heard you and Daughter Yua mating earlier, but what was your first time with her like?¡±

    ¡°I, uh¡­¡±

    What the fuck?! Aren¡¯t the usual questions for a new couple supposed to be where did you meet or where did you go on your first date? You ask that five seconds after meeting me? That is not something I want to talk about. I wanted to keep that lovely night between the two of us.

    ¡°Chibi,¡± Kimiko sighed. ¡°You can¡¯t just ask humans that. They¡¯re not like us. They prefer to keep their mating a secret, right?¡±

    ¡°Y-yes, that¡¯s right!¡±

    Kimiko, I could kiss you if I wasn¡¯t sure Tama would kill me. Thank the Goddess at least one of these two had some common sense.

    ¡°Eh?¡± Chibi pouted. Cute as she was herself, that look of hers couldn¡¯t hold a candle to Mana¡¯s. ¡°How boring. Then, um, where are you from?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡±

    Shit. Now talking about our first time doesn¡¯t sound so bad. Knowing how this tribe works, they might even take our story to be nothing but casual banter, if not something scandalous. But the thought of actually unleashing the made-up story of my origin just barely crossed the line of being worse.

    Sensing my hesitation, Chibi added, ¡°I want to know how far Mana¡¯s new home will be.¡±

    ¡°O-Oh. Um, I¡¯m not sure of the area¡¯s name. We just kind of settled somewhere that looked nice. It¡¯s pretty far, but with my magic, I can bring her here in an hour or two.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. I see.¡±

    Having already heard my fight with Tama and Yua¡¯s story, neither of the mothers questioned the existence of my magic. I already played with the thought that my abilities could just be a family secret, but with all these cat ears so recklessly eavesdropping, the entire village had to know by now.

    Chibi nodded to herself, smirking at some hidden thoughts I wasn¡¯t sure I wanted her to let out, then she leaned forward. Pressing her palms to my thigh to lean on me, she shot a beaming smile my way as her tail swished delightedly.

    ¡°Then that means you aren¡¯t really going to take her all that far, right? She can visit sometimes?¡±

    ¡°S-Sure. Whenever she wants.¡±

    With Kimiko¡¯s massive soft breasts pressing against my arm and Chibi¡¯s small hands uncomfortably close to my monster, I didn¡¯t think I had any reason left in me to say anything but yes to whatever they asked. They could ask me my deepest secrets, my fears, my weaknesses and even ask for the details of my reincarnation and I would have been powerless to refuse.

    ¡°Eeep!¡±

    Thankfully, I was saved, not by Yua returning from her fight, but from Mana.

    With her petite daughter suddenly appearing besides her, Chibi jumped and let go of me to face her. When she saw her daughter she pressed a hand to her heaving chest and sighed.

    ¡°Geez, Mana. How many times do I have to tell you to stop sneaking up on people like that?¡±

    ¡°Hmph,¡± Mana pouted, circling around Chibi to stand before me. ¡°I didn¡¯t want you to hear me coming or you might tell Daddy.¡±

    With a huff, Mana spread her legs and, without asking, lowered herself onto my thigh. She chose my left, where Yua typically chose my right, and got comfortable herself. Under the soft pressure of her, I was forced to bear with the utterly adorable sound of her contented sigh as she leaned into my chest as if she owned the place.

    ¡°Mana,¡± Kimiko started. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t disobey your daddy like that. He said you two aren¡¯t allowed to be together yet.¡±

    ¡°So? It¡¯s not like we¡¯re alone. You and Mother are here.¡±

    ¡°Mm. You still shouldn¡¯t disobey him like that.¡±

    ¡°B-But Mother is okay with it, right?¡±

    In a flash, Mana turned her big blue eyes on Chibi and the older woman through up her hands to shield herself. The cute pout making her lips shine made her mother¡¯s entire body stiffen like stone. Even her once lively tail stopped swishing.

    ¡°Y-yes. I approve of him.¡±

    ¡°See?¡± Mana said, turning the same look to Kimiko.

    ¡°¡­!¡±

    Unlike Chibi, who got a full-faced attack, Kimiko managed to turn away, ripping her breast off of me to clasp a hand over her mouth, likely to prevent a squeal.

    Seeing this, I almost wondered why Mana wasn¡¯t the chief yet. This girl could make her whole tribe bow to her by just turning on the water works. But then I saw the distinct droop in her cat ears when her gaze flicked between the mothers. Each were doing their best to look away from her and, when Chibi chanced a peek, saw Mana¡¯s continued pouting, she once more hid behind her arms.

    ¡°Hmph¡­¡±

    She reached out to Chibi, as if to say everything was okay, but the self-blinded mother didn¡¯t see the hand she offered. I thought she might have been happy about getting her way with her troublemaking, but her shoulders fell.

    Instinctually, my arms flew around this petite girl¡¯s waist and I pulled her close. I couldn¡¯t tell if she was faking that pout, but I knew at once that I couldn¡¯t bare to see it for real.

    Her ears shot right back up and, instead of pushing away this man she barely met, she looked up to me and smiled brightly. If the tears in the corners of her eyes were anything to go off, we just avoided a catastrophe on par with nuclear armageddon.

    ¡°Big Bro¡­¡±

    Unable to look away, I brushed the beginnings of those tears I didn¡¯t even understand away with my thumb and she blushed. Then, as if trying to headbutt me, she lowered her face and shoved her cheek into my chest. I held her closer still and she moved her hand as well.

    I thought she meant to hug me back but instead, her fingers flew south between my legs. My mind blanked for a brief moment, remembering my nudity and how the mates of this tribe held each other. I was about to ask her to stop for fear of receiving an arrow through the eye from Mochi, but another hand shot between my legs before I could utter a single syllable.

    Kimiko¡¯s palm pressed flat against my penis just before Mana¡¯s could make contact. I tried to blink away her warmth, but it didn¡¯t work. Only when Mana¡¯s hand touched Kimiko¡¯s and shot back in surprise, did the mother pull hers away.

    ¡°Mana,¡± Kimiko chided, her tone sounding deftly serious. ¡°I suppose I won¡¯t stop you from sitting with him, but you are not his mate yet. He is not yours, so do not touch his manhood.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Fine.¡±

    In a huff, Mana¡¯s body fell limp in my arms. Still blinking, somehow still conscious, a random syllable or two managed to find its way onto my tongue, but Kimiko shot me down with a serious gaze. She smiled a very motherly smile, but somehow the mirth in her eyes was gone.

    ¡°That goes for you too, Alex,¡± she said, her yellow eyes dipping down to make sure my hands weren¡¯t anywhere scandalous.

    ¡°U-understood.¡±

    Satisfied with my answer, Kimiko drew in a deep breath, her massive breasts heaving with the effort. Warmth returned to her smile as she clapped her hands together. Chibi pat Mana¡¯s head comfortingly as Kimiko changed the subject.

    ¡°Anyways, Alex. If you don¡¯t want to treat Yua like a slave, why did you buy her in the first place?¡±

    ¡°Oh, uh, well¡­¡±

    She shook her head.

    ¡°I¡¯m not mad at you. You were kind enough to bring her back to us when you really didn¡¯t have to. I just don¡¯t understand your motives.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Right. I suppose Yua told them her side of things. It¡¯s only natural that she want to hear mine. She knew some of it already and there was plenty I couldn¡¯t tell her, but I guess she had the right to know the rest.

    Curiosity once more pricking her ears, Mana lifted her chin from my chest to listen. Likewise, Chibi and Kimiko both pressed up against me again, trying to show I had their full attention. Feeling oddly comforted by their three-way embrace instead of anxious, I went ahead and told my story.

    Several minutes had passed since I began and by the end of it, Chibi and Kimiko were nodding together, understanding of my reasons if not agreeing a with them. It was surprising how calm they were after I outright stated my original intention for Yua, like they didn¡¯t have a single judgmental bone between them.

    But Mana took my tale in a different way. She sat there, her mouth agape almost from the moment I started. Her hands squeezed around mine when I mentioned how alone I¡¯d felt. I genuinely wasn¡¯t trying for sympathy, but she looked like she wanted to cry for me. I hugged her close before she could and finished.

    ¡°I see,¡± Kimiko said. ¡°Your actions were still wrong¡­ but you do treat her well. And I can both see and hear how much she loves you, so¡­ I don¡¯t know what to say.¡±

    ¡°I think it¡¯s a fine reason,¡± Chibi said, leaning back on the log. ¡°Maybe not right, but if he didn¡¯t, we still wouldn¡¯t know what happened to her.¡±

    ¡°True¡­¡±

    Listening to the two mothers debate the merits of me buying one of their daughters as a slave, I said nothing. I just sat quietly and hugged Mana¡¯s petite frame against mine. If my time with Yua taught me anything, it¡¯s that she felt no resentment for how we met, but that didn¡¯t mean everyone else would see it the same way.

    Still, even if the truth lost me a few brownie points with these three, I don¡¯t regret my actions.

    Perhaps sensing this and coming to a silent decision herself, Kimiko let out a breath before her warm smile returned. She lifted her ears to the sky to listen to something far off.

    ¡°Dinner¡¯s ready,¡± she said, standing. ¡°I think Yua¡¯s a little too preoccupied to have noticed. So, I¡¯ll¡­¡±

    ¡°No,¡± I said, setting Mana down. ¡°I¡¯ll go let her know.¡±

    ¡°I see. Please do.¡±

    Mana¡¯s ears flicked despairingly after being let go, but after quickly sniffing the air, her tail swished about in obvious excitement. Spinning on her heal, she pressed her lips to mine before either of the others could stop her.

    ¡°I¡¯ll get your food,¡± she said and took off running towards the large bonfire.

    I felt an incredibly idiotic smile spread across my face like a virulent infection that I just couldn¡¯t get rid of. Meanwhile, Chibi nodded in loving approval before following her and Kimiko let out a small, exasperated sigh.

    Leaving the woman that was no essentially my mother-in-law to wait by the fire, I made my way past the dozens of cat-kin lining up to get their food and towards the sparring area. I knew full well where it was and, since Yua¡¯s life bar had occasionally taken a small hit as we talked, I knew she was still there. But without really knowing why, I stopped in my tracks.

    A few of the cat-kin smiled kindly at me in passing, saying nothing of how I stood in their way. I couldn¡¯t help it. An invisible spear of lightning made my heart thud against my ribcage. It compelled me to turn around and I immediately found the cause.

    Standing there in the middle of the food line, Mana waited quite impatiently, tiptoeing to look around her taller tribesmen to see what was for dinner, though I was sure she could smell it. This wasn¡¯t too surprising, but what gave me pause was how isolated she was.

    This unbearably cute girl, who was open enough to lovingly embrace me as her man the moment she¡¯d discovered her feelings, was alone. There were people in line both in front and behind her, but they all kept a good distance from her, whereas the rest of them were otherwise packed close together as they chatted. Only Mana was by herself, wearing an upward turn to her lips that looked oddly empty as she waited in silence.

    Suddenly and overwhelmingly unable to accept this reality, I dashed over to her and scooped her up into my arms in a princess carry.

    ¡°Ah! Wha¡­ Big Bro? What are you doing? The food is ready.¡±

    ¡°I know, but¡­¡± Realizing I didn¡¯t have a reason to do this, I pulled one out of thin air. ¡°I thought we could go get Yua and eat together. How about it?¡±

    Mana blinked up at me from within my arms, her cheeks slightly flushed. Then a wide, happy grin spread across her lips. She nodded emphatically, wrapping her arms around my neck.

    ¡°Yes! Let¡¯s get Big Sis.¡±

    Grinning myself and feeling as though Mochi was lying in wait somewhere, scoping me out for any wrongdoings, I took care to not touch her in weird places and took off for the sparring grounds.

    There I found a sight I was more or less expecting to see. The younger of the two men that came to challenge Yua, Akio, was on his knees, holding his head with a pained expression. Meanwhile, a short distance away from him, the other two still battled it out.

    ¡°Ra. Ra. Ra!!¡±

    The older man, Yuuma, was on his back on the ground. Yua rode on top of him and I couldn¡¯t help but notice how her crotch was pressed directly against his face as she levied blow after powerful blow into his unguarded stomach, each with the force behind it to knock up the lunch he¡¯d had three weeks ago. Her attacks were so relentless that I almost forgot to be concerned over their positioning.

    Just as we got there, Yuuma turned his face away from her crotch and gasped, as if he¡¯d been unable to breathe. Had she been trying to end the fight by suffocating him with her pussy, while also beating the last breaths of air out of him with her fists? Man, what a way that¡¯d be to lose a fight.

    I felt the last lingering threat of my continued sanity snap and, surprised myself at how okay I was with what I was seeing, I just watched.

    Yuuma didn¡¯t stop after drawing a deep breath, nor did he take a moment to think about where his nose had been a second ago. Grunting with each hit, he searched for a way out of her hold. He found it quickly. Using her comparably lighter body weight, he wrenched his hand out from under her foot, grabbed her by the knee and used all his strength to throw her off him.

    Yua let out a small yelp of surprise as her back hit the dirt. Rolling onto her back herself, she tried to jump back to her feet, only to be tackled by the recovered Akio.

    The younger of the two men landed on top of her, his face pressing against her breast for but a moment until he reeled back and threw a punch at her face. She blocked this easily and, unwilling to use the same tactic she did this afternoon, bucked her hips the moment Akio threw a second punch, throwing him off balance. Smirking as she made use of the opening she created for herself, Yua slid back out from beneath him, pulled back both her legs and kicked him square in the gut.

    Watching him fly backwards from her unrelenting force, Yua climbed back to her feet, only for her ears to flick the moment she noticed Yuuma appear behind her. Grabbing her by one arm, his free hand flew between her thighs and he lifted her into the air in a motion so quick and so smooth she couldn¡¯t have reacted to it if she¡¯d seen it coming.

    Spinning her around, throwing her legs up in the air, he wrapped his burly arms around her hips and dropped himself. Attempting to pile drive her, he all but completely ignored the punches she unleashed on his arms.

    Just before her head hit the ground for what surely would have been the knockout blow, Yua braced herself and let her forearms absorb the impact. His momentum ended sooner than he meant it to, Yuuma¡¯s grasp on her shifted and dropped further down her waist. Still holding herself up on her arms, Yua threw a knee straight into the man¡¯s nose.

    ¡°Gah!¡±

    Yuuma managed to turn his face just before the impact, but her blow still rang true when a rivulet of blood started to pour out of his nose. He¡¯d lost.

    But before she could celebrate evening the odds, Akio returned to the fight by dashing in and landing a quick punch to Yua¡¯s cheek the moment she got back to her knees. Briefly dazed, she didn¡¯t have time to react to his second or third punches until she regained her senses and jumped back to avoid the fourth.

    Her breasts heaving with her every labored breath, she wiped her thumb under her nose to check for blood, found nothing, and put up her fists.

    The two battered cat-kin stared each other down for a moment or two before breaking into a full-on sprint towards each other. Yua threw out another punch, but Akio ducked it and tackled her yet again. Like Yuuma, he wrapped an arm up and between her breasts and sent the other up her back to lock his hands together to use her own weight against her. Twisting his hips, he threw her over onto the dirt face down and jumped onto her. He pressed a hand firmly down onto her back to keep her from moving while he straddled her ass.

    With a resounding grunt, Akio threw a punch aimed at the back of her head, but her ears flicked and she whipped her head to the side, forcing him to punch only dirt. She then put her hands to the ground and pushed with all her might. Showing her strength to be more than enough for the both of them, she launched him off her and herself back to her feet.

    With Akio thrown backward to the ground, Yua spun on her heel and ran to deliver a return punch of her own. Her fist struck his jaw with an impressive crack that sent spittle flying. His eyelids fluttered shut, but only for a moment.

    Clearly in a daze as he could barely keep his eyes open, he still refused to give up, but it was all he could do to make a swipe at her again. All his last effort to end the fight in his favor got him was a weak slap on Yua¡¯s breast that did nothing more than make it jiggle. Unconcerned, she punched him again in the nose, drawing blood.

    Smiling himself despite his loss, Yuuma came back to the two and offered Yua a hand up as she panted. She took it and they both helped Akio to his feet. There, Akio still dazed, they clasped hands and bowed to each other, mutually satisfied with the results of the match.

    And like that, the fight was done. Akio¡¯s consciousness did wane, causing him to grasp at Yua again to steady himself, but she took his uninvited groping in stride as he collapsed into her chest, finally falling unconscious. Yuuma, despite his nose still bleeding profusely, thanked her for the match and hefted Akio over his shoulder to cart him away for healing.

    Watching them go, Yua let out a long, satisfied sigh. Taking a moment to draw in a long breath of victory, her ears flicked and she turned to me. She grinned broadly. I was prepared for her to barrel into me to brag about her well-fought victory, but I didn¡¯t expect her to do it while I was still holding Mana.

    ¡°Alex, I won! I beat them both at the same time!¡±

    With Mana giggling as she was sandwiched between my chest and Yua¡¯s, I accepted her victory with open arms. But as much as I wanted to let her gloat over her victory, we had to get going. She did want to eat her people¡¯s cooking, after all.

    Looking excited enough to jump for joy over her glorious feat of strength, Yua practically skipped back to the log we shared with Kimiko while Mana dashed back to the food line to get us our food. I couldn¡¯t help but notice the way she was licking her lips as she took off.

    ¡°Fuaah!¡±

    Plopping down on the log, Yua sat beside Tama, who was once more holding Kimiko on his lap. He was holding a bowl of what looked to be a mix of stewed meat and vegetables, but the broth was a spicey-looking orange. Despite this, and for reasons I didn¡¯t feel like guessing at, Kimiko reached her fingers into his bowl, grabbed a chunk of meat and brought it to his lips for him. He chewed it contentedly as she smiled and took some for herself.

    ¡°Daddy,¡± Yua said, stretching her arms over her head. ¡°Could you heal me, please?¡±

    ¡°Huh? Sure. Healing Fist.¡±

    Without tearing his eyes away from the next piece of meat Kimiko fed him, Tama blindly reached a hand out to Yua. Surely meaning to place his palm over her heart, he accidentally, but openly, pressed his glowing palm to her breast. No doubt noticing her softness, he still didn¡¯t let go. Nor did he squeeze her. He didn¡¯t even twitch in embarrassment when he turned briefly to check the location of her bruises. He clearly didn¡¯t care, he just held and healed her as though it were the most natural thing to do.

    Yua let out a long, pleased sigh when all the painful marks on her body began to fade away. Tilting her head back with a satisfied smile, she looked as though she were only lounging in a hot tub as she let the healing process run its course.

    It was done in seconds, fast enough for Tama to fully return his attention to Kimiko before she could offer up another bite.

    Unable to say anything in rebuke after everything today, I just sat beside Yua, grabbed her by the hips and lifted her onto my thigh. This earned me a loving passing glance from Daddy-dearest, a pleased smile from Kimiko and a warm hug form Yua as she draped an arm around my neck to lean on me.

    Mana came back a few minutes later, struggling to carry all our food. Yua hurried to relieve the petite girl of her burden and, after Mana noticed her sitting on my lap, she smiled happily and turned to sit on my free thigh before instantly digging into her meal.

    Yua giggled at this and, matching Kimiko¡¯s loving efforts, helped by feeding me since my hands were full holding these two beauties. Feeling all my worries wash themselves away as I enjoyed the sheer warmth of getting to hold the both of them, we continued our meal peacefully, with the only chatter between us being about Yua¡¯s time in the city.

    Enjoying the fact that Tama didn¡¯t dismiss me every time I hopped in to say something, I mostly kept to myself and let Yua enjoy her time with her parents and ate in relative silence. I could not place the kind of meat, but it was indeed spicey.

    When we finished, all three of the ladies got up and carried our bowls off. Mana had returned to climb back up onto my lap, but Yua and Kimiko had disappeared somewhere together. Figuring they were going to get the Cure Poison potion we were after, I found it all too comfortable to rest my chin on Mana¡¯s head.

    ¡°So, boy,¡± Tama started, chin in hand and barely glancing at the girl in my arms. ¡°If you accepted a guild quest, does that mean you and Daughter will be leaving tomorrow?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Sorry we couldn¡¯t spend more time here, but we have to get going.¡±

    ¡°Tch. Whatever. Just don¡¯t forget about those humans.¡±

    With that, Tama left us to head off somewhere else in the village.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be coming back soon,¡± I called out and his ears twitched.

    Mana giggled, half knowing I meant for her, half because of how Tama stopped mid-step and let his tail flick about excitedly before walking on. I didn¡¯t bother waiting for him to be out of earshot before speaking again.

    ¡°Mana,¡± I started, enjoying the ticklishness of her ears. ¡°Yua and I will handle the humans bothering you guys, but after that, would you help us with our quest?¡±

    She may play out there to avoid troublesome things, but I figured she might know where to look. If not, we had a whole village-worth of people to ask. Surely someone had seen it before.

    ¡°Definately! But, oh, when will you be coming back?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I said, enduring the pout that came with her disappointment. ¡°As soon as I can is all I can say.¡±

    If the humans went to all this trouble to hide whatever they were doing, I doubted they¡¯d be easy to negotiate with. We might even have to get Guerraway¡¯s officials involved to get them out peacefully.

    ¡°Okay,¡± she moped. ¡°But don¡¯t take too long. Everything here is too boring without you and Big Sis.¡±

    Without another word, Mana snuggled up under my chin and closed her eyes. Soon enough, the excitement of the day had her snoozing in my arms. This girl was too open with herself, but I welcomed the chance to hold her.

    As I waited for Yua to return, spending my free time watching the sight of the cat-kin enjoying the party, some enjoying it a bit too much, Mochi found his way back to us with a grinning Chibi in tow.

    Stopping in front of us and furrowing his brow, Mochi held out his hands. Knowing full well what he wanted, I unwrapped my arms from around Mana¡¯s waist and he dove in to grab her before her sleeping form could fall. Holding her up in his arms, he smiled at her sleeping face, but said smile vanished when he looked to me.

    ¡°I let you be with her tonight since I knew you¡¯d be leaving for a while, but she¡¯s coming back with us.¡±

    ¡°I understand,¡± I said, standing. Meeting his gaze, I said, ¡°But I will be back for her.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    A small upward turn to his lips showed itself for a split-second before he nodded and turned. He didn¡¯t want to give her up, that much was easy to tell, but he understood that this was what she wanted. Hopefully that was good enough for him.

    Watching them go, Mochi carrying their petite daughter away in his arms, Chibi grinned and poked my cheek.

    ¡°You had your chance and you messed up.¡±

    ¡°¡­ What are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°Heheh. Like I said, I was mating with him since I left you. You could have bled Mana, but you didn¡¯t.¡±

    Still grinning after admitting to her debauchery, I noticed that Chibi¡¯s face was damp with sweat and that a few strands of her long black hair were clinging to her skin. Though, I dared not look any lower than that for further proof.

    ¡°¡­ You know my ears aren¡¯t as sensitive as yours, right? How would I have known?¡± I said, then paused and added. ¡°N-not that I would have gone against Mochi.¡±

    I waited, staring into the crowd, waiting for Mochi¡¯s eyes to lock onto mine, but he didn¡¯t return.

    ¡°Hahaha! You¡¯re so uptight! Even I think Mana needs to get it together, but don¡¯t be so stiff around her, too. Besides¡­¡±

    Her voice trailed off, but not because she¡¯d heard her mate calling for her again. She pressed her body fully and unreservedly into mine for a hug. Stunned and, before my brain could register the feeling of her chest softly squishing against mine, she whispered as though she wanted to keep what she was about to say a secret between us.

    ¡°I can tell meeting our people has been a bit much for your senses, but I can promise Mana will make for a good mate. I couldn¡¯t teach her how to fight, but I know I taught her right.¡±

    Suppressing a small laugh, both at what she said and how easy it felt to hug her back, I whispered, ¡°You don¡¯t need to sell me on her. I¡¯d take her regardless.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Good,¡± she said, ending our hug. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure she wakes up early enough to see you off.¡±

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    Her cheeks brightening with a warm smile that felt at odds with all the grinning she¡¯d been doing up until now, she turned to leave. But she did turn back only once and, touching her fingertips to her mouth to hide her lips, she spoke again in her usual voice.

    ¡°Oh, and I don¡¯t mind if you want to sneak into our tent tonight. I¡¯ll hold My Mate down if I have to.¡±

    ¡°¡­ I won¡¯t be doing that. Goodnight.¡±

    With a playful shrug, Chibi wandered off. Thankfully, I didn¡¯t know where their tent was, so I couldn¡¯t be tempted. So, turning away so my Memorize trait couldn¡¯t force me to remember the route she was taking, I headed back to our tent. Ready to be done with the day, I graciously awaited Yua¡¯s return so that we could get some sleep.

    A good while of relaxing in our hay bed later, Yua strode back into the tent. Moving straight for her backpack, she took out the water skin I had her keep there, uncorked it and took a long draw. She let out a satisfied sigh before tilting it back again for another drink.

    I smirked at this. Thanks to my magic, we effectively had all the water we could want, so there was no problem with her drinking greedily. However, my smirk didn¡¯t last long.

    When Yua reentered the tent, she¡¯d left the tent flaps open and the village¡¯s large bonfire was still only just petering out. The leftovers of its warm light traveled straight into our tent and illuminated an unmistakable wetness drenching her inner thighs.

    I sat up and, before her ears could catch my panic, my hand flew up between her thighs, ready to use her own customs rather than her status as a slave to demand answers. Her ears jumped in confusion at the sudden penetration, but she accepted it so easily that you¡¯d have thought my fingers had always belonged there. She didn¡¯t even squeeze me back.

    Without a word, she waited for me to speak.

    ¡°Yua, where were you and what were you doing?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? I was in my parents¡¯ tent, teaching Mother how to masturbate. She asked me to tell you that she really liked it and to thank you.¡±

    I blinked once. Twice. Thrice. But nothing I could do could let me unhear that. What¡¯s worse is that the idea didn¡¯t shock me. It honestly sounded like something she might do in her misplaced attempts to share her knowledge with her parents. I had thought that I was being corrupted by these people, but that one line proved that it was me doing the corrupting as I had ruined what little purity these people had left.

    I should have been bothered, but instead, perhaps having some of this news excited me.

    Had it been a hands-on demonstration or was it purely visual? Just the thought of either of those options causing the two world-class beauties that were Yua and Kimiko to enjoy an unintentionally intimate moment together had me throbbing.

    ¡°Yua¡­ I know you¡¯re probably tired after all that fighting, but I really need you right now.¡±

    Looking slightly confused, she turned just her head and noticed my throbbing. Grinning, she slapped the cork back into the water skin and threw a leg over me where I laid.

    ¡°Of course, My Mate. Whenever you need me.¡±

    All on her own, and without noticing my thoughts for once, Yua removed my fingers from her and accepted the much bigger rod awaiting her embrace. Taking but a moment to correct her position, she started moving for the both of us.

    The tent flaps were still open and I didn¡¯t care. The whole tribe could surely hear the way her own movements caused her to moan and I didn¡¯t care. Yua¡¯s bouncing hips were faced towards it as she did her best to pleasure me and I just didn¡¯t care anymore.

    And yet, as if the world meant to mock me, or maybe praise me for surviving this day mostly unscathed, nobody bothered us. We had to harbor no more unwanted guests, no curious voyeurs and no more requests for a fight. We finally had a real moment alone in this village where privacy was a myth and it lasted long into the night before we fell asleep in each other¡¯s arms.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 11

    The lofty scent of morning dew and burning firewood playfully tickled my nostrils until consciousness found me again. Still tired, I didn¡¯t bother to open my eyes and just laid there. We¡¯d gone to sleep without a blanket, using only each other for warmth, so when the morning breeze entered our tent and caressed me in places I only just got used to the day before, I let out a long breath.

    Feeling the same warmth that kept me comfy all night long pressing against my body for more, I ran my hand up and down her arm as I relaxed.

    Content with just her body heat to warm me on this chilly morning, I realized that sleeping like this had to be a testament to this tribe¡¯s way of living not being entirely insane. It might even be a necessity, as those without mates were sure to suffer. I, on the other hand, had a wonderful girl by my side.

    It was when I was basking in this fact that I noticed something a little odd. The head of my lovely lady was resting on my left bicep instead of my right, where I usually found her come morning. I chalked it up to her waking in the middle of the night and switching sides for one reason or another. Not a big deal.

    Eyes still closed and smiling like an idiot, like I probably had every morning in the last month, I let the arm I ran over her shoulder slip further down her body. I¡¯d only meant to hold her by the waist to pull her closer, longing to enjoy more of her warmth, but the sensation felt against my palm was not Yua¡¯s smoothly toned abdomen, but something small, tiny, petite and very soft.

    Squeezing, I recognized the sensation immediately and my eyes shot open. My heart pounding and my cheeks burning, what I saw first was not the loving emerald eyes of the girl that enjoyed kissing me back to consciousness every morning, but a man. Specifically, a part of a man that I really didn¡¯t want to see was staring down at me. Daring to look further up, I found him.

    Staring down at me, crouched beside our makeshift hay bed, was Mochi. The furrow to his brow suggested he was not amused by what he saw. I could say the same were it not for the fact that, upon closer inspection of my hand, I''d groped Mana¡¯s petite breasts right in front of him. She must have snuck into our tent at some point last night. Yua was nowhere to be found.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Mochi glared.

    Slowly, careful not to make any sudden moves as though he had a gun on me, I removed my hand from Mana¡¯s chest. She let out a cute mumble in her sleep before nuzzling her cheek into my chest. Continuing to hold my hand up to show I meant no harm, I begged for forgiveness in a low whisper so I didn¡¯t wake her.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I swear I didn¡¯t know¡­¡±

    ¡°Quiet,¡± he said curtly, but in a whisper. His ears flicked and his tail, unable to show the same restraint, thumped against the dirt floor. ¡°I know it was an accident. I can hear it in your heart.¡±

    ¡°Great, uh, but I didn¡¯t even know she was here. She must have snuck into our tent while I was asleep.¡±

    At this, Mochi side, dropping his bottom onto the dirt where he crossed his legs.

    ¡°I know,¡± he said. ¡°She often sneaks out to fool around. I didn¡¯t hear her leave either¡­ You thought she was Daughter Yua, right?¡±

    ¡°Y-yes.¡±

    Thank the Goddess this man doesn¡¯t have the same temperament as Tama. Though I guess being inherently capable of knowing when someone lies is a big help.

    ¡°Calm your heart already,¡± he said, wincing. ¡°Our people don¡¯t worry about accidentally touching someone else¡¯s body. It happens.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± I agreed instantly and took a deep breath. ¡°So, um¡­¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t be letting Mana leave with you.¡±

    Geez, man. Do you want me to calm down or what?!

    ¡°I don¡¯t trust that you won¡¯t mate with her if given the chance. She¡¯ll stay with me until you complete my request.¡±

    ¡°I understand. No argument here.¡±

    While I wanted to protest his assumptions of my character, I decided against it. He was her father and I was a man that was obviously interested in her that way. There was no amount of logic that could persuade him to believe me.

    ¡°Still,¡± he said with a sigh. ¡°I wanted to tell you that you should spend the rest of your time here with her until you leave. Otherwise, she¡¯d spend the rest of the day crying.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d be glad to. I was actually planning on doing just that anyways.¡±

    He nodded, stood and started to walk away. Not one to stay put for long, apparently. He pushed aside the tent flaps to leave, but stopped when his ears flicked. Turning back, he cast a quick glance at Mana before scratching his head.

    ¡°When it comes to confronting the humans, don¡¯t hesitate to ask for help. If you can at least remove the barrier, we can handle the rest.¡±

    ¡°Thanks for the offer, but I said I¡¯d handle it.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t about to half-ass his one requirement to win Mana¡¯s hand.

    Mochi let out a heavy breath through his nose and left the tent. Wondering why he came in here to spy on us, but didn¡¯t drag her out of the tent with him after finding us cuddled up together, I lightly shook her shoulders.

    ¡°Mana. It¡¯s time to wake up.¡±

    ¡°Mnmm?¡±

    Eyelids only half-open, Mana struggled to lift her cheek from my chest. Blinking away some of the sleepiness, she stretched her arms over her head. Parting her lips wide into what could have been the prelude to a ferocious howl, I caught myself smirking when all I got was a long, cute yawn. When she¡¯d finished waking herself, she turned to me and smiled, only thinking to wipe away the drool on her chin after the fact.

    Deciding that Mochi leaving her here with me to keep an ear on us from afar as being permission enough, I sat up and hugged her to my chest.

    ¡°When did you get here?¡±

    ¡°Mnmm. Late last night,¡± she said sleepily and yawned again. ¡°I had to wait until you and Big Sis were done mating and asleep, so you didn¡¯t try to talk to me. Otherwise, Daddy would have noticed.¡±

    ¡°Well, he did notice. He just left.¡±

    ¡°Eh?!¡± she said, her eyes widening. ¡°W-Was he mad?¡±

    ¡°Err¡­ I wouldn¡¯t say that. But he looked disappointed.¡±

    ¡°Mnmm. Then it¡¯s fine.¡±

    Mana removed herself from my hug and threw a leg over mine to straddle me again. Facing me, she wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled herself up into a kiss. Mochi¡¯s concern was immediately proven correct as the moment her lips pressed against mine, I was powerless to do anything but return the favor.

    Smiling and touching a finger to her pink lips when parted, Mana blushed.

    ¡°Hehe. Big Sis told me to do that when you woke up.¡±

    ¡°She did, did she? Wait¡­ She knew you were here?¡±

    ¡°Mhmm. She was till awake when I got here. Said she knew I was gong to come. I don¡¯t know how, though.¡±

    I rubbed my forehead. Yua was a stickler for the rules, just like her parents, so while she let Mana join us in bed, she must have been acting as a gatekeeper to keep our rest PG all night long. We were going to be leaving soon. I hope she got enough rest.

    ¡°Um, Big Bro,¡± Mana said, then paused.

    Looking over her shoulders, she turned her ears to the sky, both looking and listening for eavesdroppers. I prepared myself to hear the worst, but with my eyes fixed on hers, I couldn¡¯t react in time when I felt her two small hands grip my monster.

    I froze. Her hands were smooth and soft. The light pressure she squeezed me back almost seemed to mirror what I¡¯d accidentally done to her a couple minutes ago. And yet, the look in her face as she held me betrayed no lust. She was simply holding me, looking for me to hear her out.

    ¡°Y-Yes, Mana?¡± I said, trying to play it cool incase Mochi was listening.

    ¡°Before you leave the village, will you¡­ Will you at least stay for breakfast?¡±

    Unable to, or rather, not daring to return her people¡¯s way of asking their mate for a favor, I pressed my hands to her cheeks and kissed her again. This much, at least, her parents didn¡¯t seem to mind.

    ¡°Of course I will. We¡¯re not really in much of a hurry just yet, but the sooner we leave, the sooner we can come back.¡±

    ¡°Mnmm.¡±

    Satisfied with my answer, Mana let go of me and stood. Joining her in experiencing the morning vertically, I let her take my hand as we left the tent.

    Feeling the fresh morning air cool my warmed body, the first thing I noted was the group of cat girls chatting away as they cooked over the newly reignited bonfire. One in particular, the only one with her back to us, leaned forward over the table, leaving everything below her casually tail plainly visible to anyone that wanted to look.

    And I did look. And if she noticed, she said nothing of it. Neither did any of the other girls, a couple of whom greeted us with a happy wave. This was just how things were here and I¡¯d come to accept that.

    Or rather, I¡¯d been forced to, but semantics.

    Still, it felt weird to not be so put off by all the nudity. Did my Memorize trait somehow help me to adapt to this place?

    ¡°Big Bro,¡± Mana said, taking my hand. ¡°You want to see Big Sis, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Can you tell where she is?¡±

    Using my rights as her master, I checked the crowd for her outline, specifically in the direction of the village sparring grounds, but found nothing. Mana nodded with a cute smile and cute swish of her tail.

    ¡°She¡¯s in the chief¡¯s tent. I¡¯ll take you to her.¡±

    Linking her arm in mine, she started speeding away. Although, she didn¡¯t take me straight to Yua. Instead, she brought me straight over to the women cooking breakfast. I noticed last night how much this girl enjoyed her food, she was the only one of us that went back for seconds, but did she really have to drool like that?

    ¡°Oh, Mana?¡± one of the ladies, yet another beauty named Moka, greeted us. ¡°Have you come to help?¡±

    I could not help but notice that her bustline was on par with Kimiko¡¯s, but after everything that happened yesterday, the only thing capable of stealing my attention was the cute way Mana puffed out her chest with a playful smile.

    ¡°Nope! Big Bro was looking at your special place, so I brought him to meet you.¡±

    ¡°Wh¡­ Hey!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Moka said with a laugh. ¡°I don¡¯t mind if you look. I can see your manhood too, remember?¡±

    At that, Moka deliberately let her pupils fall down to my monster, which hadn¡¯t felt a single scrap of cloth since I got here. I was so used to the feeling that that simple fact almost escaped me. She looked at it for several seconds without so much as blushing, smiled at me as if to say ¡°See? It¡¯s fine¡± and returned her attention to the vegetables she¡¯d been cutting.

    As she cut, and as her large breasts jiggled each time she brought the blade down, she continued.

    ¡°But Mana, you really shouldn¡¯t be making excuses. We all know you¡¯re here for a taste.¡±

    ¡°Hehe. Then can I have some meat?¡±

    ¡°Nope,¡± another of the women said. ¡°It¡¯s not ready yet. If you¡¯re hungry, the only way to get your food faster would be to help us.¡±

    ¡°Hmph¡­¡±

    ¡°Yea,¡± chimed a familiar voice behind us. ¡°If I have to help, you should too.¡±

    I turned to find Miso, Yua¡¯s friend, carrying a basket of potatoes over to the table. Though the basket was piled high enough to require two normal people to carry it, she handled it all on her own.

    Spinning around without so much as a tired huff for her effort, Miso leaned back on the table to face us. Without any more reservation than Moka showed, she looked me up and down before smirking.

    ¡°When you bring Daughter Yua back and we fight again, Imma beat the crap out of her.¡±

    ¡°¡­ You wouldn¡¯t stand a chance.¡±

    Unwilling to do or say anything but defend my wife and mate, I told her the honest truth. And, showing a bit of her true colors, Miso didn¡¯t shoot me down with an angry glare or a toothy sneer, she just laughed.

    ¡°Yea, yea, sure. Anyway, food won¡¯t be ready for a while. Just get out of here. That include you too, shorty.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not small!¡±

    Abandoning her hold on my arm, Mana growled cutely as she jumped onto Miso. Smirking, the taller girl accepted her punishment by letting Mana pinch and squeeze her cheeks. Without showing that it hurt in the least, Miso slipped and hand up and between Mana¡¯s thighs and lifted her. She clearly meant to brush Mana off her, but Mana just slipped over onto her back to continue her one-sided assault. Grinning, Miso prodded my chest with a finger.

    ¡°You better go making Daughter Yua stronger, ya hear? I want an even better fight next time.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll still lose.¡±

    ¡°Ha! This one has a mouth on him. I guess her choice in mate wasn¡¯t so bad after all.¡±

    ¡°Of course, he¡¯s plenty nice,¡± Moka said, setting her knife down to rejoin the conversation. ¡°Not only did he win over Mana, but did you hear them mating last night? Gods, I could only imagine what he was doing to her to make her moan like that.¡±

    Miso¡¯s ears perked up and my cheeks lit up brighter than the bonfire.

    ¡°Oh, I know, right?¡± Miso agreed, still showing no effort in ignoring Mana¡¯s pinching. ¡°My Mate couldn¡¯t sleep because of it. He kept asking me to mate all night long.¡±

    ¡°Mhmm,¡± another of the women, Akari, nodded. ¡°My Mate kept going until he couldn¡¯t make it hard anymore. After that, I had to hold his ears for him until he fell asleep.¡±

    ¡°Really? Ha! What about you, Moka? How was Shohei?¡±

    At this, for some reason, Moka pouted.

    ¡°No. My Mate had too much to drink last night and went to sleep before any of you started. And when he¡¯s sleeping, nothing short of a bear rampaging into the tent can wake that male.¡±

    The women all giggled at this, but Moka crossed her arms in a huff. Mana also continued pinching Miso, growling all the while.

    ¡°But seriously,¡± Akari started, looking my way. ¡°What were you and Daughter Yua doing last night? I never even heard her raise her voice unless she was fighting, but she was so loud. My tent is right next to yours, you know?¡±

    ¡°S-Sorry, we were just¡­ Just mating, is all.¡±

    ¡°¡°Hmm?¡±¡±

    The three hummed in unison and understandably, their gazes collectively shifted down below my belt line. And Mana, my soon-to-be mate, just continued pinching and tugging Miso¡¯s cheeks.

    ¡°It¡¯s probably just because his manhood is so big,¡± Miso said with a shrug.

    ¡°Hardly,¡± Moka said with a wave of her hand as she turned back to her work. ¡°Chief Tama¡¯s is really big, too and the Chief Mother is always pretty quiet when she mates.¡±

    ¡°Pfft. Really? Have you not listened to them when they head off into the forest alone?¡±

    ¡°Yea,¡± Akari added, then whispered. ¡°I think the Chief Mother just hides her voice so the Chief can be proud of her when others are around. But when they think they¡¯re alone¡­¡±

    Finally, after a significant delay that I was by no means proud of, I realized Mana had accidentally brought me into the village¡¯s gossip corner. Deciding to make a swift retreat before I learned any more about my in-laws than I wanted, I grabbed Mana without care for where I touched her and yanked her off of Miso. The second her feet touched dirt, I took her hand and dragged her away as she sneered and spit her tongue at the grinning Miso.

    Even in the severe daze I was in yesterday, I still managed to memorize the path to the chief¡¯s tent so I really didn¡¯t need Mana¡¯s guidance. Though what I found there almost made me wish that we¡¯d come sooner.

    The flaps to the chief¡¯s tent were wide open enough to invite all who wanted to visit. And inside, what I found was indeed my Yua like Mana had said. But it was how I found her that left me wordless.

    Riding on top of Tama¡¯s crotch, her hands pressed to his sculpted abs, Yua bounced wildly, causing the cot they shared to creak.

    Feeling a nearly non-existence sense of worry, I blinked and continued forward to close the gap for a better, more clear view and saw my worry fly away as fast as it came.

    In their shared nudity, Yua pressed herself against him so firmly that she was almost grinding herself against him as she bounced.

    And yet, neither of them showed the slightest hint of arousal. Yua was as dry as a desert and Tama was limp and lifeless, even as her breasts jiggled and shook right in front of his face. Without a care in the all the world for this, she spoke and cleared everything up for me.

    ¡°Come on, Daddy. Please wake up. I want to fight again before we leave.¡±

    I was not shocked by what I saw. I was unmoved by their appearance. Nothing but a bit of father-daughter bonding right there. I was zen. I was an unmovable rock. A stone. A boulder. I may be a boulder that had been smashed to bits with the sledgehammer that was this village, but I was a boulder that was simply exasperated.

    Maybe this village had well and truly broken me. I could say for certain that, had any other man been in his position, I¡¯d have killed him. But when it was one of her people, when it was him, I knew there was no threat.

    Besides, while Tama¡¯s eyes remained closed no matter how she rode him, I could tell from the slight playful swishing of the tail she accidentally pinned under her knee that he was simply feigning sleep. Likely so he could enjoy his daughter¡¯s wakeup call after so many years apart.

    Sighing to myself, I let Yua continued to try and grab his attention as is and turned to the other side of the tent. There I found Kimiko. Resting on Yua¡¯s old cot with her back propped up by an uncomfortable-looking crate, she wore a warm smile as she read from a scroll of some sort, as though the predicament happening in front of her was truly of no concern. It was her that noticed our arrival first.

    ¡°Oh, Alex, come, come. Sit with me. I have something to show you.¡±

    Kimiko threw her legs off the cot and pat the spot beside her. With no reason not to, I accepted her request and sat down. Mana instantly jumped to sit on my thigh and Kimiko once more pressed herself into my arm as she held out the scroll she¡¯d been reading.

    ¡°After our talk last night, I remembered that my mother had drawn some pictures of the plants in the forest. Aside from fighting, drawing was her favorite hobby, so she often took some parchment out into the trees to draw. And turns out your Connifery Flower was one of her subjects, see?¡±

    She unfurled the page and handed it to me. Letting Mana hold one side, I held the other as I took in the admittedly beautiful drawing.

    ¡°It¡¯s a more detailed picture than yours,¡± Kimiko continued. ¡°And she did write down some information on it, but it doesn¡¯t say exactly where to find it. It only says that it grows on the base of large trees. Sorry, but this is the best I can do to help.¡±

    Feeling a smile warm my cheeks at this sudden turn of good luck, I handed the scroll back to her.

    ¡°No, thank you. This is more than enough.¡±

    ¡°Oh, dear, you should keep it,¡± she said, pushing the scroll back. ¡°You may need it.¡±

    ¡°Thanks again, but you should keep it if it used to be your mother¡¯s. I already memorized everything on the page.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Really?¡±

    Seeing her honest confusion tilt her head to the side, I briefly rummaged through my memories to find if I¡¯d told her about my Memorize trait, found nothing, and quickly explained. She nodded, listening with a great deal of curiosity perked up her ears.

    ¡°I see. That sounds like a wonderful trait. But¡­¡± she stopped herself, then leaned into me more to whisper in my ear. ¡°If that¡¯s true, I think you should really put more effort into training. Your fight with My Mate made it clear you¡¯re not very good at it. But you should be able to learn quickly, at least.¡± She paused, smiling a bit sympathetically. Then her ears perked back up and the warmth returned to her smile. ¡°Oh, I know, how about I teach you a bit before you leave?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡±

    Taking moment to re-read her info box, I learned that she, like Tama, was level 60, but her only class was Beast-Warrior. While that alone was fairly shocking considering how gentle she was, after watching all those Beast-Warriors fight Yua, I didn¡¯t see how she¡¯d teach me anything other than regular strength training. And I already had Yua helping me there.

    ¡°Thanks, but I¡¯m not a Beast-Warrior like you. No claws.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s true,¡± she said and pouted.

    ¡°Hmph,¡± Mana pouted right back, then let her hand slip down between my legs to grab hold of my monster. ¡°Don¡¯t make fun of my mate! He¡¯s plenty strong!¡±

    Seeing this, the truth of Kimiko¡¯s smile faded away and a darkness that clashed with the bright morning sun peeking in through the tent, instantly snuffing it out. While her lips were still turned upwards, it was clearly no longer a real smile. It was forced, a show meant only to keep us rooted in place. It even caused Mana to shudder in my arms.

    Without restraint, Kimiko¡¯s hand shot down, grabbed hold of my rod and slid down it in one quick motion to push Mana¡¯s hand away. Trembling with an honest look of fear that caused her to tear up, Mana didn¡¯t fight back. And this time, Kimiko didn¡¯t let go of me.

    ¡°Mana,¡± she said, her voice anything but sweet. ¡°He is not your mate yet. Obey your daddy and keep your hands off of his manhood.¡±

    ¡°S-Sorry Chief Mother. I won¡¯t do it again, I promise!¡±

    Jumping off of me, Mana dropped to her knees and bowed low, touching her head to the floor. Why was this girl so quick to obey Kimiko when she apparently made a habit out of ignoring her own mother¡¯s wishes?

    Kimiko huffed, but the warmth had not returned to her just yet as she turned back to me. Her eyes held no apparent malice, but a chill ran up my spine when I met her gaze. The part of me that wanted to say, but you¡¯re not my mate either, pissed itself and ran away to hide in the corner.

    ¡°Alex, you did well not to let her take you last night,¡± she said, shaking my rod at me in place of wagging her finger. ¡°But you need to stop letting her touch you.¡±

    ¡°S-sorry.¡±

    Unsure if I should bow as well, I squeezed my knees out of repentance. Gentle as she may be, I knew at least that her much higher level meant that she could easily remove my monster from my body with a flick of her wrist. And for obvious reasons, I very much wanted to avoid that.

    ¡°Hmph,¡± she huffed and finally, thankfully, pulled her hand away from me. ¡°Honestly, Mana. I wasn¡¯t even insulting him.¡±

    ¡°Sorry!¡±

    Shaking her head, Kimiko let out a single short sigh before her ears perked up and her eyes widened. And like that, light returned to the world.

    ¡°Oh, before I forget¡­¡±

    Without another word for the still bowing Mana, Kimiko leapt off the cot and bent over right in front of me. As she gave me an up close and unfiltered view of her special place, she rummaged around in one of the tent¡¯s many boxes. When I heard the clinking of glass on glass, I knew what she was looking for.

    Careful not to put myself in a state similar to Yua¡¯s as she continued to try and get his attention while seemingly unaware of how Mana and I nearly got maimed, I leaned around Kimiko and scooped Mana off the floor.

    Placing the petite girl on my lap, I purposefully positioned her legs to rest between mine to prevent both her and Kimiko from trying to grab me again. Holding her trembling frame, I did the only thing I could do and watched Kimiko¡¯s backside swing side to side as she rummaged through her things.

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    ¡°Here it is,¡± she said holding out a small vial whose info box read Cure Poison Potion. ¡°Turns out we only had one left, but you can still have it. I already sent a couple of our Expeditionary Force to go make an order for more.¡±

    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said, taking the vial and letting it slip straight into my item box. ¡°But you didn¡¯t send them to Amoranth, did you?¡±

    Kimiko shook her head, her long chestnut hair swaying as she sat down again.

    ¡°Not at all. You came from Amoranth, so if you didn¡¯t already have some, then I doubted the shop there would have any. There¡¯s another city not too far from here that may have some.¡±

    Nodding along with her logic, I figured she must not know why Madame Turquesse suddenly ran out in the first place. The demon the army was supposedly fighting was far on the opposite side of Amoranth, after all.

    ¡°Come on, Daddy,¡± Yua complained in a pout. ¡°Stop fooling around. I know you¡¯re awake.¡±

    Unable to get him to open his eyes after declaring that she too knew he was faking it, she raised her hips up in the air and slammed them back down on him. Knowing full well that that movement was a more forceful version of how she rode me just last night, I was still surprised with myself for staying calm.

    ¡°Mmm!¡±

    When her force was met with a continued silence, Yua slammed herself down on him again and again. The clapping of their hips could only remind of lewd thoughts, but again, Tama showed no signs of arousal. Or consciousness, for that matter. As now that he knew Yua was on to him, even his tail ceased moving.

    ¡°Fufufu.¡±

    Seeing this, Kimiko smiled sweetly and giggled. No doubt enjoying the sight of her mate and daughter getting along, she decided to throw Yua a bone.

    ¡°My Mate,¡± she started, spreading her legs wide enough to throw one over my thigh. ¡°I¡¯d like to mate. Could you wake up for me?¡±

    Instantaneously, and I really mean instantaneously, as in there was no middle ground¡­ Tama¡¯s manhood stood up.

    ¡°Wah!¡±

    With it already pressed firmly against her, his sudden arousal pushed her, launching her forward to land face first into his chest. Finally, worry began to bubble up in me when I saw his large rod standing tall and proud between her thighs, but all he did was hug her to his chest and growl when Kimiko closed her legs.

    ¡°Tch. My Mate, I was having fun,¡± he grumbled, lifting himself into a sitting position to place Yua on his lap. Still hugging her to his chest, he more or less forced her legs to wrap around his back. He took one look at Kimiko and grunted. ¡°Don¡¯t ask to mate unless you mean it.¡±

    ¡°Oh dear, sorry,¡± Kimiko giggled.

    Baffled at the two, but still calm, I was entirely unsure of how to react to Yua still sitting on him.

    Seeing my confusion, Kimiko took it completely the wrong way and pressed herself into my arm again.

    ¡°You might have guessed already, but this is another of our customs. Whenever your mate wants to mate, you are to accept them immediately and without question. As for My Mate, it¡¯s the best way to get him out of bed.¡±

    ¡°Tch.¡±

    Kimiko giggled to herself, but Tama only scoffed, not denying anything as his cheeks flushed and as he pinned Yua¡¯s arms to her sides in a forceful hug.

    Wait¡­ Is that why Yua¡¯s always been so receptive whenever I was in the mood? She wasn¡¯t acting as my slave, but as my mate? Damn. Had I bothered to ask more about her people instead of just focusing on her, I might have had our true relationship all cleared up sooner.

    ¡°Come on, Daddy,¡± Yua pleaded, her cheek pressed to his chest. ¡°Let¡¯s fight one more time.¡±

    ¡°Mnnn¡­¡±

    Grumbling again, Tama looked my way before answering.

    ¡°Not yet. I need to speak with this boy alone first.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Fine.¡±

    Yua huffed and he released her from his hug. He, however, did not remove her from his lap. He just turned to throw his feet off the bed and stood with her as is. Facing us, his rod only just now starting to wilt, he grabbed Yua¡¯s ass with both hands and lifted her into the air before tossing her rather rudely onto my free thigh.

    She landed right where their people demanded she be, but it seemed an utterly pointless gesture when Tama continued.

    ¡°Boy, come with me.¡±

    A man of few words, Tama didn¡¯t bother to elaborate before he left the tent. Yua watched him go with a seriously depressed pout hanging on her lips. I got the distinct impression she¡¯d be like this for the rest of the week if I took her from the village before they could fight again.

    I sighed.

    ¡°Yua, Mana, sorry but it looks like I have to go.¡±

    Without question, Yua slid off of me and moved to sit with her mother. Mana, too, put up no protests, likely not wanting to get scolded again. Now freed of their weight and softness, I hurried to catch up to him. It was all I could do to hope he wasn¡¯t going to force another fight.

    My hopes were all but dashed completely when I exited the tent and found him walking towards the temple once more. I followed him anyways and we stepped inside and onto the arena. Almost ignoring me, Tama crossed his arms to look over the carnage we¡¯d left behind.

    The stone pillars I¡¯d spawned to act as my shield were mostly broken, shattered, their remains littering the arena. Only a few remained standing at all. Several scorch marks from my fire and lighting spells blackened the tiles and the section I removed through Material Destruction was now nothing but a huge scar on this once pristine flooring. There were even several foot-shaped black burns thanks to Tama¡¯s Overheat ability.

    Everything happened so fast back then, that I didn¡¯t have the wherewithal to consider the damage we¡¯d caused.

    ¡°Would you like me to help clean this up?¡±

    Tama scoffed and his tail rejected the idea for him.

    ¡°I said I wanted to talk.¡±

    ¡°Okay. Then what did you¡­.¡±

    ¡°I heard you mating with Daughter last night.¡±

    ¡°Oh, really?¡±

    Perhaps sensing my lack of shock, his cat ears twitched and his tail whipped the air as he turned to face me.

    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate my ears, boy. Even among the other cat-kin, mine are the best.¡±

    ¡°¡­ I¡¯m not apologizing. She¡¯s my mate. We¡¯re going to mate. End of story.¡±

    ¡°Tch,¡± Tama clicked his tongue, but I knew I had him. And so did he. ¡°I don¡¯t care about that. I¡¯d be more pissed if you didn¡¯t perform your role as her mate properly. What I wanted to say is that you were doing it for too long. Unlike you, Daughter is a warrior and warriors need their rest. She doesn¡¯t need you keeping her awake all night¡±

    ¡°¡­ Is that why you brought me here?¡±

    If that¡¯s all he wanted to say, then he might as well have said it back at the tent. If Yua were so inclined to listen to us here, she would have heard him anyways.

    ¡°No,¡± he continued. ¡°Boy, can you tell me what you see over there?¡±

    He pointed towards the far end of the arena where I saw the glint of a metal blade laying there amongst the destruction.

    ¡°Is that my swor¡­!¡±

    Tama sent gut-wrenching punch straight into my stomach. I felt my insides twist and churn into a fine paste, but I managed not to black out this time. Lot of good that did, as that meant I was conscious for all the pain that left me heaving. My legs buckled out from beneath me and I collapsed to my knees.

    ¡°Hmph,¡± Tama snorted, taking a step back.

    ¡°I thought¡­ you wanted to talk¡­¡±

    ¡°I did. Males talk with their fists. Now, boy, what is that?¡±

    ¡°My¡­ sword?¡±

    ¡°And why did you leave it sitting there all night? A warrior must have their weapon beside them at all times, yet the first thing you did after waking up, was tend to my daughter.¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s why you¡¯re mad?¡±

    ¡°Hmph. No. I¡¯d have killed you if you didn¡¯t care for her first.¡±

    ¡°Then¡­¡±

    ¡°But collecting your weapon should have been the first thing you did after leaving my tent last night. Instead, you went to mate and steal another of our tribe¡¯s daughters.¡±

    Every time I think I have their customs down pat, they hit me with something new. And the worst part is that I understood his point. Ignoring the value of the sword, it was my last line of defense once a fighter like him managed to cause me to burn up all my mana.

    And more importantly, it was my last, surefire way to defend his daughter. And soon Mana.

    ¡°¡­I¡¯ll go get it.¡±

    Repressing my complaints, I forced myself to my feet and walked across the arena, lurching and holding my stomach all the while. Tama followed without a word until I picked it up, checked it for damage and set it back in my item box. His ears twitched and he recrossed his arms.

    ¡°Funny magic, that.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s an ability¡­ I told you last night.¡±

    ¡°Yea, I suppose you did¡­ Can that ability fix this mess?¡±

    He gestured towards the crumbling stone pillars and the burnt floor with his chin.

    ¡°Yes¡­ Is cleaning this up my punishment for forgetting my sword?¡±

    ¡°Pfft. No. That¡¯s what the punch was for¡­ I just thought I would ask my daughter¡¯s new mate for help.¡±

    He whipped his head to the side opposite me to avoid my gaze, but his tail pointed at me in his stead. It was as if he himself still wanted to refuse that I was her mate, but his tail could not tell a lie.

    ¡°The way you explained it seems like it should be easy for you to fix, but it would take us weeks. So¡­¡±

    ¡°I can do it¡­ It¡¯s my mess. I¡¯ll clean it up.¡±

    He smirked, balled his fist again and pushed it into my chest. Just when I thought I was somehow watching another punch fly at me in slow motion, said fist suddenly began to glow green.

    ¡°Healing Punch.¡±

    Almost instantly, the pain in my stomach receded and I was able to stand upright like nothing had happened. He snorted.

    ¡°Hey, Tama, why is it when you use Healing Punch, you heal people instantly? When Yua does it, it takes at least a minute just to heal a small bruise. And she¡¯s always so exhausted after.¡±

    ¡°Heh, right. Daughter can already use Healing Punch, too¡­ Boy, are you wearing clothes when she heals you?¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°Then that¡¯s why. That and because she doesn¡¯t have enough stamina.¡± He unclenched his fists and pressed his palms to his chest. ¡°Healing Punch takes the wielder¡¯s stamina and moves it into the wounded person¡¯s body, forcing it to heal much faster than should be possible. Having clothes in the way just makes this happen slower. Direct skin contact is best. Preferably near the heart. Otherwise, you¡¯re just wasting stamina.¡±

    ¡°So, that¡¯s why you grabbed Yua¡¯s tit to heal her last night¡­?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s a tit?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Her breast.¡±

    ¡°Hmph. What, are you jealous of my skinship with my daughter? You may be her mate, but I refuse to give that up.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t bother me,¡± I said and I was surprised to know I meant it. ¡°I¡¯m just curious how the ability works¡­ Is there a limit to what wounds you can heal?¡±

    ¡°Other than the wielder being unable to heal themselves, the only wounds that should give you trouble are ones that are already fatal or poisoned.¡±

    Right. Can¡¯t heal a person that¡¯s already doomed to die before you can even start the healing process. And if all it does is heal, closing the wound caused by a poison-tipped weapon wouldn¡¯t remove the poison, it would just lock it inside the body. This would just guarantee their death despite their efforts. Good to know.

    ¡°I see. Then I take it that Yua doesn¡¯t know any of this?¡±

    He shook his head, standing there lazily while I used Material Destruction to clear the rubble and Material Creation to repair the arena floor. Tama helped by pushing the larger chunks of debris over to me.

    ¡°Usually, we do not teach our people all the details until they show that they know it. Otherwise, they¡¯ll waste valuable training time thinking about an ability they can¡¯t even use¡­ Heh. The fact that Daughter got this far all on her own just means she takes after me.¡±

    This doting father pumped his fist, just as pleased with his daughter¡¯s strength as she was herself. Seeing his proud grin, I did not have the heart, or stomach, to remind him that she only learned the ability so soon thanks to my being her master and letting her borrow my cheat abilities.

    ¡°Do you think Yua can master that Overheat skill you used?¡±

    ¡°At her level and age¡­ Normally, I¡¯d say hell no, but since she is my daughter, I expect she will soon enough. Heh. She might even figure it out for herself.¡±

    Once more, the doting father stood there praising both himself and his daughter. The more he talked about her, the less he helped clean. But my magic had already cleared up most of the mess anyways, so there wasn¡¯t really anything for him to do anymore anyways.

    ¡°Boy, your magic sure is handy. You sure you don¡¯t want to stay in our village?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Thanks for everything so far, but we only stopped here because Yua wanted to. We need to head to Guerraway next.¡±

    ¡°Guerraway? Why in the hells would you want to go to that place?¡±

    He clicked his tongue and I couldn¡¯t help but notice in his tone that he spoke about the city as if he hated it from the bottom of his heart.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with it?¡±

    ¡°Not much. Just¡­ recently, the humans there have been harassing our tribesmen whenever we send them to the city. Seems they got the idea in them that the forest belongs to them now, even though all they did was build a wall next to it.¡±

    ¡°¡­ And did this start around the time you found the other humans in the forest?¡±

    ¡°Before it, but yes.¡±

    Then why didn¡¯t you say so yesterday¡­?

    ¡°I see. Thanks for the warning,¡± I said, getting back to my feet. ¡°That should do it for the cleanup.¡±

    He looked around the arena, as if he¡¯d only just noticed the progress I¡¯d made. He broke into a smile and slammed his foot against a section of floor I removed and reformed with Material Creation. When it didn¡¯t budge, he gave me a thumbs up.

    ¡°This mean you¡¯re leaving now, boy?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like to, but I promised Mana we¡¯d stay for breakfast. I¡¯d like to let my girls with their families while they can.¡±

    I wanted to speed things along so I¡¯d have time to help Madame Turquesse brew up some potions in order to earn that sweet bonus to support them, but I couldn¡¯t. After seeing the pure joy Yua¡¯s experienced since coming back here, I didn¡¯t have the heart to tear her away so soon. Plus, she may not be mine yet, but Mana should have some time to say her goodbyes before I whisk her off to be my second wife.

    ¡°Heh. My girls, huh? Now you¡¯re talking like a proper male!¡±

    With a hearty laugh, Tama slapped me on the back a little¡­ way too hard. Trying not to fall on my face, I blinked away the light of that endlessly white expanse known as heaven before the Goddess could beckon to me.

    Feeling as though he might have broken something, I had a fantastic reason to remember that my Sex Master class leveled up last night and that it gained me a few more skill points to use. I went ahead and dumped them all into strength in hopes that next time, it wouldn¡¯t hurt so much.

    ¡°Well, if that¡¯s it, I¡¯m heading back. You and Yua should...¡±

    I turned to leave, trying not to touch my aching back so I could at least pretend that I could withstand what, to him, was probably meant as a love-tap. But then I heard him sniff the air a little too loudly, like he wanted me to notice.

    ¡°Wait, boy. Hit me.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°Hit me,¡± he repeated. ¡°You suddenly smell like you got stronger than you were last night. I want to see what you can do.¡±

    He took up the same wide-open stance he did against Yua yesterday and thumped his palm onto his abs, telling me where to aim my fist.

    Did he notice that I used my skill points? With his nose?

    Seeing him awaiting my fist, I felt I had no choice but to comply with the chief¡¯s request. So, feeling as though I wasn¡¯t going to be allowed to leave until I played along with his games, I readied myself. My fighting stance was nowhere near as well-trained as either his or Yua¡¯s, but I only needed one hit.

    I pulled my arm back and launched my fist into his stomach. I already knew there was no need to hold back against this man, so I put absolutely everything I had into it. It felt a little weird to only just realize this, but I¡¯d never actually punched anyone before. In this life or the last. Not too sure how to feel about my first time being someone whom I knew could just shrug it off, though.

    Thankfully, this wasn¡¯t some ridiculous trick meant for me to start a fight so he had an excuse to beat the shit out of me after what I did to Yua last night. He just let my fist land squarely against his abs. Exactly like when Yua hit him, his stomach bent inwards a tiny bit, but rebounded just as fast. It was like all he did was suck in his gut and let out a breath, but I had to shake off the numbing pain in my hand after.

    Then he swung at me.

    I dodged his fist, but only barely. And I only managed it because he held back again. He smirked and crossed his arms.

    [Monk Class Acquired]

    [New Ability Acquired: Iron Fist]

    Well, that¡¯s and easy one to figure out. All I needed to do was punch someone as hard as I could to get the class. Wish I had that yesterday, though.

    ¡°Strange,¡± he started. ¡°Boy, you were much weaker yesterday, but you¡¯re just as strong as Daughter now. Is this the work of that ability she was talking about? For a human, that¡¯s pretty impressive.¡±

    What¡¯s impressive is that you could tell we had the same level of strength just by taking a hit. Those last five points I put into my Strength stat just now did even things between me and Yua, but for him to notice that by just smelling me...

    Not sure what to think of that.

    ¡°Thank you¡­ I guess?¡±

    ¡°Hmph. Boy, do you know how I got these?¡±

    He pointed unceremoniously to the only blemish on his body: the four thick, jagged scars that ran across his chest. Their heavy purple-ish discoloring was enough to know how deep the cuts that made them had once been. They might have been near fatal. A testament to the powerful blow that once rent his flesh. They were clearly the results of an animal attack.

    ¡°Yua said it was because you were drunk and distracted during a fight with a bear.¡±

    Tama closed his eyes and nodded. He then leaned towards me and lowered his voice into a whisper, probably because the girl in question might be listening to see if her father and mate were getting along.

    ¡°The part of me being drunk was a lie I made everyone tell her. Always was. I didn¡¯t want her to feel guilty.¡±

    Thinking back to Yua¡¯s brief retelling of the incident and how she said she¡¯d heard it so many times that she actually got bored of it, I couldn¡¯t help but ask.

    ¡°Why would she feel guilty?¡±

    ¡°Did Daughter ever tell you what it was that managed to distract me? Me, the chief, the strongest person in this village?¡±

    ¡°No?¡±

    He nodded, letting out knowing laugh that died out the moment his ears flicked.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t drunk. I rarely drink. It dulls the senses and I must always be alert. What distracted me that day was¡­ It was her crying voice.¡±

    Tama looked down, but not out of sadness. He ran his fingertips across the scars, tracing the arc they carved permanently into his chest with a small, happy smile.

    ¡°It was the day my daughter was born. The first time she breathed in the fresh air of this forest and let out a hearty cry after My Mate finally gave her to me. That was what distracted me. That damn bear came to challenge my people for the rights to rule this forest while I was awaiting her delivery. But as chief I had no choice but to accept their demand for a duel. It was then, in the heat of battle, that my newborn Daughter cried out for me.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Sorry you missed it.¡±

    Tama laughed and shook his head.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be sorry about, boy. Not only did I give that bear a scar to match, I still made it back in time to hold her before she opened her eyes. I chose to wear these scars as a reminder of the day she was born.¡±

    Leave it to a parent, even this muscle-head, to put his daughter first. It made me happy to know she was so loved, even though she came back here scared that she¡¯d be turned away as a failure.

    ¡°Tama¡­ Would you go ahead and fight her again before we leave?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d have me fight her knowing I¡¯d win?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s what she wants.¡±

    Slowly, a wide grin crept across his lips and he thumped me on the back again. This time, the blow did little more than make me stagger. Without waiting to, or even offering to heal me, Tama walked off back towards the village.

    ¡°That¡¯s a good mate,¡± he said, his tail waving for him. ¡°Now hurry up and get stronger.¡±

    ¡°I will. I¡¯ll make sure I protect her.¡±

    ¡°Bah! She can protect herself. I made sure of that. Your job is to make her happy.¡±

    I watched him head back down into the village, straight for the sparring grounds. Yua must have either decided to wait for him or was taking on a couple other matches while she waited.

    As I watched him disappear into the crowd, I caught the sight of a familiarly petite cat girl jumping and down excitedly by the bonfire, waving her hands to grab my attention. When she had me, she stopped bouncing to point towards the food line, mouthing something I couldn¡¯t hope to have heard. Though her wide smile looked like an invitation. All evidence of her earlier scolding was already gone with the wind.

    Picking up my pace into a brisk jog, I waved back to let her know I got the message. I helped Yua to get the fight she wanted, so I suppose I should be allowed to fulfil the wish of my soon-to-be second mate, right?

    ¡°Big Bro, hurry!¡± she said, running to jump into my arms. ¡°If we get there early enough, we can get bigger pieces of meat!¡±

    Latching her legs around my back, she all but forced me to carry her. She grinned happily just as much with her big blue eyes as with her lips when I didn¡¯t set her down. Hefting herself up further in my arms, she pecked my cheek. Feeling her already miniscule weight slipping as she did, I went ahead and blended in with their ways by cupping my hands under her bottom, purely to hold her up, and hurried to join the line of hungry bellies.

    ¡°Hahaha! Did she really?¡±

    ¡°Oh, dear, yes,¡± Kimiko laughed. ¡°She moped about for an entire week just because Mana wouldn¡¯t fight her anymore.¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡±

    As Kimiko regaled me in a side of the story of their last fight that Yua herself neglected to share, Mana plopped back down on my lap with a second plate of food for herself. Patting her head as she huffed, cheaply feigning ignorance out of guilt, I laughed at the new dirt I had on the girl that liked to jab me with her smirks.

    ¡°Oh, I remember that,¡± Chibi said, quickly sliding across the log into me. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t even leave the tent to eat unless the Chief dragged her out.¡±

    Hand to her smiling cheek, Kimiko nodded emphatically, but it was Mana who responded.

    ¡°Mmn. If she didn¡¯t hit so hard, maybe I wouldn¡¯t have stopped.¡±

    ¡°You sure? She couldn¡¯t have been all that strong back then. Maybe it¡¯s just because you¡¯re so sma¡­¡±

    ¡°Graaaa! Don¡¯t say it!¡±

    Twisting herself on my lap, Mana grabbed a piece of the boiled potato she¡¯d been neglecting and shoved it into my mouth, smearing half on my face. She silenced the truth, but not my laughter. I wrapped and arm around her shoulder and pressed my sullied face against hers to return the favor. She squirmed in my arms, but Chibi held down her feet so all she got from her struggling was a warm potato mask.

    The mothers laughed and Mana grumbled cutely in my arms. She threw another piece of meat into her mouth and chewed aggressively as I cast the Body Wash spell on us. The wasted spuds vanished to reveal the bright pink flush that had pasted itself to her cheeks.

    As promised, Mana and I had taken our breakfast to one of the smaller campfires that had been abandoned for one reason or another and enjoyed ourselves. Her telling this and that about the forest animals she liked to fool around with and I enjoying the enthusiasm she exuded in it all.

    But, if I¡¯ve learned anything about this place during our stay, it¡¯s that privacy dies at the tree line. Kimiko and Chibi hurried to join us as soon as they could. For the first half of the meal, Kimiko ate strangely slowly, but it didn¡¯t take long to realize it was because she was listening to the fights in the distance. And once whatever bout she was listening to ended, she regaled me in a few embarrassing stories about Yua that I may or may not have asked for.

    Chibi, on the other hand¡­

    ¡°Psst, hey, Alex,¡± she whispered. With a cheeky grin twisting her lips, she stood from the log to throw an arm around my neck. ¡°I¡¯ll distract My Mate for you. If you take Mana for, let¡¯s say, about a ten minute walk into the trees over there, he won¡¯t be able to hear anything you do.¡±

    ¡­ She kept trying to provoke Mana and I to take that next step. As embarrassing as it was, it was only more so when, instead of blushing and running off out of embarrassment like any other girl her age, Mana just pressed her lips together denying nothing. I didn¡¯t need to have a pair of cat ears to know she was more or less leaving the decision to give in up to me.

    However, I couldn¡¯t and wouldn¡¯t. Not yet.

    This was not just me wanting to obey the wishes of her father, nor was this about me being worried Chibi might be playing a trick on us, as her grins might have suggested. I maintained control of myself because I knew it was only a matter of time.

    And as if on cue, as Chibi pointed towards the closest tree line to us, the ears of Mana and Kimiko both jumped in unison. Lost in her own giggling, Chibi did not notice the man that appeared behind her. Hell, I didn¡¯t even notice his approach until I saw him out of the corner of my eye. No doubt Mana got her sneaking skills from this man.

    ¡°Hahaha. Come on, Alex,¡± Chibi continued. ¡°I know your heart races when you look at her special place. Just pick her up and¡­!¡±

    ¡°My Mate!¡±

    ¡°Eeep!¡±

    Jumping so hard at the sound of Mochi¡¯s voice, Chibi launched herself over me and landed between Kimiko¡¯s legs before falling backwards into her chest. Her tail stiff as a rock, Chibi clenched her hands to her chest in fear, and when she saw the look on her mate¡¯s face, her ears fell flat.

    Glaring, Mochi shifted his gaze to Kimiko who, smiling back, lifted Chibi into the air princess style before throwing her at him. Though he was a little thin for a man, he caught her as though she were weightless. His arms locked around her like a vice so tight, she didn¡¯t even try to squirm away.

    ¡°Waaah! Traitor!¡±

    ¡°Oh dear. I told you to listen to your mate.¡±

    ¡°Lies! You know you wanna see them mate, too!¡±

    At this, Kimiko giggled, but didn¡¯t deny it. Instead, she looked to Mochi.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll make sure these two aren¡¯t alone long enough to mate.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Chief Mother. At least one of our village¡¯s females obeys our rules. Come, we need to talk.¡±

    ¡°Wah! But he¡¯s gonna leave soon and¡­!¡±

    Hefting Chibi over his shoulder, as he turned to leave, Mochi¡¯s hand quickly flew towards her backside. Just when I thought he was about to spank her, instead a couple of his fingers vanished between her thighs. It had the instant effect of quieting her, until¡­

    ¡°Traitor!!! Alex! Ten minutes! Just ten minuuuuutes!¡±

    As Chibi was hauled away, she continued her provocations up until I could no longer hear her. Much like the chief¡¯s affections for his daughter, her antics earned her a fair few giggles from the cat-kin as the pair disappeared into the field of tents.

    Unfortunately, Chibi¡¯s voice must have been relentless, as Mana¡¯s blushing continued long after I could no longer hear them. She buried her face into my chest while Kimiko shot me another mirthless smile. It was a warning that said she¡¯d shackle me to the fire if she could. I surrendered without a fight by making sure my hands were in plain sight. Forcing a smile, I pet Mana¡¯s head.

    How can this woman be so sweet and warm one second and so terrifying the next?

    Thankfully, we were saved from the crushing weight of her gaze when Tama joined us, looking as uninjured as expected. At first, I thought he¡¯d left Yua to fight some more on her own, but then she lifted her face up from behind his back and rested her chin on his shoulder, grinning. He was carrying her piggy-back style.

    This would have been a fairly sweet sight of the father-daughter pair, but under each of Tama¡¯s arms were two more unconscious cat-kin. And, as if that wasn¡¯t enough, there was even a third, a woman, draped over his other shoulder.

    He caught my wondering gaze and smirked proudly.

    ¡°These three challenged Daughter to a fight once we were done. This is what¡¯s left of them!¡±

    ¡°Hehe!¡±

    Yua shot me a playful thumbs up before jumping off of his back to take up the free spot on my spare thigh. Clearly not having noticed Chibi¡¯s earlier pleas, Yua pulled both Mana and I into a hug. Tama huffed and carelessly dumped the two men under his arms on the ground beside us and, showing just the tiniest bit of care for the woman, dumped her on the log besides Kimiko.

    Her terrifying aura vanishing once more, she brushed the woman¡¯s hair out of her face and checked her over for damage, but I guessed Tama had already healed her since her skin was flawless. It was the same with the other two.

    Tama¡¯s ear flicked and his brow furrowed as he looked down on the three of us and I had the feeling it wasn¡¯t because Yua once more celebrated her victories by pelting me with her lips. Grumbling, he sat beside me and grabbed Yua by the waist.

    ¡°Eh?! Daddy?¡±

    Tearing her off of me, he slammed her down on his own lap. There he wrapped her up in a big muscular hug of his own and nuzzled against her. Her cheek squished against his, Yua smiled wryly.

    ¡°Daddy, I have a mate now.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t care. You¡¯re leaving soon.¡±

    Sensing the pain in his voice that Kimiko, Mana and the non-chalant eavesdroppers all did, Yua¡¯s lips turned up sympathetically as she pat his forearm.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be back for Mana soon.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t care.¡±

    His muscles tensed, as if trying to prevent the escape she didn¡¯t even try to make. She looked to me. As her mate, she was asking me what to do.

    I sighed and used up what little pent-up frustration I still had from that cheap shot he gave me earlier by squeezing Mana in turn when I noticed the way his scars wrinkled against her supple skin.

    ¡°¡­ You know, Yua, I¡¯m still not used to sitting so close to a fire for so long. I¡¯m getting kind of hot. Think you can stay there for a while?¡±

    Yua¡¯s face brightened a bit as she took a moment to settle into his lap properly, but the moment she opened her mouth to give thanks, Tama interrupted.

    ¡°Huh? Boy, you can¡¯t even handle both of your females at the same time?¡±

    This fucking¡­ I was trying to let you have your way without making it look like a handout!

    ¡°Daddy, what did I say about being mean to my mate?¡±

    ¡°Tch.¡±

    ¡°My Mate,¡± Kimiko added with a warning finger. ¡°Mana is not his mate yet. Don¡¯t you start acting like she is.¡±

    ¡°Tch.¡±

    Flinching at Yua¡¯s warning and sweating a little at Kimiko¡¯s, Tama clicked his tongue and slipped off the log to sit cross-legged in the dirt. He pushed Yua off his thigh to make her sit on his lap. He smirked at me, but I knew it was because he was just showing off by moving closer to the fire.

    I rolled my eyes, ignored another aimless click of his tongue and turned to Yua. Her emeralds glistened like the jewels they were and her ears flicked in my direction, waiting for whatever I had to say.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to end your reunion too fast, but we do need to get going. How long did you want to stay?¡±

    ¡°Umm¡­¡±

    Looking troubled, she hesitated to answer. Without looking like he¡¯d ever admit to doing it, Tama squeezed his arms around her tighter to prevent her from answering. Not that she needed to, her gaze said it all.

    Our quest had a limit, but she¡¯d been gone for five years and she wanted to milk this moment for as long as she could. And Mana agreed.

    ¡°Big Bro, can¡¯t you at least stay until after lunch?¡±

    Her entire being pleaded as she pressed her hands to my chest, but there was no manipulation in those big blue irises of hers. Kimiko clapped her hands to gather attention on her.

    ¡°Girls, stop being so greedy. Yua, we¡¯re happy to have you and your mate here for as long as you want, but your mate has his own obligations. And Mana¡­¡±

    ¡°I know¡­ I¡¯m not his mate yet. Yet.¡±

    With her added emphasis on yet, Tama scoffed.

    ¡°Just let him finish his quest on his own. He can just come back for these two later.¡±

    ¡°My Mate,¡± Kimiko chided. ¡°You can¡¯t expect a human used to living in the city to wonder around the forest without getting lost.¡±

    I mean, I could just use my map menu and my Memorization trait to keep track of where I am, but I kept my mouth shut. It¡¯s very reassuring to have her on my side this time.

    ¡°Besides, what if his talks with the other humans turn violent? He may need Yua¡¯s help since he¡¯s not a very good fighter.¡±

    And now it¡¯s not.

    ¡°Tch.¡±

    Her comment earned me a disappointed grunt from Tama, but a worried look from Yua. I never would have expected her to ask me to handle it on my own, but even if she did, I wouldn¡¯t blame her. Though it was abundantly clear she hadn¡¯t even considered this simple little quest having a violent ending.

    Still, wrapped up in her father¡¯s arms after all this time, her reluctance to leave so soon was palpable.

    ¡°I know we need to leave eventually,¡± she started. ¡°But couldn¡¯t we wait for lunch like Mana said?¡±

    ¡°Yea, Big Bro. It won¡¯t even be that long. And I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll share my portion of meat with you.¡±

    With the pleading eyes of two beauties wearing me down, I made the executive decision to close my eyes before answering.

    ¡°Yua, we need to go. Working for the guild is our only way of making coin right now. And I need to be able to do that to support both you and Mana. Failing this quest is not an option.¡±

    I had to complete a minimum of one quest per month to keep my place in the guild and unfortunately, we spent most of that month screwing around. If I¡¯d known about this place sooner, I would have brought her, but we can¡¯t change what¡¯s already happened.

    And like I told Mana, the sooner we leave, the sooner we can come back.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    With my mind made up, Yua didn¡¯t argue back. It was actually a big surprise at how easily she acquiesced. She did, however, slump a little on Tama¡¯s lap.

    Mana, thanks to Kimiko¡¯s watchful gaze, knew she couldn¡¯t argue either. She just pouted, letting her ears fall flat. The move nearly gave me a heart attack, but thankfully, she chose not to weaponize that fact.

    Not even Tama said a word in defiance. He may not like me all that much, but he and Kimiko both take to this ¡°mates¡± thing seriously, so even he must believe that my decisions regarding Yua are law. So, he just hugged her a little tighter.

    Feeling more like an ass than ever before despite knowing the logic in my decision, we let the subject rest. Though, I did let us stay just a while longer.

    When it was finally time to leave, I went ahead and fetched Yua¡¯s backpack and handed her her clothes once she finally stood from Tama¡¯s lap.

    With a small, but accepting sigh, she took them with a smile and we got dressed by the fire, as I planned on hurrying this quest along by teleporting straight out of the forest.

    And just as my body was once more feeling the warmth, but now oddly restrained pressure of my pants, Yua had already hiked up her panties and was in the process of throwing her shirt back on when Tama squat down in front of her and, without missing a beat, tugged the front of her panties back down to look at her.

    Rolling his jaw, he pondered aloud, ¡°Daughter, when are you going to regrow your woman¡¯s hair?¡±

    He¡¯s still bothered by that¡­?

    ¡°Not so long as My Mate prefers me like this.¡±

    ¡°Hmph.¡±

    Blinking at him as he himself lifted her panties back up with a scoff, I noticed another chink in my mental fortitude appear and took a breath. Thankfully, Mana¡¯s cuteness was there to save me as she was curiously looking over my shirt while holding it upside down. She offered it up to me with a helpful smile and helped me with my boots.

    Now fully dressed and looking even more out of place than I did by not owning a pair of cat ears, I pointed my hand at the fire and cast Dimensional Step.

    The spell¡¯s titular blue lights swirled into place and in seconds, the village was connected to the outside of the forest.

    Seeing this, Tama grit his teeth and scooped Yua up into another hug. When she returned it and squeezed him for all he was worth, Kimiko joined in. Mana, holding my hand, looked like she wanted to join in too, but when Kimiko smiled at us and purposefully buried her nose in Yua¡¯s hair, Mana stole a chance.

    Jumping onto the log we¡¯d been sitting on, she met me eye-to-eye and grabbed me by the cheeks before planting a long kiss right on my lips. Feeling the soft, luscious sensation of her Sakura-pink lips trying to tattoo her taste onto mine, I almost completely ignored Kimiko¡¯s throat clearing. Guess she only allotted us a moment, just a sample of what was to come.

    Forcing myself to pull back, I wiped at the fresh tears starting down Mana¡¯s cheeks and greedily stole another kiss while the Gate Keeper Mother had her back turned.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be back. I promise.¡±

    ¡°Mnn¡­ Don¡¯t take too long,¡± she said, clenching my shirt. Tears still in her eyes, Mana tiptoed to whisper in my ear. ¡°Please¡­ I don¡¯t want to be lonely anymore.¡±

    Confused, I let my arms fell away from her when Yua tugged on my sleeve. Wiping away tears of her own, she gave Mana a quick hug before taking my hand and hurrying me towards the portal, as if determined to make it through before her resolve reached its limit.

    Yua stepped through without looking back, but I turned to give them all a quick goodbye, only to find Kimiko waving sweetly, Tama clenching every muscle in his body to keep a straight face and, of course, Mana besides them. She put up the best smile she could and waved one last time before I stepped through.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 12

    It was one quick step. Not even a leap. And yet, we¡¯d easily traveled a couple miles in the blink of an eye. We¡¯d landed right back to where we started at the outer edge of the forest, packed neatly and safely between the trees and the seemingly endless expanse of empty grassland. We were still nowhere near a city and yet I felt as though we¡¯d returned to civilization after years of roughing it. At least, the sort of civilization where clothes were the norm.

    There was not a naked body in sight for miles, because of this I could finally breathe clearly again. Feeling the smooth, yet now oddly stiff texture of my shirt against my body, I clutched it and held on for dear life. Perhaps due in part to my Memorization trait, I acclimated to their ways without too many difficulties, but I was by no means ready to accept that as a permanent lifestyle for myself. For either of us, really. During visits, maybe, but for now I was desperately happy to be clothed again.

    Still, despite the troubles and worry they caused me, they were good people. Good enough for Yua to accept our departure, not with a heavy sigh of relief, but with a longing look aimed squarely in the village¡¯s direction. Five years gone, less than one day back. Even I had to say that was a little cruel.

    I took her hand and she gave me a small smile back and that was all that needed to be said. In another silent thanks for bringing her back, she wrapped my arm up in hers. Feeling oddly proud of her for being so resilient, I peered off into the distance, memorized our next destination and cast Dimensional Step again and we were off.

    Thankfully, Yua and Mana¡¯s wishes for us to stay there just a bit longer proved useful, as after Mochi was done punishing Chibi¡¯s provocations in ways that I could not hear, but that made even Kimiko blush a bit, Mochi had stopped by to let us in on one more piece of information regarding the humans in the forest. Namely, where to find them.

    We already had the general direction of their encampment, but apparently all we need do to find them was keep an eye out for the large orange barrier they hid under. So, after a jaunt through my portals along the tree line separating the village from Guerraway, we decided to check from a higher vantage point as we¡¯d yet to find anything.

    The humans were hiding, after all. Mochi mentioned that their barrier shone like the sky just before nightfall, so if we couldn¡¯t see it from the outside of the forest, then they were simply too deep within the trees for its light to reach us.

    ¡°Think you could find them if I teleport you to the top of a tree?¡±

    Yua, who¡¯d been using her cat-like night-vision turned to me when she¡¯d come up empty handed. She considered my proposal for a second before firing back.

    ¡°I have a better idea. What if you just open a portal higher above the trees and I just peek through? If the barrier is as big as Daddy says, we should be able to see it from up high. And the higher I am, the more I can see.¡±

    ¡°I can do that, but then maybe I should be the one to look.¡±

    I¡¯d done plenty of testing for the Dimensional Step spell, but the thought of what might happen if I lost focus and cancelled the spell prematurely didn¡¯t come to me until she offered to put her neck on the line.

    Yua, however, shook her head.

    ¡°Cat-kin have better eye sight than humans. I can definitely see further than you.¡±

    ¡°True, but we¡¯re looking for a big ball of light. I feel like it¡¯d be hard to miss.¡±

    ¡°Hmm.¡±

    She looked away, seemingly deep in thought, but her tail drooped sadly and as always, it was the best way to tell what she truly wanted.

    ¡°¡­ You just want to look and see if you can see the village from up there, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Hehe. Is that so bad?¡±

    Yua grinned, but I could tell there was a deep longing hidden behind her smile, so I relented. I knew her leaving the village without a fight was too good to be true, but if this helps¡­

    I swear, it¡¯s like nobody believes me when I say we¡¯ll be coming back.

    ¡°Just be careful.¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡±

    Checking our surroundings to confirm that we were still surrounded by nothing but grassland and that the area was free of distractions, I focused on a spot high above the trees and cast a full-bodied Dimensional Step right beside me.

    Eager to perform her little experiment, Yua stuck her head and torso through the blue lights. To keep her from plummeting the roughly four-story drop back down to me, I squeezed her hand to keep her rooted to the soil.

    While she was busy existing in two spaces at once, I tried not to think about how she must have looked like someone about to take a long step off the edge of a steep, invisible cliff way up there and focused on the spell. Thankfully, she didn¡¯t spend too much time enjoying the sights before pulling back out of the portal.

    ¡°Well? Find anything?¡±

    ¡°Yup,¡± she said. ¡°The barrier is over there, about three miles into the forest. I almost didn¡¯t see it.¡±

    She pointed to the north east and I nodded. It was farther in than I was expecting. My map gave me a good idea of how large the forest was, but that explains why we couldn¡¯t find it the old-fashioned way.

    Nodding more to myself than anything else, I placed a map marker roughly where she pointed and started towards the tree line again. Yua hurried to follow before overtaking me to guide the way.

    Seeing her walk on through the forest with as much ease as she had when she wasn¡¯t wearing boots, I smirked. Matching her casual stride through the foliage, I didn¡¯t feel the need to be quiet just yet.

    ¡°So, did you see the village?¡±

    ¡°Only the smoke from the bonfire. We¡¯re too far away,¡± she paused, then added. ¡°We¡¯re are out of the village¡¯s patrol range.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll need to be careful then.¡±

    I didn¡¯t want to rely on Mochi¡¯s offer to help should things go wrong, but I also wasn¡¯t stupid enough to ignore it. But this means the only way to call in backup would be via teleportation. Not even Tama¡¯s ears were powerful enough to hear us this far away.

    Yua looked back at me as she walked, confusion written on her brow.

    ¡°Why would we need to be careful?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t think we¡¯d just straight into a fight, did you?¡±

    Please don¡¯t tell me the village broke her too. If she¡¯s turned into a full-on battle nut after having so much freedom we¡¯re going to be in trouble.

    ¡°No, but I thought you wanted to talk to them first.¡±

    ¡°I do,¡± I said, ducking under a low-hanging branch. ¡°But we¡¯re not going to blindly walk up and just ask them to leave. I want to know what we¡¯re up against and what they¡¯re doing before all that.¡±

    My fight with Tama and Kimiko¡¯s repeated well-meaning jabs also made it clear that I lacked fighting experience, especially against other people. So, running in guns blazing would be about as risky as it¡¯d be stupid.

    On top of this, while my Merchant class did help out a tiny bit when it came to negotiating prices, past failures in that regard made me doubt it¡¯d be all that helpful here. And my being human certainly wouldn¡¯t be a big boon either, regardless of what Mochi thinks.

    So, we were going to have to tackle this the same way we did the dungeon. Meaning: don¡¯t get cocky. With that as our definitive plan, we hurried towards our objective.

    After another hour of trudging through the forest, I noticed a heavy orange glow resting behind the trees. Moving as stealthily as we could now that we were in potential enemy territory, we found ourselves stood in front of a large dome spanning hundreds of feet in every direction. As if the magic were only thrown up in a haphazard haste, the barrier cut clean through several trees and bushes, scorching the remaining halves and leaving nothing but charred lumps of ash in its wake.

    The large, almost glass-like structure was made of nothing but a translucent light, and yet it somehow didn¡¯t make the surrounding area any brighter. While it was several few shades dimmer than a roaring campfire, the light it left off seemed to forget its own existence once it past the first row of trees. Only elongated shadows stretching out in every direction left proof enough that it was there.

    It was almost laughable how such a huge ball of light was so hard to find.

    We¡¯d confirmed the barrier¡¯s location as Mochi promised, but on top of that, we¡¯d inadvertently discovered why the animals had suddenly started acting so strangely. No doubt thanks to the mass of fiery light, Yua was able to confirm that there were no animals anywhere near us.

    She looked to me, concern for her people plain on her face.

    I whispered, ¡°Can you tell if anyone inside it can hear us?¡±

    Mochi and Tama said they only saw humans, but that didn¡¯t mean there were only humans there. They themselves said they couldn¡¯t gather much information thanks to how well hidden the invaders actions were. For all we knew, they had a beast-kin in there lounging about.

    Thankfully, Yua shook her head.

    ¡°I doubt it. If Daddy¡¯s ears hurt just listening to them from this far away, none of our kind would be able to tolerate living right next to the noise.¡±

    ¡°Right. No need to whisper then,¡± I said, peering through the light. ¡°Can you see anyone?¡±

    All my eyes could catch were a bunch of trees and rocks under the dome. Though everything inside was essentially trapped under a wall of light, they were still covered in a paradoxical swathe of shadows. I came to the quick and confusing conclusion that the barrier must protect against its own light, but somehow still let the sun¡¯s light in. If I couldn¡¯t use magic myself, I¡¯d have to issue a complaint to the Goddess for how nonsensical this sounded.

    ¡°I can¡¯t see anything, either,¡± Yua said, squinting at the darkness.

    ¡°Then let¡¯s have a look around.¡±

    Using the trees themselves as cover, we circled the barrier. Able to move freely thanks to Yua¡¯s ears giving us the okay, we dashed from tree to tree to bush, and then back to the trees. Hiding behind the thickest trunks we could find, we stopped only to take another look into the barrier and continued on when we found nothing.

    We eventually found what we were looking for when a small clearing opened up within the barrier and a large tent slowly came into view. Looking fit to hold an entire circus beneath its roof, it was easy to say that Mochi¡¯s guess that it could house a couple dozen people simultaneously was right on the mark.

    A lone campfire illuminated it, casting its flickering colors on its solemn purple face. It was too far for me to hear, but when I saw the sap nesting in the fire logs burst and send embers floating up into the sky, I knew the fire was recently made or at least still in use.

    And as if to secretly longing to prove me right, a man languidly stepped out of the tent and took root in front of the fire. He took a long swig from the wine bottle he carried and threw his head back in what might have been a delighted sigh before dropping it into the grass beside him.

    Focusing on his distant form the best I could, his info box popped up and I gave it a quick read.

    His name was Arthur, a human and a level 10 Swordsman. Nothing too special about him other than he didn¡¯t seem to go to the Tama school of always carry your weapon on you, as he looked completely defenseless sitting there half-drunk. Probably not their best lookout.

    No. Actually the ¡°drunk¡± status effect appeared below his name as I read through his info box. He definitely wasn¡¯t the best lookout.

    However, it was the tag beneath his name that really caught my eye. He was a thief.

    ¡°Mmn¡­¡±

    Grumbling quietly, Yua¡¯s ears twitched again and again, not as she looked at the man, but off to the left of the tent. Tracing her line of sight, all I found was another copse of trees. The shadows cast by their thick branches kept me from seeing more, but if Yua¡¯s repeated wincing was anything to go off, that had to be where the cave was.

    We must be about where Mochi and Tama were when they scouted the area. I took a knee behind a tree trunk and searched the barrier for who might have made the fire. The place had no defenses to speak of, save for the row of tree trunks that had been carved into steaks and buried to wall off their encampment.

    They clearly assumed the barrier to be more than enough, but I was sure they had to have someone acting as lookout. Otherwise, why keep a fire burning if you¡¯re not using it to cook?

    ¡°Tch.¡±

    Yua clicked her tongue and pressed her lips into a thin line. She looked pained, but before I could ask what was wrong, her ears twitched again and she clenched her fist.

    ¡°What do you hear?¡±

    ¡°Tch¡­ I don¡¯t know. It just sounds like a bunch of people are slamming something metal into rock. Again and again¡­ I think I understand why Daddy gave up listening so easily.¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s too much, you can¡­¡±

    ¡°No,¡± she said quickly, taking a knee beside me to hide behind a bush. ¡°I can handle it. I spent more time in the human city than Daddy ever did, so I¡¯m used to noise. I just can¡¯t figure out what they¡¯re doing.¡±

    ¡°I figured as much. They¡¯re probably mining something.¡±

    ¡°Mining?¡± Yua turned her attention back to me, curiosity arcing her brow.

    ¡°Yea. I thought as much when we heard what Mochi and your father had to say, but if you¡¯re hearing the same thing, mining is the only option I can think of. That or they¡¯re testing the sharpness of their blades by bashing them against rocks.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. But what would they be mining?¡±

    ¡°Could be anything. Gold, silver, copper. Maybe even just iron. Metals are probably more important to humans than they are your tribe, Yua.¡±

    Or at least the only metals I noticed during our visit belonged to their weapons, cookware and any coin they may have on hand. They certainly don¡¯t use any to make looms to craft clothing. That¡¯s for damn sure.

    ¡°Something wrong?¡± she said and I must have been looking rather worried as she put a comforting hand on my thigh.

    ¡°Tell me, Yua. Do your people own this forest? And I don¡¯t mean you live there, so it¡¯s yours. Do you have some kind of document proving it¡¯s yours?¡±

    She shook her head and watched the man behind the barrier, who seemed to find an excess of comfort where he sat, as he shoved his hand down the front of his pants and just watched the fire flicker lazily.

    ¡°We don¡¯t have any documents like that, no. We do fight the bears for control of the forest regularly, but that¡¯s it. Is that what you mean?¡±

    ¡°Maybe¡­¡±

    ¡°Why do you ask?¡±

    ¡°Because that man is a Thief. If whatever they are doing counts as stealing, then that would be why.¡±

    Explaining my reasoning while thinking back to the real story of how Tama got his scars, I put up my hand in front of us and used Material Creation along with the excess wood I had on hand to craft a large empty box. A long eye slit ran sideways across its face, but I covered the rest of it with the fallen branches and leaves I collected back home before making our cabin.

    What I made looked sort of like a bush, but was a little closer to a fallen section of tree. Either way, we now had ourselves a camouflaged hiding place.

    Yua stared at it confusedly for a moment before asking, ¡°What¡¯s this for?¡±

    ¡°We can watch them from inside this box for as long as we need and it should keep them from seeing us.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    Curiosity peeked, but looking as serious as a soldier crawling through war-stricken trenches, Yua dropped low to the ground and crawled into the box. I watched her in awe. Not because of her readiness to accept my plan, but because she seemed to have done a complete one-eighty from how she acted back in the village.

    Back there, aside from her repeated fights, she was nothing but smiles and joy. She was almost childlike in how much fun she was having. And now she was cool, calm and collected, even though we were still close enough to her people to see their bonfire¡¯s smoke. Hell, she even adjusted her skirt to keep her panties hidden.

    It¡¯s like the Yua from yesterday and this one now were two entirely different people.

    ¡°You doing okay, Yua?¡±

    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a little hard to see through this hole. Could you make it bigger?¡±

    ¡°Sure¡­,¡± I said, crawling in next to her to work my magic. ¡°But that¡¯s not what I meant. I thought you would have been more upset to leave the village after such a short stay.¡±

    Yua arched a brow at me, then laughed softly before turning her attention back to the camp.

    ¡°I do regret not staying longer, but not leaving. I want to live my life with you and staying there for too long would only make me want to live there. Your promise to let me visit every once in a while is more than enough for me.¡±

    Reeling from the critical blow she¡¯d just dropped on my heart from out of nowhere, I steeled myself not to act with my more basic instincts and grab hold of her to give her her that same love back physically. Instead, I forced myself to watch the campfire.

    Then she added,

    ¡°Shame you didn¡¯t accept my parent¡¯s offer to just move into the village, though.¡±

    ¡°Yea¡­ Sorry, but that¡¯s not a lifestyle I can keep up with.¡±

    My sanity couldn¡¯t possibly handle more than the occasional visit. And even that might be pushing it. Yua giggled.

    ¡°Hehe. I know. It¡¯s fine. Besides I like the home you made for us, too.¡±

    ¡°Good. I¡¯m glad,¡± I said, then fought to change the subject to get back to work. ¡°Can you hear him from here?¡±

    I pointed to the man, Arthur, and Yua turned her ears towards him.

    ¡°Yes, but he¡¯s not saying anything right now.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. Just keep an ear out incase anything changes. We might be here for a while.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t going to go at this half-assed like I did the dungeon. We needed as much info on our potential enemies as we can get before acting.

    Understanding this, Yua nodded and shifted in her spot besides me to find what comfort she could in laying on the ground together we watched and waited.

    After three and a half hours of nothing happening other than Arthur taking the occasional swig of wine or scratching himself in places he probably shouldn¡¯t in front of a lady¡¯s eyes, we decided to start taking turns. There was no real point in both of us watching one man do nothing.

    Letting Yua take her turn, I crawled back out of our hiding spot and rolled onto my back as she took my place. After so long of essentially watching nothing move but the fire Arthur occasionally poked with a stick, I was fighting off the urge to close my eyes and leave the protection of our backsides to Yua to favor a nap. But I yawned and stretched, and ready to look at literally anything else, I laid back in the grass and took in our surroundings.

    It was a forest. Great. Good. Trees and bushes were strewn about everywhere I looked. Very intriguing. Ooh? Look, over there, there¡¯s a bunch of rocks. What a sight for sore eyes. And unfortunately, thanks to the barrier, there weren¡¯t even any new and interesting animals skittering about to keep my attention. All I had was to enjoy mother nature¡¯s warm embrace while listening to the sound of the endless sea of leaves rustling in the wind.

    Half tempted to once more give into my basic manly desires and fill my time by staring at Yua¡¯s unguarded butt, I noticed something different in the monotony. Up in one of the trees nearest us was a small ball. Hanging by a stem, its shape and texture was something of a cross between an orange and an apple, but it was colored like a banana with a hint of blue around the stem.

    Seeing it, I felt my stomach rumble quietly.

    Regretting not having stayed in the village long enough to have lunch, I asked, ¡°Hey, Yua, what kind of fruit is that? Is it edible?¡±

    As I¡¯m sure anyone would have, I was expecting her to turn and look at what I was pointing to, but all she did was sniff the air.

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    ¡°That¡¯s a Poya. They¡¯re better if you roast them first, but you can eat them. Just don¡¯t pick any that are still blue.¡±

    ¡°Why? Are they poisonous?¡±

    ¡°No, they¡¯re just really bitter when they aren¡¯t fully ripe.¡±

    ¡°I see. I¡¯ll get us a couple.¡±

    Ruing the need to stand up and climb a tree out in the open when we were supposed to be hiding, I suddenly remembered one of my cheat abilities that I had been neglecting in favor of fooling around with my magic. Though that is not to say I didn¡¯t give it a good try. Magic was just way more fun.

    Smirking to myself, I laid back in the grass, propped my head up on my arm and pointed a finger at one of the less-blue poyas and silently incanted: Telekinesis.

    With an invisible hand, I reached out and gave the fruit a light tug so I didn¡¯t accidently crush it. As it was just barely within my effective range, all it did was rock back and forth a little, like all I did was give it a light tickle. The leaves of its branches fluttered with my failure.

    No longer smirking, I put a little more umph into it, but all it did was wiggle harder.

    Damn. I know I¡¯m within range. I have the effective distance memorized at about fifty feet. The poya must only be around forty to forty-five and all I really needed to use it was a clear line of sight. Should have practiced this ability more.

    Sitting up now, I aimed my finger at the fruit again. Holding my outstretched arm like the barrel of a rifle, I put even more force into the ability. I felt a small twinge of pain just behind my forehead like that of an untrained muscle being pushed to its limits, but I had a hold of the poya.

    It stopped bouncing and was lifted by the unseen force and tugged. Its branch bent and bowed in my direction under the force, but it wasn¡¯t enough to make its stem give way. So, I put yet more force and, with an audible snap, the fruit broke free from the branch.

    Just before I could pat myself on the back, the poya rocketed through the air towards me. I¡¯d put way too much force into it. I threw up my hands to catch it, but it whizzed right between them and smacked me hard in the face before bouncing onto the grass. Unlike my nose, the fruit¡¯s apparently thick skin was left undamaged.

    Reeling from the pain as I clenched my jaw to stifle a pained groan, any hopes I had in Yua not noticing my mistake were dashed when she snorted.

    ¡°Pfft. Want me to heal you?¡±

    ¡°No thanks,¡± I said, wincing as I rolled the fruit over to her after checking it for blood. ¡°I was just doing a follow up test for Newton.¡±

    ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°N-nobody.¡±

    Sighing to myself, and wishing I had a catcher¡¯s mit on hand, I was about to try and claim a poya for myself when she called out again.

    ¡°Oh, Alex, look. More people are coming out of the forest.¡±

    Ignoring the lingering pain, I scrambled back into the box and followed where she pointed. One by one, ten more men spilled out of the trees where the cave was hidden. Each looked dead tired, were covered in dirt and sweat and, as I thought, several of them carried pickaxes on their backs. I did a quick scan of their info boxes and not a single one of them held any sort of ¡°Miner¡± class or subclass, but they were all between levels 10 and 15.

    I relayed this all to Yua, who furrowed her brow.

    ¡°Strange. Can they really be stealing from us if we don¡¯t even know we had whatever they¡¯re stealing?¡±

    ¡°Maybe. Maybe they were thieves before they got here. Right now, it doesn¡¯t matter. Can you hear what they¡¯re saying?¡±

    Lifting her ears to the sky, or rather the roof of the box, she flicked her ears. A moment or two later, she came back down.

    ¡°Mnn¡­ They¡¯re just complaining about the man by the fire.¡±

    ¡°Can you tell me what they¡¯re saying?¡±

    Shifting my gaze from the horde of new faces, I checked on Arthur. The man that was supposed to be their lookout had at some point under Yua¡¯s watch passed out with the wine bottle still clenched tight in his hand. One of the other men, Erhard, the only one there that was level 15, stomped over and kicked him hard in the gut, throwing him off his log-bed.

    After his understandably rude awakening, Arthur rubbed the spot that was kicked and glared back at the man.

    ¡°¡­ Ow!¡± Yua said, mimicking Arthur as she focused on their conversation. ¡°What in the hells was that for?¡±

    ¡°Because we told you to keep watch, you bastard! What if those cat-kin come back?¡±

    ¡°Oh please. They know they can¡¯t pass through the barrier, so what does it matter?¡±

    ¡°Gods¡­ Whose idea was it to leave watch duty to the drunk? Damned fool. We¡¯re supposed to make a delivery today, right? Don¡¯t you think the cat-kin could attack us on our way out of the barrier? Or were you searching for your brain at the bottom of that bottle?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Yua¡¯s interpreting was coming so fast that it was like she was actively dubbing over their conversation as it was happening. Like she was predicting what they were saying before they even thought the words, but hearing all that come from her peachy lips was nowhere near as threatening as Erhard¡¯s actions made it sound.

    He kicked Arthur again, knocking him face first into the ground right beside the fire. Proving that the first two wake up calls he¡¯d been given weren¡¯t enough to sober him up, Arthur tried to heft himself off the ground. Gripping the wine bottle to his chest every inch of the way, he at least managed to make it to a kneeling position.

    Seething at the sight of him, Erhard lifted his foot for another kick that would surely send the drunk into the blaze, but he was stopped by a third man that dropped his pickaxe to pull him away.

    Yua continued her interpreting for the third man.

    ¡°Hold it! He may be as worthless as a man can be, but it ain¡¯t up to you to kill him. ¡®Sides, he¡¯s the one that¡¯s gonna introduce us to the buyer.¡±

    ¡°Tch¡­¡±

    With a grumble that sounded jarringly cute when it came from Yua¡¯s lips, Erhard snatched the bottle away and took a drink himself before tossing it to a fourth man that had been leaning on his pickaxe like a cane.

    ¡°Whatever,¡± she said for Erhard. ¡°Hey you shits! Where¡¯s the damn crystals? You know boss is gonna want to see before we ship ''em off.¡±

    Crystals? Guess I was wrong about them mining metals.

    ¡°Quit your bellyachin¡¯. We¡¯re coming!¡± yelled another. ¡°This shit¡¯s heavy, you know.¡±

    Barely breaking free of the forest line came two men. Between them they strained to drag a metal mine cart through the grass. When they stopped midway to wipe at their sweat, three more men rushed to help them drive the cart over to the campfire where they all collapsed to catch their breath.

    Arthur staggered to his feet and nearly fell into the cart when he leaned over the side to look at their haul. He managed to give them a thumbs up before plopping back down on the log when his knees began to wobble.

    Erhard shook his head, no doubt mumbling expletives that even Yua couldn¡¯t pick up on before grabbing Arthur by the collar and tossing the man like a shotput over towards the tent. He hit the ground like a deflated basketball.

    ¡°Go be of some use for once and wake the boss!¡±

    Staggering again, but showing no signs of pain thanks to his intoxication, Arthur wobbled back to his feet and languidly dusted himself off before he turned the back of his hand to his attacker. Balling his fist and extending only his ring and pinky fingers, he gestured at Erhard. Incensed for reasons I didn¡¯t quite understand, Erhard had to be restrained again so Arthur could head into the tent unbothered.

    Going so far as to mimic Erhard¡¯s continued grumbling as he took over watch duty and scanned the forest, Yua broke character only when she turned to me.

    ¡°Should we go talk to them now? You can teleport behind those trees over there to get us in, right?¡±

    ¡°¡­ No. I think that might be a bad idea.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Why? We found them, so let¡¯s talk to them like you wanted.¡±

    I shook my head. Finding out that my assumptions about them mining out here were mostly correct was great and all, but frustration compounded in my chest the more we listened to them. And naturally, Yua had no idea why. I, however, was painfully aware.

    I punched the soft soil of the forest ground, but since we were laying on our stomachs to watch them, I couldn¡¯t put as much power into it as I wanted to relieve the stress.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll listen to us. Talking is most likely going to be pointless.¡±

    ¡°What makes you say that?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Because each and every one of those men is a thief.¡±

    They put up this barrier. They¡¯re weary of the cat-kin who call this place home. And they even had someone acting as a look out in a place that should be mostly secluded. Regardless of who rightfully owns whatever is in that cart, my doubts that this would end with a simple chat like Mochi wanted nearly quadrupled.

    Instead of looking pumped at the idea of this turning into a fight, Yua looked about as distraught as I was.

    ¡°They know Daddy and the others found them, but they didn¡¯t leave. Why would they stay if they¡¯re scared of fighting us?¡±

    ¡°Whatever they mined must be valuable enough to warrant the risk.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Her ears gave another flick as she contemplated this, and her eyes shot back to the men. The drunken Arthur stumbled and nearly fell back out of the tent as though he¡¯d been pushed. He slipped a hand through his hair, which like his clothes, was drenched from the neck up. He slipped a hand through the messy hair that had been pasted to his forehead before scowling at nobody in particular. Someone had clearly dumped a bucket of water on him.

    Behind him a stocky man with enough muscle on him for two men stepped out of the tent. His thick black beard reached all the way down to his hips, where he kept it bundled in a large, messy braid. A well-worn leather apron was wrapped around his trunk in place of armor, but the short war hammer he kept dangling from his belt said he wasn¡¯t lacking in defenses.

    The man, their boss most likely, was almost abnormally short for his build, but his presence alone prompted the rest of the men to forget their exhaustion as they hurried back to their feet.

    ¡°Is that¡­ A dwarf?¡± Yua asked, sniffing the wind for the answer.

    Momentarily forgetting the potential trouble this man could bring us, I was awed by the mention of one of the quintessential fantasy races and jumped to read his info box.

    Tillmann Ruchenbrecher was his name and he was a level 45 Blacksmith/ Adventurer combo. And yes, he was indeed a dwarf, but he was also a Thief like the rest.

    Still, I guess that, even in this world, dwarves can¡¯t escape their beards.

    Tillmann completely ignored the water-logged Arthur and set out straight for the mine cart once he noticed it. Erhard took a gracious step back without complaint. If anything, he looked to have been smiling a bit. As were everyone else.

    The dwarf¡¯s head leveled out just barely above the rim of the cart, so he had to stand on his toes to reach inside and dig around the contents. Falling back onto his feet, he held up a large purple gem to the sky in looked it over will all the diligence of a gem collector.

    It¡¯s info box read that it was an "amethyst" and, at about the size of a cell phone, it was the largest gem I¡¯d ever seen. And with its price in gold just entering the triple digit range, it was no wonder why they were mining here.

    However, Tillmann shook his head with clear disappointment arcing his brow, he then swept his thick beard aside and reached into the pocket of his leather apron to pull out a small, gilded cylinder. When he pressed it to his eye and aimed it at the amethyst, the cylinder glowed faintly with a blue light. It was a magic item.

    Likely confirming his earlier disappointment with the tool, he lazily tossed the gem onto the log before yanking his hammer off his belt. He hefted the large rectangular block of metal high into the air with ease and brought it back down on the gem. The monstrous strike¡¯s force reached my ears as it splintered both the gem and the log with a gut-churning crunch before it sent up a plume of dirt, dust and grass six-feet high into the air.

    Erhard and the others fell back, aghast as the assumed profits that had them all smiling a second ago rained back down in hundreds of tiny worthless pieces.

    ¡°We ain¡¯t got time to be collecting fancy rocks, boys,¡± Yua said for the dwarf. ¡°I told ye to stop wasting yer time with this crap.¡±

    ¡°But Boss, just one of those is enough to keep us all fed for months.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care. That damn rock is piddily-squat compared to what we¡¯re here for. And if I have to tell ye this again, any of ye, it¡¯ll be your head under my hammer next.¡±

    His threat was no less menacing coming from Yua¡¯s sweet voice after the display of his raw power, but having heard it first hand, the others all took a step back. All except for Erhard, who¡¯s knees buckled beneath him. He¡¯d been standing right next to the log before it exploded and he was now staring at the mulch that wasn¡¯t even fit for kindling anymore.

    Seeing his men turned into a bunch of whimpering dogs, Tillmann sighed, slumping his meaty shoulders before he clipped his hammer back on his belt. He extended a hand to Erhard, who took it hesitantly. Pulling the man to his feet, he gave him a hefty pat on the back, almost like he was dusting him off.

    ¡°Listen boys,¡± he said, twisting his moustache. ¡°We dwarves have a sayin¡¯ that we¡¯s all are taught before we even pick up our first hammer. It goes something like this: A novice smith can craft a hundred blades and arm a small army. But a true master can craft a single masterpiece and arm an entire country.¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡± Erhard said then paused to compose himself. ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±

    ¡°¡¯Course ye don¡¯t. Yer thinking about the short-term solutions to fill yer purse, but none of ye have thought past what ye¡¯ll be putting in yer bellies tomorrow night. Look here¡­¡±

    Tillmann threw a hand into the cart again, rummaged around for less than a second, and pulled out another gem and held it out for all to see. The wide curl that took to his thick black whiskers might have made you think he was holding the holy grail itself, but all it was, was a smaller, lighter gemstone that could have been mistaken as just a sliver of the amethyst that came before it.

    Curious, and just as confused as his men, I checked its info box and my jaw instantly hit the floor. Not much of a statement considering I was laying on my stomach, but the price listed by my Appraisal ability was absolutely staggering. The thing was only about the size of my pinky finger, but it was worth 1,500 gold!

    ¡°Boys, this here is an Essence Crystal. I don¡¯t expect any of ye to know what this little darlin¡¯ is used for, but this is what money is gonna look like to ye for as long as we¡¯re in Vierre. Those piddilin little gems you found can fill yer bellies, no doubt. But this. Oh, this beauty can feed this lot for years. It can buy ye the whole farm and workers to run it. This here can buy ye a handful of servants to wipe yer arses for ye. I say, it can even buy ye a night with every single whore in yer favorite brothel, for an entire month! And you¡¯d still have enough left over for a house in the city. And look!¡±

    Tillmann pocketed the Essence Crystal and shoved his hand back into the cart. This time, he pulled out an entire fist-full of the small purple crystals. They glittered in the firelight as their abundance spilled out of his grip. Erhard and the others watched them cascade between his fingers and every one of them flinched when they fell into the grass.

    ¡°This is what I mean. A novice can gather a hundred of those gems and claim themselves rich, but a truly keen eye knows that just a handful of these here can be enough to make a king blush atop his golden throne.¡±

    The men were all thunderstruck, and it was easy to see why. Just the idea of those tiny crystals being worth so much was simply baffling when compared to how many must be filling the cart. Had I not been able to read their value myself, I would have called him a bold-faced liar, but his men all bought it easily at the mention of whores and gold. The fear that had gripped them a moment ago had turned into raucous cheers.

    To think that Yua¡¯s people had been sitting on a gold mine that was worth more than an actual gold mine all this time. And they never even knew it existed. Just a day of mining out here could have earned them enough to buy her slave contract outright if they¡¯d only known.

    ¡°But Boss,¡± Yua said for Erhard. ¡°Why throw away the gems? Even if they don¡¯t compare, they¡¯re still worth a mountain of gold themselves. Just look how many we found.¡±

    ¡°Tch. Keep ¡®em, then. Stuff ¡®em in yer pockets for all I care. But I ain¡¯t want ye digging for them. No. You focus on bringing me these crystals, got it? That¡¯s what we were hired for and that¡¯s what we¡¯ll do. Once we sells these beauties, you won¡¯t even want to look of those pretty little gems anyways. Trust me¡­ Damn Dragma dogs only hired me because ye humans can¡¯t tell a crystal from a rock the way a dwarf can, but I won¡¯t be missin¡¯ this chance now that it¡¯s on my plate.¡±

    Done with his display of raw financial power, Tillmann tossed the handful of crystals back into the cart, but not without pocketing a few more first. None contested his flagrant greed. He dusted his meaty hands and continued.

    ¡°Now. Separate the crystals by size like I told ye and box ¡®em up. I want the horses on their way to Guerraway before the sun takes a shit for the day.¡±

    ¡°¡°Yessir!¡±¡±

    Nodding with what might have been a snort once the others all hurried to busy themselves with the crystals, Tillman bent down and grabbed Arthur by the collar before the drunk could collect the crystals the dwarf had dropped at his feet.

    Hefting the full-bodied man up into the air with so much ease that he might as well have been a sack of air, the drunk scrambled his feet blindly, unable to tear his eyes away from the dwarf¡¯s.

    ¡°As for ye¡­ I¡¯ll tell ye this once and only once. You sully our chance to line our pockets again, and I¡¯ll show ye what a dwarf can really do with a hammer.¡±

    ¡°S-sorry, Boss!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want apologies! I want ye to do yer duties like everyone else! No get yer ass out there and scout the area! If even a single cat-kin found us while you were asleep, and ye din¡¯t say nothing, I¡¯ll rip yer stomach out yer arse and feed it back to ye!¡±

    ¡°Y-Y-You can¡¯t. Without me, you have no connection to Dragma.¡±

    ¡°Ye think I care?!¡±

    Pulling his thick arm back, Tillman launched Arthur clear across the campground where he slammed into a tree. The rest of the men paused their work for only a moment when the drunk stopped moving, but got back to it with twice the effort when the dwarf looked back to them.

    Heaving, grasping at the arm that was clearly bent the wrong way, Arthur¡¯s eyes widened as the pain sobered him. That was the only reason why he had time to throw himself out of the way when Tillmann¡¯s hammer came flying at him.

    Missing him by mere inches at best, the hammer struck the tree and its trunk exploded as if a stick of dynamite had been hidden within its bark. It toppled to the ground hard enough to make Yua wince. Seeing the way he was shaking, I wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if Arthur had wet himself as he stared almost blankly at the hammer that had half-buried itself in the soil.

    Tillmann grabbed him by the collar again and yanked him up into the air once more. Arthur bit back a cry of pain as his limp arm slapped his side. He gripped the thick wrist that held him with his free hand, but the dwarf didn¡¯t care to notice that he was nearly choking him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care who ye work for, understand? I know where the crystals are headed tonight and I know what boat they¡¯ll be on. You don¡¯t need to smooth talk me to the captain. I know ¡®im. I know that as long as I butter ¡®im up with some coin or with a pretty lady, he¡¯ll swim me wherever I want to go. And don¡¯t kid yerself. I know the ruddy bastard in Dragma that wants these crystals, too. You understand me?¡±

    ¡°Y-Y-Yes, sir!¡±

    ¡°Good. I¡¯ve been walking these lands fer eighty-some years now, don¡¯t go thinkin¡¯ you can get the better of me. Now¡­¡±

    Dropping Arthur where he stood, Tillmann swept his beard out of the way and rummaged in his apron pocket. He took out a purple potion bottle whose name I couldn¡¯t read before he grabbed Arthur¡¯s mouth and forced it open. Crushing the bottle in hand, the syrupy liquid inside along with several shards of glass spilled down Arthur¡¯s throat as he squirmed pointlessly.

    In seconds, the ¡°drunk¡± status effect in the man¡¯s info box disappeared. Though the potion did nothing for his arm.

    ¡°Ye owe me for that bottle, ye hear?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes, sir!¡±

    ¡°Then ye best get to movin¡¯, ain¡¯t ye? I better not hear ¡®bout no cat-kin sneakin¡¯ up on us.¡±

    As if the broken arm affected him no more than a papercut might, Arthur jumped to his feet, spat out the shards of glass and took off running for the tree line while Tillmann collected his hammer and returned to the others to inspect the rest of the crystals.

    At that, Yua turned to me. To my surprise, she didn¡¯t look nearly as perturbed as I felt after what just happened.

    ¡°I think you were right about them not wanting to talk.¡±

    ¡°Yea. With the amount of gold backing those crystals, they¡¯d definitely want to fight to keep the mine.¡±

    ¡°Then what should we do?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    That was a good question, one that I didn¡¯t have an answer to just yet. Talking was obviously out of the question, but fighting? Even if I were sure Yua¡¯d be willing, I could feel my face pale at just the thought of fighting Tillmann, let alone the rest.

    Tama was the only non-monster I¡¯ve fought and, even if I did okay against him, I knew he was holding back. Tillmann wouldn¡¯t be so kind. And I wasn¡¯t battle-hungry enough to challenge him hoping for the best.

    Wiping away the sweat on my brow, as a test, I cast Dimensional Step. Aiming for a secluded spot within the trees under the barrier, I waited for the swirling blue lights to appear before us¡­ but nothing happened.

    ¡°Shit¡­¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°My Dimensional Step spell can¡¯t get us close to them. The barrier must block teleportation spells, too.¡±

    Guess the thought of teleporting Tama and the rest inside to help clean them up wasn¡¯t going to happen.

    ¡°Then we can just attack them as they leave for the city, right?¡±

    ¡°Yua¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m serious,¡± she said, backing out of the box to sit on her knees. ¡°They¡¯re all Thieves, right? And you¡¯re an Adventurer. You have the right to fight and capture them for the guild.¡±

    ¡°And if Tillmann shows up?¡±

    ¡°Who?¡±

    I pressed my eyes shut and sighed. I forgot I only knew his name because I read his info box. I quickly explained all I knew of him to her, including his level, but all she did was shrug.

    ¡°That¡¯s not too bad, right? If you can cast your Slave Binding spell on him and the others, they¡¯ll be forced to obey you. You can just order them to surrender.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Please tell me that someone that used to hate being a slave didn¡¯t just suggest I try to win a fight by forcefully enslaving a bunch of people? Accepting life as my slave to gain strength was one thing, but that¡¯s just¡­¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re clearly bad people, Alex. At least, this Tillmann is. And anything goes in a fight when your life is on the line. If you managed to catch just him, you could¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not doing that,¡± I said, climbing back to my feet.

    Yua opened her mouth to protest my immediate decision, but it wasn¡¯t up for debate. Not as my slave or as my wife and mate.

    ¡°Yua, I¡¯ve made my peace with how we met and I¡¯m really, really happy you forgave me for that. But I don¡¯t like that you¡¯re a slave. I don¡¯t like the concept of slavery in the first place. The only reason why I¡­¡±

    I put my hands up to try and explain, but even I felt as though I was grasping at nothing.

    ¡°Look, I¡¯m not going to use that ability just to win a fight.¡±

    Yua drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out. I don¡¯t know if she considered that particular ability as just another part of my repertoire, but the twitch in her ears must have alerted her to the fact that I didn¡¯t need to hold her the way her people demanded to know I was serious.

    ¡°¡­ Then what do you want to do? Should we tell Daddy?¡±

    ¡°No. Not yet, anyways. I don¡¯t want to go reporting to him every time we learn something. I think¡­ We should investigate these Essence Crystals and that boat they were talking about before that.¡±

    My Merchant class may just be sniffing out gold, but it was telling me looking into those two things first was much more important.

    ¡°After that, we can look for a way around the barrier. Think you can track these guys once they¡¯re in the city?¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Maybe. They¡¯re too far away to really smell them. If they talk a lot, I can follow their voices, but¡­ Why don¡¯t we just wait for them to leave? Even if Tillmann¡¯s there, we can at least follow them.¡±

    ¡°We can¡¯t. You repeated what they said yourself. They¡¯re searching for¡­¡±

    ¡°Found you!¡±

    Before I could parse the timbre of the voice that rang out loudly behind us, something heavy tackled me to the ground. Pain shot through me, or at least it should have as when I opened my eyes, I found I had fallen right between Yua¡¯s thighs. Unnaturally startled herself, she apparently hadn¡¯t heard our attacker approach and tried to stand, only to fall with me.

    However, once she found the person sitting on my back pinning me to the grass, she didn¡¯t jump into attack mode. She just sighed.

    ¡°Hey, Big Bro, did you talk to the humans yet?¡±

    ¡°What¡­?¡±

    Turning, realizing that the weight bearing down on me belonged to that of a petite girl, I set my hands on the grass and pushed myself up to find Mana straddling my back. She was just as we left her, meaning that she was completely nude and unashamedly showing off her tiny bustline as she grinned, beaming at me, her tail flailing about happily.

    ¡°Hey, so did you talk to them?¡±

    ¡°What? Not yet¡­ What are you doing here? How did you even find us?¡±

    ¡°Eh? My Daddy¡¯s a Hunter. He taught me how to track animals, but it works for humans too. Did you think I wouldn¡¯t be able to find you?¡±

    ¡°Yea, actually I did. We teleported away. There shouldn¡¯t¡¯ have been a trail left for you to follow.¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡± Mana huffed, proudly puffing out her tiny chest before crossing her arms. ¡°Daddy said the humans stole the spriggan¡¯s cave and I knew you were going to meet with them. So, I just had to go to the cave and search for you there. It was easy. So, when are you going to talk to them? Oh, what¡¯s that thing? Is that the barrier?¡±

    Impatient as always, Mana threw herself off of me and crawled on her hands and knees into the camouflage box to look at the wall of light. As she did, and as her hips swayed back and forth in tandem with her tail, I was forced to watch as two very important parts of hers unashamedly stared back at me.

    Though I couldn¡¯t no longer see the pure cuteness that was her face, I could almost feel her smiling. This alone was almost enough for me not to notice all the dirt marks on her body.

    ¡°Hey,¡± she said without looking back, but with her ears flicking. ¡°I think you should hurry and talk to them now. They sound pretty happy. They¡¯re just talking about coins and stuff.¡±

    Feeling my face heat up at the sight of her swaying backside, a feat I was honestly glad to know I was still capable of after spending so long in their village, I pinched my eyes shut and shook off the sight of her the best I could.

    ¡°We can¡¯t talk to them.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Why not? They look nice. They¡¯re smiling even though all they¡¯re doing is putting tiny rocks in a box. If you say you¡¯ll help them, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll¡­ Eep!¡±

    Before she could finish, I grabbed her by the hips and pulled her out of the box to sit her on my lap. Startled about as much as I was a moment ago, she eased up almost instantly as she leaned into me. Yua sighed at the sight of her straddling my thigh with a contented smile.

    ¡°Mana, I told you I¡¯d come back for you. Why did you go through all the trouble of tracking us down?¡±

    ¡°B-Because the village was so lonely and boring without you and Big Sis.¡±

    I pressed my lips shut, not because the pout she turned on me was too powerful, but because I was unwilling to acknowledge that her only just now showing up after all the time that had passed since we left the village meant that she hadn¡¯t waited all that long before leaving herself. And why should I knowing that she left to find me of all people? But I can¡¯t just do what she wants here. She clearly hadn¡¯t been paying attention to what was going on in the barrier as she looked for us.

    I took a breath, letting her ears tickle my chin before hugging her tight.

    ¡°Mana, we can¡¯t talk to them. They¡¯re too dangerous.¡±

    ¡°Eh, but they¡­¡±

    ¡°They look happy because those rocks are worth a lot of money, but they stole them. They¡¯re bad people.¡±

    Yua and I may be jumping to conclusions there, but the alternative wasn¡¯t worth the risk.

    ¡°¡­ Yua, I think you may be right. We should head back to the village and let your father know what¡¯s going on.¡±

    If Mana so brazenly showed up and started yelling, she clearly didn¡¯t understand the danger these men posed. And they were apparently on high alert, specifically for the cat-kin. They know the cat-kin know about the barrier, but Tama may not know that they were noticed. Otherwise, I¡¯d like to think he¡¯d forget his stories of wild animal attacks happening in the area in favor of telling his people the truth.

    Mana being here means that he either didn¡¯t or that he doesn¡¯t know. And she may not be the only one to show up, given how many people must have heard our conversation last night.

    ¡°N-no way!¡± Mana barked. I quickly clamped a hand over her mouth to silence her, but she yanked it away. She continued, quieter. ¡°If you take me back, Daddy will just get mad and make me stay.¡±

    ¡°Well, we can¡¯t just leave you here. I¡¯m not about to risk leaving you alone while we head back.¡±

    ¡°Then let me stay with you! Mates should be together. And, and the Chief already said nobody but the Hunters can go into this part of the forest, so you don¡¯t need to go warn them.¡±

    Mana¡¯s lips puckered into a pout that nearly broke my heart, but she all but completely ruined the effect it had on me when she crammed her hand down the front of my pants to grab hold of my monster.

    ¡°Please,¡± she said, her big blue eyes all but daring me to refute her. She sniffled, but I knew the tears forming in the corners of her eyes were honest.

    Facing her powerful pleading gaze head on, I recalled the last thing she said to me before we left.

    How could a girl this cute ever be so lonely that she¡¯d break away from her father¡¯s and her chief¡¯s commands when she¡¯s already proven willing to obey them? If she did so for my sake, I should be happy, but if things here turn violent¡­

    I know enough of her past to know she probably can¡¯t protect herself. Not in terms of strength or level, at least and we were most definitely out-classed here.

    I looked to Yua for the answer as she was just as much a reason for this girl coming here.

    ¡°What do you think?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s right about Daddy¡¯s orders, but¡­ I don¡¯t know. Maybe we could¡­!¡±

    Yua¡¯s eyes widened and all the fur on her ears stood on end. She jumped to her feet and started pulling on the both of us to get us stand as well.

    ¡°Alex, teleport us out of here now! Someone¡¯s coming!¡±

    ¡°Shit!¡±

    Without time to think of a plan, I threw open a portal to the grasslands beyond the forest. Yua rushed through and, after pulling Mana¡¯s hand out of my pants and lifting her into a princess carry, I followed.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 13

    ¡°Mana, seriously, why did you follow us? We weren¡¯t even gone a full day.¡±

    ¡°So what? I wanted to be with you and Big Sis.¡±

    I pinched my bridge of my nose and rolled my jaw. Even after several minutes of questioning, her answer simply wasn¡¯t changing. And despite her Big Sis¡¯s assurance that she was telling the truth, I continued to push the issue.

    We¡¯d fled the humans¡¯ campground for the empty grassy plains between the cities. Putting some extra distance between us to make sure we weren¡¯t found, I¡¯d dropped onto the grass breathing as heavily as though I¡¯d been fighting in the dungeon for hours, when all I did was carry a petite girl through a couple portals.

    Said petite girl had sat herself on my thigh without a word, but this time with the added bonus of her cutely tilting her head in confusion at my continued questioning. Trying not to be moved by the sight of her tiny and very bare breasts or how their sakura-pink tips had started to stand now that the winds on the grassy plains embraced her, I looked to Yua for salvation and found none.

    Upon her own request, she¡¯d knelt down in the grass to face the forest. Her ears on high alert after nearly getting caught, she kept watch for us just in case the humans managed to track us as Mana had. If she was paying any attention to us, she wasn¡¯t showing it.

    Letting out a long sigh I made sure Mana heard, I asked, ¡°Can you at least tell me if any of the humans saw you looking for us?¡±

    ¡°Nope. Nobody saw me. I¡¯m good at sneaking up on animals, so sneaking up on humans is easy.¡±

    Seeing both her and her pink tips staring back up at me, I grit my teeth and wrapped my arm around Mana¡¯s back to cover her breasts with my forearm. I wasn¡¯t groping her, I just couldn¡¯t focus with her so flagrantly showing off.

    With as eager as she was to grab at my junk as she was, she didn¡¯t so much as bat an eye when I did this. However, as I¡¯d hoped, it did have an effect similar to their way of holding their mates down for a serious conversation. Mana¡¯s eyes widened and her perky ears faltered, sensing she might be in trouble.

    ¡°Do you have any idea how dangerous what you did was?¡±

    ¡°Erm¡­ No?¡±

    ¡°Mana, one of those men was about as strong as Tama.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Nope, Daddy is stronger,¡± Yua added with an indignant flick of her tail. Clearly, she wouldn¡¯t have me comparing the two.

    ¡°¡­ The man was very strong,¡± I continued. ¡°And he might have killed us if he caught us.¡±

    ¡°Mm?¡±

    Mana took a moment to ponder this. She crossed her arms over the one I held her with, and was quiet for a minute or two. Then her ears finally perked up as though a brilliant idea had enlightened her.

    ¡°You said they wanted gold, right? Why not just give them that gold coin you showed me yesterday? Then they can leave.¡±

    Left utterly speechless at her skewed line of logic, I let go of her chest and brought her into a strong hug. I patted her head as though she were a small child, but she seemed to take it as a compliment, as she happily hugged me back.

    Yua shot back to her feet, clenched her fists and stomped over to us. Completely unawares of the glaring woman heading her way, Mana¡¯s tail continued to swish about.

    Yua grabbed hold of Mana¡¯s abdomen and unceremoniously ripped her from my arms.

    ¡°Wha¡­ Hey!¡±

    Spinning the girl in the air to face her directly, Yua held Mana¡¯s petite frame at eye-level and glared into her eyes. Finally sensing the danger, Mana¡¯s tail wilted on the spot and the legs she¡¯d been kicking through the empty air went still.

    ¡°Mana,¡± Yua started. ¡°Not only did you break your daddy¡¯s rules, you could have gotten yourself and our mate killed.¡±

    ¡°O-Our mate?¡±

    ¡°Mana!¡±

    ¡°Eep!¡±

    Mana¡¯s entire being flinched. Her knees curled up to her chest to brace for a hit that never came. Seeing her pitiful state, Yua huffed and dropped her onto the grass. The conflicted twitch to her brow said she didn¡¯t want to yell at the friend she¡¯d only just reunited with, but she had to.

    ¡°How did you not sense the danger?¡± Yua asked, crossing her arms. ¡°One of the men there hit a tree so hard that it shattered. Twice. How did you not hear that? My ears are still ringing because of it.¡±

    Mana looked back to me, to my lap for safety, but flinched back at Yua when she tapped a menacing finger on her bicep. She abandoned any ideas of seeking to hide herself in my arms and knelt in apology.

    ¡°I, um¡­ I was focusing on my nose. I was searching for your scents.¡±

    Yua drew in a long breath, looking like she was about to call her a liar, but she let the breath out in a long sigh.

    ¡°You haven¡¯t changed a bit. You use to the do the same thing whenever we played too late. Always ignoring everything I said once you smelled dinner cooking. It¡¯s like your ears would fall off every day at sun set.¡±

    ¡°H-hey,¡± Mana pouted, protectively covering her ears. ¡°I¡¯m not deaf, you know. I was just hungry. And this time, I wanted to catch up to you before I lost you again!¡±

    ¡°Lost me?¡±

    After a short moment of quiet contemplation, Yua¡¯s mouth fell open in shock. Whatever conclusion she came to stole away with her anger completely as she dropped to her knees to hug Mana. Giving a small jolt of surprise, Mana let go of her ears and tentatively hugged her back.

    ¡°Mana, you¡¯re not going to lose me again. Like Alex said, we were going to come back for you.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Y-Yea,¡± she sniffled. ¡°But you said the same thing when you left for the dungeon. And you were gone for so, so long.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. A lot happened.¡±

    ¡°I know...¡±

    Watching Yua console the crying girl filled me with a cocktail mixed with equal parts regret and shame. I knew I didn¡¯t let Yua stay with her people for nearly as long as she wanted, but even then, I was only considering how much she would have wanted to stay. Not how Mana felt on the subject.

    Yua also didn¡¯t seem to consider this. Her brow furrowed with the same regret; she hugged the girl tightly to her chest.

    If this girl is to become my mate, become my second wife, I need to do better and make sure to take her feelings into account, too. As surreal as all this is, it won¡¯t do any of us any good if I start playing favorites.

    Regardless, what she did was incredibly dangerous and we need to address what happened.

    I knelt beside them and put a hand on each of their shoulders. Yua looked to me and nodded, as if giving me permission to break up their reconciliation.

    ¡°Yua, did you hear any of them chasing us?¡±

    She shook her head, holding fast to Mana.

    ¡°No. We teleported too far for me to hear them. And I don¡¯t think their scout knew exactly where we were to begin with.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good, but it¡¯s probably too soon to head back and watch their movements. After everything that happened, they¡¯re probably on high alert.¡±

    Even if Arthur didn¡¯t see us, he might have heard her excited yelling. I don¡¯t want to bet on him being too scared of Tillmann to report that they¡¯d been found again.

    ¡°Sorry¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I said. ¡°You both are safe. Right now, that¡¯s all that matters. Besides, we at least learned a few things from this.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Yua said, her ears flicking curiously. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    She raised a brow at me, likely replaying out the conversation she dubbed for me in search of the answer. Only, that¡¯s not where I learned what I did.

    ¡°Their scout, the man named Arthur, left to search the forest, but he started inside the barrier, right? And not too long after Mana showed up, you heard him approaching. His level wasn¡¯t too high and he didn¡¯t seem very fast, so that makes me think that there may be an entrance to the barrier near where we stopped to watch them.¡±

    He was only human and he was drunk. His Speed stat was probably somewhere around mine at best. The gap between Mana showing up and Yua hearing him was too short. And if the barrier blocked even my teleportation magic, then it may be safe to assume he couldn¡¯t just pass through it.

    This is still just a guess, but there might be some sort of doorway he slipped through. Not that I could imagine that big dome of light having such a thing. That or there was a way to disable a section of the barrier to allow passage. That could be a way in. What we¡¯d do with that knowledge is up for grabs, but it¡¯s relatively good news.

    ¡°Besides that,¡± I continued. ¡°We watched Tillmann almost kill Arthur. We might not be able to reason with the dwarf, but we might be able to talk some sense into Arthur and get him to help us.¡±

    The man may be an idiot dumb enough to drink and sleep on the job, knowing that his boss could end him with ease, but now that he knew Tillmann didn¡¯t need him and now that his life was in danger, why not seek a way out?

    ¡°And the best part is that, if he knows the boat captain, he¡¯s probably going to be on the cart headed to the city. We won¡¯t even have to sneak into the barrier to talk.¡±

    We even had the added bonus of him not seeing any of our faces. So, if the need arose, we could feign ignorance of the whole thing and offer him an out as an uninvolved third party.

    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    Hearing all this, Yua nodded and fell into thought while Mana wiped her tears.

    ¡°S-so then you can talk to them?¡±

    ¡°One of them, maybe. But I¡¯m not really sure what to ask him.¡±

    ¡°Just ask him for a way into the barrier,¡± Yua said.

    ¡°Then what? We can¡¯t fight them.¡±

    ¡°No, but Daddy can. Remember what he and Mochi said? If we can at least take out the barrier, they can handle the rest.¡±

    ¡°True¡­¡±

    I scratched my head, unsure. Relying on Tama to clean up this mess for me was not something I wanted to do. This was my quest. My future mate¡¯s hand was on the line. I should be the one to solve this issue.

    The only problem was that I was drawing a blank on how to do that.

    ¡°Since it¡¯d be too dangerous to head back into the forest for now, let¡¯s head into the city to wait for them.¡±

    ¡°Wait for them?¡± Yua echoed. ¡°Are we just going to wait by the city gate?¡±

    ¡°Assuming Guerraway even has a gate, maybe, but we may not need to. We know they¡¯re heading to unload the crystals on a boat. So, we just need to keep near the docks.¡±

    Yua could always track them down after they enter the city, but we already knew their destination. At least, we sort of knew. The map showed that almost the entirety of Guerraway¡¯s eastern side was nestled against the ocean. That means there¡¯s plenty of room for boats. While we¡¯d need some time to figure out which boat they were after specifically, how they got to it didn¡¯t really matter.

    Also, thanks to dear old Arthur¡¯s face being memorized by yours truly, we¡¯d know which cart belong to them even if they cover their cargo. And if they decide to hide their faces for whatever reason, checking the info boxes of the driver of every cart entering the city will be a nice backup plan.

    ¡°But what about the guild quest?¡± Yua asked. ¡°Even if we talk to this Arthur and find the boat, it could still take us days to get them to leave the forest.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­ Shit.¡±

    We had plenty of time for the quest, but with this literal barrier blocking us from being able to complete it, that supposed simple quest wasn¡¯t going to be so easy anymore.

    ¡°If we can¡¯t finish this tonight,¡± Yua started, her tone filled with hope. ¡°Why don¡¯t we just stay the night in the in the village again? I¡¯m sure Daddy won¡¯t mind us staying for as long as we...¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Mana barked, pushing herself away from Yua. ¡°We can¡¯t go back! If we do, Daddy will force me to stay. He might even get mad at Big Bro.¡±

    Speeding through the few steps between us, Mana grabbed two fist-fulls of my shirt and pleaded.

    ¡°Please! Can¡¯t we just stay in the city? Together?!¡±

    Knowing that the years she spent without her Big Sis must have made her feel a similar loneliness that caused me to break my own moral code just to fill the void, I met the dangerous pout in her eyes head on as she trembled. I took her hands in mine and squeezed them.

    ¡°Mana, your father¡¯s probably really worried about you right now. I think you should at least¡­¡±

    ¡°No! I won¡¯t tell him. I know him better than you. He¡¯s gonna be mad. He¡¯ll definitely hold me down if I take even one step back in the village!¡±

    For every second that passed gazing upon her pleading eyes, the urge to let the magnetic force trying to pull my arms around her for a reassuring hug grew stronger. But I couldn¡¯t.

    Even if I admitted that Chibi¡¯s actions in the village suggested she¡¯d be fine with Mana staying with us, Mana was understandably resistant to seeing her father again. The problem was that Yua clearly wanted to go back and see hers again.

    Geez. Mana¡¯s technically not even my mate yet and I already have to pick between the two of them?

    As if sensing my inner turmoil, Yua smiled sympathetically at the both of us.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Alex. Like I said, I¡¯m fine with just the occasional visit. We can stay in the city.¡±

    ¡°Really?!¡± Mana cried.

    ¡°As long as there¡¯s an inn,¡± Yua nodded. ¡°Alex won¡¯t let us sleep on the floor.¡±

    Ah. I did say that. I guess we¡¯d been sleeping on our sort-of bed for so long that I misplaced the memory of that order a bit. That or my time in the village actually did lose me a few brain cells. I suppose the hay we used as a mattress last night didn¡¯t count as floor, since she didn¡¯t feel the need to question me on it.

    Excited by Yua¡¯s quick approval, Mana started towards the city by walking away from it in the complete opposite direction. Even though the city was so close, never leaving the village must have really limited her knowledge of the outside world.

    ¡°Hold it,¡± Yua said, one hand on her hip and the other pointing at Mana.

    ¡°What? You said we can go, so let¡¯s go.¡±

    Yua shook her head.

    ¡°Nope. Alex ordered me not to show my naked body to any other men. If you are going to be his slave and mate, then you can¡¯t either.¡±

    Again with this slave thing? She did have a point though. I¡¯d reluctantly gotten so used to the cat-kin¡¯s nudity that I¡¯d been neglecting the fact that Mana was standing there as naked as the day she was born. And with her living the entirety of her life like this, I didn¡¯t have to ask to know she wouldn¡¯t mind waltzing right on into Guerraway as is.

    ¡°Eh? But all the males in the village saw you already.¡±

    ¡°We have special permission to be naked in the village, so that doesn¡¯t count. But in the human world, we¡¯ll have to wear clothes every day.¡±

    ¡°Eh?! Every day! No way! Big Bro, is that true?¡±

    How do you not know?

    Yua said it was tradition for parents to give their kids clothes when they leave for their dungeon training. Did she not get the memo? Was she expecting to run around our home naked all the time? Cute as she was, once we finally cross that line, I¡¯d never be able to keep my hands off of her if she didn¡¯t cover up.

    ¡°Yes¡­ It¡¯s true.¡±

    ¡°No way,¡± she repeated, looking as though her entire world had just shattered. ¡°I don¡¯t want to! Clothes look way too uncomfortable.¡±

    Mana stomped her foot, looking so much like an indignant child that I nearly felt the need to check her age again.

    But, seriously? Is wearing clothes going to be the reason she second guesses being my mate? No, I guess she¡¯s not exactly running away from the idea, just refusing it.

    ¡°Come on, Mana. If you try to enter the city like this, you¡¯ll get arrested.¡±

    ¡°No, I won¡¯t. You¡¯ll protect me, right? As my mate?¡±

    Mana grabbed hold of my sleeve again and once more turned those big, exceedingly dangerous orbs of sky-blue cuteness on me. Being that they were the foremost extravagant feature of her face, when she paired them perfectly with the tiniest pout to her sakura-pink lips, I felt as though Tama punched me in the gut again. Adding in the unintentional flick to her cat ears for the finishing blow, I felt my heart skip the same way it had when I first met her.

    All at once, I felt as though my will power was being sapped away from me. That my position as her soon-to-be mate was being questioned, put on trial to see if it held any of the validity I myself questioned. And in this moment, if I would fulfil my promise to her father and do right by her and defend her from any and all of her foes, regardless of if they were city knights out on patrol for criminal streakers.

    I clenched my fists, not from anger, but because I wasn¡¯t expecting her to use our relationship against me to win an argument. It¡¯s easy to say that she was cute, but I could say that, without a doubt, were she turning this puppy-dog pout on me for any other purpose, I¡¯d have easily handed all the riches in the world to her just to see her smile again.

    But not this time. They may be born of jealousy in this case, but I had my standards and I could not allow this.

    Fighting off the power of her pout, I drew in a deep breath and prepared myself for battle.

    ¡°Yua¡­ Hold her still.¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡±

    Like a flash of lightning, and without need for explanation, Yua appeared behind the much smaller and much weaker Mana almost instantaneously. With her still trying to bend my will with her big blue eyes, she wasn¡¯t at all prepared for the sudden assault. She jumped, her ears stood on end and she let out a brief shriek just like the victim of a cheap B-rated horror movie might when cornered by the killer. But it was far too late to call for help.

    ¡°No, no, no, no!¡±

    Yua grabbed her by the hips and lifted her up off the ground with so much ease that she might as well have been weightless. Mana flailed her legs through the air, but for all her effort, she could not break free of her Big Sis¡¯s hold.

    ¡°Alex, can you give me a pair of my panties?¡±

    I froze, letting Mana¡¯s feet slip out of my grasp. In another case of getting too used to their ways, I forgot that Mana literally had no clothes to her name. And while Yua letting the girl borrow hers was the easy solution on paper, it was impossible.

    ¡°Can¡¯t,¡± I said. ¡°All your clothes are back at the cabin.¡±

    ¡°Oh yea¡­¡±

    ¡°S-See? If you don¡¯t have any, I don¡¯t have to wear them! Let¡¯s just go to the city and¡­¡±

    Ignoring her bargaining without a second option, I dug through my item box for the set of spare clothes I kept there for myself.

    Silently apologizing for the force, I focused on the spare pair of boxers-like underwear in my inventory and, guessing at her size visually, used Material Creation to reform the fabric into a pair of plain white panties.

    Instead of being amazed at the spectacle of them taking shape in my hand, Mana started thrashing about even more.

    ¡°What¡¯s that thing?! That looks like the thing Big Sis covered her special place with earlier!¡±

    ¡°It is,¡± Yua replied cooly. ¡°They¡¯re called panties. They¡¯re clothes that go under your clothes.¡±

    ¡°What?! I have to wear two clothes?!¡±

    Feeling as though this scene could only be taken as us assaulting her if someone were to have caught us, I grabbed Mana¡¯s flailing ankle and forced her foot through the leg hole of the panties.

    ¡°Noooo!¡±

    Unwilling to give up without a fight, Mana continued to squirm even as I brought the small triangle of fabric up to her knees. She widened her legs as far as she could to prevent the fabric from rising any further, but as she flailed about between us, it looked more like she was trying to flash the world one last time before her natural freedom was stolen.

    Locking her feet under my armpits and feeling like actual human garbage for using my superior strength against the girl I was supposed to be protecting, I quickly won the fight to press her knees together again.

    She kicked. She squirmed. She pleaded and begged, but there was nothing she could say or do that would make me okay with her running around the city like this. Yua¡¯s iron grip was also unflinching.

    When I got it midway up her thighs, Mana pushed her feet firmly against my cheek to try and shove me away. Yua used this distraction to slip a hand under her. Before Mana could even notice that her Big Sis had relinquished the hold she had on one of her arms, Yua yanked the panties up the rest of the way, snugging it up tight enough to almost bite into her.

    Once her crotch was properly covered, her legs fell limp. She¡¯d lost the fight. Vitality drained out of her as her complaints ceased and her ears drooped. Realizing her strength just couldn¡¯t compare, she gave up resisting when I next pulled out a shirt of mine that I¡¯d reformed into a short dress for her.

    In all my wildest sexual fantasies, I never once thought I would have to actually hold a girl down to put her clothes on.

    Despondent, Mana let her head hang as Yua held her in place and I draped the dress over her head and pulled it down to finally hide the tiny breasts that threatened my will power. Even if her earlier pouting had only been a ruse, it was most definitely real now.

    ¡°No..¡­.¡±

    Mana stared down at the dress that now kept her properly covered and scowled at it. This actually hurt a little, as while I acted in haste, I thought I did a fairly good job designing it with the soon-to-be wearer in mind.

    The skirt was nice and flowy, perfect for someone that didn¡¯t want anything covering their legs. The arms were sleeveless for the sake of mobility and I even gave the chest a fair bit more breathable space than needed as her miniscule cleavage was left in sight. And to top it off, the fabric itself was fairly light-weight.

    While the original fabric was clearly meant to be worn by a man and was free of any eye-catching patterns, I thought it looked ridiculously cute on her. Hell, if she brushed her hair properly, she might even look like she could pass for the sort of adorable doll a nobleman¡¯s daughter would proudly refuse to ever let go of.

    Not that I had any experience to speak of, but I would have thought something like this would have been perfect for the reformed nudist and yet¡­

    ¡°This¡­ isn¡¯t going to work.¡±

    Standing there languidly, her ears fallen flat against her messy hair, Mana pursed her lips in a resigned pout. This wouldn¡¯t have been all that troubling had a generous gust of wind not shown me the errors of my ways.

    My weak tailoring skills meant that the cups of the dress were much too loose on her. Sitting still, they looked fine, but the moment the breeze hit, it started to flap to repeatedly showing off the pink tips we were trying to hide. Yua was quick to fix it for her, but it happened again a few seconds later.

    Unfortunately, creating clothes for her through Material Creation didn¡¯t net me the Tailor class, so I didn¡¯t know how to fix it other than by making it a little smaller. This didn¡¯t work either, as the moment I through the reformed dress back over her head, she yanked the front down to let her tits breathe.

    Mana fumed further when Yua fixed her once more and when I added my cloak to her ensemble, tying it up tight to make sure she wasn¡¯t flashing everyone we passed.

    She moped and crossed her arms, but with the sleeves of the cloak running well past the tips of her fingers, she looked too cute for it to come off as anything close to resembling real anger.

    ¡°Sorry your first-time wearing clothes couldn¡¯t be more comfortable. We¡¯ll get you something cuter soon. Promise.¡±

    ¡°Hmph¡­ This stuff¡¯s too heavy.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it soon,¡± Yua said, standing back up after tying the laces of the spare boots she let Mana borrow. ¡°I had to, too.¡±

    As Yua had been the one to help dress her, her reassurance did nothing but get us another loud huff.

    To make better use of my infinite storage space, I was not only going to have to get Mana an entire ensemble of clothes for herself, but I¡¯ll have to get Yua some backups to keep in my item box as well. I was still carrying Yua¡¯s battle leathers, but I wasn¡¯t too keen on either of the girls actually wearing something that revealing if it wasn¡¯t for an actual fight. So, for now, this was just going to have to do.

    Silently lamenting the need to add a visit to Guerraway¡¯s clothing store to our already long to-do-list, I took Mana¡¯s hand and, surprisingly, she didn¡¯t resist. She did headbutt my chest and leave it there to mope into my shirt, but I suppose we both deserved it. The discomfort she felt now would be a fitting punishment for the trouble she caused.

    Not wanting to waste any more of the daylight, and after briefly consulting the map, we started back towards the city proper.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 14

    The salty scent of the ocean had already long since perforated my nostrils before we reached Guerraway, but by the time we got to the city gate, I was questioning why anyone would willingly choose to live by the sea.

    I¡¯d never been one to lounge about on a beach for hours on end. My past self never could have found such a public setting relaxing, not unless I was the only one there, anyways. So, whenever I needed to wind down from the daily grind of the job I hated, I typically just pulled out a good book or video game, sat myself in a nice quiet room and lost myself in it.

    Still, I had been dragged to the beach a time or two in my past life, so the fishy smell permeating the air was familiarly hard to deal with.

    That being said, I had no idea how these two girls, whose noses were both several times more sensitive than my own, were able to carry such undaunted smiles on their lips as they gazed up at the long wall surrounding the city.

    While the wall was not even half as obnoxiously tall as Amoranth¡¯s, Mana was still unbelievably taken with them as she wrung the life out of my hand in the excitement.

    ¡°Wow! Human temples are so big!¡±

    Mana¡¯s tail wagged energetically as soon as she saw how tall the city wall was. Yua and I chuckled to each other a bit at her excited misunderstanding.

    ¡°That is not a temple. That is just a wall that surrounds the human city.¡±

    ¡°City? What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Think of it like a village, but a way bigger. And with a lot more people. The wall keeps them safe.¡±

    ¡°Ooooh.¡±

    Looking like a little girl excitedly skipping through her first trip to an amusement park, Mana clung to our hands and pulled us towards the gate. Smirking to myself at how her curiosity had taken over and she had all but forgotten about the little dress we¡¯d forced her to wear, I let her lead the way.

    ¡°Yua, were you this excited the first time you saw a city?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± she smiled embarrassedly and shook her head. ¡°I was too scared to go in and ended up waiting in the forest for three days¡­¡±

    ¡°Really? I would have thought you¡¯d take it head on like you would a fight.¡±

    ¡°Hehe¡­ Well, I¡¯d never seen so many people. So many humans¡­ It was a little scary at the time.¡±

    ¡°Yea. I guess if your only interactions with humans had been through the occasional merchants passing through your village, seeing so many at once would have been a shock.¡±

    I know I felt the same way after meeting her people, at least. Even if my shock was born of a completely different reason, one that made me grateful to myself for letting Mana borrow my cloak, as her excited movements would have already created a dozen wardrobe malfunctions since she first saw the city wall on the horizon.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Unmoved by Mana¡¯s cuteness as I was, Yua drew in her chin when the gate guards¡¯ eyes locked on us. Surely, as beautiful as she was, she¡¯d never had a man look at her with such pure disinterested disgust in her life. When they saw her, they gripped their swords. I had almost forgotten Tama¡¯s warning about their dislike for the cat-kin.

    There was no fear in Yua¡¯s eyes, but there was a heaping helping of regret when she belatedly tried to cover her ears with her cloak. Mana, however, missed all of this and continued letting her gaze wonder, completely missing the threat when her big blue eyes landed on the guards well-polished bronze armor.

    Seeing that they were careful enough not to draw their swords yet, I refused my instinct to grab my own so they couldn¡¯t assume us a threat. Pushing past their discomforting looks, we politely lined up with everyone else to get in. A couple of the guards made sure to keep an eye on us, but their harassment never went past that.

    Thankfully, at least, as I watched the guard deal with farmer after farmer come to the city to sell their wares, I noticed that there was no entrance tax here. Guess Amoranth, the city of merchants, was just greedy. Surprise, surprise.

    ¡°Next.¡±

    When it was our turn, the eyes of the man interviewing all who entered felt like they were burning with anger with the way his entire body seemed to focus on us, but beneath his helm, he looked tired. His friends, though, remained on guard.

    ¡°What¡¯s your purpose for entering the city?¡± he asked, his tone strikingly calm.

    ¡°We¡¯re Adventurers from Amoranth, here on a quest to collect some plants from the forest. We thought it best to save time by waiting to stock up on supplies here instead of carrying them ourselves the whole way.¡±

    The guard noticed Yua, the only one of us carrying a backpack, and scoffed before he shook his head. Regardless of whether or not he¡¯d noticed that Yua was a slave from this little fact, he surprisingly accepted my little half-lie without issue.

    He did, however, glance down at the sword on my hip.

    ¡°Is there a law prohibiting weapons in the city?¡± I asked calmly.

    ¡°No. Just keep it in its sheath and nobody will bother you.¡±

    At that, his gaze shifted back to the girls. He tapped the butt of his spear onto the ground with a loud clang to draw Mana¡¯s attention off his armor and onto his eyes. Her ears wilted on the spot and she moved to hide behind me.

    ¡°As for you two,¡± he continued. ¡°Keep your damn claws to yourselves. We¡¯ve been having enough problems as is with that damn demon running around. Our people don¡¯t need more.¡±

    Demon? Shouldn¡¯t the demon the King¡¯s army is fighting be east of Amoranth? Is there another?

    ¡°¡­ Yes, sir,¡± Yua said, suppressing the urge to clench her fist with a smile.

    Seemingly pleased with her answer, the guard¡¯s gaze shifted completely onto Mana, who bit her lip before stepping forward. Showing themselves to be on edge enough to worry over the actions of such a small girl, the guards around us all tensed, but remained still.

    Tentatively pressing the tips of her fingers together, Mana asked, ¡°Um¡­ Is it true that most humans wear metal over their clothes?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± he said curtly, looking to me. ¡°If these two are with you, hurry them along. They¡¯re holding up the line.¡±

    ¡°R-Right. Come along, Mana.¡±

    ¡°Eh? But I wanted to talk about their metal clothes.¡±

    Weren¡¯t you scared of him like five seconds ago?

    Then again, I suppose with the way Tama glares at everyone, she might just be used to uncomfortable looks being aimed at her.

    ¡°I¡¯ll answer any questions you have about humans later,¡± I said, tugging her forwards and through the gate before they could change their minds. Yua hurried to follow us, happy to be freed of their accusing gazes.

    A long sloping road of smooth stone ran straight from the gates towards the ocean on the horizon. From the top of the slight hill we stood atop, I could only see the beginning of the docks we were aiming for in the distance, but the spread of the ocean was so vast it seemed to bleed into the sky.

    Mana was much too busy being awed by all the stone buildings sprawled out around the area to pay any attention to where she was walking, so I continued to guide her.

    Unlike Amoranth with its straight, if not confusing streets, none of the roads but the one leading to the docks were uniformed in any way. It was as if each building were placed haphazardly wherever it was needed, leaving the roads a nightmare of a mess.

    She sniffed the air and gazed almost longingly towards a large bundle of buildings to the right of the gate. Many were shops selling foods of an even greater variety than Amoranth¡¯s merchant district, probably thanks to the ocean opening up trade wtih faraway lands.

    Her big blue gaze, however, laid squarely on the butcher¡¯s shop. Much to my surprise given her feline nature, she seemed to all but completely ignore the endless fish mongers in favor for whatever her nose caught at the butcher¡¯s.

    Meanwhile, Yua was looking at me uncomfortably.

    ¡°Sorry about the guards,¡± I said.

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault. Daddy did say they¡¯d be rude, I just¡­. It¡¯s weird. They looked like they were angry with us, but I couldn¡¯t hear any actual hate in their hearts.¡±

    ¡°Well that¡¯s¡­ confusing. But it also sounds like a good thing.¡±

    ¡°Yea¡­¡±

    Looking around, I felt many of the people that bothered to look our way, look at them, all met her with the same level of contempt, if they bothered to look at all. Most seemed to ignore us entirely, as would be expected of a city to packed with people.

    ¡°Hey, Big Bro!¡± Mana shouted, tugging my arm, her tail a flurry of excitement. ¡°Can that gold you showed me get us meat? There¡¯s a bunch over there I haven¡¯t tried yet!¡±

    ¡°Pfft. What happened to asking about armor?¡±

    ¡°But there¡¯s meat! Meat!¡±

    Gripping my shirt with a huge, but pleasantly unexpectant grin, Mana pointed to the butcher¡¯s shop. I had some idea of her habits after sharing both dinner and breakfast with her, but it¡¯s starting to feel like Mana might be a bit of a glutton if that¡¯s all she¡¯s noticed about this place. At least, a glutton when it came to meat.

    Wondering how it was that a person could hate this adorable girl just because of her pointed ears, I grabbed her hood and pulled it down over her head. I hated doing it, but if we wanted things to remain peaceful, this might be for the best.

    ¡°H-hey!¡±

    ¡°Mana, for as long as we¡¯re here, I want you to wear that hood.¡±

    ¡°But, first you make me cover my tail and my special place, and now my ears? No fair. Look, the human females aren¡¯t covering their heads! Why should I?¡±

    ¡°Because we¡¯re drawing too much attention to ourselves,¡± I whispered close so only she could hear. ¡°We¡¯re here to see what the humans in the forest were doing, remember? We¡¯ll get caught if we stand out.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ But keeping my ears like this is uncomfortable.¡±

    ¡°Bear with it for now and I¡¯ll get you as much meat as you can stomach.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Promise?¡±

    ¡°Alex,¡± Yua chided. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t spoil her. Mana, the male you claim as your mate is asking for a favor. You should listen properly.¡±

    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t be here for too long,¡± I added, discretely using Material Creation to seal up the ear holes I made in Yua¡¯s hood. ¡°We don¡¯t want the humans from the forest to notice us.¡±

    ¡°Mhmmf¡­¡±

    Puffing up her cheeks in a pout, Mana reluctantly nodded back.

    I would have loved to pull out some big romantic gesture for the girls and force the people here to accept them for who they were, but with Guerraway being so close to the village, I was sure the thieves were bound to notice the presence of any cat-kin in the city. I could only guess what they¡¯d do once they spotted the girls. I doubted that letting a bunch of criminals know we were on to them would end well.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just be quick about this.¡±

    Working our way through the crowd, we stopped only once to sample the local cuisine in buying, what else, but some grilled fish after both my cat-girls caught a whiff of it and their tails threatened to ruin their disguises. I then had to buy a second round when the little carnivore Mana hit me with a pleading look.

    With our bellies full, and with Mana placated with an offering of a third serving all for herself and with a newfound worry that my purse wasn¡¯t fat enough to keep her stomach happy, we headed straight down the main road towards the ocean.

    Aside from the consistent smell assaulting my nose, Guerraway didn¡¯t feel too different from Amoranth. The streets were lined with so many people that I felt the need to hold Mana¡¯s hand to keep her from getting lost, but the streets were clogged the way the Great City usually was.

    The only real difference that was readily apparent was the constant chill carried by the ocean breeze and how it rendered the girl¡¯s disguises less effective than they would have been elsewhere.

    As Mana happily munched away on her fish, her hood was blown off her head several times and each time her ears drew the ire of those around us. Thankfully, she seemed completely oblivious to their unearned glares and kept her pace casual. Yua and I scrambled to cover her each time.

    And as for Yua, I am somewhat ashamed to say that I was causing her a bit of discomfort. Or rather, my past order was, as each time she sensed a gust of wind coming, she¡¯d frightfully press down the front and back of her skirt to keep from showing what she had under it to the crowd.

    Briefly considering how long it might take to teleport back to the cabin to let her change into something less daring, such thoughts were interrupted by a sight I was not prepared for.

    A small contingent of knights were lined up in front of the archway leading to the docks, stopping everyone that tried to pass through. Each and every one of them were decked out in a near-full set of gleaming silver armor that was so overly ornate that they would have looked out of place in an art museum, let alone on a person. More worrying were the glares they shot at anyone that tried to pass by them without stopping to be checked.

    The man doing said checking, the only one wearing a helmet, pressed a palm to the chest of a heavily sunburnt man, stopping him in his tracks. With an annoyed grunt and a few words I¡¯d rather not repeat, the sunburnt man pulled a small scroll out of his shirt and handed it to the knight. The sunburnt man looked annoyed to have to go through this, but stayed put anyway.

    The helmeted knight unfurled the scroll, looked it over and handed it back to the sunburnt man before letting him through.

    Assuming him to be the knight¡¯s leader, I checked his info box.

    Sir Astore Lugano was a level 38 Swordsman whose presence would have normally meant that we¡¯d have had no choice but to submit to his search, but before I could consider the feasibility of just teleporting around them, his second class stole my attention.

    He was a Paladin.

    Typical gaming sense suggested that this meant he was a knight whose power was amped by his faith in God, but that fact wasn¡¯t what stopped me in my tracks.

    Does he worship the Goddess?

    As if he took notice of the mental image of the blonde beauty that sent me to this world, Sir Astore¡¯s head swiveled in our direction. He lifted his chin briefly before he raised a hand and swiftly brought it down in a chopping motion in our direction.

    Stolen novel; please report.

    In an instant, half of the knights behind him drew their weapons and ran at us.

    Yua clenched her fists and readied her stance while Mana hid behind us. But before I could draw my sword, the knights all stopped, circling us in perfect unison just a few feet from us.

    All looked ready and willing to fight even though Ser Astore spoke no orders, but none of them moved. The sudden rush and stop even put Yua off her game and her fierce love for the fight faltered.

    And when Ser Astore himself stepped forward, she tensed. Drawing in a sharp breath through her nose, she unclenched her fists.

    ¡°Hold,¡± Ser Astore said to us, not his men. ¡°The docks are currently off limits to civilians and non-essential workers. What is your purpose here?¡±

    With his question aimed at me, I gulped a bit at the fact the other knights hadn¡¯t lowered their weapons yet and answered.

    ¡°We just wanted to check if any recent ships brought in any building supplies. Figured it¡¯d be cheaper to buy them before the merchants do and raise their prices. Is that not allowed?¡±

    While that was not explicitly untrue, as part of my hopes for coming to this city was to gain materials to fix up our cabin, especially now that Mana would soon be joining us, I was still shot down instantly.

    ¡°I imagine it would normally be of no consequence, but I am under strict orders not to let anyone unaffiliated with the docks through this point,¡± Ser Astore said and turned to Yua. Then to Mana. ¡°Besides, we¡¯ve received reports from the locals that the cat-kin of the area are too violent to be trusted to keep the peace.¡±

    ¡°¡­ How did you know they were cat-kin?¡±

    Up until now, their cloaks had done wonders in proving that they¡¯d were doing a poor job of hiding their more feline features, but I was sure he hadn¡¯t seen anything that could have given it away. And yet, he spoke with an air of certainty that was so profound that I couldn¡¯t help but admit the truth.

    Sir Astore cocked his helmeted head slightly to the side before nodding. Bowing just his chin, he reached his hands behind his head, unclasped something and then grasped the crown of his helmet. He pulled the whole thing off in a smooth, practiced motion.

    The first thing anyone could have noticed when he did this was the pair of large, fuzzy wolf¡¯s ears resting atop his head that stretched beneath the daylight, happy to be free of their metal prison. The sight of them eased Mana¡¯s worries some, enough for her to stop hiding.

    Below the helmet was a fairly handsome man with short silvery hair and a pair of sharp and very alert eyes that alone denied any resistance to his assertion. He sniffed the air only once before looking at them again.

    ¡°They can cover their ears all they want, I can tell a cat-kin when I smell one.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re no more violent than you,¡± Yua said, matching his calm tone. ¡°We only fight when defending someone we care for or when a mutual challenge is met.¡±

    ¡°And I don¡¯t like fighting at all,¡± Mana added with a cute smile that made Sir Astore flinch.

    ¡°The people of Guerraway just misunderstand our ways.¡±

    ¡°Be that as it may,¡± Sir Astore said, but not before clearing his throat. ¡°If you are as peaceable as you claim, then all the better. We care not for local squabbles, but we still cannot let you pass. We are here to protect our Lord and the Duke of Guerraway himself has allowed us to post up here.¡±

    ¡°Local squabbles?¡± I repeated and Yua grabbed my hand as if to stop me. ¡°Are you not from Guerraway? Why are you guarding the docks?¡±

    ¡°There will be no more questions from you. Please clear the area. The Duke has permitted the use of force if necessary. Do us all a favor and don¡¯t make it necessary.¡±

    Likely hearing the truth in the girls by listening to their hearts, Astore shoved his head back into the helmet and left without another word. A quick wave of his hand had the rest of the knights all lowering their weapons as they returned to their posts.

    He must have only approached in the first place because of that rumor about the cat-kin and because he caught their scent.

    ¡°Come on, Alex. Let¡¯s leave.¡±

    Not seeing a way to reopen negotiations after his curt rejection, I let Yua drag me away. Mana stopped to give the knights a little wave before running after us.

    It wasn¡¯t until she¡¯d dragged me maybe a mile into the unorganized streets of Guerraway and pulled me into the safety of an empty alley that she spoke again.

    ¡°You need to be more careful.¡±

    ¡°I know, don¡¯t worry. I noticed his level, too.¡±

    Yua shook her head and, for some reason, Mana mimicked her behind her back.

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean. He was clearly a knight. Like, an actual knight, not just a guard or a thug in armor. You shouldn¡¯t go around questioning knights like that without considering their status. He could have had you arrested or killed if he decided you were annoying him. You were lucky he was nice.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I guess you¡¯re right. Sorry, I just never had to deal with knights where I¡¯m from.¡±

    ¡°Where you¡¯re from¡­? You know, sometimes I feel like you are completely immune to common sense.¡±

    With a resigned sigh, Yua thrust her hands onto her hips and, again, Mana copied her. And I really couldn¡¯t blame either of them.

    Guess my new actually-talking-to-people powers clouded my judgment a little. I¡¯ve just been talking to people without too much regard for their status or how it compared to my own.

    Wait. Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯ve become the sort of idiot that would mindlessly run his mouth at anyone and everyone. Did I somehow move straight past stuttering over every sentence and jump into talking like I personally knew everyone?

    Goddess, the parts of my past self that were still buried inside me shuddered at the thought.

    Actually, now that I think about it, I was pretty casual with Tama, too, and he¡¯s the leader of their people. Was that part of why he was so cross with me, or was it just because of Yua?

    I shook my head of the thought.

    ¡°Sorry. Sorry. I¡¯ll be more careful next time. Anyways, I think things just got more complicated.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Yua said, her ears twitching in search of danger. ¡°Nobody followed us.¡±

    ¡°Maybe not, but didn¡¯t you hear what he said? Nobody is allowed into the docks without permission. So, how are the thieves going to get in?¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡±

    They couldn¡¯t just waltz right up into the docks now. They were already thieves, so it was easy to believe they didn¡¯t mind having to do a bit of smuggling, but we had no way of knowing how they¡¯d manage that. More importantly, because Sir Astore was wolf-kin, sneaking past him would be all the more difficult, so they¡¯d have to be extra sneaky about it.

    And what¡¯s worse, we¡¯d have a hard time sitting and waiting for them like we had at the barrier thanks to Sir Astore¡¯s wolf-like senses.

    ¡°Then what are we going to do?¡±

    ¡°Oh, oh, oh! I know,¡± Mana said, jumping into the conversation. ¡°We can use that wolf-kin as a trap.¡±

    ¡°¡­ What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°The humans might not know about the wolf-kin, right? So, they will have to show up to see that they can¡¯t get in and when they leave, we can follow them. But if they do know he¡¯s waiting there, they¡¯ll ignore him and look for a way around him. Either way, we just have to wait and see how they react to him and then follow them!¡±

    Having enlightened us, Mana proudly puffed out her chest. Yua and I, however, were a little dumbstruck. She¡¯s known Mana for longer, but I don¡¯t think either of us were expecting to hear such an answer come from her as if it were obvious.

    To be honest, until now, I wasn¡¯t one-hundred percent sure she was taking this all seriously.

    ¡°How did you come up with that?¡±

    Giggling to herself before raising a confident finger, she explained, ¡°Daddy taught me how to hunt and track animals, remember? This is the same thing. We just have to have the wolf-kin scare away the animal to make it run. That way, we can track it back to its den. Only, this time they¡¯ll lead us around the wolf-kin either to their den, or to their boat.¡±

    With a cutely smug grin, she shrugged, again, as if this were only obvious. Then she ruined the illusion of genius by adding, ¡°Also¡­ what¡¯s a boat?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ We can definitely do that,¡± I said, patting her head. ¡°Good idea, but how are we going to wait for the thieves to show up?¡±

    Waiting and watching like we did earlier could cause us problems if Sir Astore noticed us lingering in the crowd. I can only imagine how he¡¯d react to a couple of the cat-kin he¡¯d been warned about staking him out.

    ¡°I think we¡¯ll be okay as long as we¡¯re far enough away from Sir Astore¡¯s ears,¡± Yua said, pointing over Mana¡¯s head to the top of the city walls.

    ¡°Right¡­¡±

    I¡¯d considered teleporting our way to the answer, but I was positive that none of the rooftops around the dock¡¯s entrance could keep us out of ear¡¯s reach of the knights. Jumping to the top of the wall may be a different story. It wasn¡¯t as tall as Amoranth¡¯s walls for certain, but it was by no means short.

    ¡°But would you be able to hear anything they say from up there?¡±

    The main objective for now may be following Arthur so we can attempt to turn him to our side, but I¡¯d still like to hear what they have to say on that boat. Knowing who they are selling to might help us somehow.

    While I directed my question to the both of them, only Yua shook her head.

    ¡°I can¡¯t know until we¡¯re up there. The city noise might make it difficult, but being that high up means the wind could be a problem too.¡±

    I exhaled loudly, not out of disappointment for Yua¡¯s natural limitations, but because I thought of an easy fix for them. And said fix makes me wish I had trained my magic more extensively.

    ¡°Let¡¯s just make our way up there for now and see how it goes.¡±

    Teleporting here must have put us a fair bit ahead of the thieves, so we had time to work out exactly how to handle this. While we wait, we can work on plans B and C incase A fails. Past me might have been willing to stare at the problem until the solution presented itself so I could call myself a genius, or I could complain when it didn¡¯t, but not this time.

    This had become too complicated to just wing it while hoping for the best.

    Leaving the girls for a moment, I stepped out of the alley to scan the wall. Unfortunately, as expected, there were no spaces along the vast stretch of brick and mortar that I could see well-enough to teleport onto directly, so we¡¯d have to drop in.

    I took a moment to memorize a part of the wall overlooking the docks that not only looked secluded, but that looked like it hadn¡¯t been touched by the hands of a human or anyone else in decades. Satisfied and seeing this as our only option, I through open another portal, aiming it to exit just above the wall.

    Carefully climbing through it first as a test, I dropped myself the roughly six-feet from the bottom of the portal, ignored the pain in my feet and turned to catch Yua as she jumped through next. Less than a second later, Mana came flying through the portal as if she¡¯d taken a running start and barreled straight into me, knocking me on my ass.

    ¡°Ow¡­¡±

    ¡°Hehe.¡±

    Mana grinned as she straddled my stomach, looking pleased with herself. With each swish of her tail ticking away the hour, I mentally counted the worrying number of times these girls had tackled me to the ground these last couple of days.

    With a sigh boosting me back into a sitting position, I closed the portal before anyone could catch its light and Yua set about her work in attempting to listen to the docks.

    Leaning over the side of the wall just enough to poke her eyes and ears out, I mimed for quiet and Mana playfully put a finger to her lips.

    As I understood it, the cat-kin¡¯s ears verified in sensitivity and in that one aspect, the girls agreed that Yua had Mana beat, so she helped me check our immediate surroundings in the meantime.

    The section of wall I chose to teleport us to was not random. It was wide and sturdy, with tons of room for archers and various slings and rock-throwers to rain down death upon any invaders daring to attack the city.

    This was great for us, since the wall looked thin from a distance, but it looked as though it had been a part of one of these battles at some point in the distant past as there was a large whole in the battlement. Likely the result of a catapult attack that had never been repaired for one reason or another, chance, or maybe luck, showed its hand in how the damage extended to the only staircase on this section of the wall.

    Deciding that we¡¯d be safe and unfound up here, I peered over the wall with Yua.

    Being this high up made the people below look like a bunch of ants, but that was kind of the point. Nobody would notice us up here. It meant that the ants shining in their fancy armor wouldn¡¯t find us, either.

    A strong gust of wind struck us, just as Yua said it might, and ruffled her hair. Careful not to bother her, I pulled the stray locks out of her face as she strained her eyes and ears for us. She was silent for a long moment before ultimately sighing.

    ¡°I take it you can¡¯t hear them?¡±

    The shining ants were still stopping everyone trying to pass into the docks, so there was plenty of conversation to be heard, but she didn¡¯t look too enthused about it.

    ¡°No,¡± Yua said, sliding down to sit against the wall. ¡°I can hear lots of things, but from up here it sounds like it¡¯s all coming in at once. It¡¯s hard to tell who¡¯s saying what¡­ Do you think we could do what we did earlier and you open a portal to let my head through? Just so I can listen?¡±

    ¡°Maybe. I considered doing that too, but¡­¡±

    While we had the benefit of the daylight snuffing out some of the portal¡¯s light, we could further hide her presence by choosing a well-hidden spot to teleport her to. But that wasn¡¯t what caused me to hesitate.

    Deciding the test I had bene putting off would fare better with a live demonstration, I pulled an affle out of my item box and showed it to her. Her ears gave a curious flick, but she took the offered fruit.

    ¡°I¡¯m not really hungry.¡±

    ¡°Just hold on.¡±

    Casting Dimensional Step again, I opened a small portal in front of us, this time leaving its exit just above our heads. Once the lights formed and were steady, I pointed to the one in front of us.

    ¡°Toss the affle inside.¡±

    With another curious flick of her ear, Yua did as I asked and we watched the affle soar through the air. One of its rounded edges quickly vanished through it, as if the lights were shaving it off before reforming it above us.

    When the affle was about half-way through, I cut the spell. The moment the lights vanished, the affle split into two pieces as smoothly and cleanly as if a sharp, incorporeal blade had silently severed it. The half Yua threw continued forward to smack into the wall, while the other decapitated half dropped harmlessly into her hand.

    ¡°I was afraid of that¡­¡±

    Such a simple test should have been done days ago, but this seemed the only logical outcome. If an object were allowed to exist in two spaces at once and the thing allowing it to do this suddenly vanished, the only sensible way to appease physics would be to split it in half. This wasn¡¯t a video game where the coding would just blip the entire object onto one of the two sides.

    Meaning that our earlier stunt searching for the barrier really could have turned my spell into a guillotine.

    I touched a hand to my neck, but looked at Yua¡¯s. She smirked and, when I opened my mouth to suggest a different idea, she shoved her half of the affle into it to shut me up.

    ¡°I trust that you won¡¯t let that happen to me.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a matter of trust. All it takes is for me to lose my concentration and¡­¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll make sure you can¡¯t see my boobs or my panties.¡±

    ¡°Yua, please, I¡¯m serious.¡±

    ¡°So am I,¡± she said, taking my hand. ¡°You did just fine this morning and we¡¯ve used your spell countless times already. Why should it be different now?¡±

    Because until now, most of the times we used that spell, we hurried through it before I even considered canceling it.

    Because we¡¯re in a strange city where something and anything could distract me completely at random. A drunken brawl spilling out of a tavern into the streets. A woman screaming that her baby¡¯s been kidnapped. A couple ruffians that decided they didn¡¯t need to listen to a bunch of knights only to try and force their way through. We weren¡¯t so far away that something somewhere couldn¡¯t distract me.

    ¡­ Is what I¡¯d like to say, but the main culprit behind my worry was up here with us.

    Mana squat down over the other half of the apple to run a finger over its shorn side, testing the smoothness of the cut with an amused grin. After poking it a few times, she tossed it over the side of the wall leading back to the grassy plains.

    ¡°I think you worry about it too much. If you can use it in the middle of a fight with Daddy of all people, then you¡¯re fine.¡±

    ¡°You say that, but your father could be walking around right now with only one arm if I messed up.¡±

    ¡°Hehe. I doubt it.¡±

    ¡°Again, being serious here.¡±

    ¡°And again,¡± she repeated with a giggle. ¡°So am I. If that happened, Mother would have made you teleport back to the city for a potion to restore lost limbs. Assuming she doesn¡¯t already have one.¡±

    ¡°She doesn¡¯t¡­¡±

    Though I was near completely distracted at the time, I remember her rummaging through her stash of potions and I don¡¯t recall her having anything like that. And with that woman¡¯s way of distracting being so simplistic, I felt that furthered my point.

    I am but a simple man. I too must succumb to worldly happenings and prolonged use of the Dimensional Step spell like she was suggesting was too dangerous for a novice like myself.

    ¡°Then how about this. We¡¯ll just wait and watch for the thieves and you will only have to worry about your magic once they get here. There¡¯s not much point in using the spell when they aren¡¯t here to listen to anyways.¡±

    ¡°True¡­ Fine. We¡¯ll do it your way. Mana, when we get started, you¡¯ll have to¡­ Mana?¡±

    As we talked, Mana had hiked herself up onto her toes to peer over the side of the wall, presumably to watch the fruit fall. And that was where she froze.

    Her once lively tail had gone completely limp, rigid even more than the rest of her. She was still. The only parts of her that showed any signs of life where her ears, which twitched erratically as if hearing some grating noise drilling directly into her ear drums.

    ¡°Mana? What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Feeling something was off, I got up and circled around her. She didn¡¯t appear to be in any pain, but her eyes were so wide where she looked over the wall¡¯s edge that you would have thought she was staring at the hilt of a blade that had just pierced through her gut as her vision slowly faded into obscurity.

    Only, she was awake. Awake and overly alert to something none but her could see.

    Then her mouth fell open and, just as she began to scream, Yua dashed to forcefully clamp a hand over her mouth.

    Her cries of terror muffled, Mana sobbed profusely into Yua¡¯s hand and let herself be dragged to the ground and away from the edge of the wall.

    Deeply confused by the sudden change, but feeling from her cries more than the sight of her tears that this was anything but a joke, I pulled her away from Yua and hugged her to my chest.

    ¡°No¡­ No¡­ No¡­ I don¡¯t wanna be here! I don¡¯t wanna be here!¡±

    Confused further, I looked to Yua, but she too needed a minute to calm herself before saying anything.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I completely forgot. But I should have remembered¡­¡±

    ¡°What? What¡¯s wrong with her?¡±

    ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s just¡­ Mana¡¯s deathly afraid of heights.¡±

    Suddenly feeling the urge to fight off the sentence of ¡°why didn¡¯t she say so before coming up here,¡± I looked to Mana for an explanation, but got nothing. She clenched my shirt as tightly as if she thought one of us might actually try to throw her over the side.

    Seeing her unable to fill in the details I was missing, Yua continued.

    ¡°It was a couple of years before I left for the dungeons¡­¡±

    During one of her attempts to avoid doing her chores, Mana had run off into the forest and gotten lost. According to what little she managed to tell them through her sobs once she was found, she had been chasing an animal, playing and fooling around as usual. Only, she wasn¡¯t paying attention to where she was going. The excitement of the chase had her following the speedy little critter blindly through the trees much further than was permitted. Paying no mind to how far she was from the village, she ultimately ended up at the top of the forest¡¯s tallest mountain.

    Naturally, for someone as adept to forest life as she was, this should have been nothing to her, but as fate would have it, it had bene raining the last few days and the ground was weak. A landslide had caused a tree and a good handful of large rocks, none of which she could have hoped to move herself, to fall onto her. Thankfully, she wasn¡¯t too hurt, but she was pinned beneath them and couldn¡¯t move. And as if that weren¡¯t enough, she was stuck in a way that¡¯d forced her to overlook the steep drop down to the bottom of the mountain.

    Forced into the mind-numbing realization that just moving too much might cause her to plummet to her death where the thin layer of ground she covered were to crumble beneath her, Mana was left with no choice but to lay there and plead for help.

    ¡°She was all alone up there for two whole days before Daddy heard her crying when out searching for her,¡± Yua concluded. ¡°She won¡¯t even climb trees anymore if they¡¯re too tall.¡±

    Grinding her face into my chest like she thought doing so would expel the image of her past trauma from her mind, Mana managed a nod, confirming all that had been said.

    So, heights are fun to look at, but not to experience.

    Maybe I should have obeyed my instincts as I had my first time in Amoranth and found us an inn before getting involved in all of this. Once it was decided we¡¯d teleport up here, we could have just left her there, wrapped up in a nice warm blanket and with a hot meal in front of her while we got to work.

    ¡°No,¡± she said, looking up at me as I suggested this. ¡°I want to be with you.¡±

    Hugging her tight, I look to Yua, who just shrugged back.

    While I was flattered that she would attempt to brave her own phobias just to be with me, seeing her shake like this had instantly become the most unbearable sight I¡¯d ever encountered.

    Cupping her cheeks in my hands, I carefully lifted her eyes to mine. Making sure my body blocked her view of the wall¡¯s edge, I helped her to focus only on me.

    ¡°I won¡¯t force you to leave us and I won¡¯t force you to stay, but if you don¡¯t want to be here¡­¡±

    ¡°I-I¡¯ll stay.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Then just stay with me. Don¡¯t go near the edge and everything will be fine. Look,¡± I thumped my fist on the flooring a good few times to show how sturdy it was. ¡°As long as you focus on me and the floor beneath us, you¡¯ll be fine. Trust me.¡±

    ¡°Alex can always use his magic to protect you,¡± Yua added. ¡°And I can catch you before anything happens. So, there¡¯s no reason to be scared.¡±

    Sniffling, Mana managed a nod, but followed it up by wrapping her legs tightly around my back. She didn¡¯t seem likely to let go anytime soon. Unwilling to do anything else, I held her right back, but looked to Yua.

    ¡°Do you think you could keep an eye out for the thieves? Just let me know when they show up.¡±

    ¡°Sure. Just leave it to me.¡±

 Volume 2 - Chapter 15

    A couple hours into our second stake-out of the day and I could say I had way more respect for the law enforcement officers that had to sit outside a criminal¡¯s house and wait for hours in hopes that they¡¯d show up. And considering how we were essentially doing just that; I could truly sympathize with how mind-numbing the waiting can be.

    ¡°...¡±

    Sharing in the boredom, Mana let out a long breath that I was sure would have been a sigh if her Big Sis wasn¡¯t still diligently watching for the thieves. Knowing how her own ears worked, she knew she needed to be quiet, so she kept her energetic self sat in a very un-lady-like position in front of me to wait the day away.

    She¡¯d taken a good while to calm down after her frightful outburst and was mostly calm now, though she did still shiver whenever boredom led her gaze towards the wall. From what I could tell, as long as she wasn¡¯t looking over the edge, she could pretend she was on the ground.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Though the occasional suppressed sigh made it apparent she was no longer enjoying herself. While she was taught the patience needed to hunt, it was easy to see that waiting around like this was not the part of it she enjoyed.

    The piece of fruit I¡¯d given to settle her stomach was long gone and with nothing else to do, she carefully let herself fall back to lay down. I took her closing her eyes as an okay and joined Yua by the wall.

    ¡°Nothing yet?¡±

    ¡°Nope. The last cart passed by over an hour ago.¡±

    It was getting late. The sun was still lingering in the sky, but I didn¡¯t need to check the time to know dusk was threatening to take over.

    ¡°What¡¯s taking them so long?¡±

    We had a head start getting here, sure, but they¡¯ve had more than enough time to catch up. It was starting to feel like we were wasting our time.

    I leaned over for a look, only to be reminded of my limitations as a human. From this distance, I couldn¡¯t distinguish men from women, let alone tell their faces apart. My info box couldn¡¯t even reach them.

    Heaving a sigh, I slumped and slid against the wall to sit again. Yua¡¯s tail had kept up its casual sway this whole time, so at least she wasn¡¯t struggling against her constant vigilance.

    Mana, however¡­

    ¡°Ahhhh¡­¡±

    The moment I pried my eyes off Yua¡¯s tail and faced forward, the sight I was met with made my cheeks heat up.

    Having had enough of staring at the endless blue sky, Mana had gotten up, only to squat right back down. With her knees spread wide and her skirt hiked all the way up to her chest, she pulled her panties so far to the side that they looked like they would have torn if the material was any cheaper.

    She let out a long, pleased sigh before closing her eyes.

    ¡°W-Wait, Mana. You can¡¯t do that here.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Do what? This panties-thing was rubbing against my special place too much. I hate it. Big Sis, how do you stand wearing this thing?¡±

    ¡°It stopped being an issue for me soon after I left the village. When you¡¯re out in the wild where animals and plants can kill you at any second, things like that just don¡¯t matter.¡±

    ¡°Really¡­? Hmm.¡±

    Thanking Yua for her calm logic, and while I reeled from my mini-heart attack, I pinched my eyes shut. I couldn¡¯t bring myself to stop Mana from airing it out. Not like anyone but us can see her up here anyways.

    Still, if she¡¯s this uncomfortable with my hand-made clothes, we should push going to a clothing store up higher on our to-do list before she ends up hating clothes even more. Hopefully a proper pair will be more comfortable.

    ¡°Aside from that,¡± Yua continued. ¡°Mana, since we¡¯re alone, you should call your special place a puss¡­!¡±

    Thankful that she stopped, Mana and I turned to see what made her pause. Her ears were standing on edge.

    ¡°Alex, hurry, he¡¯s here.¡±

    I shot to my feet.

    ¡°He? Not they?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Look,¡± she pointed down into the crowd. ¡°There. The one walking towards the knights.¡±

    Scanning the crowd for our target, I found that one of the ants was indeed walking towards the knights, but he wasn¡¯t exactly alone. At least six more people were walking in that general direction before turning off side-streets or stopping by one shop or another.

    Straining my eyes the best I could, I eventually managed to focus on one that continued in a straight line towards the guard, but that¡¯s the best I could do. Everyone was just too small.

    ¡°Who is it? Tillmann?¡±

    ¡°No. It¡¯s Arthur. And he¡¯s alone.¡±

    ¡°Why the hell would he be alone?¡±

    Looking again, I saw that he was without a cart.

    ¡°Do you think he got spooked after seeing the knights and left the crystals somewhere else?¡±

    Yua paused, considering the question without taking her emerald eyes off of him. She shook her head.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. The way he¡¯s walking tells me he¡¯s calm. Maybe even confident. At least, he walks like he¡¯s healed his injuries.¡±

    ¡°Or maybe he¡¯s drunk enough to not feel them.¡±

    Knowing that Yua had been taught to observe the differences in how people walked thanks to her time living with a bunch of former thieves in the slave house, I knew I could trust her judgement on this, but what did it mean? How could someone with the Thief tag not be at least a little worried? One small slip up, one check on a scrying orb and he¡¯s done, arrested.

    For him to blatantly ignore that risk, he¡¯s either drunk, or he knew they¡¯d be there.

    ¡°Tch¡­ Yua, are you ready to listen in on them?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    Focusing on the spot we agreed on earlier, I opened a small portal to a narrow alley along the wall a good distance away from where Sir Astore was posted. Thanks to the way the wall was shaped, the portal¡¯s light shouldn¡¯t cause us any issues. And as long as she kept herself quiet, Sir Astore wouldn¡¯t notice her.

    ¡°Alright!¡±

    Pumping herself up, Yua knelt in front of the portal and stuck her head through so easily, she might as well have forgotten the affle¡¯s demonstration earlier. She then pressed the back of her skirt down before I could see anything.

    Taking this as her way of saying she didn¡¯t trust me not to look, I accepted the blow to my pride and looked away. I didn¡¯t need to see the portal to keep it open.

    Keeping my attention on the other end of the portal, I did what I could to keep a bird¡¯s-eye view on Yua just in case someone spotted her. After that, all we could do was wait until Yua could let us in on what happened.

    Her opinion on Arthur¡¯s calm demeanor was quickly proven correct as I spotted him waving at the guard approaching him. It was most likely Sir Astore.

    I watched for some time as they talked and gestured at one another, but since none of it made any sense to me, I decided it best to just wait for Yua.

    ¡°Hey, Big Bro, can I try listening too?¡±

    ¡°Sorry, but not right now.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Why not? This is something I can help with.¡±

    ¡°Because I can¡¯t change the size of the portal once it¡¯s open. And Yua might miss something if I pull her out to start over.¡±

    ¡°Mm¡­ Fine.¡±

    Ignoring the audible pout that came with her disappointment, I focused on my spell. She sat beside me, thumping her discontent as well as her forehead against my leg. Thankfully, she understood the potential danger of my spell after I¡¯d explained it to her again, so she sat quietly for the duration of our spying.

    Her first trip to a human city must have been really boring so far, if you didn¡¯t count her stuffing her face with fish, but this was a necessary evil.

    And as luck would have it, it was an evil that didn¡¯t persist for very long.

    Yua pulled back out of the portal and I quickly closed it behind her. The mental strain from the spell was nearly non-existent, but I still felt as though I¡¯d been holding my breath.

    ¡°Alright, girls, get ready. We¡¯ll teleport back down and follow him. You can tell me what you heard on the way.¡±

    I threw up a hand to get ready to move us, but was promptly stopped by Yua before my spell could be cast.

    ¡°Wait,¡± she said, a hint of worry in her voice. ¡°I know where he¡¯s going, but there¡¯s something you need to hear first.¡±

    ¡°What happened?¡±

    ¡°The crystals aren¡¯t coming today. There¡¯s been a delay.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Did he say what happened?¡±

    ¡°No. Sir Astore tried to get an answer out of him, but he wouldn¡¯t budge.¡±

    That was unfortunate, but understandable. If Tillmann was in such a hurry earlier, then something must have happened after we left to keep them away.

    Mana¡¯s brow quickly took on the same worry Yua¡¯s had, but when she dropped her chin, I figured it was for a different reason. Maybe she was thinking something along the lines of if I hadn¡¯t shown up and made all that noise, we¡¯d know what happened. But this couldn¡¯t be further from the truth. They were already searching for us regardless.

    ¡°That¡¯s a shame,¡± I said. ¡°But our primary objective is Arthur. We¡¯re lucky he¡¯s the one that showed up.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that,¡± Yua said, looking over the edge again. ¡°Arthur and Sir Astore greeted each other by name.¡±

    ¡°Are you saying they know each other?¡±

    She nodded and added, ¡°Not just that, but Sir Astore knew all about what they were doing in the forest. But it¡¯s strange. He sounded a little relieved when he learned they weren¡¯t coming. Said his lord was already furious about having to entertain some Vierre nobility that happened to stop by the city for a visit. They were worried that noble might sniff out what they were doing.¡±

    ¡°Wait¡­ did he say Vierre noble specifically?¡±

    ¡°Yes, why?¡±

    I pressed my hands to my eyes and sighed. Every second this mess goes on, it just gets more complicated.

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    ¡°¡­ If he specified that this noble is from Vierre, then it¡¯s likely that Sir Astore and his lord aren¡¯t. And if the thieves were hired by someone from Dragma, then¡­¡±

    Then the thieves weren¡¯t just digging up some valuable rocks to make a ton of money. This was an international heist of sorts. Regardless of the crystals¡¯ uses, they were valuable enough to say that another country stealing them was a huge issue. One big enough to go to war for. Or, at least, one big enough to spark a border conflict or two.

    And on top of this, if the Duke of Guerraway really allowed a foreign military force to occupy and quarantine part of his city that is both heavily travelled and essential, he might be in on the whole thing. So, any plans we had of reporting the theft to them is now off the table. If anything, we should be reporting this to the king instead.

    ¡°Does that really matter?¡± Yua asked.

    ¡°Maybe not, but do you remember the owner of the General Store back in Amoranth? He looked like he wanted to stab me the moment he found out I wasn¡¯t from Vierre¡±

    ¡°Why would he do that? He seemed nice enough to me.¡±

    ¡°Because he thought I might have come from Dragma. I don¡¯t know much about it myself, and you might have been locked up in the slave house when all this started, but the people of Amoranth, maybe even all of Vierre, seem to hate Dragma.¡±

    First the General Store owner, then the baker grumbling about the sugar shortage caused by Dragma, then Madame Turquesse complaining about them no longer selling potion ingredients.

    Actually, now that I think about it, everyone I knew that took issue with the country was a merchant, and their problems stemmed from the poor trading situation between the countries.

    ¡°Hmm. Did Sir Astore happen to say anything about why his lord was there?¡±

    ¡°No. Just that he was going to be upset if the delay took too long. Why?¡±

    ¡°¡­ No reason, I guess.¡±

    Probably just overthinking things again.

    Yua cocked her head at this, but let it go with a shrug. Mana, on the other hand, had started looking disinterested once the concept of foreign countries came up. She¡¯d returned to squatting and tugging at her panties again.

    The moment I started blushing at the sight, Yua dashed over and forced her to stop.

    ¡°Yua,¡± I said. ¡°You said you knew where Arthur was headed, right? Where was it?¡±

    ¡°Some place called The Snoring Dove.¡±

    ¡°That sounds like the name of an inn.¡±

    ¡°It is, I think. He said he rented a room there.¡±

    If that¡¯s the case, then we¡¯re in luck. Not only did we need a room ourselves, we could use our stay there as a reason to talk to him. But knowing where he¡¯d be meant we had a little time to spare. It¡¯d probably be better to talk to him once he¡¯s settled in.

    ¡°Wait, do doves snore in¡­?¡±

    I almost tacked on in this world to the end of my question, but Mana thankfully beat me to it.

    ¡°Nope!¡± she exclaimed as Yua helped pull her dress back into place. ¡°Birds are quiet when they sleep. That¡¯s why hunting them at night is difficult.¡±

    Amused by her enthusiasm, I patted her head in thanks and Yua sighed. Smoothing out the dress Mana had wrinkled, she was quick to bring us back to topic.

    ¡°Why did you want to know where he was going? I was close enough to catch his scent so tracking him shouldn¡¯t be too hard.¡±

    ¡°Because I wanted to know if we had time. I think we need to stop by Guerraway¡¯s tailor shop now.¡±

    Arthur having a destination in mind within the city meant he wasn¡¯t leaving just yet. And I was seriously starting to worry that Mana might be thinking her current clothes were so unbearable that she¡¯d be better tearing them off in the middle of the street.

    Can¡¯t say our ideas of modesty aren¡¯t in stark contrast with one another, but I sure as hell didn¡¯t want her running around showing herself off to the entire city. Hopefully, something more accommodating to a woman¡¯s sensitivity than my shoddy crafting will help her to adapt.

    ¡°And I think she may need a weapon of some sort, so we should also stop somewhere to buy one.¡±

    While I was certain to a degree that Yua and I alone could handle Arthur if things turned violent, I didn¡¯t want Mana to be entirely unprotected. She wasn¡¯t someone that enjoyed a fist fight like Yua, so something like a knife might be best.

    ¡°Eh? Big Bro, what¡¯s a tailor?¡±

    ¡°Someone that makes better clothes. Those are uncomfortable, right?¡±

    Taking girl out on what might as well be our first date with the intention of buying her an entire wardrobe¡¯s worth of clothes should have felt like a giant flex meant to impress her, but as luck would have it, Mana¡¯s the only girl I know that actively hates clothes.

    ¡°No way¡­ Aren¡¯t these enough? Do I really have to wear more?¡±

    Mana hit me again with what looked like another puppy-dog pout, but I quickly realized that it was actually a look of genuine disappointment. So, I checked the alley we started in to make sure it was still vacant and scooped her up into my arms. She flinched a little at the sudden increase in elevation. I cast Dimensional Step.

    ¡°Mana, it¡¯s our mate¡¯s wish.¡±

    ¡°But clothes are¡­¡± she mumbled to herself under her as we walked through the portal.

    ¡°Who knows, maybe you will find something you¡¯d like to try on. Besides, if you do this for me, I¡¯ll buy you anything you want to eat for dinner when we¡¯re done.¡±

    ¡°Can I have pork?!¡±

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    Her eyes sparkled with a renewed light so suddenly that she didn¡¯t have time to wipe the drool dripping down her chin. I chuckled and wiped away her saliva with my thumb.

    ¡°What¡¯s with you girls and pork? There are other meats, you know?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s because there are hardly any pigs in the area,¡± Yua said, pulling her hood back on as we exited the alley. ¡°And the Expeditionary Force rarely brings back pork that isn¡¯t dried and salted. So, it¡¯s always been sort of a delicacy for us.¡±

    ¡°And it¡¯s really tasty!¡±

    ¡°If that is what you want, I¡¯ll let you eat until you¡¯re full.¡±

    ¡°Yay! Big Bro, let¡¯s hurry and get clothes!¡±

    Leaping out of my arms, she pulled on my hand to hurry me along, even though she clearly had no idea where to go. I laughed again. Allowing myself a moment to think that she might get used to all this faster if I just bribe her with good food, I let her lead the way.

    After a bit of asking around, we quickly found where both the Guerraway Tailor and Armorer were, as well as The Snoring Dove. Apparently, even when confronted with a man carrying a sword that¡¯s shadowed by two figures dressed in full cloaks, getting information out of someone is as easy as dumping a couple coppers into their hand. Even in this world, money is power no matter where you go.

    I did feel just the tiniest bit stupid paying for such basic information, but I didn¡¯t want to waste daylight searching.

    The tailor shop we stepped into could have been described as a little hole in the wall. Found at the backend of a street filled with restaurants, it was out of place, empty of people save for the owner.

    Though Mana seemed to hate clothing as a concept, the moment we entered the shop, she started spinning on her heels looking wondrously at all the things she¡¯s probably never seen before. Meanwhile, Yua watched over her with an amused grin, likely remembering her first time in a shop like this.

    Working hard to straighten her back once our eyes met, an older woman whose gently-wrinkled face put her age around her fifties or sixties greeted us with a warm smile. She quickly circled the counter to welcome us. Well, quickly as she could, anyways.

    ¡°Welcome to my shop. I am Gertrude, the best seamstress in all of Guerraway. How may I help you, Dear?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like to have this girl¡¯s sizes measured,¡± I said and pointed to Mana. ¡°I¡¯d like to get her a week¡¯s worth of clothes and I¡¯d really appreciate your input. As you can see, I¡¯m just a man and these two aren¡¯t very knowledgeable when it comes to clothes.¡±

    Wanting to skip the embarrassment of looking like a lost child like I had with Yua, I came right out and asked for help this time.

    Realizing that the cloaked figures behind were women improved Gertrude¡¯s mood even more. It quickly became apparent why she might have been a little on edge when I noticed that the shop had nothing but women¡¯s clothes in stock. I must have looked lost the moment I stepped through the door.

    ¡°I see,¡± Gertrude said with a small smile. ¡°Not knowledgeable with clothes, aye? That explains the silly cloak. It¡¯s much too big on her.¡±

    I laughed. ¡°It¡¯s actually mine. The dress she¡¯s wearing is cheaply made, so I thought it better to cover her up.¡±

    ¡°Mhmm. I see. I see. That explains it. And here I thought you were trying to hide her tail. But still, the thing looks a little large even for you, Dear. If you¡¯d like, I can hem it for you.¡±

    ¡°No thanks. I can just¡­¡±

    About to consider rejecting the idea of hemming my cloak on principal, since I liked the way it felt sort of like a lightly-armored mage¡¯s robe, I stopped myself.

    ¡°Her tail?¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes, Dear. The little one¡¯s tail has been trying to poke a hole through that cloak since she stepped in my shop.¡±

    ¡°Hey! I¡¯m not sma¡­!¡±

    Snapping out of her wonder, Mana immediately broke into a yell, only for it to be snuffed out by Yua¡¯s hand.

    That¡¯s twice they¡¯ve been caught. Why does it feel like their disguises are completely pointless?

    Gertrude giggled softly to herself behind her hand as she watched Mana flail about, trying to reach for and grab her cheeks to give her a pinching. Mana¡¯s hood fell off in the struggle, revealing her ears.

    ¡°This isn¡¯t going to be a problem, is it?¡±

    ¡°Oh? You mean them being cat-kin?¡±

    ¡°Well, the people here don¡¯t seem too friendly towards them.¡±

    ¡°Nonsense,¡± she said, brushing the idea away with her hand. ¡°If these two are no good with clothes, I take it they¡¯re from that little village in the forest?¡±

    ¡°You know it?¡± Yua asked.

    ¡°I do. My son happened to take quite the liking to one of your women when he was delivering some things your people ordered. The two got married several years ago and moved out to Terrajule.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Yua said, her interest piqued. ¡°I never heard of a human marrying one of us.¡±

    ¡°Maybe it happened while you were away.¡±

    Yua hummed at the idea. I thought she might have been upset at missing someone she may have known find their own happiness, but instead she just looked to me and smiled.

    ¡°So, then you don¡¯t mind them?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Not at all. Anyone and everyone are allowed in my shop so long as they don¡¯t muck up the place. Now, how about I get my tape and we can get started? Young miss, could you take that cloak off?¡±

    Gertrude moved behind her counter and Mana¡¯s ears shot straight to attention at the sound of getting to undress. She quickly tore the cloak off and threw it rather forcefully, at me. Yua had to step in again to stop her from taking anything else off.

    ¡°You know,¡± Gertrude continued, slowly making the effort to kneel before Mana, who looked at her confusedly. ¡°I know your people don¡¯t have the best reputation in this city, but from what I¡¯ve seen, you lot seem like fine people.¡±

    She held the tape in front of Mana¡¯s chest, but the cat girl only stared at it until Yua lifted her arms for her. Gertrude wrapped it carefully around her and wrote down her size before continuing.

    ¡°Ever since those ruffians started trying to convince the people that Guerraway owned the forest, there¡¯s been nothing but trouble.¡±

    She slipped the tape down to Mana¡¯s stomach and Mana squirmed, tickled by the gentle pressure.

    ¡°Do the people here not actually think they own the forest?¡±

    ¡°Oh, Dear, no. I may be old, but you don¡¯t have to have lived through history to know Guerraway was founded long after the cat-kin set up there. It¡¯s the more gullible youngsters that believe that nonsense.¡±

    ¡°But why would they bother spreading lies like that?¡±

    ¡°Who can say? Maybe they¡¯re¡­ Hold still, miss.¡±

    ¡°Hehe. Then stop tickling me.¡±

    With a small, shoulder shaking laugh, Gertrude slipped her tape under Mana¡¯s swishing tail and measured her hips. Then quickly did the same for her thighs and arms to avoid further squirming.

    Mana watched this all with an acute interest playing out in an amused smile before finally asking, ¡°What¡¯s that string for?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s so I can tell what clothes will fit you,¡± Gertrude said, her patience likely stemming from experience with her daughter-in-law. ¡°You said you wanted a week¡¯s worth of clothes, correct?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Ma¡¯am. Just pick out anything you think suits her. Preferably something thin and not too heavy. And a cloak for her, if you have one.¡±

    ¡°I believe I do. Just a moment, please.¡±

    Gertrude wondered off to the far side of the shop and all the while my Merchant class was screaming at me for essentially giving her a blank check to pile up the most expensive clothes in the place, but I figured expensive meant higher quality. And higher quality meant Mana might actually enjoy wearing whatever we bought here.

    At least, I hoped so.

    Gertrude came back with a large stack of clothes made almost entirely out of dresses and skirts. After checking through it all and picking up a white, lightly frilled sundress, my heart thudded at the idea of the already cute Mana wearing something like it when I held it against her. She, however, looked none too pleased.

    ¡°There¡¯s room in the back,¡± Gertrude said. ¡°If you¡¯d like her to change.¡±

    ¡°Oh, uh. Yes, please. Could you show her how to¡­¡±

    ¡°Just leave it to me, Dear. Come along, Miss. I assure you this dress will be more comfortable than what you¡¯re wearing now.¡±

    Taking back the dress I handed her, Gertrude went ahead and took a few more things from the pile, one article of which happened to be a plain pink pair of panties. For this, I was immensely grateful the woman was experienced enough for me to not have to ask she include underwear in our order.

    Mana took one look at the pile in the older woman¡¯s arms and grimaced as it increased in size. She sucked in a deep breath to reassure herself, but it failed to perk her ears back up.

    ¡°¡­ Do it for the pork. Do it for your mate. Do it for the pork.¡±

    Lowering her chin, she accepted the hand Gertrude offered and walked with her into the back to change. I, meanwhile, tried not to let myself be bothered by her placing me lower on the totem pole of importance than food.

    Yua laughed at this, her tail swishing.

    ¡°Oi, don¡¯t think you¡¯re getting out of this unscathed, Yua.¡±

    ¡°My my. Whatever do you mean?¡±

    ¡°¡­ You know,¡± I coughed, feeling my cheeks heat up. ¡°I happened to see a few negligees over there in the corner.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what that is. Did you want to wear it?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Okay. Now you¡¯re definitely going to get it.¡±

    Taking a moment to make sure Gertrude was still in the back, I aimed my hand at the wall of women¡¯s nightwear and used Telekinesis to pull a few over.

    And not having learned from my mistake enough to account for their weight before pulling them over, they quickly flew through the air towards my face.

    The first one, a green one that looked to be made of silk smacked me good on the nose, but Yua managed to catch the rest, giggling all the while.

    ¡°Hehe. So, that¡¯s how you hit yourself with the fruit earlier. I was wondering.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Now you¡¯re getting two of them. And two for Mana.¡±

    ¡°No fair!¡± shouted a cute voice from the back of the shop. ¡°I didn¡¯t even do anything!¡±

    Her giggles doubling over into laughter, Yua said, ¡°I¡¯ll accept anything you want me to wear, Master.¡±

    Grumbling, but not really as I was already looking forwards to it, I held up the green negligee in front of Yua to see how it¡¯d fit. And then I quickly tossed it into the pile because it was a more dangerous image than I was expecting.

    ¡°And here she is.¡±

    A few more minutes of shopping for the girls (for myself) later, Mana and Gertrude stepped back out into the shops main floor and I was absolutely certain my heart started beating so fast that it almost appeared to have flatlined.

    Not only had Gertrude taken it upon herself to straighten out Mana¡¯s hair, but the outfit she¡¯d picked out consisted primarily of the white sundress that hung down to just below her knees. A shiny, black leather corset sat right below her petite bustline, where it hugged her just enough to show off her figure. And down below, tying the outfit together was a simple pair of black shoes on white socks. Knee-high socks. I hadn¡¯t even noticed them in the pile and yet, here they were attempting to elevate Mana¡¯s cuteness to levels no mere mortal should be capable of.

    And despite the vast improvement to her already peerless cuteness, Mana just stood there, looking bored out of her mind. That is, until her ears shot up and she looked at me with concern scrunching up her face.

    ¡°Big Bro, are you okay? Your heart sounds weird.¡±

    Yea. Yea, no. I am definitely making this girl my second wife. Even if I have to use up every drop of my mana trying to blow up that damn barrier.

    ¡°¡­ I¡¯m fine,¡± I said trying to gather enough braincells to think of a proper response. ¡°You look super cute. How, uh¡­ How do they feel?¡±

    ¡°Mmm¡­ This clothes-thing on my special place is softer, I guess.¡±

    Gertrude blushed a little at this, likely knowing what exactly Mana meant, but Yua shook her head, exasperated.

    ¡°They¡¯re called panties.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care what it¡¯s called. I still don¡¯t like it.¡±

    Mana fidgeted, rubbing her thighs together. Moving quickly before she could try to remove anything, I ushered Gertrude over to the counter, paid for everything, thanked her with a tip and stuffed it all into my item box through Yua¡¯s bag before leaving.

    The directions we got to the city armorer ended being useless, but with Yua and Mana at my side, they were able to listen for the sounds of various metal works, so we found our way pretty quickly.

    Seeing how barebones the Armorer¡¯s shop was with its non-existent d¨¦cor, which was only just enough to display their weapons on shoddily crafted shelving, I was forced into the opinion that we were directed to a second-hand weapon shop, not a proper blacksmith.

    It certainly didn¡¯t help the owner¡¯s case when I inhaled a five-pound cloud of dust the moment was stepped inside. Not that this affected the girls much, as they both let their curiosity take them on a tour of the shop.

    ¡°Alright, Mana,¡± I started. ¡°You don¡¯t like fighting with your hands, but is there a weapon you¡¯re good with?¡±

    ¡°Eh? Why?¡±

    Yua lifted her head out of the waist-high crate she¡¯d been bent over looking through and we both stared at her. Mana shrank back, but only for a second before thrusting her hands on her hips.

    ¡°I told you I don¡¯t wanna fight anymore.¡±

    ¡°I understand that, but this is for your protection.¡±

    ¡°But you said you¡¯d protect me.¡±

    ¡°I will, but there may be times when I can¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°I know. But then Big Sis can do it.¡±

    I stared at her blankly, unable to speak another word while Yua stared at her loud enough to make her ears jump.

    Is this girl really so spoiled that she¡¯d rather depend on others protecting her instead of just carrying a knife? I mean, Yua did warn me about this side of her, but still¡­

    ¡°Mana,¡± Yua started, throwing her hat in the ring. ¡°Didn¡¯t you use to practice the bow with Mochi?¡±

    ¡°Yea. I still do, why?¡±

    ¡°Then Alex, why not just get her a bow? You can make arrows with your¡­ Tools, can¡¯t you?¡±

    Thinking she was about to say Material Creation, I realized that the shop¡¯s owner, a man with a thick wiry beard was leaning on the counter, resting his cheek on his knuckle as he watched us. Or rather, as he watched Mana. Her new, more female-friendly cloak hid her ears just fine, but her tail was just a little too energetic to keep hidden for long.

    The man, a level 35 Blacksmith named Barry, didn¡¯t look at her with outright hatred as some had, but he did seem especially weary of her.

    Noticing me staring awkwardly at him in search for his info box, Barry straightened himself and finally decided to greet us.

    ¡°Welcome. I assume yer here for a bow?¡±

    ¡°Nope,¡± Mana answered instantly.

    Come on, Mana. Yua doesn¡¯t use weapons and I already have one. Surely you know we came here for you?

    ¡°Yes, sir. Do you have any a girl like her could use?¡±

    ¡°Aye. I should have one.¡±

    Barry disappeared into the backroom with a grunt and Yua jumped right into scolding mode the moment he was out of earshot.

    ¡°Mana, the world outside of the village is dangerous. You need something to protect yourself. We won¡¯t always be near you.¡±

    Seeing her face take on a slightly forlorn twist, I asked, ¡°If you don¡¯t like fighting, why do you keep practicing the bow?¡±

    ¡°Mm. I like bows. I think I¡¯m pretty good with them, but I don¡¯t wanna shoot animals.¡±

    I nodded. If Mochi taught her, he must have wanted her to be a hunter like him, but her love for fooling around with the animals in the forest must have kept her from pulling the trigger when faced with one of the woodland critters.

    Even if her denial of that class conflicted with her carnivorous nature, it would explain why she didn¡¯t have a second class yet. Assuming, of course, that all she needed to do to get the class was kill an animal with a bow. Not like using a sword to end a couple of wolves got me anything but their pelts.

    ¡°Then you don¡¯t have to fight with it,¡± I said. ¡°But I still want you to carry one. For your own safety.¡±

    Grumbling back, she gave in. ¡°Mnmm¡­ Fine, but I won¡¯t shoot any animals.¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to ask.¡±

    If I ever got tired of paying for our food, I was sure the absurd ease in which I gain classes could help me to become a Hunter. No need for her to get her hands dirty.

    ¡°Here we go,¡± Barry said. He carried with him a long bow that was reinforced with steel. ¡°This one¡¯s a little big for a girl her size, but a beast-folk shouldn¡¯t have any trouble with it. Why don¡¯t you try it out?¡±

    Barry offered the bow to Mana, but she made no move to take it. Eyeing it as though the object had offended her, she pouted.

    Leaning in to whisper to her, all I said was one single word to convince her.

    ¡°Pork.¡±

    Instantly her ears shot to attention and she lunged for the bow. Incensed by the thought of a good dinner, Mana began looking it over. Perhaps giving into the warrior nature of the cat-kin, she inspected it as diligently as any trained soldier would their rifle before a battle. Weight, balance, curvature, nothing escaped her inspection. She even gave it a good sniff or two, for some reason.

    Finally, she straightened her back and held the bow. She took hold of the string and pulled it back, but not without a struggle. Her face reddening from the intense effort and with the bow creaking under the pressure, she managed to pull the string back only once before letting it snap free. The force of the release caused her to stagger forward.

    The tensile strength of the bow was clearly too much for her.

    ¡°Mm. It¡¯s too heavy, Big Bro.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, but that¡¯s the only bow I have for her right now,¡± Barry said, scratching his head. ¡°I have others, but if she can¡¯t handle that one¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I said, reaching for my coin purse. ¡°We¡¯ll take it. And a quiver of arrows, please.¡±

    Shrugging as if he were more interested in ending the conversation than making a sale, he collected a quiver off one of the dusty shelves and moved towards a barrel full of arrows.

    Like anyone in her strength-obsessed tribe would likely do after their weakness was put on display, Mana continued trying to pull the bowstring, struggling each and every time.

    Sorry, Mana, but a bit of elbow grease isn¡¯t going to loosen it up.

    While I didn¡¯t enjoy the context of how I¡¯d be able to, once she was my slave, I should be able to level her Strength to the point where she can use it easily. Helping her to get stronger was supposed to be a part of our deal, after all.

    This would just have to be something similar to finding a late-game item that was so rare, you decided to plan your build around using it. Although, my Appraisal ability said the bow was nothing special and I doubted she¡¯d be willing to pop back into the village to pick up the bow she usually uses.

    Giving up, Mana sighed and threw the bow over her shoulder and Barry brought a generous hand-full of arrows over to the counter where he started counting them out for us. As he did, Yua¡¯s eyes opened wide and her ears perked up, much like they had in the forest.

    Looking to me, she put a finger to her lips and gestured towards the doorway. No more than five seconds later, another customer entered the shop. Before, I¡¯d only seen him at a distance, but I recognized him immediately.

    Arthur¡¯s face had been healed of his injuries, but only partially. Any and all cuts he¡¯d sustained at Tillmann¡¯s hand were gone, but the bruises remained, almost like he¡¯d taken only part of a health potion to tide him over.

    Proving his injuries subsisted of more than a bit of bruising, he limped straight passed us. Our eyes met for less than a second before his glare all but demanded I lose interest in him. He did look Yua up and down, but his gaze was no more intrusive than a man glancing at a pretty lady on a trip through the grocery store.

    He didn¡¯t recognize us. As Yua promised, he never saw our faces, so he had no reason to be weary of us. And seeing as how not even Yua¡¯s good looks were capable of saving him from his brooding, I guessed he didn¡¯t want in them market for conversation. He moved straight for the display full of daggers and started looking them over intently.

    Careful not to provoke him, I ran my hand down Mana¡¯s back to press her tail down. Barry already caught wind of who she was thanks to this little energetic appendage, but I didn¡¯t want Arthur to.

    Mana looked up at me, her cheeks slightly red as a small smile appeared on her lips. Knowing my actions made her tail want to move again, I held firm. I must have looked like I was groping her ass when Barry raised a brow at us, but the embarrassment was a small price to pay.

    I whispered as low as I could so only a cat-kin¡¯s ears could hear me and briefly explained who Arthur was and Mana stepped behind me.

    Giving her and Yua a thumbs up, I brought my coin purse to the counter and, using my Appraisal ability, took out the appropriate amount of coin before Barry could finish calculating the cost. Dumping it all on his silver tray, I accepted the arrows with a thanks and we left the shop.

    Circling around to the back of the building, we hid in the alley and waited.

    Keeping ourselves out of sight, I left the scouting to Yua as I helped Mana equip her new quiver. We were going to wait for Arthur back at the inn, but now that he¡¯s dropped into our laps, it¡¯d be a waste not to follow up on him.

    ¡°Why do you think he¡¯s looking for a weapon?¡± I asked.

    ¡°You saw what Tillmann did to him,¡± Yua said, focusing on the street. ¡°He probably wants something he can hide up his sleeve incase he gets attacked again.¡±

    I could imagine Tillmann waving his hammer at him and Arthur pulling a dagger out of his sleeve to defend himself, but I couldn¡¯t shake the thought of it being pointless. If he landed a critical hit to the neck or eye then sure, he could do some damage, but Tillmann was strong and his high level suggests he must be skilled. Arthur, on the other hand, liked to drink on the job.

    If he didn¡¯t attack Tillmann in his sleep, I doubted a confrontation between them woould go in his favor. Meaning we needed to talk to him before he did something stupid.

    ¡°Big Bro, that¡¯s the male you want to talk to, right?¡±

    Her ears twitch in the same direction as Yua¡¯s and I nodded.

    ¡°Yes. Sorry, but dinner will have to wait.¡±

    ¡°Mm¡­ I¡¯ll go bring him to you.¡±

    With a giddy skip to her step, Mana started back towards the street. Scrambling to catch her, I grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her back.

    ¡°Hold it. You can¡¯t just walk up to him like that.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Why not? If you talk to him, we can become mates sooner, right?¡±

    ¡°No, well¡­ Maybe, but you have to be careful. If he knows a cat-kin is following him, he might not want to talk.¡±

    ¡°Mmm¡­¡± Mana hummed, crossing her arms as she scrunched up her brow in thought. ¡°Fine. But can I go look at that stuff?¡±

    She pointed down the street towards a stall that looked more like a pawn shop than anything with its random assortment of goods.

    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­¡±

    I was about to say that I wanted to keep hidden, but I did just confirm that he didn¡¯t recognize us. It¡¯s not like we actually had to keep out of sight as long as we didn¡¯t make it obvious we were following him.

    I looked to Yua and she shrugged.

    ¡°We have time,¡± she said. ¡°He¡¯s asking the blacksmith a lot of weird questions about the daggers. Like can it cut this or would it stab through that.¡±

    So, that idiot really is trying to get himself killed.

    ¡°Okay, Mana. You can go, but try to keep your ears and tails hidden. At least from Arthur.¡±

    ¡°¡¯Kay.~¡±

    Her enthusiasm for whatever it was that caught her eye carrying her forward, she took off running for the stall. Thanks to Yua, I knew they could actively control their tails when the times called for it, so I let her be and opted to keep an eye on her.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±

    Several minutes into watching Mana ask the merchant what each and every item he had for sale was, Yua hummed to herself.

    Catching the interested flick of her ear, I asked, ¡°What is it? He finally buy something?¡±

    ¡°No. Well, he¡¯s trying to, but he¡¯s trying to pay using one of those crystals, but the blacksmith won¡¯t let him.¡±

    ¡°You mean an Essence crystal?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    The man must still be drunk. Even without checking, I knew nothing in that shop was pricey enough to warrant the trade of something so absurdly valuable. It¡¯d be like asking a cashier to make change for him, only to then hand him a thousand-dollar bill.

    Ignoring the fact that I basically did the same thing a month ago, I had to question his motives.

    ¡°He must have pocketed the crystal when his buddies weren¡¯t looking. Any chance one of them mentioned what the crystals are used for?¡±

    ¡°Nope. As soon as the blacksmith appraised it, he rejected it.¡±

    ¡°Yea, because he¡¯s basically trying to pay for a knife with a gold ba¡­!¡±

    ¡°There you are!!!¡±

    ¡°Erk!¡±

    Something powerful grabbed me by the throat, forcing out a gasp of the breath I¡¯d only half finished. Suddenly, I couldn¡¯t breathe.

    Yua spun on her heels, surprised and alert due to the sound I made, but I was already being lifted into the air. The thing wrapped around my neck, a hand, squeezed tighter before it slammed my back into the wall behind me.

    My head knocked against the brick, dazing me. My vision blurred for the briefest of seconds before the pain registered and lit trails of fire up and down my spine. Barely able to draw breath, I couldn¡¯t utter a sound.

    The amber lights of the late afternoon were now as blinding as the pain, but it didn¡¯t last.

    Though the force wrapped tight around my neck left my feet dangling in air, when my eyes stopped spinning, I couldn¡¯t help but notice that the hand choking me trailed down to the thin arm of a woman. Blinking sense back into myself, I was stunned speechless.

    A long mane of golden hair billowed softly in the wind. It was neater now, long and straight save for a pair of braids that had been expertly woven on the sides of her head. It was hairstyle made to keep her strikingly cobalt-blue eyes always visible.

    It was those same eyes that were trying to flay me alive, but it was the absurdly huge battle axe she aimed at my neck that had sweat pouring down my face. The thing must have been three times as wide as her chest and heavy enough to require three normal people just to lift it, but she held it aloft like it was weightless.

    Do. Not. Make. Her. Angry.

    ¡°M-Miss Bellenfort?¡± I choked.

    ¡°You bastard! I¡¯ve been looking all over for you!¡±

    ¡°Why? What did I do?¡±

    Her face reddening with anger, she gnashed her teeth and pressed the cold steel of her axe against my neck. Just barely managing to control the volume of her voice, she said,

    ¡°You turned me into a Thief!¡±

 Volume 2 - Chapter 16

    ¡°Let him go!¡±

    After a delay born of pure shock, Yua slammed a fist straight into Miss Bellenfort¡¯s face hard enough to make my teeth ache. The woman¡¯s cheek dimpled and her head whipped to the side, but it did nothing to end her glare. Nor did it break her grip on my neck. Pushing back against Yua¡¯s fist, she slowly straightened her neck again.

    Utter disbelief colored Yua¡¯s face as she pulled her fist back, leaving behind nothing but a small bruise. Miss Bellenfort didn¡¯t seem to notice.

    ¡°Do you have any idea what you¡¯ve done?!¡±

    Once my lungs remembered how to breathe, I said, ¡°What are you talking about? How did you get here so fast?¡±

    She pressed her axe harder still against my neck. With her hold unwavering and with my own body weight pulling me down, I gripped her wrist and tried to lift myself to keep from hanging myself.

    A list of spells I could use to break free of her hold popped into my mind. None of them would leave her uninjured, which shouldn¡¯t have been a problem, but that fact stopped me from casting them. Something about this situation wasn¡¯t right.

    ¡°¡­ Tch!¡±

    Breaking eye-contact with me for the first time, she threw her glare over her shoulder at the street. A small crowd had gathered once they heard the commotion, but that one look from her ended their interest.

    ¡°H-Hey, isn¡¯t that Lady Bellenfort?¡±

    ¡°Oh, shit. It is. Run!¡±

    As fast as they gathered, they fled. Some screaming, some hefting their children into their arms before pushing heir way through the crowd. Most ran as fast as though they theirs lives were being threatened by just her gaze.

    ¡°Because of you, I¡¯ve been turned into a Thief! My¡­ My life was already¡­¡±

    Her grip on her axe tightened, the joints in her fingers popping under the pressure.

    ¡°What are you saying? I never did anything to you.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me! You¡¯re the last person I talked to yesterday! And when I woke up, I knew. I just knew something was off. I felt dirty. So, I checked my old Scrying Orb and¡­ Damn it!!¡±

    Unable to believe what she was saying, I bit back the pain and focused on her info box. As she said, the Thief tag was there, right below her name.

    But how? She¡¯s never had the chance to touch anything we own, let alone steal it. All our stuff is either back at the cabin or in my item box. And she¡¯s never handled Yua¡¯s bag.

    Could it be, that incident with the maids in the city? If slaves being unable to own money somehow kicked back on her after they bought her some booze, then¡­ No, that can¡¯t be it. Yua used coin to buy lunch that day and neither she nor the meat vendor questioned it.

    It can¡¯t have been me. She must have drunkenly done something stupid after we left and just forgot. But she seems so sure that I¡¯m responsible that I can¡¯t bring myself to outright deny the possibility.

    Yua readied herself for another punch. I could practically see the incantation for Iron Fist on her lips, but I stayed her with a hand once Miss Bellenfort¡¯s eyes locked on me again.

    Clearly sober now, she looked every bit the bombshell beauty she had been when we first met, but now there was a twinge of dispair interlaced with her fury. She was sweating as much as I was. The hand she held the axe with was shaking.

    Regardless of the circumstances, waking up to find your life had been permanently changed like this must have been world-shattering.

    ¡°So, what was it?¡± she demanded. ¡°Was it because I ordered that girl of yours around? Did I say something mean? Did I accidentally hurt someone you know? Hurt you? What did I do? What made you seek revenge?¡±

    ¡°Revenge? Miss Bellenfort, I swear, I didn¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°Liar!¡± she yelled, her voice cracking. ¡°What ever it was, I-I must have been a little tipsy. I didn¡¯t mean it. And yet¡­ And yet you did this to me!¡±

    Unable to move the axe any closer without cutting into me, she instead slammed me against the wall again. Pain ripped through my spine, almost making me wish for the instant knock-out Tama gave me.

    But, gritting my teeth, I endured.

    ¡°Stop it,¡± Yua yelled. ¡°I said let him go!¡±

    Yua tried to launch another attack, but I stopped her again. If that first hit was anything to go by, a fight between these two likely wouldn¡¯t go in her favor.

    Besides, something about this wasn¡¯t right. After Yua¡¯s past showed me how easily a life can be ruined by a simple mistake, I started being extra careful with all my transactions. Overly cautious. I even went out of my way to be mindful of how I paid back her maids, who were already slaves. There should be no way I did this to her.

    ¡°Out with it,¡± she barked. ¡°What did I do to you? I know it was you. I remember enough about yesterday to know you¡¯re the last person I spoke with. I remember you coming to me. I remember my maid¡¯s misunderstanding. I remember you wanted a map to Guerraway. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here! I thought I¡¯d find you on the road, but somehow you got here first.

    ¡°Fess up,¡± she demanded again. ¡°Whatever it is, whatever I did, you could have just asked for an apology. I would have apologized. We could have shared a drink and laughed it off. But to go this far is just¡­¡±

    ¡°A drink¡­?¡±

    Wait¡­ The map? No, it must have been¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s the silver trays.¡±

    ¡°What the hell are you talking about? Do you think this is a game?!¡±

    She lifted my back off the wall, ready to slam me again, but I took my hands off her wrist to plead my case.

    ¡°Wait, wait, wait! I¡¯m serious!¡±

    After the mess I got into with Alphonse, I learned that the world¡¯s thievery system forced the people adapt by exchanging money by setting them on trays first so neither the seller or buyer turned Thief. It was a simple and easy solution to the problem. The trays didn¡¯t necessarily have to be silver, but every trade I¡¯ve been a part of since coming to this world involved one.

    Every single one¡­ but the trade I made with her.

    ¡°It was when I bought your map. I took out some coin to pay you, but you grabbed them out of my hand before I could.¡±

    Something must have gone wrong in the trade. In her drunken stupor, she must have grabbed the coins in a way that counted as stealing. Possibly because I¡¯d forced myself to become accustomed to trading via these trays, I still subconsciously considered the coins as my own since she didn¡¯t have one ready.

    As a business owner and natural resident of this world herself, a mistake like this should have been had she been of exceedingly difficult to make. If she was sober, anyways. It was her own fault this happened.

    No, I suppose it was on both of us. Not only did I not consider her actions at the time either, but I was too distracted to notice.

    Distracted by what, you ask?

    Well, even now, in the periphery of my vision, for I dared not look at them directly, I could tell the only thing covering her torso was the same captain¡¯s long coat she wore when we first met. Just like last time, she kept it wrapped around her overly-abundant bosom in place of a shirt, confining it just enough to show off the scar she had running down her cleavage. From what I could see, she wore nothing beneath it.

    I thought she didn¡¯t have the time or mental clarity to clean up and get dressed before meeting us yesterday, but this was apparently how she normally dresses.

    ¡°You were probably too drunk to think clearly.¡±

    Miss Bellenfort¡¯s face blanked at the realization. Then she winced, her cheeks brightening before anger returned to her brow.

    ¡°Liar! I wasn¡¯t drunk! I-I was just a little tipsy!¡±

    ¡°Again with this tipsy nonsense? You were drunk. Just admit it. You passed out like twice while I was in your mansion!¡±

    ¡°I-I-I was not drunk! You shut your mouth!¡±

    Her grip tightened around my neck as embarrassment tightened her lips in turn. The sight of her worry alone could have forced my silence, but a strained gasp for air still squeaked out.

    ¡°Stop! Iron Fist!¡±

    Her bawled-up fist glowing a bright silver, Yua pulled back her elbow and bent her knees, ready to push off the ground to give her next blow every ounce of her prided strength she could. Glaring, blushing, Elane didn¡¯t seem to notice this at all until¡­.

    ¡°Wait! Mistress, wait!¡±

    Another girl, a maid with a pair of floppy dog ears resting atop her head, appeared in the alley. Breathing heavily, her face was a wreck of panic and sweat. No doubt she ran as fast as she could to make it in time.

    ¡°Mistress, h-he¡¯s not lying!¡± Erika said, chest heaving. She must have heard everything until now well before her legs could carry her to us.

    ¡°Hoho?¡± Miss Bellenfort showed no surprise at the sight of her maid, but a look of vague amusement creased her lips. ¡°Are you calling your mistress a liar? For something like this? For someone like him? You know him even less than I do!¡±

    ¡°..!¡±

    Under the intense pressure of her mistress¡¯s gaze, Erika gulped, lifting her arms to cover her face as if to block a strike that never came. Even if Miss Bellenfort was angry with her, both her hand and axe were still trained on me.

    Clink. Clink.

    But when Erika moved, the bags she carried under each arm raised as well, jostling their contents. The clinking of several glass bottles filled the silence. Miss Bellenfort¡¯s eye twitched, her cheeks reddening again. Nobody in the alley doubted that those bags were filled with various alcohol bottles. Each one belonging to her and each acting as proof of her guilt.

    Seeing that violence wasn¡¯t coming her way, Erika lowered her arms.

    ¡°M-Mistress, I heard everything,¡± she said, pointing to her ears. ¡°Your meeting with him, I mean. You drew the map he wanted and took the coins yourself. You never even asked me to bring the tray like you normally do.¡±

    This little fact that none of us noticed that day caused most of the strength in Miss Bellenfort¡¯s hand to fade, freeing me to breathe again.

    Clenching her hands together in front of her chest, Erika pleaded.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you remember? You received a letter that morning and something in it upset you. You spent the whole morning drinking after that. I was beside you the whole time refilling your glass. M-My nose still hurts from the smell of the alcohol.¡±

    When met with Erika¡¯s pleading gaze, Miss Bellenfort looked away, only to look me in the eye. I could see in her steely-cobalt irises that her confidence was beginning to waver. She clenched her teeth, hiding her eyes from me.

    As we were both technically slave owners, she knew as well as I did the easiest way to get the truth here.

    ¡°Erika,¡± she said, her voice low and shaky. ¡°As your mistress, I order you to tell me the truth. What really happened?¡±

    If the slave binding spell the two showed any sort of magical fanfare, some fantastic light show after being given an order, it would have been the small smile that managed to eek across Erika¡¯s face.

    She said before that Miss Bellenfort wasn¡¯t as mean to her slaves as she appeared, so that smile must have meant she wouldn¡¯t be reprimanded for whatever she had to say next.

    ¡°Mistress,¡± Erika started, sounding surer of herself now. ¡°You were really tipsy when he stopped by the mansion. You could barely walk to the drawing room without holding onto the walls. Then you drank more. Then you spoke with him and you drank more. You drew the map he asked for, drank even more and¡­ and I heard you take the coins from his hand. You even stuffed them into the little coin purse you keep between your breasts. I heard everything.¡±

    As she finished, Miss Bellenfort pressed her eyes shut, but she couldn¡¯t hide the mix of anger, confusion and embarrassment at having her dirty laundry aired. And because of her own order, Erika was completely incapable of telling a lie. She had no more reason to refute her own guilt.

    ¡°But why didn¡¯t you tell me that before we came here?¡±

    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Because you said we were coming to collect more rum. I didn¡¯t know about what happened to you until I heard you say it just now.¡±

    ¡°D-Damn¡­¡±

    The grip on her axe slackened, its true weight becoming more apparent once it looked like gravity might steal it from her.

    ¡°M-Mistress,¡± Erika continued. ¡°Please don¡¯t kill him. He, um, he seems like a nice man. I¡¯m positive he didn¡¯t mean for this to happened any more than you did.¡±

    At this, she looked to Yua, who lowered her fist. When its silvery glow faded, Erika continued.

    ¡°You know what you¡¯ll become if you do, right?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Of course I know, but what am I supposed to do? This life I¡¯ve built is over. All because of a stupid mistake.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be over,¡± I said, trying to sound calm despite the pain. ¡°We¡¯re the only ones that know, right? We¡¯ll keep it a secret and you can¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that simple,¡± Miss Bellenfort said, still refusing to lower her axe. ¡°Eventually, I¡¯ll be called to return to the capitol. And when that happens, I¡¯ll be found out.¡±

    ¡°How? As long as nobody says anything¡­ I mean, I don¡¯t think anyone heard you.¡±

    Angry as she was, she did manage to keep her voice down when she accused me of turning her. She was still careful after the people around us all fled. Erika clearly heard us, but she was likely listening intently as she searched for her mistress after being separated. Other beast-kin may be present, but it only matters if they were listening.

    Despite this, Miss Bellenfort scoffed. Her shoulders slumping, she met my eyes again. This time, disbelief flew across her face and was quickly replaced with a sneer.

    ¡°Are you stupid? Nobody is allowed in the king¡¯s castle without being checked by a Scrying Orb first. And if I choose not to follow the king¡¯s order to show, then he¡¯ll just send someone to see what¡¯s going on. I can only evade their questioning for so long.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll hear you out if you tell them what really happened. That it was an accident. I can even back you up.¡±

    This broken-ass thievery system may have ruined a great many lives accidentally, but if the person she supposedly wronged comes to her aid, then they can¡¯t outright punish her, right? After all the work she said she did for him, why not return the favor and protect her?

    If her boasting was to be believed, it was thanks to her that he now knew more of the world than anyone else. Surely, he owed her enough to sympathize with her.

    She, however, saw it differently.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she said. ¡°I just don¡¯t know. I may be in his good graces, but it¡¯d be too risky. If I tell him what happened, who¡¯s to say he won¡¯t decide it¡¯s better if he¡¯s the only one that knows what we both know? And if I keep it a secret until they find out some other way, then he could say I betrayed his trust. And that can¡¯t end well.¡±

    ¡°Come on, he can¡¯t be that narrow minded. He¡¯s got to¡­¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know him like I do!¡± she barked, her axe arm steadying itself. Thankfully, the tension looked to be more from anger than bloodlust. Though she still hadn¡¯t released me. ¡°My only option, the only one I can trust will work, is running away.¡±

    ¡°Mistress¡­¡±

    ¡°Staying isn¡¯t worth the risk anymore, Erika. If we leave before I¡¯m found out, we¡¯ll be able to put so much distance between us and the capitol that won¡¯t be able to track us.¡±

    Erika¡¯s eyes dropped to her feet. There was nothing she could say to that. And as a slave, she¡¯d likely be dragged along to whichever corner of the world Miss Bellenfort chose to hide in.

    ¡°Um,¡± Yua started. ¡°There is another option.¡±

    ¡°Hoho? And what would that be? Please do enlighten me.¡±

    ¡°Well, if you become Alex¡¯s slave, you won¡¯t have to worry about the king. You¡¯ll be safe.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Excuse me?¡±

    ¡°Yua, what are you saying?! Can you not suggest something like that when she has an blade pressed against my neck?!¡±

    She looked to me, lips pressed tight together, but she clenched her fists and continued. The animosity she showed this woman mere minutes ago seemed to have all but vanished. Meanwhile, Erika, a slave herself, looked completely lost by the concept.

    ¡°I¡¯m serious. You¡¯re worried about the king punishing you if he ever found out, right? Well, if you¡¯re already someone¡¯s slave, then why would he bother? And Alex doesn¡¯t treat me like a slave. To him, I¡¯m just his mate and wife.¡±

    Yua clapped her hands together, looking rather pleased with her conclusion as she continued.

    ¡°It could be the same for you. He¡¯d be your master in name only. You won¡¯t need to see him again because we don¡¯t live in Amoranth. You could just go back to living your life the way you were and if the king tries anything, he can explain what happened for you. No need to punish someone that¡¯s already been punished, right?¡±

    Miss Bellenfort balked at this, trying just as hard to figure out if Yua was serious as I was. Finding her answer, she broke into a fit of laughter.

    ¡°Hahaha! Seriously? You must really trust this man if you¡¯re think the solution to my problems is slavery. Ridiculous. I still haven¡¯t decided if I¡¯m going to silence him myself before I take off, and that¡¯s what you come up with?¡±

    Yua¡¯s ear twitched in annoyance, but she didn¡¯t seem to take what was just said seriously as she pressed on.

    ¡°Liar. I can hear your heart. You stopped thinking about hurting him the moment Erika asked you to spare him. Tell her, Erika.¡±

    The maid jumped and squeaked when the conversation suddenly came back to her. She trembled when Miss Bellenfort looked at her, but straightened up when Yua pat her on the back.

    ¡°I-It¡¯s true, Mistress. Thank you for your patience.¡±

    ¡°Tch¡­ Regardless,¡± she said, pink returning to her cheeks. ¡°Why the hell would I let myself become this man¡¯s slave? It¡¯s more his fault that I¡¯m like this. He spent just as much time staring at my tits as I did drinking, you know? He could have been more careful, too.¡±

    ¡°D-Don¡¯t try and turn this all on me!¡±

    ¡°Why not? I know these things are like magnets for the men¡¯s eyes. Trust me, I get it, but you were staring the whole time I was drawing your map. That much I can remember for sure!¡±

    Remembering the pink tips that accidentally slipped into view as she drew, my cheeks heated as much as hers did in her recollection. Yua¡¯s loving defense of my character was nowhere to be seen and Erika¡¯s smile took on an oddly sympathetic hue.

    ¡°Look, even now! I have an axe to your neck, and you¡¯re still looking at my tits!¡±

    ¡°I am not!¡±

    ¡°Yes you are!¡±

    ¡°Then wear a damn bra next time!¡±

    ¡°The hell¡¯s a bra?!¡±

    Fuck! Damn this world! Goddess, why did you make it this way?!

    Pinching my eyes shut, more to calm myself than to shut out any sights I may or may not have been looking at, I drew in a deep breath.

    ¡°Okay. Okay. I¡¯m sorry. Can we just get back to the topic at hand, please?¡±

    Even if I didn¡¯t mean to look, even if I did, and Yua¡¯s forced smile didn¡¯t exactly make me feel confident in my innocence, we had more pressing matters to deal with. Namely, the position of her axe.

    ¡°Tch¡­ Whatever. It¡¯s still true that you know too much. Just leaving you like this is dangerous.¡±

    ¡°And like I said, I¡¯ll promise not say a word to anyone. I¡¯m sure Erika can confirm I¡¯m not lying.¡±

    At this, Erika nodded profusely, her tail lifting up the back of her dress enough to wag.

    Regardless of who was more to blame for what happened, I didn¡¯t want to hurt this woman any more than she already was by blabbing her personal info out to anyone willing to listen.

    Her treatment of Erika, while sober, makes me think she¡¯s not a terrible person at heart, but the way everyone fled from her in a panic makes me cautious.

    Don¡¯t. Make. Her. Angry.

    Were they warning an ignorant idiot to be scared of her power as a noble? Or was she just known to be a mean drunk? Experience and hope point to the latter, but I don¡¯t know what happened for her to earn the people¡¯s fear.

    What I do know is that, she looks more like a scared girl than a wicked tyrant. If this weren¡¯t the case, I probably wouldn¡¯t be breathing right now. If word got out, someone somewhere would definitely use this information against her and she¡¯d be one sneaky Slave Binding spell away from an auction block. And with her looks¡­ I¡¯d rather not think about that possibility.

    That¡¯s why she¡¯s so worried. I don¡¯t want to make that problem worse.

    ¡°We can work together to keep this mess a secret,¡± I said. ¡°Really. Nobody has to know.¡±

    ¡°Dammit¡­¡±

    Miss Bellenfort clenched her teeth, lowering her head to think it over. The hand she had wrapped around my neck slackened more, enough for me to have to hold onto her wrist again to keep my body weight from choking me.

    We had the benefit of two beast-kin being here to confirm that I was telling the truth. So, now that she had her options, I was more than happy to give her time to think it over. Though it¡¯d be nice if she a least lowered her axe.

    After a long pause, she finally lifted her head. The strength and anger that had been burning in her eyes had all but completely left her. In its place was nothing less than someone fearing for her life.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡­¡±

    ¡°Hey you, Booby-Lady! Let go of my mate!¡±

    Appearing so suddenly that even Yua and Erika gasped in mutual surprise, Mana jumped into the alley.

    Her ears sharp and her tail just as straight as her back, there was a fury in her eyes that I never could have expected from her. She must not have noticed the potential peaceful conclusion to our conversation as she drew her bow and aimed it.

    Miss Bellenfort¡¯s jaw dropped at the sight of her, her eyes slowly growing as large as the moon as they reflected the small girl. Her lips trembled. She could take Yua¡¯s punch, but her soft flesh surely could do nothing against the razor edge of an arrowhead.

    Mana¡¯s thin arms were trembling under the sheer pressure she needed to keep the bowstring pulled. Her fingers turned white where they held it, but her grip on the arrow looked loose. It could fly at any second, regardless of whether or not she meant it to.

    ¡°Mana, wait! We talked it out and¡­¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± Mana grunted, struggling against the weight of the bow. ¡°Her heart sounds excited. She must be like Big Sis. She wants to fight!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not true,¡± Yua said, but she was too cautious not to make a grab for the bow. ¡°Miss Bellenfort, just put Alex and the axe down and let¡¯s¡­!¡±

    As if only listening to Yua on pure reflex, Miss Bellenfort didn¡¯t so much as blink when she dropped me. I crashed into the ground, legs a little too numb from the choking to catch myself.

    Next to fall was her axe. Her fingers went limp and the mass of metal came crashing down with a loud, ear-piercing clang that cracked the pavement.

    Mana winced, her ears flicking with painful displeasure. Her hands slipped.

    The bowstring snapped forwards, launching the arrow.

    Without ever letting her gaze fall from Mana, Miss Bellenfort snatched it out of the air less than an inch before it struck her in the stomach. She then dropped the arrow, too, as if it meant nothing to her. She just stared in stunned disbelief at her would-be assailant.

    Hunched over, Mana clutched her ears. The pain brought by the metallic clang of the axe proving to be more than a mere human like myself could possibly imagine.

    No, I suppose I didn¡¯t need to imagine it. When she looked up, the brave front she had a moment ago was gone. In its place were a pair of big blue eyes that were wet with tears.

    The very moment she turned those eyes on Miss Bellenfort, with her lips puckered into a pout more deadly than her bow, the larger woman chest expanded as her quivering lips inhaled a gallon of air.

    This sudden chain of events abruptly ended with Erika sighing and covering her ears before...

    ¡°KYAAA! SHE¡¯S SO CUTE!¡±

    Miss Bellenfort leaped over her abandoned axe and was on Mana before she could think to react. A hulking mess of shockingly-cute squeals, the blonde scooped Mana into her arms and pulled her into a powerful hug.

    Her face pressed forcefully into the massive mounds I hadn¡¯t been looking at earlier, Mana wriggled and writhed with all her might to break free of the hug, but couldn¡¯t.

    ¡°Cute. Cute. Cute! Too cute! So damn cute!¡±

    Spinning on her heel, Miss Bellenfort swung Mana around and around and lowered her hold on so she had room to move, room to look up at her. Mana¡¯s head shot up from inside the generous cleavage and she sucked in a desperate gasp of air. Shoving her hands with just as much force into the softness of blonde¡¯s breast, Mana tried and failed to push herself away from her. The arms wrapped around her waist were far too strong.

    ¡°Big Bro! Save me. Save me! Her boobs won¡¯t let me breathe!¡±

    ¡°Oh Gods!¡± Miss Bellenfort bellowed. ¡°How could such a cutey exist and I not know about her until now?! Just look at those eyes! And those pointy ears! Kyaa!¡±

    ¡°Let go of me, Booby-Lady!¡±

    ¡°Hoho? Booby-Lady, is it? That¡¯s fine by me. You can call me whatever you like. I¡¯ll call you Kitty. How¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Get your boobs off of me! I can¡¯t breathe!¡±

    ¡°So cute!!¡±

    Yua and I watched in stunned disbelief as Mana was once more smothered. Neither of us knew how to react to what we were seeing.

    Was this really the same woman that was threatening me over ruining her life a minute ago?

    Elane Bellenfort was clearly the sort of woman that would have looked beautiful no matter what expression she wore, but the bright and cheery smile she had painted over her lips was nothing less than breath-taking as she gushed over Mana. Just one look at the smaller cat-girl and it was like all her worries pulled their weight off her shoulders before floating up into space to be forgotten.

    It was a look that made my heart catch in a way that a woman with nothing but good looks couldn¡¯t. So much so that I felt a little jealous of Mana, but the sight of a beauty whose looks could make a runway model weep with jealousy, holding a girl so cute she made your heart melt at her slightest shift in expression was overwhelming in its own way.

    And still¡­

    ¡°What the hell am I watching?¡±

    ¡°M-My Mistress likes cute girls, so¡­¡± Erika said, blushing out of embarrassment for her mistress¡¯s shamelessness. She offered me a hand up and I took it.

    ¡°Yea, I noticed. I¡¯ve seen her maids.¡±

    Not to mention how surprisingly girlish her bedroom was. It seems she enjoyed cute things as much as she did her rum.

    ¡°O-Oh, um, thank you,¡± Erika said, blushing.

    ¡°For what? I didn¡¯t¡­¡±

    Wait, did I just indirectly flirt with her? Was flirting always something so easy that it could be done by accident? I shook my head.

    No, what was more important was what was in front of us.

    ¡°Miss Bellenfort,¡± I said. ¡°I know Mana¡¯s super cute. We can at least agree on that, but¡­¡±

    ¡°Kyaa! Is she yours too? Like that other cat-kin?¡±

    ¡°My name¡¯s Yua¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes. Mana is my mate. So could you please let her go?¡±

    To my declaration, the biggest response came from none other than the cat-kin in question. Mana¡¯s eyes lit up and her struggling stopped. A bright smile that was aimed at me quickly spread across her lips and the arms she pushed against Miss Bellenfort¡¯s chest began to wobble until she collapsed into her again, sucked into the gravitational field that was her bosom.

    Miss Bellenfort, though, took this a different way.

    ¡°Sell her to me and I¡¯ll forgive everything that happened between us. No questions asked.¡±

    ¡°Not happening.¡±

    ¡°Oh, come on! Just name a price and¡­¡±

    ¡°Nope. Now hand her over.¡±

    Dusting myself off, I took the hand Mana desperately extended to me and pulled. Mana tried to shove her way out of the woman¡¯s hold, but Miss Bellenfort didn¡¯t budge.

    ¡°At least let me hold her for a while.¡±

    ¡°No way!¡± Mana yelled, kicking her feet. ¡°You tried to hurt my mate!¡±

    ¡°Th-Then what if I apologize?¡±

    Mana fell silent. She stopped squirming for a moment and I once more felt the need to question reality.

    Was she actually considering it? Could she really be appeased with just a simple apology? When my life was on the line?

    Then again, if she was this willing to put the past behind us, maybe I could use Mana as a sort of bargaining chip. Trade a few moments of her cuteness for Miss Bellenfort¡¯s serenity and we could have a calm conversation.

    Erika didn¡¯t seem to agree with the idea, though.

    ¡°Mistress¡­ With all the commotion we¡¯ve caused, the city guard may soon show. Wouldn¡¯t it be troublesome if they try to arrest you? And you need to get ready for your meeting later.¡±

    ¡°Tch¡­ Fine. But this isn¡¯t over.¡±

    Miss Bellenfort reluctantly relaxed her arms and Mana kicked off her to jump into mine. Crawling around my back like a monkey, she growled cutely menacingly and threw an arrow at her former captor. It twirled through the air, but Miss Bellenfort caught it easily. As she did the next two. Her shoulders drooped.

    Ducking down to pick up her axe, she just so happened to dodge the fourth arrow as her seemingly delicate fingers wrapped around the axe¡¯s handle. Completely ignoring the cracked dent it made in the pavement, she hefted the weapon over her shoulder. She showed no signs of its weight bothering her, though the thing¡¯s total length rivaled her height.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare leave the city,¡± she said and left us.

    Erika hurried after her, the bottles in her bags clinking, but stopped to give us a quick bow before following her mistress down the street.

    We copied them and fled the scene in a different direction after collecting our things. Once we were good and far away, Yua pinched Mana¡¯s cheek. Seeing the annoyed twist to her brow, I had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn¡¯t because the girl was making me carry her on my back. I was just her victory chariot, ready to parade her around after she secured our escape.

    ¡°Mana,¡± Yua said, wrenching Mana¡¯s cheek. ¡°Where were you all this time? You could have helped sooner.¡±

    ¡°Ow, ow, ow¡­! I-I was looking at the stuff that human was selling when I suddenly smelled something yummy. I just went to find it.¡±

    ¡°And you didn¡¯t hear us arguing?¡±

    ¡°Not until something scared all the humans away and it got quiet¡­ Ow, ow, ow! Stop it! I still helped!¡±

    ¡°You should have been paying attention! Cities can be dangerous places, you know?¡±

    ¡°Okay. Okay! I¡¯m sorry!¡±

    Yua let go and Mana rubbed her cheek. She shook her head and looked towards the amber-colored sky.

    ¡°Alex, it¡¯s getting late. I think we should head to The Snoring Dove. Arthur ran off during the commotion, so we might as well wait for him there.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t track him?¡±

    ¡°I can!¡± Mana chimed, still rubbing her cheek, but Yua shot the idea down.

    ¡°He left in the same direction as Miss Bellenfort. Following him could¡­¡±

    ¡°Could lead to another confrontation with her. Damn. Guess we¡¯ll have to try and talk to him at the inn.¡±

    If we¡¯re lucky and The Snoring Dove was like the inn back in Amoranth, then the room should have a sound-muffling enchantment place on it, meaning not even a beast-kin¡¯s ears would be able to hear what we talk about. So, he may feel safer to speak with us knowing he won¡¯t get caught. Waiting for him there might actually be better than dragging him into some alley.

    ¡°And in the meantime,¡± Yua said, side-eying me. ¡°We can talk about why your heart was all fluttery when Miss Bellenfort was here. Even though she was threatening your life a minute ago.¡±

    ¡°Er, uh¡­¡±

    ¡°And we have to get the pork!¡± Mana shouted, shaking my shoulders. ¡°You promised!¡±

 Volume 2 - Chapter 17

    The Snoring Dove was everything I would have expected in a medieval inn, being that it barely looked like an inn at all.

    The stinging, pungent odor of alcohol nearly knocked me over the moment we opened the doors to a place that could have passed for a bustling restaurant. Dozens of people were scattered about the room, all stacked around the various tables, sharing meals, chatting by the burning fireplace and drinking mug after mug of something that reddened their cheeks more with each greedy gulp. A couple of overworked barmaids ferried trays of food and drink to the tables to keep the fun going.

    Likewise, a young couple walked up the stairs with a key in hand as they whispered and giggled to each other. Seems like this was going to be the last stop on a date that went very well. At least we were in the right place.

    Meant to rest your head after a long journey, the place was three whole parts restaurant, tavern and inn. Thanks to this, nobody seemed to take stock in the cloaked figures following behind me.

    ¡°Oops¡­ Sorrshy.¡±

    Slurring his apology, a man staggered past us, bumping into me on his way out of the building. Finding his awkward movements intriguing, Mana stopped and turned to watch him go. He made it down the first two steps rather easily, but the last three he took in an unintentional fall that had him face-planting into the street. Her tail giving the occasional flick beneath her cloak before Yua covertly pressed it down. Their people weren¡¯t ones to drink much, so seeing someone that sloshed was probably a rarity.

    I carefully prodded my pants pocket to make sure my coin purse was still in place and made my way over to the bar where the couple paid for their room. The woman waiting there was also dressed as a barmaid, though she didn¡¯t seem to be serving anyone. She just sat at the counter, hunched over a ledger, likely jotting down the room she just rented.

    ¡°Excuse me, Miss?¡± I said, already prepared to get off my feet for the day.

    ¡°If you want a drink, you¡¯ll have to wait a moment,¡± she said, scribbling down some numbers.

    ¡°Thanks, but we¡¯re here to rent a room. Possibly for a couple of nights.¡±

    With my Merchant class advising me to incentivize her, I let her know our stay probably wasn¡¯t going to be a short one. And as expected, this got her to lift her attention to me. The moment she did, my breath caught.

    More or less what tradition demanded for such a place, she was pretty. Or at least, I think she qualified for that title, as the moment her long black hair fell from her face, I was met with only a single eye. She wasn¡¯t wearing an eyepatch, nor did she have some grotesque scar keeping one permanently closed. She was a cyclops. Everything else about her screamed normal woman, but that singular large eye centered on an otherwise attractive face that stared back at me.

    ¡°And how many nights will you be staying with us?¡± she asked, looking bored. I read the name Seldi in her info box.

    Snapping myself out of the joy I felt in seeing yet another fantasy race, I answered, ¡°Uh, just two for now. But we may need to stay longer depending on business.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s fine. A room for one, then.¡±

    ¡°No, a room for¡­¡±

    I paused. Something important I hadn¡¯t considered suddenly popped into mind.

    Should I rent Mana a separate room? Sure, her people could care less about privacy, but she wasn¡¯t technically mine yet. If her father found out we shared a room¡­ Well, he might not even understand the connotation of a man and woman sharing a room at an inn, and Yua would be with us, so¡­

    ¡°If it¡¯s not a room for one,¡± Seldi said. ¡°Then how many? We do have a few beds left in the communal room, if you¡¯d prefer.¡±

    ¡°No, no. Sorry. I¡¯d like a room for three, please.¡±

    Pointing over my shoulders at the girls, I figured I might as well give in and let Mana stay with us. I already knew she¡¯d likely prefer it and, given her overly curious nature, I thought I needed to keep an eye on her. All that trouble with Miss Bellenfort reminded me of the fact that Mana, too, had become a Thief thanks to me. Can¡¯t have someone else noticing and getting the wrong idea.

    Seldi squinted at the girls, eyeing them up and down. Then she turned to me and crossed her arms.

    ¡°Sir, these two wouldn¡¯t happen to be cat-kin, would they?¡±

    At this, a few of the patrons enjoying their drinks turned to check the girls as well. Most took a single glance, shrugged and returned to their mugs, but several looked annoyed at the mere idea of their presence. I couldn¡¯t¡¯ help but notice that some of the joyous atmosphere had gone silent.

    Shrinking behind me, Mana took the hint and let her hood hide her face. Yua did the same, but I could tell her fists were clenched, almost daring for those glaring to attack.

    ¡°No, they aren¡¯t,¡± I lied, hopeful. None of the patrons, at least none that I could see, were beast-kin, so their natural scent shouldn¡¯t be a tell.

    ¡°Mhmm, sure,¡± Seldi tapped an inpatient finger on her bicep. ¡°Then let¡¯s have those hoods off, yea?¡±

    Seeing no way out, Yua started to remove her hood when I stopped her. If the jig was up, there was no point in arguing with people like this. Unfortunately, our plans meant we had to stay here. Pissing the owners off would just jeopardize that.

    ¡°Okay. They¡¯re cat-kin. Could you please make an exception for them? I¡¯ll pay extra.¡±

    ¡°Not happening. Their kind aren¡¯t welcome here.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Would it change your mind if I said they were my slaves?¡±

    Seldi scoffed, looking at Yua with a smirk that might as well have said serves you right. Using Yua¡¯s cool lack of a response as a reason to keep things peaceful, I let her answer.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, those two can sleep in the stables.¡±

    Happy to let her think she¡¯d won, I turned to Yua.

    ¡°Take Mana back to the stables,¡± I said, pretending to sound heartless, then whispered. ¡°Just wait for me.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master,¡± Yua replied with a short bow before taking Mana by the arm and dragging her outside. Thankfully, Mana at least didn¡¯t seem to catch on to the casual racism being slung at her. The drunks in the corner of the room were too interesting.

    Once they were gone, I took out my purse.

    ¡°I¡¯d like the largest bed you have to offer.¡±

    ¡°Fine. It¡¯ll be six coppers. Eight if you want food.¡±

    I quickly set the coins for just the room on the provided tray, accepted the key she gave me and started upstairs.

    ¡°Second floor,¡± she called, leaning over the counter. ¡°And don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be having those two in your bed tonight. I so much at catch as peep of them in this building again and I¡¯ll kick the lot of you out. Nobody gets past Seldi¡¯s eye.¡±

    Pretending again to unbothered, I hurried upstairs.

    The following the number plates posted to the side of each room, I quickly found the one matching the number etched into the key in the corner of the hall. I let myself in and locked the door.

    The room was nowhere near as sparse as the one I rented back in Amoranth. All the furniture was well-made, polished and decorated. There was even a small table in the corner by the window. And more importantly, the bed looked significantly more comfortable as it was easily fit for four people, or in my case, one greedy rich boy with two slaves. They even did us the honors of cleaning the linens before renting it.

    Seeing such a nice room set at such a low price really drove home how the Lazy Cat back in Amoranth was a giant rip-off.

    Relishing the chance to sleep in an actual bed again, I cast a careful Clothing Wash spell on the sheets as I crossed the room. I tossed the window open and embraced the fishy smell of the ocean. Finding the alley leading to the stables tucked away right beneath my window, I leaned over the sill and cupped a hand beside my mouth.

    ¡°Yua,¡± I called, sure my voice was just loud enough to reach her and as expected, she and Mana scurried into sight. Their eyes instantly locked onto to me and Mana waved.

    Making sure they were alone, I cast Dimension Step, connecting the alley to the room and Yua hurriedly pulled Mana through it. Once they were through, I cut the spell and mentally flipped Seldi the bird.

    ¡°Sorry about that.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Yua said. ¡°I knew you wouldn¡¯t let us sleep on the ground.¡±

    She pulled her backpack off and set it on the small end table by the door before stretching her back with a satisfied grunt, as if the bag hadn¡¯t been empty the entire time.

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. Sorry about the treatment you¡¯ve been getting.¡±

    ¡°Woow¡­!¡± Mana muttered, still oblivious. Turning on her heels fast enough for her hood to fall all on its own, she excitedly looked around the room.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Yua continued after pulling off her cloak. The casual swish to her tail as she helped Mana out of hers said she was truly fine. ¡°People tend to treat those different from them as outsiders. That¡¯s just a fact that you pick up on living in the city.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true, but this is a little different.¡±

    ¡°Yup. Those thieves started those rumors about us, right? Then all we have to do is kick them out of the forest and things should go back to normal.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s hope it¡¯s that easy.¡±

    If not, then maybe I¡¯ll start spreading some rumors myself. Hell, if Tama takes control of the crystal mine and trades them to the city, maybe their opinion of the cat-kin will turn naturally in their favor along with the influx of coin.

    ¡°Wow. So many things!¡±

    Her eyes sparkling with curiosity, Mana dashed around the room. Throwing open the wardrobe with a flourish and nearly ripping the end table¡¯s drawers out of their sockets, she beamed even though they were all empty. She even leaned out the window to take in the city from up high. I guessed being only two stories above the ground didn¡¯t bother her, and her swishing tail agreed with me.

    I laughed.

    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you weren¡¯t like this your first time in an inn, Yua?¡±

    ¡°N-no.¡±

    Her cheeks turning just a little pink as she remembered a potentially embarrassing moment, Yua neatly tucked her skirt beneath her before sitting on the bed. Seeing, or rather hearing this, Mana extracted herself from the window and ran to the bed to slam her hands on it.

    ¡°Big Sis, what¡¯s this thing? It¡¯s soft like boobies.¡±

    ¡°Hehe. It¡¯s a bed. Humans prefer to sleep on these.¡±

    ¡°Ehh? So, this is a bed? I¡¯ve heard about these before.¡±

    Mana ran her hands over the sheets with a grin before jumping high into the air before plopping facedown onto the mattress. The back of her skirt flipped up when she landed, revealing her complete lack of modesty. Since we weren¡¯t in public anymore, I let her get away with it.

    Grinning still, she rolled onto her back, then back onto her front. Again and again she rolled, messing her clothes further until she bumped into Yua. There she stopped and closed her eyes, letting her head sink into the mattress.

    ¡°So soft¡­~¡±

    Her excitement slowly faded thanks to the softness of the bed. She rubbed at her stomach with a very pleased smile. Her belly was as flat as her petite frame would have suggested it¡¯d be, but with all the pork she ate earlier, I was surprised her corset wasn¡¯t cracking at the seams.

    It was thanks to witnessing her voracious appetite yet again that I had to pick up some extra food for the cabin on our way here.

    Speaking of appetites, since we¡¯d already eaten, we had nothing left to do but get to work. Yua gave a small nod, ready for anything I might say.

    ¡°Can you hear anyone in the other rooms?¡±

    I¡¯d like to test if the rooms here are enchanted with sound-proofing like the one we stayed in back in Amoranth. If so, we could talk to Arthur here once he shows up and not have to worry about our conversation being leaked to his thieving buddies. If not, then we¡¯d have to come up with a way to get him to go on a walk with us, which didn¡¯t sound easy at all.

    Yua¡¯s ears gave a small flick after being called into action. She shook her head.

    ¡°I can¡¯t. I can hear what¡¯s going on downstairs, though.¡±

    ¡°Great. Then could you listen for Arthur and let me know when he checks in?¡±

    ¡°No need. He¡¯s already here. I think he has his room¡¯s window open, so I can hear him easily.¡±

    Guess the enchantment doesn¡¯t work unless the room is completely sealed. Makes sense, but good to know.

    ¡°Hmm. Let me guess, we were lucky enough to be roomed right next to him?¡±

    ¡°Nope. He¡¯s on the third floor, right above our room. I¡¯ve been keeping an ear on him since we were in the alley. He hasn¡¯t left.¡±

    ¡°¡­ That¡¯s good, I guess.¡±

    Not that a flight of stairs was a problem, really. I just thought my Luck stat might have kicked in again to make life a little easier.

    ¡°Can you tell me what he¡¯s doing? I¡¯d like to talk to him as soon as possible.¡±

    ¡°Yup. He¡¯s been having sex since before we got here.¡±

    ¡°Really¡­?¡±

    Yua nodded, her cheeks not even slightly flushed despite what she claimed to be listening to. And after meeting her people, I felt exactly zero need to question her.

    She closed her eyes to focus and a couple of seconds later, her ears shot up and she smiled.

    ¡°Oh! Never mind. He just finished. You should be able to talk to him soon.¡±

    Ah. There it is. Thank you, Luck stat¡­ I guess. I rubbed my knuckles into my eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s kind of strange, though,¡± Yua said, her ears flicking. ¡°The female he¡¯s with is demanding coin from him now.¡±

    ¡°Well, Tillmann did mention the city had a brothel. Maybe he brought one of the women back with him.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right. I forgot humans sometimes pay for sex,¡± she said, shyly fiddling with her fingers. ¡°Um, Alex, as your mate, can I ask that you don¡¯t do that?¡±

    ¡°I would never.¡±

    Honestly, I already felt as though I was bursting with luck at just having a girl like her that was so receptive to my desires. And I¡¯d make sure Mana would be the same soon, too. The thought of paying for it honestly hadn¡¯t crossed my mind. My old self might have jumped at the chance if it meant doing away with my virginity, but not this version of me.

    Instantly reassured, Yua turned her attention back to the window to listen.

    ¡°Hey Big Bro,¡± Mana said, crawling over to use Yua¡¯s lap as a pillow. ¡°Didn¡¯t you pay that slave guy a lot of coins to be Big Sis¡¯s mate before? Isn¡¯t that kind of the same?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Yua, put more clothes on her.¡±

    ¡°What? No way!¡±

    ¡°Hehe. Sorry, but you put all her clothes in your item box.¡±

    ¡°Tch¡­ damn item box.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t expecting my dark past to be brought up here and what¡¯s worse is that I can¡¯t deny it. I even admitted as much to Yua.

    Mana braced herself and covered her chest protectively, not from it being exposed, but from the fear of having more added to her outfit. Yua smiled mischievously at her, but unfortunately, we didn¡¯t have time to fool around. While I would have loved to ask Yua to spend the rest of the day helping me dirty the bed sheets as a sort-of middle finger to the innkeeper, we had our chance and we¡¯d be fools not to take it.

    ¡°Yua, do you know if Arthur is alone yet?¡±

    ¡°He will be in a moment. The female he¡¯s with is getting dressed.¡±

    ¡°Good. I¡¯ll head up now. You wait here, I¡¯ll teleport you up to him when I¡¯m ready.¡±

    Unfortunately, since she wasn¡¯t allowed here, I can¡¯t just let her walk around the place. I¡¯d be on my own for a minute or two.

    ¡°What about me?¡± Mana asked.

    ¡°Maybe it¡¯d be best if you just waited here for us.¡±

    ¡°But I wanted to ask the human about the spriggans.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll ask for you,¡± Yua said, standing from the bed.

    ¡°Mmm¡­.¡±

    Grumbling, Mana plopped back down on her back. As her pout was aimed at the ceiling, it had no power against me. I unlocked and pulled the door open. Just when I was about to leave, I heard other people coming upstairs and whispered to Yua, ¡°For as long as we¡¯re here, just keep the door locked.

    I got a quick nod of approval and closed the door. Thanks to the negligent effect of the sound-proofing enchantment, I heard the click of Yua locking the door and moved upstairs.

    Jazzing myself up with a silent pep-talk, I skirted around a group of drunks loitering on the staircase and a couple with bags in their hands headed for the market. On the third-floor landing, I passed a woman in a dress that looked to have been hastily altered to show off more of her cleavage. Lightly sweaty, her admittedly attractive face was flushed pink. And, as an experienced man now myself, I recognized the smell of, shall we say, passion on her.

    She smiled seductively at me, pressing her elbows inwards to accentuate the shape of her chest and I forced myself to look away, somehow thankful she didn¡¯t call out to me.

    Figuring she was the woman Arthur had paid to keep him company, I waited until she was out of sight and searched for his room. Assuming that, if he were above ours, it should be in same position along the hall, I tiptoed right on over. Checking to make sure I was alone, I cast Dimensional Step and Yua joined me the moment the portal formed. Thankfully, she thought to put her hood back on before coming. As did the girl that came bounding out of it next, though Mana¡¯s cloak was sitting sideways on her shoulders.

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    ¡°Mana, what are you¡­¡±

    Before Yua could finish, Mana gleefully knocked on the door.

    ¡°Wait!¡±

    ¡°Bitch, I already paid you,¡± came a grumpy voice from inside. ¡°If you want more, next time you better let me finish inside or I won¡¯t¡­¡±

    The door swung open and we were greeted by a relatively thin man that looked about as confused as we were. No doubt it was Arthur, his info box said as much, but finding three people outside his room when he was expecting a single prostitute must have been jarring.

    As for us, the sight we were greeted with was much less pleasant. His body was covered in multiple bruises and several partially healed lacerations, likely from the trip Tillmann sent him through the forest. His pale white skin was covered in a light sheen of sweat, like he¡¯d been working out before we bothered him. But we could only see all this because the man answered the door wearing nothing but a loose, dirty pair of undershorts and, for some reason, his boots.

    I knew the girls didn¡¯t mind his state of undress, but I still felt the need to pull Mana behind me.

    Arthur¡¯s eyes refocused, likely working out that while the two girls beside me were lookers in their own rights, that they weren¡¯t here for coin. So, he sneered and took a swig of whatever alcohol was in his mug.

    ¡°Yea? And what do you want?¡±

    Discretely sucking in a breath, I stepped up to bat.

    ¡°Excuse me, sir. I¡¯m sorry to bother you, but we¡¯d like to talk if you have a moment.¡±

    ¡°Talk?¡± he parroted, scratching his crotch without mind for the girls. ¡°About what?¡±

    ¡°About Tillmann.¡±

    His eyes went wide. For several seconds he stared at me until some sort of realization dawned on him and his body stiffened. He took a cautious step back, almost like he meant to slam the door in our faces just to put even that thin piece of wood between us.

    His hand flew to his hip, but nothing was there. I don¡¯t know if he managed to buy a dagger, but he certainly wasn¡¯t holding one. Sweat trickled down his cheek and his stiffness quickly turned into a trembling panic.

    I put my hands up to show I meant no harm. After the way Tillmann beat him, this kind of fear was understandable.

    ¡°Hold on. We don¡¯t want to fight.¡±

    ¡°W-What is it? Did Tillmann send you?¡±

    ¡°No. We just¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t lie! Nobody in this city should even know that name!¡±

    Scrambling away from us, he made for the belt he¡¯d left wrapped around the bedpost. There was a steel dagger fastened to it and tied beside it was a long sword. Both were new and unused.

    Right, he was a level 10 Swordsman. His old sword must have been broken when Tillmann brutalized him.

    He¡¯d only made it a few steps before his boot caught on the pants he¡¯d carelessly left on the floor and he fell forward onto the bed. Undeterred, he lunged for the belt, but Yua flew into the room and grabbed him by the wrist.

    ¡°Wha¡­ Let go!¡±

    Lashing out like a cornered animal, he threw a punch aimed at her cheek, but she caught it with her off hand. She held him. Not held him down, she simply didn¡¯t let him move. Seeing the fear in his eyes deepening as he quickly learned he couldn¡¯t match her strength; Mana and I stepped inside and closed the door and then the window. The sound-proofing enchantment was now in effect.

    ¡°W-Wait!¡± he begged. ¡°Spare me and I¡¯ll give you all the coin I have! I may not look it, but I have several gold pieces in my¡­¡±

    ¡°Please, try to calm down,¡± I said, once more putting up my hands. ¡°We¡¯re not here because of Tillmann. Look.¡±

    I pinched Yua¡¯s hood and pulled it off of her. Her spritely cat ears popped into view as did the gentle smile she wore. She may have used force to stop him, but she wasn¡¯t trying to hurt anyone.

    As if seeing this as her chance, Mana also knocked off her hood and stretched her ears. Arthur gawked at her more so than he did Yua. For the briefest of moments, his face lit up much like Miss Bellenfort¡¯s had at the sight of her, but a shuddering worry quickly took its place.

    ¡°S-So what, the cat-kin really are after us? Did they hire you to kill me?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± I said, tapping Yua¡¯s shoulder. She let go of him and stepped back. ¡°We¡¯re not here for a fight. We just want to talk.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re not with Tillmann and not with the cat-kin, who the hell are you?¡±

    I suppose a self-introduction should have been our opener. Maybe he wouldn¡¯t have freaked out if I made it clear where we stood. Just wasn¡¯t expecting him to freak out like that.

    ¡°Sorry. My name¡¯s Alex, an Adventurer. Those two are Yua and Mana. We are here on behalf of the cat-kin, but not to fight.¡±

    ¡°Then what do you want?¡±

    ¡°We just want you, Tillmann and the rest to leave the forest. They¡­ hired me to talk with you.¡±

    I stumbled a bit there, but it wasn¡¯t technically a lie. I just didn¡¯t think I¡¯d get anywhere if I admitted fifty-percent of the reason I¡¯m doing this is to gain the right to take a second wife. Or how the other fifty-percent was because my first wife asked me to help. Wouldn¡¯t exactly sound all that altruistic if I shared my ulterior motives.

    ¡°Alright. Alright,¡± he stuttered, stumbling back to his feet. Cautiously, he snatched up his pants and started pulling them back on. ¡°We¡¯re talking, alright? What exactly do you want?¡±

    ¡°Like I said, we just want you guys to leave the forest.¡±

    ¡°Yea,¡± Mana chimed, crossing her arms. ¡°You humans are making the animals weird. What did you do to the spriggans?¡±

    ¡°Spriggans?¡± he repeated without so much as a twitch for the small glare Mana shot at him. ¡°You mean those plant-people? I don¡¯t know what happened to them. They took off into the forest soon as we got there.¡±

    Mana¡¯s ears flicked, but her expression softened soon after. She touched a hand to her chest and let out a small sigh of relief. The spriggans were her friends, apparently, so she must have been listening to his heart to test for lies.

    Arthur¡¯s cheeks reddened slightly at the sight of her relieved smile doing away with her quick anger, but he turned to me. Somehow, just that quick look at her seemed to have softened him up a bit.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re coming to me about this. If you know Tillmann, then you know I ain¡¯t in charge.¡±

    ¡°Maybe not, but we know you two don¡¯t see eye to eye. We saw what he did to you earlier.¡±

    A sour look spread across his face, a mix of anxiety and pain. He touched a hand to his stomach, right where the largest of his bruises darkened his skin. If the fist-shaped mark was anything to go by, Tillmann must have found a reason to hit him again after we left.

    ¡°So someone was watching us after all¡­ But why corner me in the city where there¡¯s witnesses? Why not just attack the moment I was alone?¡±

    ¡°Like I said, we aren¡¯t here to cause violence. We waited to speak to you privately because we¡¯d rather avoid a fight.¡±

    Arthur raised a brow at this, then said, ¡°Yea, I get that. Tillmann¡¯s a monster, but I can promise you, you won¡¯t be able to convince him to leave. He has his eyes set on the huge payout waiting for us. Dwarves practically worship gold. Well, they worship metal in general, but you know what I mean.¡±

    ¡°And what about you?¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡±

    ¡°What do you want? Are you really risking your life just for some gold?¡±

    He laughed. ¡°This isn¡¯t just some gold, kid. It¡¯s a lot of gold. Enough for each of us to retire and for our kid¡¯s kids to never have to lift a finger for their entire lives.¡±

    I understood that more than he could know. After checking a single crystal¡¯s value and comparing it to the struggle I went through trying to raise money for Yua¡¯s contract, I knew.

    ¡°But is it worth the beatings?¡± I said. ¡°The way he tossed you around like that, he could have killed you.¡±

    ¡°I know. Can¡¯t use any of that gold if I¡¯m dead, right?¡±

    ¡°Then you¡¯re okay serving him?¡±

    ¡°Serving him? Hell no! I was supposed to be in charge, but then that brick-headed bastard started swinging that damn hammer around. Sure, the others were his crew from the start, but I¡¯m the one that scouted them! I¡¯m the one Lord Argento told where to find the crystals! And I¡¯m the one that persuaded him to give those bastards a bigger cut to keep them in line! Not only that, but I¡¯m the one that has to risk my life transporting the damn things into the city! None of this would be possible without me, and they still treat me like trash!¡±

    His yelling made Mana cover her ears, but, use to it, Yua held firm. Hearing his rant, I figured his drinking might have been to relieve the stress they all caused him and not because he was incompetent. I mean, not one of them lifted a finger to help him when Tillmann tossed him around like a ragdoll.

    Fuming, Arthur clenched his fists and continued.

    ¡°That bastard was only hired because the Lord wanted a dwarf in the party to make sure we got what we were there for. Grubby little rock-muncher. As if I can¡¯t tell what a damn Essence crystal looks like!¡±

    ¡°Speaking of, do you know what are the crystals used for? Other than their value, of course.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± he grunted, raising a condescending brow at me. ¡°You¡¯re sticking your nose in our business and you don¡¯t even know?¡±

    ¡°Humor me.¡±

    ¡°Pfft. Ain¡¯t nothing to humor, kid. It¡¯s not a secret. Essence Crystals are needed for enchanting. Ya now, like weapons and armor and what not. It¡¯s pretty well known. If anything, it¡¯s weird that you don¡¯t know. These cat-kin I understand, but a human?¡±

    Feeling Yua eyeing me somewhat suspiciously, I regretted giving up the momentum of the conversation just to ask for yet more of this world¡¯s common knowledge that I was oblivious to. I didn¡¯t even have the chance to enjoy learning more about this fantasy world.

    ¡°Enchanting, huh? I guess I can see that being reason enough.¡±

    I still wasn¡¯t keen on the girl¡¯s using any of that skimpy enchanted armor, but knowing the crystals were related most definitely interested me. The items necessary to create weapons and armor that effectively broke nature and common sense were definitely going to be in high demand.

    ¡°I don¡¯t matter what they¡¯re for,¡± he said, rubbing his forehead. ¡°They have their worth and I have my reasons for doing this.¡±

    ¡°And what¡¯s that?¡±

    What could bring a man to risk thievery and eternal slavery and power through life-threatening physical violence from your own team, just for some coin?

    Arthur clenched his teeth, almost sneering. Like he felt insulted I even need ask.

    ¡°For my family, obviously! I got drunk, did something stupid and because of it, I was exiled from Dragma.¡±

    ¡°What did you do?¡±

    He crossed his arms, but it didn¡¯t quite hide the bravado he was trying to mask his blush with.

    ¡°¡­ I might have gotten drunk, wooed the woman I¡¯d had my eye on and slept with her. She might have been the daughter of a local lord I should never have had a chance with. And¡­ I might have gotten her pregnant.¡±

    I pinched my eyes shut and rubbed them. And here I almost forgot we were dealing with a known criminal. Although, I seriously doubt his Thief tag came from stealing the virginity of some nobleman¡¯s daughter.

    Meanwhile, Mana looked completely lost, no doubt wondering why he wasn¡¯t allowed to be with that woman if he¡¯d already slept with her.

    ¡°Hey, I¡¯ve been in love with her for years, alright? She feels the same, she just isn¡¯t allowed to show it. I didn¡¯t do anything wrong. She explained this herself, but all her pleas got me was the right to keep my head on my shoulders.¡±

    ¡°So they exiled you instead?¡±

    ¡°Exactly. Once he found out, her father had his men snatch me out of my bed in the middle of the night. They threw me on the first boat to Vierre without so much as a goodbye, just to keep me quiet.¡±

    I looked to Yua, who weakly smiled back, likely after listening to his heart for the truth. It was hard to believe that I could have ended up just like him. Or worse, if I didn¡¯t get Tama¡¯s approval. Assuming he didn¡¯t outright kill me, I couldn¡¯t imagine what it would have been like to have been ripped away from Yua right after we¡¯d essentially gotten married.

    The alcohol and that prostitute must have been his way of consoling himself, so I didn¡¯t  bring it up. Yua and Mana, though, looked at him with complete disgust once they realized he¡¯d cheated on his lover.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to hear that,¡± I said. ¡°But what does this have to do with the crystals?¡±

    As I tried to steer the conversation back to why we were here, Arthur pressed his hands together in a prayer and closed his eyes.

    ¡°Lord Argento heard about what happened and tracked me down. I know nothing about this country and I¡¯ve been in Guerraway the entire time. I guess it wasn¡¯t hard to find me, but he told me he¡¯d reverse my exile and allow me to come back home if I helped him with the crystals. He¡¯d even help me convince my woman¡¯s father to let me marry her. All this on top of the cut of the profits I¡¯d get.¡±

    ¡°Sounds too good to be true.¡±

    ¡°Right? But what choice did I have but to take it?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    A fool if he did and fool if he didn¡¯t, then. If we want this guy on our side, we need to wrap this up in a way that won¡¯t prevent him from going back home. That was a pretty tall order, considering his employer was the one offering him a trip back home.

    Or maybe¡­

    ¡°What if your girlfr¡­ er, the mother of your child were to come to you instead?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Instead of working with Tillmann to go home, work with us to bring her to here.¡±

    Eyeing me with a great deal of understandable suspicion, Arthur waited for me to explain further. So, as Mana plopped down on the floor, bored, I started with another question.

    ¡°You guys are responsible for the rumors about the cat-kin being savages, right? And about the Dumort Forest belonging to Guerraway?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Well, Tillmann is. He said that the people would avoid the forest if he got them thinking they¡¯d be killed on sight. The ownership thing was just to make them hatred so nobody would believe them if they came asking for help¡­ Sorry.¡±

    ¡°Er, uh, it¡¯s okay, I think?¡±

    Arthur inclined his head to Yua, who started, but quickly raised her hands to ward off his apology. Even if her people were directly affected by the rumors, she herself only learned of them yesterday. Her people as a whole didn¡¯t seem to think too much about it in the first place.

    So, Tillmann started a rumor that almost completely destroyed the cat-kin¡¯s reputation, just to keep themselves hidden? How like a thief. I guess the dwarf¡¯s very own Thief tag was earned through effort, not accident.

    ¡°The way I see it, the crystals rightfully belong to the cat-kin,¡± I said. ¡°So, if you help us out, I¡¯ll convince them to let you keep a portion of them. On top of this, I¡¯ll personally help you bring your woman here safely.¡±

    ¡°¡­ And how would you manage that? You don¡¯t exactly look like the sort of nobleman that farts gold, ya know?¡±

    ¡°Simple. Yua here is the daughter of the cat-kin¡¯s chief, so convincing him might be easier than you think. As for transporting your woman, I can use my magic.¡±

    I¡¯d already proved my magic can drastically cut travel time to new lands down to being a minor annoyance. I could bring him back to Dragma, grab his woman and teleport them back here in a mere fraction of the time we¡¯d normally need. Whether or not she¡¯d want to come is something for them to discuss, but it would be easy.

    Letting others know of my teleportation magic still felt like a bad idea, but if it was to help Yua and Mana¡¯s people¡­

    ¡°¡­ And what would you need me to do? If you watched what happened earlier, you should know I¡¯m no match for Tillmann.¡±

    ¡°Like I keep saying, we don¡¯t want to fight.¡±

    Or rather, I don¡¯t want to. His is not the sort of strength we can fight against while expecting to walk away with all our limbs. He wouldn¡¯t hold back like Tama did. At best, we¡¯d just try to talk him down and, if that failed and he charged at us, we¡¯d call in the furry-eared cavalry.

    ¡°Just tell me how to get past the barrier. Better yet, if you can tell me how to destroy it¡­¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how the thing works any more than you do,¡± he said, shaking his head. ¡°So I can¡¯t tell you how to break it. But I can tell you how to break into it.¡±

    Leave it to a thief to word it that way. I smirked a bit and he continued, leaning in closer like someone about to impart a dirty secret to a friend. He held up a single instructive finger and started.

    ¡°First, only humans can open the barrier. I don¡¯t know why, but that¡¯s what I was told.¡±

    Pressing my eyes shut, I barely suppressed a sigh. Tama¡¯s blind guess that only humans could get through the barrier actually being correct annoyed me more than I care to admit.

    ¡°What about Tillmann?¡± Yua asked. ¡°He¡¯s a dwarf, right?¡±

    ¡°Oh, that rock-muncher doesn¡¯t ever leave the camp. He likes to say he¡¯s guarding it, but we all know it¡¯s because he doesn¡¯t want others to see those short legs of his dangling over a carriage seat like a child¡¯s.

    Arthur laughed and my brain conjured up the image of that burly, bearded dwarf sitting on a high-chair, swinging his feet back and forth while his mother cooked dinner next to him. Then I shuddered at the thought of his hammer splintering that tree.

    ¡°Okay, so I can pass through the barrier unharmed?¡±

    ¡°Huh? Oh, no. It doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re inside the barrier or not, anything that touches it gets burned. To get in, you have to hold up your right hand and say the passphrase: Saint Mejula, warden of peace, I beckon thee. Stay your watch and allow me safe passage into your loving embrace.¡±

    As he spoke, he raised his right hand like he was about to ask a question and my gratitude towards the Goddess increased yet again. If I hadn¡¯t been given a perfect memory, there¡¯d no way in hell I¡¯d be able to remember all that without at least writing it down first. But now it was a permanent fixture inside my head.

    Still, Saint Mejula? I wonder if the barrier was made with holy magic. Sounds a bit sacrilegious for it to be used by thieves, but it was nice to learn that holy magic existed.

    ¡°Do that,¡± he finished. ¡°And a section of the barrier will open for about five minutes. As you speak, focus on how big of a section you want to open, otherwise you¡¯ll end up with a sliver barely wide enough for one person to slip through.¡±

    I nodded, engraving the details in my memory. That explains how they planned on getting an entire cart through it, but I wasn¡¯t sure how to handle the information that Tillmann was always going to be there. Any hopes of speaking to his men while he was away just vanished. And apparently, Tillmann himself was going to be harder to convince than I thought.

    ¡°That¡¯s all I know. If you want to destroy it, you¡¯ll have to figure out how yourself.¡±

    ¡°No problem,¡± I said, moving towards the door. Yua pulled Mana to follow, but I stopped before reaching the knob when another pressing question struck me. ¡°Is the Duke of Guerraway working with this Lord Argento to gather the crystals?¡±

    ¡°Huh? No. From what I¡¯ve heard, he thinks Lord Argento¡¯s only here to negotiate better trade deals. Far as I know, he doesn¡¯t even know the crystals exist.¡±

    Then Sir Astore and his knights must just be there to protect their lord, not his ambitions. But if the Duke of Guerraway was actually allowing them to block off such an important part of the city, Lord Argento must have a lot of sway when it comes to trading between nations. The Duke must be desperate to keep him happy and Lord Argento must be using the negotiations as a pretense to gather the crystals.

    At least this way we won¡¯t have the Duke breathing down our necks by handing over the crystal mine to the cat-kin. We might even be able to seek his help by telling him a bunch of thieves are camping in the forest. He¡¯s not likely to let that pass and whatever troops he could muster would be a god-send. It would make this so much easier confronting Tillmann with a bunch of the city¡¯s knights on top of whatever Adventurers the duke hires.

    And as for the crystals, I¡¯m sure the Amoranth auction house would salivate at the thought of selling them all for Tama. He can earn the tribe a good deal of coin and buy up as much food as they need to compensate for what happened to the forest.

    I¡¯m already feeling closer to officially having a second wife.

    My eyes wandered to Mana, who been looking bored of the conversation after her question had been answered, but I felt my heart clench when her big blue eyes lit up. She smiled at me and I pulled her hood over her head to hide her ultimate power.

    ¡°Thank you for your help,¡± I said, reaching for the door. ¡°I think it might be safer for you if you stay here until all this is done.¡±

    He looked to his blades and slumped. It won¡¯t do anyone any good if he tries to take revenge and dies in the process.

    ¡°W-Wait! No matter what happens, don¡¯t tell Tillmann what I told you.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t. You have my word.¡±

    I pulled the door open after checking the hall and, after she put her hood back on, Yua led Mana out of the room.

    ¡°We¡¯ll have you back with your family in no time.¡±

    With those hopeful words, we left his room and once I was sure the coast was clear, I opened a portal back to our room.

    Mana quickly ripped off her cloak and jumped onto the bed while Yua carefully folded hers and tucked it into her backpack. Finally done wondering the city for the day, I kicked off my boots.

    ¡°Alex.¡±

    At the sweet sound of Yua¡¯s voice, I turned to find her waiting by the door. She looked pensive as I worked on removing my leather jacket.

    ¡°We know how to get past the barrier, but what are we going to do about Tillmann? You heard him. Neither Tillmann nor Lord Argento are going to give up so easily.¡±

    ¡°Maybe not,¡± I said, tossing my jacket into my item box. ¡°But Tillmann is a Thief. We can let the city officials know where he is. Then we can let him know that they¡¯re after him.¡±

    Knowing he might be up against a city¡¯s worth of soldiers, he¡¯d probably run. And that¡¯s not even including the threat of the Adventurers or cat-kin joining the fight. He may be super strong, but what idiot would willingly face down an army with only a handful of men? Better yet, him running means him leaving the forest. And there¡¯s no way Tama would let him back in.

    If luck was on our side and we played our cards right, we could win without lifting a finger.

    ¡°And Lord Argento, would probably hop onto his boat and run away back to Dragma once the Duke finds out he¡¯s involved.¡±

    Even if the forest belongs to the cat-kin, it¡¯s still a part of the Vierre kingdom. So, if a would-be ally nation is found to be stealing large quantities of something so valuable, it could spark something huge between the two countries. Hopefully it won¡¯t end up with the two going to war, but even if I can¡¯t say I know much about how the politics of the world works, I¡¯m sure Lord Argento wouldn¡¯t want to be known for starting the war just to line his pockets. He¡¯d probably shift all the blame on Tillmann and high-tail it out of here.

    ¡°I think we just have to let the two lords know what we know and the problem will more or less solve itself.¡±

    I pulled off my shirt and tossed it into my item box as well.

    ¡°If you¡¯re going to them for help, why not just open the barrier and let Daddy handle it like he said?¡±

    ¡°Because I don¡¯t want anyone to get hurt. Including him.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    ¡°After what we just learned, we¡¯ve been offered a way to end this peacefully. Why not try and make that happen?¡±

    ¡°I just think it would be faster if we¡­ What are you doing?¡±

    I leaned my sword against the nightstand, unclasped my belt and started on my pants. When I had them halfway down my legs, Yua tilted her head at me.

    ¡°I¡¯m getting ready for bed. It¡¯s late. There¡¯s no way the Duke would agree to meet now. We¡¯ll have to try again tomorrow morning.¡±

    Our talk with Arthur lasted long enough for daylight to recede into the ocean. There was nothing outside the window now but the moon and stars above.

    Unlike with my first few nights together with Yua, I felt no need to hide the fact that I preferred sleeping in the nude from Mana. In fact¡­

    ¡°Wait! Does that mean I can take my clothes off too?!¡±

    ¡­ she might want to join me.

    Mana jumped to attention on the bed and smiled brightly enough to say I couldn¡¯t have refused her if I¡¯d wanted to.

    ¡°Go ahead.¡±

    ¡°Yes!! Finally!!¡±

    Rolling onto her back, Mana hiked her hips and legs high up into the air. Her skirt fell and her fingers slipped under her panties so fast I barely had the chance to see them before she yanked them down so hard she lost her balance and rolled backwards off the bed. Landing spectacularly on her ass, she immediately tossed her underwear to the floor and started on her corset by clawing at the strings binding it.

    Chuckling at her enthusiasm, I knelt beside her to start untying it so she didn¡¯t ruin it.

    Smiling, Yua let out a small sigh and started unbuttoning her blouse. As she did, and as her shapely breasts came into view, she shot a catty smile my way.

    ¡°If we¡¯re going to bed, how about I try on that negligee you bought earlier?¡±

    So, you did know what it was¡­

    ¡°Haha¡­ I don¡¯t think so. Not tonight, at least.¡±

    Openly confused that I¡¯d actively turn her down, Yua let her blouse drop to the floor before quickly shaking her head and stooping to fold it into her bag.

    Sleeping in the nude with Mana in the room wouldn¡¯t be a problem, but knowing how she felt about me and the limitations placed on us by her father, I felt that forcing her to watch as we had sex would have just been mean. And I knew the sight of Yua in that negligee wouldn¡¯t stir up my desires. We were already going to be sharing the bed with her, so we¡¯d have to keep it in our proverbial pants for the time being.

    As soon as I had her corset off, Mana was on her feet and yanking her dress off over her head. Smiling at the sight of her tail¡¯s happy swishing as her bare ass came into view, I took out the more family-friendly nightgown I bought specifically for this reason. Yua happily accepted it, but Mana screwed up her face at the sight of it.

    ¡°Why are you making Big Sis put more clothes on?¡± she asked, already fully naked herself.

    ¡°Because this is how he wants me to sleep,¡± Yua answered with an easy-going smile as she tucked her skirt into her bag. ¡°You should put one on, too.¡±

    ¡°No way!¡±

    Dropping the dress she¡¯d been holding like it had burned her, Mana jumped onto the bed, knocking off one of the pillows, and threw the covers over herself. Poking just her head out, she glared at us.

    ¡°If Big Bro isn¡¯t wearing any, I won¡¯t either.¡±

    Laughing, I pulled off my undershorts and tossed them in with the rest of my things. I lifted the sheets and crawled in beside her. Exasperated, Yua pulled her nightgown on over her head and joined us.

    Finding a comfortable spot resting her head on my right bicep as I held her, Yua leaned over me and said, ¡°You¡¯ll have to put your clothes back on in them morning.¡±

    ¡°Mmmm!¡±

    Grumbling loudly, Mana copied her big sis by snuggling up to me on my left. Although, she took it a step further by throwing a leg over my hips.

    Feeling the soft warmth of two beautiful girls pressing against me in bed, I was almost grateful for the day¡¯s fatigue weighing down on my eyelids.

    Even more so, I was thankful for the fact that Mochi wasn¡¯t here. He might have forgiven me when Mana snuck into our tent last night, but I didn¡¯t have any excuses for not turning her away this time.

    ¡°Big Bro, don¡¯t you want to mate with Big Sis? I don¡¯t mind.¡±

    ¡°N-Not tonight. We¡¯re tired. Right, Yua?¡±

    ¡°Hehe. If you say so.¡±

    Tightening the arm I held Yua with just a tiny bit more, I decided to enjoy her giggles as Mana¡¯s ears flicked against me.

    ¡°But your manhood is hard.¡±

    That¡¯s because you¡¯re not wearing clothes! or so I¡¯d like to say. I didn¡¯t want to start anything with her, either. Maybe I should have just ignored her willingness and kept myself covered. Least that way I wouldn¡¯t have to feel her softer parts directly.

    ¡°Just try to ignore it.¡±

    ¡°Okay then?¡±

    Sounding confused, Mana closed her eyes and, looking profoundly comfortable, easily drifted off to sleep. These girls grew up sleeping beneath a tent, so what did it matter if I was the one pitching it?

    We¡¯d have to get up early tomorrow and kick everything in motion. Thanks to our talk with Arthur, wee were one step closer to completing Tama¡¯s request. After that, all we had to do was pick some flowers. We could even call it a date between the three of us.

    I chuckled to myself at the thought. Yua laid a hand on my chest and eventually drifted off too, keeping that beautiful smile of hers throughout her snoozing. After the scare in the forest and having my life threatened, I didn''t need to be convinced to sink into my pillow and drift off with them.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 18

    ¡°Mmph¡­ Mmph¡­ Mmph.¡±

    An electric jolt ripped up my spine, knocking aside every vertebra in its way to set the pleasure center of my brain alight. My thoughts raced behind my eyelids, bouncing off the walls of my mind in a blind panic-fueled heat and confusion that the mind could not parse when half asleep. It was as stimulant a thousand times more potent than a cup of coffee and yet, I couldn¡¯t immediately tell wear it was coming from.

    ¡°Mmph¡­ Mmph¡­ Mmph.¡±

    Forced back to consciousness by the sun pouring down on me through the window, somehow the first thing I¡¯d noticed was that Mana was still beside me in bed, slumbering away. It was the steady rise and fall of her chest that made me realize I had at some point started groping her tiny breast again.

    ¡°Mmph¡­ Mmph¡­ Mmph.¡±

    But the slick, warm sensations assaulting my lower half stole away with my attention. Groggy, but mostly alert, I sat up on my elbows to find that Yua¡¯s spot on my right side was empty. However, she was not gone. She simply tossed our half of the blanket off onto Mana and migrated between my legs.

    Bent over, I could see her own sizeable breasts slowly rocking back and forth through the extended collar of her nightgown each time she lowered her face over my hips. After a night of sound slumber, her nightgown had become a little loose on her, offering the occasional quick glance at the pink buds that were normally just out of sight.

    It was like waking from a dream, only to fall right back into another.

    Seeing that she¡¯d roused me, she smiled, her luscious, peachy lips wrapped tight around my enraged morning wood. Her ears gave a flick, as if to say she¡¯d done her duty waking me this morning, but she lowered her head again regardless. Shocked speechless by the experience and by pleasure, I could say nothing as I watched my cock slowly disappear behind her lips.

    ¡°Mmph¡­ Mmph¡­ Mmph.¡±

    My eyes rolled back as her tongue assaulted me. I almost fell back into the pillow, almost ready to give in to this dream-like situation and let her have her way without question when¡­

    ¡°Mmn¡­¡±

    Mana cooed in my arms. Her eyes didn¡¯t open and her small slumbering smile didn¡¯t waver. She was still perfectly asleep. I realized that I¡¯d accidentally squeezed her breast to combat the pleasure.

    Yua¡¯s emerald eyes noticed this, but the casual flick of her tail was all that she needed to get the message across. Despite her loving service, she did not mind where my hand was. Instead, her delicate fingers cupped themselves around my package and slowly fondled away.

    ¡°W-wait, Yua,¡± I whispered, my voice wavering. ¡°What about Mana?¡±

    The whole reason we held back last night was for her sake. Yua knew that, but for her to jump on me first thing in the morning¡­

    ¡°Mmph¡­ Mwah!¡±

    With a wet, smiling pop, she slipped my cock out of her mouth. Looking upon it as though its shining rigidity were some great accomplishment, she let out a small laugh.

    ¡°Hehe. It¡¯s fine. Knowing her, she¡¯ll sleep right through this as long as you keep your voice down,¡± she said, then pressed her tongue hard against my shaft before dragging it up, as if testing me. I failed. ¡°Besides, I did promise to practice this every morning, remember? Mmph¡­¡±

    Before I could respond, she drew me back into her mouth and her heat enveloped me.

    ¡°¡­! But you didn¡¯t do it yesterday.¡±

    ¡°Hmmph?¡± she hummed, her tongue vibrating against me. ¡°Mmph¡­ But I did. I woke up, licked your penis, then went to wake Daddy. Meeting my people must have just exhausted you so much that you didn¡¯t wake up. Oh, but don¡¯t worry. I swallowed your semens like you asked me to. Mmph¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s hardly the issue here¡­ Fuck.¡±

    The saliva she left dripping down my shaft caught the breeze carried by her voice and I shuddered with every syllable. And then she took me again without any sort of warning.

    I couldn¡¯t tell which was worse, the feeling of an approaching orgasm I¡¯d missed most of the build up to, or the fact that my first wakeup blowjob had gone entirely unnoticed. I could almost reprimand myself for missing such an important show of affection from her, but my attention was mislead by the sight of her head bobbing so enthusiastically. Never in a thousand years did I think she was being serious when she made that flirty offer.

    She said she was practicing, but I didn¡¯t need to be any sort of beast-kin to know that that wasn¡¯t entirely true. The coquettish quirk in her lips may have been leaking with saliva and precum, but I could tell she was enjoying the fact that she was bringing me a great deal of pleasure. It was the will of the cat-kin to make sure their mates were left satisfied and I¡¯ll be damned if she wasn¡¯t doing just that.

    But, Goddess, she didn¡¯t need to practice at all. It was only her third time doing this for me and, while she still couldn¡¯t take more than half my cock at a time, the way she moved her tongue was enough for my braincells to begin an emergency shut down in protest of the flood of pleasure.

    Her ears flicked the same time her tongue lapped around my lower head. I shuddered, clenched my hips and reflexively squeezed Mana¡¯s breast again. And seeing this, it almost looked like Yua smirked.

    I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was using her ears the same way I used my perfect memory. Where I searched and memorized the places that made her squirm with unrefined ecstasy in bed, she was dutifully listening to the palpitations of my heart to probe for better ways to assault me.

    And the fact that I had to keep my voice down was torture. It was all I could do to mutter a quiet apology for asking her to hold back last night. Damn near every night without fail, we¡¯d embraced each other. She must have become just as accustomed to it as I had. And I¡¯d left her wanting.

    ¡°Mmph¡­ Mmph¡­Mmph¡­!¡±

    Just when I¡¯d surrendered to her tongue and released the flood gates she worked so diligently to weaken, Yua¡¯s eyes darted to Mana as her cheeks began to fill with an explosion of one-sided lust.

    ¡°Mmn¡­ Big Bro, stop squeezing my booby so hard.¡±

    Sitting up, but not bothering to remove my hand from her chest as the blanket fell away from her nude body, Mana rubbed at her eye. With an unladylike disregard for appearances, she through her head back and yawned loudly. Then her ears flicked.

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    Still sleepy, maybe even actually still half-asleep, Mana turned her big blue eyes to Yua. Yua gulped. Then gulped again, and then again, a third time and yet her cheeks still remained filled. Weak as she made me, my hand fell from Mana finally just in time for her to tilt her head at me.

    ¡°Big Bro, why is she eating your manhood again?¡±

    Of course, I knew we didn¡¯t really need to hold back due to her sensibilities, or lack thereof, but she just woke up to find the climax of Yua blowing me and she didn¡¯t look remotely bothered. Hell, even Yua was greedily gulping down the fruit of her effort just to answer her.

    ¡°Mmph¡­ Haaa¡­ Haaa¡­ I told you before, I¡¯m not eating it. I¡¯m licking it. It makes him feel good.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Oh yea¡­ Mm. Big Bro,¡± Mana rubbed her eyes again. ¡°Human beds are so comfy. Do you have one where you live with Big Sis?¡±

    Barely able to finish her question, Mana threw a leg over my hips and fell forwards onto me a hug, nuzzling her cheek into my bare chest. Unbothered by the fact that she was suddenly faced with the sight of Mana¡¯s swaying tail as well as her bare pussy, Yua wiped her chin and started drying my monster off with a handkerchief she¡¯d found in her backpack. Smiling warmly, she didn¡¯t look at all upset for the interruption.

    My eye twitched at her every sensitive touch, but I distracted myself by patting Mana¡¯s head. My first night in a real bed after a month of sleeping on only hard surfaces had me feeling extra energized. And seeing Mana so cutely snuggled up to me, looking ready to fall asleep again, I resolved to make time to track down a proper bed for us all.

    After Yua¡¯s lewd wakeup call ended and after bribing Mana with a breakfast of her choosing just to get her to put some clothes on, we all got straight to work feeling refreshed and energetic.

    It took some time, but after asking around a bit, we found the Duke¡¯s place. A lone mansion stretched out in front of us, one larger than any I¡¯d seen in Amoranth. The only one in the city, it almost looked like it¡¯d eaten the homes of all the other nobility in the area and swelled with their size, but it was still almost perfectly inviting. Almost.

    Were it not for the ten-foot wall of brick and steel that stretched around it and the armed guards patrolling the gate, it might have looked like a popular tourist destination.

    ¡°Halt!¡±

    One such guard quickly spotted us walking down the road and hurried over. Clad head to toe in armor that was so overly polished that the glare reflecting off it was blinding, he had to lift his helm¡¯s visor to look at us. He didn¡¯t seem to like what he saw.

    ¡°You are trespassing on Duke Callahan¡¯s property. State your business or leave.¡±

    Trespassing? Why even give me a chance to speak if you think I¡¯m trespassing?

    Seemingly just as confused, the other guard manning the gate palmed his forehead and sighed. I guess this one was new?

    ¡°Excuse me, Sirs,¡± I said politely after the warning I got from Yua yesterday. ¡°If possible, we¡¯d like to speak with the Duke. We don¡¯t have an appointment, but it¡¯s really important that¡­¡±

    ¡°Denied. Now leave.¡±

    ¡°Please wait, Sir,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ve come to warn the Duke that a group of thieves have been spotted in the forest near here.¡±

    ¡°Then you should take this to the Captain of the Guard, not the Duke. Duke Callahan is too busy to worry about such trifles.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Then could you tell me where I can find the Captain?¡±

    ¡°In the mansion,¡± he said flatly, throwing a thumb over his shoulder. ¡°And he¡¯s busy speaking with the Duke, so don¡¯t bother him.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    ¡°I said the Duke doesn¡¯t have the time to be bothered by a couple of peasants. Ship off or I¡¯ll have to put you in irons.¡±

    I knew it¡¯d be hard to get an audience with the Duke without making some sort of request, but why¡¯s this guy got such a huge stick up his ass? Is this what it means to be a guard for the nobility? You have to act like an unmovable dick every time someone steps up to your post?

    No. The men guarding the city gates weren¡¯t this abrasive, and they actively thought Yua and Mana were up to no good. I mean, even the other guard is shaking his head!

    ¡°Um¡­¡±

    Stepping up beside me, Mana craned her neck to look up at the man. With a sneer, he turned his attention to her and his eyes widened. Mana, seemingly unawares of the guard¡¯s attitude, tilted her head cutely to the side, her long black hair spilling down from her hood. Her big blue eyes were locked dead on his and he went still, suddenly gripping his spear for support. Nearly falling anyways, he was transfixed.

    ¡°Why can¡¯t we meet your Chief?¡±

    ¡°O-Our chief?¡± the guard stammered, the cheeks of his helm steaming. He coughed into his fist. ¡°The Duke is making plans to meet with a very important nobleman from another country. He does not have the time to meet with anyone else today, regardless of appointment.¡±

    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    ¡°You mean Lord Argento, right?¡± I continued, piggy-backing off Mana¡¯s cuteness. ¡°That¡¯s why we wanted to warn the Duke. The thieves are working with him.¡±

    ¡°What? Utter nonsense. Why would¡­¡±

    ¡°Hold it.¡± The other guard, whose armor was much less shiny, stepped up an shoved the other back. ¡°I am Sergeant Nilhorn. Charle here is new and, clearly, he doesn¡¯t understand how to greet the Duke¡¯s guests. Here I thought you¡¯d learned your lesson yesterday.¡±

    ¡°M-My apologies, Sergeant!¡±

    For some reason, Charle¡¯s knees started knocking together in a violent tremble. Sergeant Nilhorn sighed at the sight, but couldn¡¯t quite stop the slight tremble in his own knees from showing when it made his armor clank and creak.

    ¡°Do please excuse his rudeness.¡±

    ¡°Sir, he¡¯s the one disrespecting the Duke, showing up unannounced.¡±

    ¡°Oh, quit trying to cozy up to the Duke already,¡± Nilhorn said over his shoulder. ¡°Your family made off like bandits when he married your cousin. You¡¯re ingratiated enough. Now be quiet.¡±

    ¡°¡­ M-My apologies, sir.¡±

    Wow. Must have hit the nail on the head there. He didn¡¯t even try to deny it.

    ¡°Now,¡± Nilhorn turned back to me. ¡°What¡¯s this about thieves?¡±

    ¡°My name is Alex, an Adventurer from Amoranth. These two are Yua and Mana. I was hired by their people to investigate a disturbance in the forest. That¡¯s how we found out about the thieves. We came to warn the Duke that we overheard them speaking about a partnership with Lord Argento.¡±

    He nodded with a quizzical arch to his brow, but he didn¡¯t look anywhere near as concerned as I thought he¡¯d be.

    ¡°And why, pray tell, have you come to the Duke with this information? Why not the captain of the guard, as my companion suggested?¡±

    ¡°Because we also heard them mention a meeting between the Duke and Lord Argento.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t exactly tell them we were technically working with one of the thieves, but I was happy to see that this sparked some genuine shock in the man. His eyes widened and he looked to Charle, who shook his head violently. However, he then put his hand on the hilt of his sword, his entire body tensing to draw it if the need arose.

    ¡°Only a select few in this city know about Lord Argento¡¯s visit or about that meeting. I only know because I received the Lord¡¯s messenger a few days ago. How exactly do you know about it?¡±

    ¡°Like I said, we overheard the thieves talking,¡± I said, gesturing to Yua. She kindly took the hint and lowered her hood. Noticing her pointed ears, Sergeant Nilhorn eased up a bit.

    ¡°I see¡­ Alex, right? If your friend here heard all that, what else did she hear?¡±

    Showing that indominable warrior¡¯s spirit, Yua didn¡¯t so much as flinch when the conversation turned to her.

    ¡°They are stealing cart-fulls of Essence Crystals from my people.¡±

    ¡°C-Cart-fulls? Of Essence Crystals? How could your people possibly buy that many?¡±

    ¡°We found a mine full of them in the forest,¡± she said. Apparently, she¡¯d judged that neither of the helmeted men were beast-kin that could tell she was lying through her teeth. ¡°They were trying to sell them to Lord Argento, but the shipment was delayed.¡±

    ¡°Cart-fulls¡­ Wait, why was the shipment delayed?¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t know that part,¡± I said. ¡°But we know this because we heard one of the thieves speaking with Sir Astore down by the docks.¡±

    ¡°By the gods¡­¡±

    Hearing that man¡¯s name, Nilhorn stumbled back a step before catching himself. It looked like he received a heavy blow to the gut, but I was pretty sure Yua didn¡¯t hit him. And, cute as Mana is, I doubted her face was the culprit.

    ¡°What¡¯s so worrying about him?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know? Sir Astore¡¯s a master duelist. For the last ten years, he¡¯s remained undefeated in Dragma¡¯s annual sword-fighting competition. And he¡¯s a former commander in Dragma¡¯s imperial army. It¡¯s said that, when once his troops were routed in battle, he alone stayed behind to face several hundreds of soldiers so his men could retreat. That day, not only did he return mostly unharmed, but he single-handedly cut down over a hundred men and continued to swing his sword until the his enemies fled from him in terror. Stories of his prowess in battle have made it to every kingdom on the continent.¡±

    Fantastic. I knew he was a higher level, but if any of that was true, he must be incredibly skilled. And if true, Nilhorn¡¯s worry made sense. If things here turned violent, he¡¯d be one of the ones forced to fight that man.

    ¡°Why is he working for a guy like Lord Argento then? If he¡¯s so powerful, shouldn¡¯t he be glued to the Emperor¡¯s hip?¡±

    ¡°How the hell should I know? But if he is, and what you say is true¡­ I need to warn the Duke.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what we¡¯re here for. If you would just¡­¡±

    ¡°No,¡± he said, composing himself. ¡°The Duke is busy. We are under strict order to allow no one to pass. Rest assured, though, that I will relay everything you¡¯ve told me here today, but your part in this is done.¡±

    Sergeant Nilhorn headed past his befuddled companion for the gate.

    ¡°Wait. About the thieves. There¡¯s at least twelve of them, maybe more. And their leader is a dwarf named Tillmann. Have you heard of him?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t say that I have, but thanks for the warning. You go on and head home. Once the Duke hears about this, he will want to gather a subjugation force to deal with them after the meeting. If you want to be a part of it, wait by your local guild. Until then, speak of this to no one,¡± he said, then added to Charle, ¡°That goes for you too.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what do you mean after the meeting? They¡¯re out there right now and they¡¯re working with Lord Argento.¡±

    ¡°I agree that it¡¯s worrying, but it¡¯s not up to me. Regardless of the circumstances, this meeting must happen.¡±

    The trade negotiations, right? Arthur mentioned as much, but is it really that big a deal? Better yet, does it matter? The Lord might be offering to make a deal, but it could all be a ruse, an excuse to be there to smuggle the crystals onto his boat. Surely, they have to see that.

    Without leaving room for further debate, Sergeant Nilhorn slipped through the gate and locked it behind him. For what it was worth, he did take off running towards the mansion. At least he took this seriously.

    Charle stared at us, some of the wall-like fa?ade he wore before returning to him. Yua pulled her hood back on and we reluctantly made our exit.

    ¡°Well, that didn¡¯t go exactly like I thought it would,¡± I said, falling back into our bed at the inn. ¡°Least we got the message across.¡±

    Can¡¯t really say I thought the Duke would rally his troops the moment we spoke to him, but I was hoping he¡¯d do something. If he¡¯s planning on requesting aid from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild in Amoranth, then we can¡¯t really expect help anytime soon.

    ¡°And now that the Duke knows that Lord Argento might be playing him, he might be extra cautious in sending his own men to handle the thieves.¡±

    For all the good it would do, I couldn¡¯t exactly warn him that Tillmann¡¯s level was actually higher than Sir Astore¡¯s without explaining how I knew. If he thinks Sir Astore poses a greater threat, then he¡¯ll keep his men here to defend the city should something happen, meaning Tillmann is free to do as he pleases.

    At least the thieves don¡¯t seem to be outwardly violent, preferring to keep to themselves inside that barrier.

    ¡°Alex,¡± Yua started, pensively clenching her cloak. ¡°I know you wanted to do this yourself, but I really think we need to warn Daddy. Tillmann¡¯s one thing, but if that Sir Astore picks a fight, then¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­ You may be right.¡±

    An over-leveled dwarf is one thing, but if some famous knight from another country gets involved, we won¡¯t have a choice but to ask for his help. Relying on the Duke to convince Lord Argento to give up his ambitions would be stupid. And that¡¯s assuming he even meant to try. He might still only think of the meeting in terms of trade negotiations, except, maybe he¡¯ll choose his words a little more cautiously to not provoke Sir Astore¡¯s blade.

    ¡°Yua, go back to the village and tell your father everything. Tell him everything we learned about the thieves, the barrier, the crystals, about Tillmann, Sir Astore and Lord Argento. Leave nothing out.¡±

    ¡°Okay, but aren¡¯t you coming with me?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d love to, but¡­¡±

    I don¡¯t think my heart¡¯s ready to return to that nudist haven just yet. Besides¡­

    ¡°If I go, Mochi¡¯s just going to try and pin me down and demand I send Mana home. And obviously Mana doesn¡¯t want to go back yet, either. Right?¡±

    ¡°Yup!¡±

    With a huge grin that seemed pleased I remembered, Mana jumped onto the bed to sit beside me. Locking her arms around mine, she might as well have chained the both of us to Guerraway.

    Yua¡¯s shoulders and tail slumped, but she ultimately nodded.

    ¡°Mochi¡¯s definitely going to try that with me, too. But maybe I can get Daddy to keep him off me. Although, it might at least ease his mind if I tell him you made it safely to us.¡±

    ¡°Yup! Thank you, Big Sis. I know I upset Daddy, but I don¡¯t regret it. Oh! Don¡¯t tell him I said that. Just, um, tell him I¡¯m sorry. And let him know that Big Bro is keeping me safe. And that the human food here is tasty.¡±

    ¡°And?¡±

    ¡°And? And what?¡±

    Staring down at the smaller cat girl, Yua crossed her arms and waited. The expectant arch to her brow proved useless, though, as Mana didn¡¯t seem to get what she meant. And frankly, neither did I.

    ¡°Ugh¡­ Don¡¯t you want him to know that Alex hasn¡¯t bled you yet? He must be worried sick about that.¡±

    ¡°Oh, uh, yea. That too, please.¡±

    Her tail swishing happily, Mana didn¡¯t look remotely embarrassed to have that subject brought up. And with her father, no less.

    Still, that was the second reason why I didn¡¯t want to go. I couldn¡¯t say with any level of certainty that he wouldn¡¯t attack me on sight. And with how I woke up this morning, I can¡¯t say I wouldn¡¯t deserve it. Last time was accidental, but I¡¯d noticed this time and didn¡¯t stop myself. Can¡¯t exactly tell him my lower brain was having the time of its life while I was groping his daughter.

    Sighing no doubt for the headache to come, Yua slipped off her cloak and folded it neatly into her bag. Then, reaching for the buttons of her blouse, she froze, her tail nearly going stiff with unease.  Biting her lip, she slowly turned to me.

    ¡°A-Alex, I know you won¡¯t be there, but¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Yua,¡± I said, knowing what she wanted to ask. ¡°You don¡¯t need to ask anymore. As long as it¡¯s your village we¡¯re talking about visiting, you don¡¯t have to worry about clothes. In fact, in your village and only in your village, feel free to live as one of your people.¡±

    I¡¯ve met her people and am fully aware they won¡¯t look at her in a sexual light purely because she has a mate, me. Their ways are too strict in that regard and the constant nudity surrounding them means they wouldn¡¯t even give her a second glance. Least, not in that way.

    Experience says there¡¯s no point in worrying. I was fine with this. And I¡¯ve been away from them long enough to say I was thinking clearly on the matter.

    ¡°Yes! Thank you!¡±

    Dashing across the room, Yua nearly tackled me into the bed. Her thanks came in the form of a dozen or so kisses placed wherever her lips found me. Pulling back, I saw that there were the beginnings of tears in her eyes as she hurriedly unbuttoned and threw off her blouse.

    Did she think I was only going to allow it the one time? After seeing how much it meant to her, I don¡¯t think I could ever reject the idea of given her the freedom she so craved. At least, not unless I knew non-cat-kin were going to be there to ogle her.

    Hurrying as though she thought I was going to change my mind, Yua pulled off her panties and crammed all her things into her bag, this time without stopping to fold any of it.

    ¡°That means I don¡¯t have to wear clothes too, right?¡± Mana said, hitting me with a sneak attack of her puppy dog pout. I had to clench my jaw to withstand it.

    ¡°Obviously. I¡¯m not going to let her do it and not you.¡±

    Mana¡¯s hands flew to her cloak, but I stopped her with a pat on the head.

    ¡°Hey!¡±

    ¡°I meant when you visit the village. Here you still have to wear them. Besides, you and I still have things to do.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Really? I thought we were just gonna wait for Big Sis to come back. I wanted to lay on the bed for a while.¡±

    I blinked at her. They said she was lazy, but even at a time like this?

    ¡°You and I are going to go talk to some people. That¡¯s all.¡±

    There was no help in the fact that Yua would need time to share what she learned and instead of lazing about, we were going to try and help in our own way.

    If Tillmann thought spreading rumors about the cat-kin would keep people out of the forest, then spreading our own rumors about a bunch of thieves doing wicked things in the forest ought to rile up the people into demanding action. In theory, anyways.

    Maybe I¡¯ll throw in a ¡°oh, woe is me, they¡¯re kidnapping people to force them into helping their crimes,¡± too. Might as well ruin their reputation the way they did the cat-kin¡¯s.

    ¡°U-Um, Alex,¡± Yua said, standing before the both of us in her birthday suit. Her tail was practically whipping up a storm in anticipation. ¡°Can you, um, the portal?¡±

    I laughed, knowing that I probably shouldn¡¯t. The final reason why I was sending her alone was because she was the one that wanted to go the most. She pretended to be calm when we left yesterday, but I knew she was hiding her desire to stay longer for my sake.

    So, I cast Dimensional Step and threw open a portal connecting to the spot by the river near the village, thinking it might be free of any Mochis trying to reach through and strangle me. She waited as impatiently as I¡¯d ever seen her for the blue lights to swirl into place.

    ¡°Thank you!¡±

    ¡°And Yua.¡±

    She whipped around to me, wearing a smile like a child waiting in line for a rollercoaster. She dashed back, planted one more kiss on my lips and rushed to the portal.

    ¡°Try not to start too many fights.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll teleport you back in a couple of hours. Watch for the portal in the same spot!¡±

    With that, Yua jumped through the portal and into the section of forest miles away from where I sat. I let the lights fizzle out as soon as she was through and Mana and I sat in silence for a moment. But only for a moment.

    ¡°¡­ She¡¯s going to fight everyone she meets, isn¡¯t she?¡±

    ¡°Yup, definitely. Big Sis is just like that.¡±

    Nothing to be done about that. At least she wouldn¡¯t come back to me in a bunch of broken pieces with all those Monks living there. I should be more concerned with what might happen should Mochi try to follow her back through.

    I stood and offered Mana a hand to get us started. But she didn¡¯t take it. Thinking she was just pouting about the clothes thing or second guessing her wish to stay, I leaned over to look at her.

    Her eyes were wide and full of hate as she stared at the bedroom door. She stood, then immediately lowered into a crouch as her fingernails extended into claws. Ready to pounce at the slightest provocation, her ears gave a sharp flick, signaling the approach of something a human like me couldn¡¯t even guess at.

    ¡°Mana, what is it? Who¡¯s there?¡±

    Knock. Knock. Knock.

    The sound of someone rapping their knuckles on the bedroom door resounded across the room. It was such a dainty set of thuds that I knew it had to be a woman.

    Did that cyclops innkeeper somehow notice the girls? Yua made sure we were alone before we teleported into or out of the room. And the window¡¯s closed, so the sound-proofing enchantment is still in effect. Nobody should know they¡¯re here with me. Or did someone notice we spilled the beans to the Duke? Did they follow us?

    I grabbed the hilt of my sword and started to draw.

    Maybe I should call Yua back. She can¡¯t have run too far in such a short amount of time.

    ¡°Who is it? Can you tell?¡±

    ¡°The evil ones.¡±

    ¡°You mean the thieves?¡±

    She shook her head, growling like a rabid animal. Then¡­

    ¡°Grrr¡­¡­ Hmm?¡±

    A wave of curiosity suddenly hit her. She shook her head sharply and sniffed the air a couple times, then stood again. Now looking completely and utterly relaxed, she hid her claws and sprawled out on the bed, once more in a very unladylike fashion.

    Did I just hallucinate the sheer menace she was exuding a second ago? Did seeing the true beauty of Yua¡¯s naked form break my brain?

    ¡°Um, Mana, what happened?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± she said, hanging her feet off the bed to kick them. ¡°It¡¯s not Booby-Lady. I thought it was, but it¡¯s not.¡±

    Confused, but confident in her calm, I unlocked the door and opened it. There, waiting in the hall, hand raised to knock again, was a dog-eared girl. Complete with frilled white-on-black dress. The only things openly dangerous about her were the bustline and cleavage that her tight maid dress accentuated.

    Hiding her surprise, Erika took a short step back and bowed. Her floppy dog ears dangled loosely over her short black hair.

    ¡°Good afternoon, Sir Alex. Please pardon my intrusion, but my mistress wishes to speak with you. Alone.¡±

 Volume 2 - Chapter 19a

    ¡°My mistress, Lady Elane Bellenfort, wishes to speak with you.¡±

    As disbelief forced me to hold my tongue, Erika repeated herself. Ever polite, she carefully dipped her chin in an elegant bow that would have seemed unbearably rigid had her dog ears not swayed with the movement.

    Miss Bellenfort did seem to let me off the hook rather easily, but I never thought she¡¯d come for me so soon. And right after Yua left.

    ¡°How did you find us?¡±

    We¡¯d made sure we were far enough from her when we parted that she couldn¡¯t have heard us talk about the inn. Maybe we underestimated her ears?

    Erika lifted her chin and shook her head, denying the thought.

    ¡°I tracked you through scent,¡± she said, looking around the room. ¡°There may be a sound-muffling enchantment placed on this room, but it does not hide your scent. And because of my mistress, I am now very familiar with it.¡±

    ¡°Tch¡­¡±

    Miss Bellenfort must have held onto the both of us long enough for our scents to rub off on her.

    She tracked our scent through an entire city¡¯s worth of people, restaurants cooking various foods, all the ovens burning wood for fuel and warmth and even the salty ocean air? Is this girl a bipedal bloodhound or something? I am almost positive neither Yua and Mana can do that.

    ¡°I have been instructed to not take no for an answer.¡±

    ¡°Oh, really? And she sent you to force me to come?¡±

    This girl was a level 1 Beast-Warrior without a second class. Her stats would most likely be similar to Mana¡¯s, but with Mana growing up in a culture of warriors that actively loved to fight, while Erika was practicing at being a maid, she wouldn¡¯t stand much chance. And that wasn¡¯t even counting my own abilities.

    She can¡¯t force us to do anything and I¡¯m not exactly keen on having an axe shoved in my face again.

    ¡°C-Calm down, Sir,¡± Erika said, waving her hands. ¡°I d-don¡¯t wish for violence.¡±

    She must have noticed a change in my heartbeat while I held the hilt of my sword, I took a breath. No need to get antsy just yet. If Mana was right, then Miss Bellenfort isn¡¯t even here.

    ¡°But, um,¡± Erika continued, looking over her shoulder. ¡°Perhaps we should continue this discussion inside?¡±

    ¡°Why? Your mistress ask you to threaten us some other way?¡±

    ¡°N-No, um, how should I¡­ You see, the innkeeper and her friends pulled me aside and forced me to show proof that I was not a cat-kin before she let me go upstairs.¡±

    ¡°What, are your ears not proof enough?¡±

    Erika shook her head, and in doing so, made her ears flop about.

    ¡°To most non-beast-kin, it can be hard to tell the difference.¡±

    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s true.¡±

    While I¡¯d typically say most cats have pointed ears, I know that¡¯s not always the case. The ears of some breeds may look like hers, assuming different breeds of cat-kin even exist. Should probably clarify that with Yua later.

    ¡°Wait¡­ Did the innkeeper force you to show your tail to prove it?¡±

    Unlike Yua and Mana, her maid¡¯s dress had no tail holes to speak of. Meaning the only way to show her tail would have been to flip her skirt. And if the innkeeper¡¯s friends weren¡¯t women, that most definitely would have counted as harassment. Hopefully the sort that would bring that blonde¡¯s axe down on this place.

    Erika¡¯s cheeks grew a little pink and I thought I was on the money, but she shook her head again.

    ¡°N-No. Of course not. While my tail is no more a secret than my ears, she only had me use a Scrying Orb.¡±

    ¡°Right, sorry.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, but we really should move this into the room. If the innkeeper catches wind of who you have in there, it¡¯ll certainly cause you trouble.¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯re not?¡±

    ¡°I-I don¡¯t wish to be. I am merely here on my mistress¡¯s order.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Knowing she was right, I stepped aside and gestured her in. With a small bow that seemed habitual rather than polite, she quietly stepped inside just far enough for me to close the door. Her and shoulders gave a small twitch when I locked the door, but she quickly forgot any worry when she lifted her nose to the air.

    A couple of small inhalations later, and she was looking my way.

    ¡°Is that other woman you were with not here?¡±

    ¡°Yua? No. She had some errands to run, why?¡±

    ¡°Nothing, really. It¡¯s just strange. Her scent is in this room and on you, but I don¡¯t sense it having left. And I don¡¯t hear her anywhere in this room.¡±

    Wow, her nose is good enough to essentially learn that Yua teleported away. Better change the subject before she figures out how exactly we managed that.

    Or so I¡¯d like to say, but Erika found a distraction all on her own, as her eyes darted over to the bed. Her eyes widened for a second, but biting her lip, she continued.

    ¡°A-Anyway, my mistress is waiting for you as we speak, so¡­¡±

    ¡°She expects me to drop what I¡¯m doing and show up just because she asked?¡±

    ¡°W-What you¡¯re doing?¡± she parroted, briefly looking behind me. ¡°N-no. Well, yes, but it¡¯s not like that. She has some important business to tend to tonight, so she won¡¯t have time later.¡±

    ¡°And what business is that? We were about to start something.¡±

    Even if our rumors didn¡¯t help much, or even at all, we still had to do something. Sitting on our hands waiting for Yua to come back would be a waste of time.

    Then again, she might be wasting time by breaking a few noses, too.

    ¡°A-A-About to start?!¡± Erika cried, her face turning bright pink. ¡°S-Sorry to have interrupted you during such a delicate moment!¡±

    At that, Erika broke into a flurry of quick bows that had her hair and ears flopping all over the place.

    ¡°Delicate? It¡¯s nothing so important. More like an errand we needed to run.¡±

    ¡°S-So something like this is just an errand for you?¡±

    For some reason, that earned me a blushing, lip-biting glare of reproach. Unsure of what I did, I met the glare right back and, her reproach weakening, Erika¡¯s eyes flitted right back towards the bed. Towards Mana.

    Keeping weary of sneak attacks, I turned and tried to find what it was that made this girl blush so deeply and my shoulders slumped.

    Still on the bed, not having bothered to rise to greet our guest despite bearing her fangs at her earlier, was Mana. Lying on her back, she kept her legs parted for maximum comfort. Because of this, and because she¡¯d flipped up her skirt for seemingly no reason, we could both tell that she had once again pulled her panties to the side for some fresh air. We could see everything.

    Feeling my cheeks heat up a bit myself, I put two and two together and realized Erika had completely gotten the wrong idea about what we were doing all alone together in what was essentially a cheap hotel. And with Mana bearing it all like that, with her legs dangling over the side of the bed, even I had to say it would have looked like she was waiting for me to pounce on her, were it not for the cutely bored pout on her lips.

    Erika mentioned I had Yua¡¯s scent on me and assuming that could only mean one thing, she must have had some particularly dirty thoughts about me. And after Yua¡¯s glorious wakeup call, I wasn¡¯t about to apologize to anyone for forgetting to hit myself with a cleaning spell.

    Shaking my head, I sped across the room and pressed Mana¡¯s skirt back down. She whimpered, but didn¡¯t stop me. Erika¡¯s face only heated more.

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    ¡°Sorry about her,¡± I said, trying to sound calm. ¡°Mana¡¯s people aren¡¯t very fond of clothes, so¡­¡±

    ¡°I-I see. I haven¡¯t been myself, but I have heard rumors about the cat-kin in the forest.¡±

    ¡°Right, well, as you can see, meeting Miss Bellenfort alone isn¡¯t a good idea. Mana here¡¯s not very familiar with the city, so I¡¯d rather not leave her alone.¡±

    ¡°Then please rest assured,¡± Erika said, her cheeks still red. ¡°My Mistress has instructed me to stay here with your cat-kin women, though I suppose it¡¯d just be with Miss Mana here.¡±

    ¡°And why would she do that?¡±

    Finally finding the ability to compose herself, Erika clasped her hands in front of her apron.

    ¡°I believe she means to use me as a bargaining chip of sorts. To prove she means you no harm.¡±

    So, in the event Miss Bellenfort does attack, Erika would be the one to suffer as well. Mana could probably handle herself, but she was expecting Yua to be here and Miss Bellenfort had already taken a punch from her, so she might understand just how strong she is and how easily she could over power this maid. Not that it mattered unless Yua chose to run all the way back here while I was gone.

    Still, her mistress was offering her up as a sacrificial pawn and Erika didn¡¯t even seem to mind. She even held out her arms, as if ready to submit herself to a pat down.

    ¡°I truly mean neither of you any harm. Per my mistress¡¯s order, I¡¯ve even been asked to act as their temporary maid while you are away so that you might meet her without worry.¡±

    I turned to Mana, who peeked at me with one eye and smiled. Her ears flicked almost playfully.

    ¡°Dog Ears is telling the truth. She hasn¡¯t lied since she got here.¡±

    ¡°M-My name is Erika.¡±

    ¡°Okay.~¡±

    ¡°¡­ And you¡¯re fine staying here with her,¡± I asked and Mana shrugged.

    ¡°Why not? This way, I get to lay in the bed more, right?¡±

    Mana rolled onto her stomach and I had to pull her skirt back down again to keep Erika from exploding. The worst part is that I couldn¡¯t tell if she was doing this on purpose or the tail poking out of her skirt made her prone to these sorts of accidents.

    Maybe Erika would be the one in danger if I left them alone.

    ¡°Then I guess I¡¯ll head out,¡± I said, tossing Mana her bow and quiver, just to be safe. Erika didn¡¯t seem to take offense to this. Nor did she react when I made sure my sword was secure to my belt. Instead, she opened the door and saw me off with a smile.

    ¡°I¡¯ll wait here as long as it takes. Please, have a safe trip.¡±

    ¡°Uh, thanks. Please make sure Mana doesn¡¯t leave the room.¡±

    ¡°Of course. So long as¡­!¡±

    Her face suddenly twisting with a forcefully repressed something, a faint rustling maybe, that left her brow twitching, she put on a brave smile. Had she been cat-kin, I knew her ears would have been standing on end.

    ¡°Something wrong?¡±

    ¡°N-Nothing at all.¡±

    ¡°Bye, Big Bro!¡±

    ¡°Right. Um, bye?¡±

    Trusting that Mana was sure the maid meant no harm, and following the instructions I got for this little meeting, I hurried back into the city.

    Wave Watcher¡¯s Cross was rather hard to find, even after asking for directions multiple times. People didn¡¯t seem to come here often and it wasn¡¯t hard to see why.

    Near the edge of the city¡¯s outer limits was a four-way intersection dividing the street between a dilapidated church, a now overgrown park, and an alley where I was sure drugs could be bought for a fair price.

    The cross stood atop a steep hill leading down and off towards the side of the docks. Beyond this was the wide expanse of the sea. The afternoon sun sparkled off the endless expanse of rippling waves like little droplets of gold. Perhaps, thanks to the dock¡¯s current occupation, the ocean was free of any and all vessels that did not naturally call the water home. The only feature blocking the horizon was a small island a good swim off the mainland that was rife with greenery.

    This was the Milnoras Sea, or maybe the Alucentia Ocean, as the map I paid for labeled it with two different names. There was probably some story behind it featuring two countries that had been bickering over its ownership for hundreds of years, but I couldn¡¯t know for certain. Most people probably wouldn¡¯t know something like that, save for the person that made the map. Maybe, having been to both countries, she too couldn¡¯t decide which to call it.

    Were it not for the surrounding desecration, the spot easily could have been a big tourist destination. But right now, all I could see it as was a mostly secluded spot where a fight could break out and nobody would know.

    Feeling the sea breeze more now than ever, I gripped the hilt of my sword. I wanted to trust Erika, to trust Mana¡¯s promise she was telling the truth, but I wasn¡¯t about to take any chances. And yet¡­

    ¡°I thought she wanted to meet ASAP. Where is she?¡±

    I¡¯d been standing around for over forty minutes, waiting for the blonde woman to show up, but the place was completely devoid of life, without so much as a runaway pet sniffing around the gutters for scraps of food.

    Why was I being rushed out the door for this? If she was lurking in the shadows somewhere waiting for me to drop my guard, we¡¯d be here all night.

    ¡°U-Um, excuse me, mister.¡±

    Just when I was considering heading into the church to safely teleport Yua back so she could sniff out Miss Bellenfort, a voice appeared behind me.

    Spinning on my heel, I made a grab for my sword, only to find a little girl.

    Smaller than Mana, she wore a set of messy rags that would have looked out of place on a slave, but the gauntness of her cheeks was most worrying. She was thin, painfully so. The tattered, woven basket she carried looked like a lead weight in her hands, but all it held was a few fish. Dead ones, judging by the pungent smell.

    Forcing back sympathy to engage caution, I checked her info box. Sherry, age thirteen but with the stature of a ten-year old, in the cruelest of ironies, was born with the Baker class. Only, besides that was the Thief class. I let go of my sword.

    I made the mistake of assuming Lilt was a good person turned thief like Yua, but a girl this young and this clearly malnourished? She had to have stolen food at some point just to quiet the pain in her belly. Maybe it was the same desperation that filled her basket with nearly-rotted fish.

    People like this must exist all over the world. Gone were the days of overabundance, they were replaced with inequities that were several times harder to pull yourself out of. Being reincarnated next to a large merchant city overflowing with money must have just blinded me to this.

    ¡°Mister, could¡­ would you like to buy some?¡±

    Her lips were dry and flakey when she bit down on them. She squeezed her eyes shut and quickly looked away, but held out her basket. I didn¡¯t need to look at their info box to know the fish were no doubt a day or so past fresh, but they at least looked edible, to a degree. Not that I¡¯d feed them to anyone. I might have even stopped her from biting into them had she tried.

    Still, seeing her trying to turn a profit from something she might have found in a fish monger¡¯s unsold scraps, eased my doubts. Kneeling in front of her, I pretended to look inside the basket.

    ¡°Hmm. How much are they?¡±

    Her eyes shot back open, disbelief already bringing tears to her eyes.

    ¡°T-Two coppers a piece, please.¡±

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see here. You have one, two, three¡­ ten fish. So that¡¯s 20 coppers, right?¡±

    ¡°T-Twenty? You mean you want all of them?¡±

    ¡°Sure. I like fish. But is it okay to buy them all?¡±

    She nodded so vigorously she almost dropped the basket.

    ¡°Then here you go.¡±

    With her obvious lack of a silver tray, I dropped three coins into the hand she only stretched out in hopes I was serious. She flinched when they clinked into her palm, but her eyes widened at their shiny silver coating.

    ¡°M-Mister¡­These are silvers. I said they are only 2¡­¡±

    ¡°I really like fish. And so does a cat-kin friend of mine. Hahaha. You should have seen her face the first time she tried them.

    ¡°B-but¡­¡±

    ¡°Actually, would you like to see a magic trick?¡±

    ¡°Magic? Like a mage?¡±

    ¡°Yup. Here, watch.¡±

    Hovering a hand over her basket, and with a snap of my fingers, used my item box to spirit away the offensive-smelling fish one by one. Her mouth fell open in awe as the weight in her hand slowly decreased until there was nothing left but the basket.

    Once the fish were all gone, she flipped it over and bent to look under it in search of the missing fish I planned to dispose of later. She then looked at the coins in her hand again, then at me. Tears welled up and fell down her cheeks, like it¡¯d just set in that they were real.

    ¡°Go buy yourself something to eat. And make sure you don¡¯t let anyone else know about your money, or they might try to take it. Okay?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes¡­Food and¡­Won¡¯t tell anybody.¡±

    ¡°Good.¡±

    I patted her head and she ran away, clutching the coins to her chest. She stopped before rounding behind the church and dipped her head in thanks. I waved back.

    ¡°¡­ Did you know her?¡±

    Hearing the voice I that was familiar to me, I was surprised at myself for not jumping. Then again, it may have been the fact that she wasn¡¯t yelling at me this time.

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. I¡¯m not from Guerraway.¡±

    ¡°Hmph¡­¡±

    Turning to find the person I¡¯d set off to meet, I saw that Miss Elane Bellenfort not only was still refusing to cover her chest with any but that blue long coat of hers, but that her giant axe was resting peacefully on her back. The simple   fact that it wasn¡¯t in her hands was almost overwhelmingly comforting. Seeing it allowed me to work out why she¡¯d been late.

    Had to wonder why my Detect Trap ability didn¡¯t work, though.

    ¡°You know, trying to bait a reaction out of me using an orphan is pretty mean.¡±

    She scoffed, but looked off in the direction the girl ran. ¡°Hardly. I told her she could keep whatever you gave her. I even told Sister Maybel I¡¯d give the orphanage a healthy donation if she let the girl help me out.¡±

    ¡°You say that like you knew I¡¯d buy her smelly fish.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t. I thought you¡¯d turn her down as soon as you smelled it. But for some reason, Erika was sure you wouldn¡¯t do that.¡±

    ¡°So, she was in on this too? Why go this far? I honestly thought you were asking for a fight.¡±

    It¡¯s not like she could have known, but Erika showing up right after Yua left was suspicious as hell. Add onto that her asking to meet without either of the girls and I should have been walking into a trap. Although, I guess she just didn¡¯t want my girls to sniff her out before her little trick could play itself out.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I wanted to,¡± she said, crossing her arms. ¡°I just wanted to see what sort of man you were, if your slave is that devoted to you. It even looked like she loves you.¡±

    Feeling a small smile creep across my lips, I said, ¡°I am proud to say she does. She¡¯s made it very clear. In fact, according to her people¡¯s customs, we are confirmed as mates. So, she¡¯s basically my wife.¡±

    Hahaha. I can¡¯t believe I finally get to brag about having a wife to someone. The wait was torture, but it was so worth it!

    Miss Bellenfort¡¯s brow twitched. Clenching her bicep, she said, ¡°Still, for her to trust you enough to suggest something like enslaving myself to you, just to solve my problems. I can¡¯t even say my own would go that far.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Erika seemed pretty devoted, too.¡±

    ¡°Tch... I wonder about that. That girl wouldn¡¯t even be in that position if it weren¡¯t for me.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    Shaking her head, Miss Bellenfort slapped me on the back. The blow was hard enough to knock the wind out of me, but the uncomfortable twist in her brow didn¡¯t possess any anger.

    ¡°Enough about that,¡± she said, shoving me forward. ¡°We¡¯re not here to talk about our slaves. Follow me.¡±

    ¡°I thought you wanted to talk here.¡±

    ¡°Tch. We¡¯re only here in case I needed to use this.¡± Casually pointing to her axe, she started walking in the direction she shoved me. ¡°I picked that girl to help for a reason. If you¡¯d tried to enslave her, you wouldn¡¯t be standing gawking at my tits like an idiot.¡±

    So, she wasn¡¯t testing to see if I¡¯d be nice to her, but if I would try to enslave a little girl that was, if anything, looked like a thief? I mean, I could understand that. If I were to think like an evil bastard, then she¡¯d be easy pickings and would likely earn me a good deal of gold when sold.

    I understood her want to test me on that, I did, but that was still a bit much. Besides¡­

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t looking¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, shut it and move. I don¡¯t want to have this conversation in public.¡±

    ¡°Where are we going?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, just follow. I know a good place where we can speak privately.¡±

    Wondering what sort of place could be more secluded than a street corner that looked like it hadn¡¯t seen any traffic in years, I went ahead and followed.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 19b

    ¡°I thought you said we were going to speak privately?¡±

    After my walk through the city with the girls, I had a hunch where we were headed, but I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d actually take me to a tavern of all places.

    Reminiscent of the Adventurer¡¯s guild in Amoranth, I could hear the lively music and raucous, drunken cheers of the patrons before we even stepped inside. The place was packed, and at only a little past two in the afternoon, I had to wonder if day-drinking was just the norm in this world. More importantly, given how this mess between us started, I had nothing but questions.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± she said. ¡°Nobody will bother us.¡±

    Miss Bellenfort shoved the swinging double doors to the place open, thrusting herself into the tavern much like a weary gunslinger might do in an old western movie. Likewise, the moment the sun caught her figure and cast her shadow over the faces of the patrons, several of them paled. Others hid behind their mugs, pretending not to notice. While a surprising few of the men who were already red in the cheeks stared longingly at her.

    Meanwhile, despite the attention she drew to herself, none seemed to have noticed she wasn¡¯t alone until I stepped up beside her.

    ¡°Hey, Darwin,¡± She called across the room and the bartender stiffened, nearly dropping the mug he was wiping. ¡°The back room empty?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes, it is, Lady Bellenfort. Would you like the usual?¡±

    ¡°Obviously. And two glasses, please.¡±

    ¡°Right away.¡±

    Holding up an equal number of fingers, Miss Bellenfort strode through the bar and behind a curtain. I hurried to follow her, if anything to rid myself of the stares her declaration earned me. I couldn¡¯t help but feel like everyone was looking at me like I was insane for sharing a drink with her, rather than being jealous for it.

    Following her golden mane and giant axe down a strikingly lonely hall, I noticed that the moment the curtain fell behind me, all other sounds from the bar faded. The hall had a sound-muffling enchantment placed on it, but I could still feel the vibrations through the floorboards once the music kicked back in.

    ¡°This way,¡± she called over her shoulder, sounding tired as she stepped into one of several rooms outfitted with the same curtains. I had to question the use of curtains that couldn¡¯t be locked instead of a door, but I joined her all the same. She pulled her axe off her back and leaned it against the wall.

    ¡°Sit down.¡±

    A casual, almost limp flick of her wrist directed me to sit across from her at a small table. I slid into the booth after her. However, when she sat down, she cupped her breasts with both hands and practically slammed them down on the table and the generous jiggle they made seemed to make it creak. Heaving a great sigh as she leaned her weight onto it, she peeked at me for only a second and, this time, I had no excuse ready to deny where I was looking.

    She just closed her eyes and sighed again.

    ¡°Excuse me,¡± she said, rolling her shoulders. ¡°I know these things are fun to look at, trust me, I do, but my shoulders are stiff like you wouldn¡¯t believe right now.¡±

    Gulping down my eyesight to compose myself, I pulled my sword off my hip and set it against the wall as well.

    ¡°You know, respectfully, a bra really would help with that. Least, that¡¯s what I¡¯ve heard.¡±

    ¡°And like I said last time, I don¡¯t know what that is. But if you have one, I¡¯d be happy to try it out.¡±

    ¡°Unfortunately, I don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Maybe next time then.¡±

    Yea. How nice would that be? I could make what might be the world¡¯s first bra and give it to her as a sort of peace offering. I could die cringing at myself.

    ¡°Anyway, about why you called me out.¡±

    Ready to move on from the embarrassment, and forcing myself not to look at the generous amount of cleavage she left on full display, I tried to speak, but she quickly rebuffed me with a shake of her head.

    ¡°Hold on. Darwin will be bringing the drinks soon. Can¡¯t have him listening in.¡±

    ¡°I figured as much. But Miss Bellenfort, isn¡¯t it a bit early to be drinking?¡±

    Scrunching her brow, she waved me off.

    ¡°Stop calling me that.¡±

    ¡°Oh, uh, Lady Bellenfort, then?¡±

    ¡°No, you idiot. Just call me Elane. I feel like this conversation will take forever if you keep calling me Miss Bellenfort.¡±

    ¡°Right, uh, then you can just call me Alex.¡±

    ¡°Good. I hate referring to people by titles. It¡¯s too cumbersome.¡±

    As she spoke, a knock sounded against the wall before the curtain slowly parted. The man she called Darwin, who face was much harrier up close, brought in a tray topped with not one, but two bottles of rum and two crystal glasses to share between them. He set all this down on the table and the hairy backs of his hands caught my attention before the tail poking out his backside did.

    Grunting with the effort it took her to lift herself off the table, Elane shoved a hand into her cleavage and the sound of clinking coins filled the silence. Darwin and I respectfully looked away in unison, he sighed.

    ¡°Here,¡± Elane said, slapping four gold coins on the tray. ¡°I¡¯ll be keeping whatever we don¡¯t drink. And here.¡± She reached into her cleavage again and pulled out another silver coin to add to the pile. ¡°Don¡¯t let anyone bother us.¡±

    ¡°Of course, Lady Bellenfort. Please, take your time.¡±

    Easily bought off, Darwin¡¯s tail started to sway as he pocketed the coin. He set the bottles and glasses on the table and left almost as soon as he came. Elane waited a while before saying anything, likely making sure he wasn¡¯t coming back, before taking up one of the bottles of amber liquid.

    ¡°Um, thanks for this. I can pay you back.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. If I remember correctly, you said you don¡¯t drink, right? But you will be drinking today.¡±

    Completely forgoing to need to uncork the bottle, she pressed her thumb against the lip until the glass cracked. Without so much as a flinch to show she was in pain despite the blood dribbling down her wrist, she pinched and pulled the bottle¡¯s top off, glass, cork and all. She tossed it aside and poured until both our glasses were half full.

    ¡°Are you okay? Want a health potion?¡±

    ¡°Huh? Man, you really don¡¯t drink, do you?¡± she said, smiling for the first time today. ¡°This is how sailors meet to drink as equals. We break the bottle so it can¡¯t be closed again. Meaning we¡¯ll be here a while. I only broke it because I invited you. Now, here.¡±

    Instead of offering me a glass, she licked the blood off her finger and thrust her hand across the table. Taking the gesture the only way I could, I shook it. She nodded.

    ¡°Good. Now, drink it down.¡±

    Without another word, she took up her own glass and downed the whole thing in one go. Seeing that she was waiting for me to do the same, and with a look that said this was expected of this little ritual, I downed mine as well.

    Relieved at first that I didn¡¯t feel the same unbearable burn my old body would have, my stomach still suffered an almost nauseating sense of intrusion. I¡¯d only had a sip or two back at her mansion, and this was the first time I¡¯d ever had a full glass.

    ¡°Pfft.¡±

    Smirking, just a little more of her beauty showing through what clouded her earlier, she poured us both another glass. Bringing hers back to her lips, she took another deep swig. She didn¡¯t look to be waiting for me to do the same, but I did anyways. We were supposed to be meeting as equals, right? I was already starting to feel warmer, the nausea started to dissipate.

    ¡°Goddess. This stuff is strong.¡±

    ¡°Hoho? Not really. I think its rather tame. With rum, it¡¯s the flavor you want to focus on, not how fast it can get you drunk.¡±

    ¡°Then it¡¯s just inexperience on my part.¡±

    Nodding to herself, Elane took another drink, this time a smaller one. And this time, I could almost swear I saw a bit of the same glee Yua had the first time we ate cake together. Or when Mana first tried the food here in the city.

    Once more, I took a drink myself and when the warmth started to spread, I said a silent apology to Yua. At this rate, she¡¯d be stuck in her village for hours while I¡¯m here drinking.

    Well, who am I kidding? She¡¯ll be having her own fun throwing her fists around. I just had to put some faith in her and rest assured that she relayed the information we gathered before she did that.

    ¡°So, did you really order Erika to act as my girls¡¯ maid?¡±

    ¡°Yup. I figured you wouldn¡¯t come out of hiding if they weren¡¯t well taken care of.¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t exactly hiding. I was at the inn we were renting.¡±

    ¡°Hoho? I see. I bet Erika was a blushing mess when you answered the door. You know,¡± she said, taking another sip. ¡°She can smell it on you, you know? Even if you try to wash is off.¡±

    ¡°Smell it? Oh¡­ Uh, we weren¡¯t doing that.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha. You don¡¯t need to lie. Both those girls of yours were lookers. And any man with slaves like that would¡­¡±

    ¡°They aren¡¯t slaves to me,¡± I interrupted. Her smile wavered. Feeling the mood shift in the negative after the alcohol was just starting to improve it, I took another drink and said, ¡°Like I said, Yua is basically my wife.¡±

    Elane nodded almost apologetically. ¡°What about that cute Kitty?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s, uh¡­ To be honest, she¡¯s moving in that direction too. It¡¯ll take some time, though.¡±

    With a shoulder-slumping sigh, Elane took another, deeper gulp of her rum.

    ¡°Figures. But why not make a move already? I mean, she was willing to aim a bow at me for your sake. Not to brag, but if she tried that out in the bar, half the people there would have fainted.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that simple. Her father asked me to help their people before he¡¯d let me have her.¡±

    ¡°I see. I see. Is that the guild mission you were talking about when we first met?¡±

    ¡°No, actually the guild mission has nothing to do with it. Other than the flower we¡¯re after being found in their forest.¡±

    Seeing my chance to bring up my own reason for coming here, I downed half of the liquid courage left in my glass, much to her surprise.

    ¡°The problem is the band of thieves in the forest. They¡¯ve been stealing from the cat-kin.¡±

    ¡°Thieves?¡±

    I gave her the quick rundown of what was happening as she refilled our drinks. Choosing to forgo explaining how exactly we gathered what we knew, I told her only what she needed to know. She nodded along with my explanation without interrupting save to take a drink, but in the end, she didn¡¯t look all that impressed.

    ¡°I see. The Duke can be a pain, but it can¡¯t be helped that he¡¯s busy.¡±

    ¡°You know him?¡±

    ¡°Yup. Have for a long time now.¡±

    ¡°Then do you think you could help convince him to do something about them?¡±

    Elane looked like she wanted to shake her head, but, in the middle of taking a drink, she just looked at me.

    ¡°Haaa¡­ No.¡±

    ¡°Hey, I know I¡¯m partially responsible for what happened to you, but¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that,¡± she said, throwing up a hand to stop me before I could plead the cat-kin¡¯s case. ¡°I can¡¯t help because I know why the Duke is busy.¡±

    ¡°You mean the meeting with Lord Argento?¡±

    This gave her pause, but the surprised widening of her eyes lasted only a second.

    ¡°So, you know about that? Yes. Actually, I¡¯ll be joining him in that meeting tonight.¡±

    Discretely checking the curtain, which looked about as protective as any other piece of cloth, I said, ¡°Isn¡¯t that supposed to be some sort of secret?¡±

    ¡°Hoho? Why should I care? I was only asked to help because¡­ Well, never mind that. Just know that I don¡¯t want to attend. I¡¯m just doing the Duke a favor and because of that, I know he is too busy to rally up some thief exterminators. Now¡­¡±

    She paused, specifically to take a large drink. When she set her glass back down, she aimed her cobalt blue eyes square into mine.

    ¡°My question to you is, how did you manage to travel all the way here, do all that investigating, and still have time to meet with me in just a day?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Magic.¡±

    ¡°Magic?¡± she laughed derisively. ¡°You know I¡¯m not as gullible as that little girl, right? No, wait¡­ by chance, do you mean teleportation magic?¡±

    ¡°Wha¡­ How did you¡­Oh?!¡±

    Shit, oops. I think the warmth of the alcohol must have been getting to my head. I didn¡¯t even try to deny it. Couldn¡¯t say whether or not I was drunk yet, I don¡¯t exactly have any experience drinking, but I can say that I wasn¡¯t feeling all that bothered for accidentally outing one of the secret abilities I kept asking the girls not to share.

    Surprisingly, Elane also looked unimpressed and just nodded along, rolling her shoulder again. Leaning forward, I thought she was about to use the table to hold up her breasts again, but she thumped her chin on her hand.

    ¡°See, now that makes sense.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t seem all that surprised. When Beth over in the Mage¡¯s Guild found out, she nearly had a mental breakdown.¡±

    ¡°Pfft. Look at me. How do you think I managed to travel the world by this age? I¡¯m no good with magic myself, but using it for travel isn¡¯t exactly new to me. I use to travel a lot like that back in the day. Not always, but a lot.¡±

    She boastfully flicked the wrist that wasn¡¯t holding up her head, but I couldn¡¯t help but feel as though a somber intonation colored her words. As soon as I caught it, she hid her lips behind her glass. By the time she finished her third glass, her cheeks were a little rosy and her eyes were filled with a wistful longing.

    ¡°You know, I used to be an Adventurer like you.¡±

    ¡°Hey now. You¡¯re not about to tell me you quit after taking an arrow to the knee, are you?¡±

    ¡°What? No. A good potion could mend something like that before ever need to worry about a scar. What I¡¯m saying is that¡­ Wait, you know I¡¯m a Cartographer, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡±

    It¡¯s literally the reason why we met.

    ¡°Right, well when I was ten, I found out that that class was insanely rare. Not even one in a thousand children are born with it. Unlike other classes, it¡¯s unlikely that it¡¯ll be passed to your children.¡± She paused to take a drink. ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard, my father had it too. Must have gotten it from him.¡±

    ¡°Are you not sure?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t be. It¡¯s all hearsay. My parents¡­ they died when I was young. That girl earlier, I grew up in the same orphanage as her. That¡¯s why it was easy to convince Sister Maybel to help me out. She remembers me.¡±

    ¡°So, when you said the life you built was over, you meant from the ground up?¡±

    She nodded.

    ¡°Far as I know, my father never did anything with it, but I put it to good use as soon as I could. Saved up what little money I could earn begging, bought some parchment and a quill, scouted some local danger spots and eventually sold the maps I made of them to the first Adventurer that would buy. Luckily, it didn¡¯t take long to find one. And from there, my career and reputation sort of blossomed.¡±

    Making a wide gesture with her hands, she slouched in her seat.

    ¡°When my customers were pleased with my maps, they came back for more. When they weren¡¯t, I tried harder. Soon, when I had enough coin saved up, I left the orphanage and asked a group of Adventures to let me join them on a quest.

    ¡°I came to them, a child dressed in rags that hadn¡¯t so much as seen the trees beyond the city wall. They should have turned me away, but their leader Timothy agreed to let me join the party so fast I nearly fell over beneath the weight of his smile. He even refused the coin I worked so hard to save, saying I could travel with them for as long as I wanted, so long as I made copies of any maps I drew for them.¡±

    A warm smile spread across her lips as she stared into the amber liquid in her glass. She hesitated to bring it to her lips again, as if she¡¯d lose those memories if the glass emptied, but she downed it anyways before instantly refilling it.

    ¡°A few of his comrades refused, saying I wouldn¡¯t survive the trip since my body was so weak, but thanks to Monica¡¯s promises to help, they relented. She was their healer and, I hate to admit, I did end up making a lot of work for her.¡±

    ¡°You were a kid. That can¡¯t be helped.¡±

    ¡°Maybe, but I did what I could and often made trouble for them. Like with Bonda, the party¡¯s heavy armor fanboy whose even heavier ass made the cart squeal endlessly every time he rode in the diver¡¯s perch. He was supposed to use his shield to protect us, but he always ended up trembling behind it like a coward every time the others started arguing over something ridiculous, or how to tackle a quest Timothy¡¯d plucked off the board haphazardly. I¡¯d try to draw him into the arguments have them settled, but one of the others would come back with, see, you¡¯re making Bonda worry, and the trouble would start all over again.

    ¡°Then there was Mykeal, our mage. He was always the helpful sort, building the campfires, mending torn clothes, using his wits to find us better deals in the cities and all that. But my tits weren¡¯t fully grown back then, so I didn¡¯t know how a man¡¯s mind really worked. Turns out, he was a bit of a perv. Brave and intelligent like no other, but he spent most of his coin attempting to chat up whatever women he found in the taverns.¡± She paused, not to drink, but to laugh. ¡°There was one time I found him by the river washing his clothes. I thought he was washing everyone¡¯s, so I bundled up all my things and all Monica¡¯s and brought them to him.¡±

    ¡°Uh oh.¡±

    She nodded, laughing to herself. ¡°Yup. Obviously, I was wrong. And when Monica found him enjoying her panties¡­ Well, let¡¯s just say she refused to use her magic to heal his broken nose for three full days.¡±

    Stopping only to drink or laugh, Elane went on to share in exuberant detail the dozens of quests she¡¯d gone on with Bellenfort¡¯s Brigade and various other memories with them. I probably should have stopped her at some point so we could get back on topic, but I was enthralled by her stories of the Adventurer¡¯s lifestyle that I quietly start to regret not setting out as a proper Adventurer sooner.

    Midway through a funny story involving a broom handle, a goat, and a screaming maiden Mykeal had been trying to woe, she paused again, this time squinting at the ceiling in thought, before continuing.

    ¡°You know, now that I¡¯m older, I think Monica only agreed to help out because she was sweet on Timothy. Didn¡¯t notice as a kid, but the way she always made excuses to be around him makes sense now. And so does the way she¡¯d sneak into his tent at night when she thought the rest of us were sleeping. Well, anyways, it was fun. Leaving the city for the first time.¡±

    ¡°They sound like nice people.¡±

    ¡°They were. Bellenfort¡¯s Brigade. That¡¯s what they called themselves.¡±

    ¡°Bellenfort? Like your name?¡±

    She nodded, then took another long draw from her glass. Remembering my own drink, I hurried to drink some more myself. The nausea was already completely gone and, despite the melancholy in her tone, I found I couldn¡¯t stop smiling at her.

    ¡°They started calling themselves that after cleaning up the bandits that took over old Fort Bellend. I didn¡¯t do much to help, just kept the horses ready in case things turned sour. It didn¡¯t though. None of them came back with so much as a scratch to brag about over drinks. To be honest, they weren¡¯t much. Just a group of C-ranked Adventurers that got lucky enough to find the bandits passed out drunk after they¡¯d drunk themselves stupid with the spoils they stole from a nearby village.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Fort Bellend. Bellend- fort. You think that up yourself?¡±

    ¡°Hoho. Not very clever, is it?¡±

    ¡°I like it, actually. Besides, I gave up my own name, so I really can¡¯t complain.¡±

    ¡°Gave it up, eh?¡± she let out a small laugh that quickly faded when she bit her lip. ¡°Actually, I took the name to honor them.¡±

    I don¡¯t know if it was curiosity or the alcohol, but I found my next question rolling off my tongue before I could think it through.

    ¡°What happened to them?¡±

    ¡°They died,¡± she said simply, then downed an entire glass in one go. ¡°After several months of traveling together, we were attacked by bandits. Different ones. A savage bunch that didn¡¯t even give a chance to talk before they aimed their blades at our throats. There were too many of them, but everyone got up to fight back anyways. I was just a little girl, so I hid. I tried to, anyways. It didn¡¯t stop me from hearing Timothy¡¯s sword shatter. Or the sudden stop to Monica¡¯s scream. Bonda¡¯s equally savage roar. And Mykeal¡¯s begging for mercy when he was the last of the Brigade still standing.

    ¡°I was too young to put up any sort of fight, so they protected me, even though they didn¡¯t want to. So, when they no longer could, one of the bandits ran at me and¡­¡±

    Elane snapped her eyes shut when the grip on her glass creaked. Solemnly, she touched a finger to her chest and traced it down the scar I¡¯d been trying not to look at.

    ¡°They took what little we had and left me for dead. They killed the people that were so nice to me and I watched them go. Watched them laughing and sorting out the loot they killed us for like it was just another day at work. Watching my shirt fill with red, I asked why. Why did they all have to die? None of us had enough money to make killing us worth the effort, so why bother?

    ¡°Unable to find an answer, I tried to ask Timothy, but his head was missing. So, I picked up Bonda¡¯s axe and¡­ and I don¡¯t know. I just kind of blacked out after that. But when I came to, all of the bandits were dead and Bonda¡¯s axe was covered in blood.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t even know what to say to that, but here¡¯s to Bellenfort¡¯s Brigade.¡±

    I raised my glass and, forcing a smile, she clinked hers against it.

    ¡°To Bellenfort¡¯s Brigade. The only family I¡¯d ever known.¡±

    We both downed our drinks in a single gulp. She shook her head, clenching her teeth at the tasteful burn and wiped away a tear. This time, feeling as though I understood a bit of why she loved this stuff so much, I refilled our glasses.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s in the past. Anyways, it¡¯s not all bad. That¡¯s the day I got my Adventurer class. And that trip was when I finished my first large scale map. For all my luck was worth, it happened to catch the eye of some noble¡¯s attendant. They bought it, brought it to their lord and eventually came back for more. Then they spread the word about the quality of my maps showing more of their own lands than even they knew about. See, one of a Cartographer¡¯s abilities makes mapping places almost too easy. Most people don¡¯t know this, but a regular person couldn¡¯t do what I do unless they walked every inch of the area they wanted to map, while I just sort of need to be in the area to know anything and everything worth mapping. Oh, and don¡¯t tell anyone. It¡¯ll be a pain if they find out.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± I nodded, wondering if that ability was sort of like the innate knowledge my classes gave me about their professions. She continued.

    ¡°Eventually, word even made it to King DeGarmo and he had me brought to the capitol. After a long chat, he hired me to map the world for his benefit. He had one of his men handed me my first bag of gold and I nearly buckled under the weight of it. I wasn¡¯t even six-teen years old yet, and I was sure I¡¯d made more coin than my parents ever had. And all I had to do was say yes. As you can guess, I didn¡¯t hesitate.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d have to question your sanity if you did.¡±

    ¡°Right?¡± she laughed, downing another sip. ¡°He even sent a platoon of the country¡¯s best knights with me for protection.¡±

    ¡°Were they the ones that taught you how to handle an axe?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? No. Not really. They taught me a few things, but I was mostly self-taught. After what happened to Bellenfort¡¯s Brigade, I started carrying Bonda¡¯s axe with me wherever I went. Naturally, I practiced swinging it around too.¡±

    Her rosy cheeks dimpled with a fierce smile as she mimed an overhead axe swing. I laughed, half out of drunken stupidity, half because of the way her chest bounced and nearly knocked over her glass.

    Goddess, is this what it feels like to be drunk? Like love and sex, I¡¯m starting to regret letting this feeling pass me by in my last life.

    Taking another sip, unable to tell how many glasses I¡¯d had despite my memory, I pointed to the giant axe she left leaning against the wall.

    ¡°Is that Bonda¡¯s axe?¡±

    ¡°Pfft. Hell no. There¡¯s no way I could have picked that thing up back then. His was just a plain hand axe. This one was made by a friend of mine.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. What about that coat, then?¡±

    Thankfully, the time I spent around her sober afforded me the chance to notice the sea captain-esque look to the coat she used to bind her breasts. Smirking to herself, she pinched its lapel between her fingers and rubbed its fabric, as though for good luck.

    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    ¡°After a several years of working for the king, of him pouring through every map I ever gave him like he was addicted to looking at them, and after coming of age, he let me officially join his army and ¨C blah blah blah ¨C I drew lots of maps and rose through the ranks until I came to command the knights that once protected me. Becoming their captain earned me this coat.¡±

    Staring down at her own chest, or rather her coat, she smiled fondly.

    ¡°To me, it was proof that I¡¯d done something with my life. A life that may well have ended in a gutter somewhere had I done nothing with what I had. But I fought and fought hard. We got into several scraps in our travels and I grew and got stronger. We adventured, took on guild quests along the way to keep our coffers satisfied, found treasures and made names for ourselves. Then I grew some more. Then these damn things kept growing and suddenly I had a little more respect from my men.¡±

    She gestured to her chest and took another drink while I tried to stop the drink I¡¯d just taken from shooting out my nose as I laughed.

    ¡°Then, after my journey was done and King DeGarmo held a map to the world in his hands, hahaha! He was so happy, he granted me a noble¡¯s title. Nothing special-ly, really. Just a Baronette. Other than people calling me Lady and earning the right to own a house in the city, it¡¯s not really good for much. I dun have much actual power.¡±

    Somewhere along our chat, we¡¯d apparently finished off the first bottle. So, she cracked open the second one and poured. Finding myself too engrossed by her story, her beauty and the inexplicable laughter that kept bubbling up all on its own, I didn¡¯t¡¯ stop to question how much I¡¯d already had. Not that it mattered. We clinked our cups together again and shared a drink.

    ¡°Ya know,¡± she said. ¡°That¡¯s why.¡±

    ¡°Pfft. Why what?¡±

    ¡°Obviously! That¡¯s why I took da name Bellenfort. I, Elane, was a noblewoman. Can¡¯t be a noble without a name, ya know? That wouldn¡¯nt make sense.¡±

    As if to toast to her own achievements, she reached for the bottle again and suddenly, I couldn¡¯t stand the idea of her having another drop. Finding enough clarity in the moment to remember why we were here in the first place, I realized she¡¯d been slurring her words for at least that last couple of glasses.

    Maybe I was too drunk for my own good, I couldn¡¯t know, but my hand shot across the table to grab hold of hers before she could pick up the bottle. For all the strength it took to wield that axe, to repeatedly pick herself up from the lowest of the lows, her hands were still just as slender as any other woman¡¯s.

    Belatedly noticing her own hand had stopped moving, Elane gawked at me. Her cheeks having been flushed for a long time now, I couldn¡¯t tell what she was thinking at all, but she didn¡¯t pull away.

    ¡°Elane,¡± I said, squeezing her hand. ¡°Let¡¯s stop drinking.¡±

    ¡°W-What? Why? Pfft. Can¡¯t handle da booze?¡±

    ¡°No. I want to talk to the real Elane. Not the one that hides behind a bottle.¡±

    The real Elane sounded just right. I didn¡¯t want the drunk that talked more about her ass than anything else. Or the scared, violent woman on the verge of losing everything she worked so hard for. I wanted the one that could be her true self.

    ¡°You know,¡± I said, trying to forcefully sober myself up a little. ¡°I used to hide a lot too, though I preferred hiding behind a computer screen.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what that is.¡±

    ¡°Never mind that, just¡­ Isn¡¯t it lonely? Drinking like this, I mean? It was a little different for me, and knowing what you went through, I feel ashamed to admit I stayed like like that for years. Just watching my life fly right on by without me. But you, you made something of yourself. That¡¯s something I can¡¯t say I did, even though I had plenty of opportunities.¡±

    ¡°¡­ What happened?¡±

    ¡°Nothing, really. I just got knocked down and couldn¡¯t find it in myself to get back up. Well, I suppose it¡¯s more like I tripped over my own feet, but you get the idea, right?¡±

    I didn¡¯t have much before I started hiding away, locking myself in my bedroom with only my thoughts and hobbies to keep me company. But she earned the sort of lifestyle most would kill for and she was drowning it all away with rum.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you want to experience all the things you¡¯ve been missing while you¡¯ve been cooped up in your mansion drinking the days away?¡±

    I may be projecting, I don¡¯t know. Sober me probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to say all this, but that¡¯s how I felt. After the trouble in Amoranth was dealt with and we¡¯d fled, and I experienced the bliss of married life with Yua, the same sort of bliss I¡¯d almost purposefully refused myself back then, I only had regrets for how I lived my old life.

    And I can tell Elane is headed down that path. And the street she¡¯s walking is lined with booze.

    She looked away, a pained grimace plastering itself on her face. She tried to pull her hand away, but I didn¡¯t let go. Grimacing at the bottle, she spoke.

    ¡°It¡¯s not that easy. Yea, life was hard back then, but once the king hired me and I started traveling, I had so, so much fun. I didn¡¯t know what to do with myself. I never would have known how much I loved traveling and learning about the world, until it became my reason for living. My way of living. All the days I¡¯ve lived out there in the wild, just drawing my maps, they were the most peaceful, most relaxing and funnest times I¡¯d ever had. Then, when I finished my last new map, and the journey was suddenly over, I was¡­ I don¡¯t know, scared, I guess.¡±

    ¡°That the fun was over?¡±

    ¡°No, that I let them down. All that constant traveling reminded me of Bellenfort¡¯s Brigade and what we should have been.¡±

    ¡°So you were traveling on their behalf?¡±

    Elane shook her head and, were I not still drunk myself, I¡¯d be able to say for certain that she¡¯d squeezed my hand back.

    ¡°I¡¯m probably a little too selfish to say something so grandiose. They died protecting me. I just¡­ I wanted to keep adventuring with them. But when there was no longer any adventures to be had, no more lands to discover¡­¡±

    ¡°You felt like you were losing them? Their memory?¡±

    ¡°Something like that, yea. But I do also really love discovering new places. I love it a lot, actually. It is by far my most favorite thing in this world, and I ruined it. For the Brigade, for me. I wish we¡¯d moved slower. Travelled longer. I spoiled myself rotten, and now all I have left is¡­¡±

    Her once strikingly cobalt blue eyes drifted to the bottle and suddenly anger boiled up in me. An anger I could not conceive to suppress in my state. In that instant, that one glance, I knew I couldn¡¯t let her make the same mistake I had.

    I jumped to my feet, gripped the edge of the table and threw everything against the wall. Glass shattered, liquid splashed, something wooden broke and a woman gasped in shock and regret. The commotion should have caused a stampede of angry bar staff to flood into the room, but the sound-muffling enchantment kept us hidden.

    Her eyes shot open and she pulled her hand back and away from me to cradle it to her chest, as if suddenly afraid of the man she knew she could overpower.

    ¡°I¡¯m still a little drunk myself, so this might not make sense, but drinking won¡¯t make new adventures pop up out of nowhere!¡±

    ¡°I know that!¡±

    ¡°Then do you know you still have people that care about you?¡±

    ¡°What the hell are you talking about?¡±

    My cheeks were burning, but the alcohol allowed me to keep going.

    ¡°Your maids care about you. At least, Erika does. You drunkenly ordered her to do something no girl should ever be forced to do, but after we parted and I was about to leave, she still defended you. Told me you weren¡¯t so bad, despite how you treated her. Yesterday, she begged you not to kill me because doing so only would have hurt you too. And today. You sent her to my room without knowing what I might do to her, but she still went to deliver your message. She may be a slave, but she didn¡¯t look like she was forcing herself to be there.¡±

    ¡°W-Why are you suddenly bringing her up?¡±

    ¡°Because you¡¯re making the same mistake I did! Don¡¯t be so stupid! You have someone that cares, but you are ignoring them in favor of getting drunk. They can¡¯t give you back your sense of adventure, but they can be there for you.¡±

    At least, that¡¯s what I believe. Erika said she only acted like that when drunk, meaning she was otherwise mostly nice. As a slave, she had no reason to want to defend her master without being asked to, unless she wanted to. Denying that would be like denying the reality that is Yua¡¯s love. And I refuse to do that again.

    Goddess, why am I lecturing someone whose life I effectively helped ruin?

    Elane stared at me, wide eyed for only a few seconds, but those seconds seemed to stretch on forever. Then finally, she laughed.

    ¡°Ha¡­ Hahahahaha! Damn! Do you have any idea how long it¡¯s been since someone talked back to me like that? Hahahahaha!¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­ All that and you were too drunk to listen.¡± Feeling as though my face had caught fire, I plopped back down in my seat. ¡°Maybe I should have just kept my mouth shut.¡±

    Still laughing, she slowly shook her head as she wiped away a tear.

    ¡°Gods, no. I heard you loud and clear. But I have to ask, why do you even care?¡±

    ¡°Like I said, I don¡¯t want to see you make the same mistake I did. My reasons may be entirely inconsequential compare to yours, but we¡¯re still in the same boat.¡±

    ¡°Hoho? And you¡¯re my life raft?¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­ Shut up.¡±

    ¡°Hahahaha! You know, I¡¯m starting to think Erika¡¯s first impression of you was¡­.¡±

    Elane¡¯s head whipped towards the curtain and I heard an entire tavern¡¯s worth of people all gasp at the same time the music leaking through the room¡¯s enchantment stopped. Then silence. The world outside the room seemed to freeze over.

    Swinging her legs out of the booth, Elane reached for her axe just as we heard a single set of footsteps dashing in our direction. They were light and quick and would have been inaudible had the tavern not been so quiet. They also seemed to know exactly where they were going.

    Elane¡¯s fingers coiled around her axe¡¯s handle, but she dropped it the moment the curtain burst open.

    ¡°There you are. Big Bro, help me!¡±

    ¡°M-Mana? What are you¡­¡±

    Rubbing what I hoped was an alcohol-fueled delirium from my eyes, I blinked hard enough to split an atom with my eyelids, but when I opened them again, the sight of the person standing in the doorway didn¡¯t change. Elane¡¯s jaw dropped hard enough to make her chest jiggle.

    Standing there, in this public building, wearing a playfully sweet grin on her lips was none other than Mana. That much was obvious, but the sight of her was too much for my brain to handle.

    ¡°A-Alex,¡± Elane whispered after picking up her jaw. ¡°Is it just me, or is Kitty naked?¡±

    ¡°¡­ It¡¯s not just you.¡±

    Mana was standing before us, completely and totally nude. Her tiny breasts soaked up the warm light of the candles burning around us, highlighting the soft pink of her nipples. Down below, opposite the excited swishing of her tail and between her slender thighs was the unabashed sight of her bare pussy that wasn¡¯t quite covered enough by the small tuft of black hair she was so strangely proud of.

    She wasn¡¯t holding her clothes, either. She was completely and totally naked. In public. In the city. Not in her village.

    Did¡­ Did my second wife just run through the tavern in the nude? Did everyone out there see her? No, was it the entire city? Did everyone in the city now know what my cute Mana looked like naked? Why did I ever think she¡¯d stay put when she ran away from her village so soon after we left?!

    ¡°Mana, what are you doing here? Why aren¡¯t you wearing¡­¡±

    ¡°Eeep!¡±

    Jumping in place, her ears stiffening to a razor-sharp point, she broke into another sprint. Deftly skipping around the shards of broken glass, Mana leapt onto my lap. She curled her knees up to her chest and grabbed the sides of my cloak. Pulling them over her until only her head was sticking out. She turned, grinned playfully at me, then ducked inside my cloak.

    I knew my cloak was oversized, but apparently it was big enough for us both to wear it at the same time.

    ¡°Excuse me, Lady Bellenfort,¡± Darwin said, casting the curtain aside. ¡°This might sound crazy, but did you see a naked cat-kin girl run through here?¡±

    ¡°No. Now get out of here. I said I don¡¯t want to be disturbed.¡±

    ¡°But she went this way and¡­ wait, what happened to the table?¡±

    ¡°I said go!¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes, my lady!¡±

    The moment he was gone, no, the moment the curtain closed on the room, Mana poked her head back out. With her still grinning as her eyes traced the path I assumed Darwing to be fleeing in, I could feel her tail whipping again my abdomen.

    Certain parts of me were trying to react to her unintentional lewdness, but the part decrying her flagrant disregard for modesty was too loud to ignore.

    ¡°That was close.¡±

    ¡°K-Kitty,¡± Elane stammered, her cheeks flushed as she held out her shaking hands. ¡°Can I have a hug?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Oh, it¡¯s Booby-Lady. No way. I can¡¯t breathe when you hug me.¡±

    ¡°B-But¡­¡±

    ¡°Nope,¡± she said and turned to me. ¡°Big Bro, when are you coming back?¡±

    What the fuck¡­?

    ¡°Did you come here just to ask me that? Where the hell are your clothes?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I took them off. They are¡­ places, I guess?¡±

    ¡°Places?¡±

    ¡°Yea. I don¡¯t know. I just took them off and left them.¡±

    ¡°Mana¡­.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    She looked up at me, an almost deafeningly-cute smile plastered to her lips. This girl was a picture-perfect example of innocence, and in her mind, that¡¯s exactly what she was. But I couldn¡¯t stand the thought of her running around the city like this. I knew she didn¡¯t mind, but this and that are two different things.

    If Yua and I warning her of the dangers and customs of humans wasn¡¯t enough to drill it into her head, then I needed to explain things, not as a human or as a man, but as her mate.

    My mind still muddied by the alcohol; I chose to let it guide my actions and pulled my right hand inside my cloak. Without any of my past hesitation, I then shoved it down between her thighs. Her eyes and ears shot up. And when my middle and ring fingers slid down over her bush, tapped against the little button hiding beneath its hood and slipped inside the spot that had yet to feel the touch of a man, her mouth opened in a soundless, delighted gasp.

    She let me in almost too easily, but I knew she¡¯d be fine. She¡¯d already done this to me multiple times now. So I pushed my fingers deeper, feeling her warmth, her tightness and just a tiny bit of her arousal as her tail doubled the speed of its flicking. And there, I held her firmly. Just as her people demanded of their mates.

    Her heated breath felt against my neck that she was fully aware of how I was holding her. She squeezed her thighs together, as if refusing to let me go. True to her people¡¯s ways, she instantaneously straightened up until she was ready to listen. Her eyes alight with excitement, she somehow managed to suppress her giddiness enough to relax enough in wait for me to speak my mind.

    It was a natural response, I know, but I too had to weaponize my morality to suppress my monster¡¯s attempt to rise up. My only saving¡¯s grace was that Elane didn¡¯t seem to notice what we were doing.

    ¡°Mana?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Big Bro?¡±

    ¡°I am your mate.¡±

    A toothy grin took to her cute, dimpled cheeks well after it should have. She nodded quickly.

    ¡°And I am yours.¡±

    ¡°Good. Then I¡¯ll say this as your mate: do not ever take your clothes off in public again.¡±

    Her grin faded almost as quick. She drew her chin in, but she didn¡¯t let herself look away. It was thanks to her people¡¯s customs that she knew that this was not a joking matter. As her mate, when holding her like this, my word was essentially law. I hated that it came to this, and I hated that I had to force the matter, but this was not something I could just sit back and watch.

    ¡°But nobody got mad at me like you said they would.¡±

    Chin still drawn, she turned her eyes up to me, pleading. Perhaps it was the alcohol again, but I wasn¡¯t even slightly swayed.

    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter. I don¡¯t want other men to see you like this. Ever.¡±

    ¡°O-Oh¡­¡±

    Her ears flattened and, beneath the cloak, she touched a hand to my forearm. I thought my refusal here would have been enough for her to ask me to stop, but she didn¡¯t try to make me. So, I continued.

    ¡°I said it was fine in your village, but when living amongst humans, you absolutely cannot run around naked. That¡¯s not how we do things. Some people will look down on you, while others will¡­ They¡¯ll look at you like I want to. As your mate, I am not okay with that.¡±

    Mana bit her lip, but nodded. Strange as it was for me to have to say all this, I needed it to be clear. But seeing her trembling and on the verge of tears, I slowed myself. I can¡¯t say for certain whether I was mad, worried or just jealous of all the eyes that had been lecherously placed on her, or maybe some combination of the three, but even now, I wanted to comfort her. If anything, to show that I was saying this calmly.

    Without ending my hold on her, I used my other hand to lift her chin. Leaning closer, I pressed my lips to hers.

    Elane gasped, but Mana only tightened around me.

    ¡°I know you don¡¯t like clothes, but this is how things have to be. Unless, knowing this, you don¡¯t want to be my mate anymore.¡±

    Despite the ease she felt in holding each other this way, we had not crossed that unbreakable line. The cat-kin mate for life, but since we hadn¡¯t gone that far yet, it should be okay for us to turn back. To go back to the short stint we had as just friends that only happened to meet thanks to Yua. To her just being that cute girl I met in their village. I hated the thought.

    Even if my heart shattered at the mere thought of leaving her behind, if she found this condition of mine truly unbearable, then she had that option. I¡¯d teleport her back this instant, apologize to her parents and, probably after a great deal of hesitation, head back to the inn alone with Yua.

    As if this same scenario played out in her mind, she shook her head, flinging tears everywhere. Her hand flew into my pants and, this time, I didn¡¯t so much as flinch when her small fingers wrapped around me.

    ¡°I am your mate,¡± she said, sniffling. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be anything else. I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll wear clothes. Even that panties thing. Just, please don¡¯t leave me alone like the others did. I¡¯ll be a good mate, I promise¡­!¡±

    I took her lips again. Unable to think as straight as I would have liked, I let my tongue invade her mouth to have a taste of hers. A sharp inhalation that passed through her nose let me know I¡¯d surprised her, but she didn¡¯t pull away. She¡¯d eaten almost nothing but meat for the last two days, but she tasted so sweet it was hard to stop myself from taking it too far.

    We really shouldn¡¯t be having this conversation while I¡¯m drunk.

    ¡°It¡¯s not about being a good mate,¡± I said. ¡°I know you are.¡±

    How could she be any less when she left the comfort of her home, the place she¡¯d lived her whole life, the forest she¡¯d never stepped out of, just to be by my side.

    ¡°I¡¯m just selfish. I don¡¯t want other men to look at you like I do, okay? You¡¯re my Mana, my mate. Not theirs.¡±

    I didn¡¯t want her to conform to my every desire. She wasn¡¯t a lump of clay that needed to be molded into the shape of a proper woman. If she was, the subject of her wearing clothes when alone with me would never have come up and I¡¯d be able to give into my carnal desires all I wanted.

    But I can¡¯t let that happen. I know myself too well. I¡¯m the sort of person that happily jumped on Yua every time she accidently flashed her panties this last month. If I let Mana be that vulnerable around me, I fear she¡¯d start to think I was just using her for her body. And that was absolutely not the case.

    ¡°I understand,¡± she said, sniffling one last time. ¡°Big Bro just wants to keep me to himself.¡±

    ¡°Exactly. Sorry for being so selfish.¡±

    She shook her head and her adorable smile made its triumphant return.

    ¡°It¡¯s not selfish. A mate should belong only to their mate. That¡¯s just how it is. And it¡¯s how I want to be, with you.¡±

    ¡°Good. Thank you. Now, come here.¡±

    ¡°Okay~¡±

    Neither of us let go of each other as our lips once more intertwined. In a direct counter to my thoughts on her own morality, it took straining every muscle in my arm and hand not to move anything more than my lips, for she too did nothing but hold me, even when the space warming my fingers grew just a little more damp.

    Letting my tongue push hers around, Mana giggled as though finding the kiss funny.

    ¡°I have no idea what¡¯s going on, but this is so sweet!¡±

    I froze, my tongue still in Mana¡¯s mouth, or rather, Mana holding my tongue with her lips, I suddenly felt like we¡¯d been caught doing something we shouldn¡¯t have when I heard a third voice.

    Elane was gawking at us like we were two actors romancing each other in some daytime TV drama. Reacquainted with the fact that we were not alone thanks to her squealing, I forced out an apology.

    ¡°S-sorry, Elane,¡± I said, finally pulling my hand away from Mana¡¯s thighs. She too let go of me. ¡°I, uh, guess I might be a little more drunk than I thought.¡±

    For reasons I didn¡¯t need to explain to myself, my cheeks boiled at the thought of making out in front of this woman. Mana, naturally, didn¡¯t care in the slightest as she happily leaned back into my chest.

    ¡°No, no, no. It¡¯s fine! Kitty is super cute, so it¡¯s pretty understandable that you¡¯d want to shove your tongue down her throat. Don¡¯t mind me.¡±

    ¡°I do mind. And can you not put it like that when we were supposed to be having a serious discussion?¡±

    The only reason why we were in this tavern and why Mana came here was because Elane wanted to talk. The thought that everything had gone askew because of a naked girl was strong enough to sober me up a little.

    ¡°Our conversation got totally derailed. We¡¯re not alone anymore, but what exactly did you actually call me out here for? Surely it wasn¡¯t to talk about our pasts over drinks.¡±

    ¡°Yea, yea, yea. Hold on,¡± she said, waving her hand dismissively. ¡°Kitty, why were you hiding from Darwin?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? You mean that male that was pouring all those stinky drinks? I wasn¡¯t. I was hiding from her.¡±

    Mana tipped her nose towards the curtain before ducking inside my cloak again. Seconds later, Erika burst into the room. Her hair was a mess and her face was sweaty. Her chest was rising and falling so rapidly I almost felt her heartbeat all the way across the room. I knew immediately that she¡¯d chased Mana here.

    Thankfully, she was gripping Mana¡¯s clothes in her hand.

    ¡°You¡­¡±

    Trying to affix an angry glare to her pretty face, Erika failed spectacularly once she looked my way. She blushed furiously. Not at me, per say, but to the large, girl-shaped bulge in my cloak. As if she needed to, she stuck her nose up in the air and sniffed loudly before leveling her eyes back on the bulge.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re there, Miss Mana. You should know there¡¯s no point in hiding from my nose.¡±

    I sighed.

    ¡°Erika, I¡¯m sorry for the trouble she¡¯s caused you, but could you spare her the lecture? I just got done talking to her.¡±

    A jolt of surprise causing her to shake her head, Erika seemed to have only just noticed I was there, despite harboring the criminal inside my clothes.

    ¡°S-Sir Alex. My apologies. I tried to talk to her, but she refused to listen. A-And I wasn¡¯t fast enough to prevent her from¡­ I-Is she still¡­?¡±

    ¡°Yes, she is. And sorry again, but can I have those clothes?¡±

    ¡°O-O-Of course!¡±

    Speeding across the room, she very nearly threw the clothes at me, looking as though she were equal parts happy to be rid of them and embarrassed to be a part of this.

    Freed from a second lecture, Mana poked her head back out and grinned mischievously at the maid. Erika pursed her lips, looking like she might cry, but she quickly hid such emotions once she finally noticed Elane.

    Suddenly growing stiff like a board, she was clearly bracing for punishment for failing the task her mistress set out for her, but Elane was too focused on us to care.

    ¡°Mana,¡± I called, poking the former lump¡¯s head. ¡°Can you come out of there and get dressed already?¡±

    ¡°Hehehe, okay¡­ Wait.¡±

    She shifted, letting her feet fall out of the cloak to dangle between my legs, but stopped there. Turning, her ears tickling my chin, she twisted her brow in confusion.

    ¡°But you said not to let others see me naked.¡±

    ¡°¡­ I mostly meant men, but these two are fine. I think,¡± I turned to Elane. ¡°Sorry, but given the circumstance, would you mind if she¡­?¡±

    ¡°Oh, no. Go right ahead.¡±

    Putting up a forced smile, a pink tinge still coloring her cheeks, she politely gestured the go ahead. Erika opened her mouth to protest, but Mana slipped out of my cloak and back onto the floor before she could get the words out.

    Once she was fully in view again, Elane¡¯s hands clenched her knees with a force that looked like it could shatter boulders, while Erika¡¯s face had gone so red she looked like she might pop.

    Then, completely out of nowhere, Erika squinted and turned an ear towards her mistress. She tilted her head in confusion, sniffed the air, looked at the ground and gasped at the glass scattered about.

    Ever nimble, Mana easily side-stepped this obstruction and, smiling through her reluctance, accepted the panties I handed her. And as if this world weren¡¯t confusing enough, she casually got dressed in front of everyone, while Erika got down on her knees to start sweeping up the glass and while Elane continued to crush her knees.

    I suppose that, even if she found Mana just as cute as I did, having to watch this scene while we were supposed to be talking was a bit much. So, I stood to help her hurry along, but I was struck with a sudden headrush of dizziness, like all the booze rushed to my brain the moment my ass left the seat. Clutching my head, I fell back into my seat and settled for watching her.

    Once Mana was fully dressed, the mess I made was cleaned and when Elane was done turning her knees into a fine powder, we left, drunkenly staggering our way out of the room. There was no way to speak privately with the present company and I didn¡¯t want to leave Mana and Erika alone again.

    However ¨C and that is a big fat HOWEVER ¨C when we stepped into the main drinking area of the tavern, I couldn¡¯t help but notice Darwin gasp at the sight of the now fully clothed Mana happily holding my hand. He very clearly remembered her. How could he not when she¡¯s so cute? But so did the others, and only a few of them were women.

    When we stepped out, ready to leave, each and every one of them went silent again, as if suddenly shutting up was a hobby they were all experts at.

    Under the pressure of their collective gazes, Mana hid behind me even though she no longer had anything she needed to hide, save for their memories of her. And said memories were written clearly on their faces.

    Clenching my teeth, I stepped up and addressed the crowd. I was only barely able to keep myself from yelling.

    ¡°Sorry for the disturbance earlier everyone, but I hope you all can understand that¡­ You didn¡¯t see a fucking thing. Got it?¡±

    I tapped my sword for emphasis and a few of the patrons blanched, but not all of them. Hardly any of them, actually. Not until Elane stepped up beside me.

    ¡°That¡¯s right you shits. You didn¡¯t see anything, right, Darwin?¡±

    I thought she was going to brandish her axe for our sake, but instead, Elane pulled out a gold coin and flicked it towards the bartender. Every eye in the place watched that coin arch through the air as though it were moving in slow motion. Having put a little too much strength into it, it hit the counter with a loud clink and fell harmlessly onto the floor.

    She continued with a smile, ¡°Anyone here that didn¡¯t see anything gets a free drink on me.¡±

    ¡°I-I didn¡¯t see anything!¡±

    ¡°Me neither!¡±

    ¡°Neither did I!¡±

    ¡°Hey, I just got here. I don¡¯t even know what you¡¯re talking about, but I didn¡¯t see either!¡±

    Darwin was immediately beset by a gang of thirsty patrons that forced his attention elsewhere. Understanding less about this world¡¯s currency than I wished to, and knowing even less about its alcohol, I had to guess that that one gold coin was going to be enough to get all these people about as drunk as us, even if they didn¡¯t go for the cheap stuff.

    Elane smirked at me from over her shoulder, with the soon-to-be-setting sun casting a golden silhouette behind her. The beautiful curl to her lips said That¡¯s how you deal with this sort of people, but she ruined the effect by staggering her next step hard enough for Erika to have to catch her.

    Laughing it off, she threw an arm around the maid¡¯s shoulders and pushed the tavern doors open. We followed close behind her as Darwin was flooded with orders.

    We walked a while, seemingly without direction. At least, none that I could tell. I thought I¡¯d sobered up a bit after yelling at Elane and confronting Mana, but I grossly underestimated the effect the alcohol was having on my body.

    I found it annoyingly difficult just trying to walk in a straight line without swaying to one side or the other, but I kept trying for Mana¡¯s sake. Elane, however, had no problems leaning on Erika for support. I had to hope that it had something to do with our conversation that she was letting the maid help her.

    ¡°Okay, this is far enough,¡± Elane sighed, stretching her arms over her head. The buttons keeping her coat pulled over her breasts once more screamed in agony and, just when I thought they were going to snap, she lowered her arms with a satisfied grunt.

    I didn¡¯t realize it until we stopped, I¡¯ll admit that I¡¯d been too busy switching my line of sight from looking down Mana¡¯s blouse to looking at Elane¡¯s jiggling ass, but she¡¯d brought us back to Wave Watcher¡¯s Cross.

    ¡°Erika and I will be heading this way,¡± Elane said, pointing towards the church, but my mind was coherent enough to figure she meant somewhere beyond the dilapidated building. ¡°It was fun drinking with you. Oh, one more thing.¡±

    Staggering toward us, Elane picked Mana up into her arms before the girl realized what was going on and hugged her to her chest. Her face ruthlessly buried in the mass of cleavage, she kicked and squirmed and fought to no avail. It wasn¡¯t until Erika politely coughed into her fist that Elane released my Mana and she scurried behind me.

    ¡°Kitty, you¡¯re so cute.¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

    ¡°Hahaha. So cute. Bye bye. And bye bye, Alex. All things considered; it was fun drinking with you.¡±

    ¡°Yea, it was. But the world is kind of spinning right now. I think we had too much.¡±

    ¡°Hoho? Is it? You¡¯re such a lightweight.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re one to talk. You can barely stand, too.¡±

    ¡°Nuh-uh. I¡¯m only a little tipsy,¡± she said with a wink before heading off towards the church. I knew the tipsy thing to be her code word for denying her own drunkenness, but to her credit, she was handling herself much better than I was. And I¡¯m pretty sure she drank more than me.

    ¡°Oh, wait, Elane. What was it you wanted to talk about?¡±

    ¡°Hmm. Oh yea,¡± she hummed, tilting her head. No, I think the weight of her axe was making her entire body tilt. ¡°Nothing, really.¡±

    ¡°But you called me out here because you wanted to talk. That means you had something to say, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Hoho? No, it doesn¡¯t. But since it was fun, I¡¯ll let you in on a little, teeny tiny secret.¡±

    Staggering back towards me, Elane left Erika behind and nearly tripped when she tried to pat my shoulder, but I caught her hand with my own. Smiling and laughing to herself, she turned her cobalt blue eyes up to me and the heat returned to my cheeks.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t have anything specific I wanted to talk about today. I was serious when I said I just wanted to see what kind of man you are. Shame you can¡¯t hold your rum, though.¡±

    Honestly, I was surprised at myself. New body or not, having no experience drinking should have made me a total lightweight. The sheer abundance of Elane¡¯s experience made it easy to see why she¡¯d only started to slur her words, but after all we drank, I felt as though I should have passed out a long time ago. Maybe my endurance boosting trait somehow granted me better alcohol tolerance?

    I sighed, but when I noticed how the way we were holding hands looked similar to how Yua and her many opponents settled their sparring matches, I remembered we had somewhere to be.

    ¡°Sorry again for everything. For turning you into a thief, for yelling at you, for breaking your rum twice now and, well, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Letting go of Mana¡¯s hand to pat Elane¡¯s, I concluded our meetup by casting Dimensional Step to take us back to the inn. Luckily, I wasn¡¯t drunk enough for the spell to fail.

    Erika gasped at the sight of the blue lights, but Elane just smirked at me.

    I continued, ¡°This is all still a bit new to me. This whole thief, thing. The cat-kin¡¯s nudist ways. The alcohol¡­. I never had to deal with any of this stuff in my old world, but I¡¯m trying to learn. Sorry my lack of progress ended up hurting you.¡±

    ¡°¡­ In your old world?¡±

    Elane¡¯s smirk vanished and was quickly replaced with a confused intrigue that for some reason made her eyes widen and her cheeks flush. The sudden clarity that took over her face made her almost look sober. Sober and gorgeous. Seeing her like this, it was easy to see why I confused her for a literal goddess at first.

    I quickly looked away, turning towards the portal. I¡¯d been holding her hand again and probably for too long.

    Goddess, I think I might have been a little too influenced by the cat-kin, just grabbing people¡¯s hands like that.

    ¡°Anyways, we gotta go,¡± I said. ¡°Oh, and you really shouldn¡¯t drink so much. You¡¯re, like, way prettier when you smile and you don¡¯t seem to do much of that when you drink.¡±

    ¡°Wait, what did you¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, oh! One more thing, if you¡¯re gonna meet with that Dragma lord, don¡¯t forget he¡¯s a thief. Er, that he¡¯s working with the thieves? Either way, be careful.¡±

    ¡°W-Wait a second.¡±

    ¡°See you later!¡±

    Seeing that the portal was beginning to waver along with my focus, I picked Mana up into my arms and jumped through into our room.

    I tossed Mana onto the bed as the portal closed and immediately opened another, this time to the river by the village. I waited a few seconds for my lovely wife to appear and when she didn¡¯t, I stuck my head through and found a couple of her people enjoying a nice river bath. I asked them to send her my way and they happily agreed.

    Only a couple minutes and one recast of my spell later, and Yua came bounding through the portal. Smiling broadly, her hair was a mess and she was caked in dirt and sweat. Smirking to myself, finding myself oddly content in knowing I was right to assume she¡¯d spent most of her time fighting, I cast a quick Body Wash spell on her and, in an instant, all the mess coating her vanished.

    Free of the grime, Yua jumped into my arms. I enjoyed the soft sensation of her bare breasts against my chest and hugged her back. After everything today, it didn¡¯t take but a few seconds into our embrace for my hands to drift down south.

    Fully, openly and thoroughly groping her equally bare ass, I gave her a quick kiss before asking, ¡°So, how did it go?¡±

    ¡°Great!¡± she chimed, her tail swishing happily. ¡°Daddy said he¡¯ll be ready to fight anytime.¡±

    ¡°Good. Good.¡±

    Smiling, mumbling my approval, my hands flew up north again. Jumping behind her, I wrapped my arms around her and cupped her breasts, pulling her into my chest. Immediately losing myself in their softness and in the sight of my fingers sinking into her flesh, I barely noticed her smile twitch when she gave me a quick sniff.

    ¡°Alex, were you drinking?¡±

    ¡°Uhh. Yea, a little. Or, a lot, I guess. I don¡¯t know what constitutes a lot, but I think it was too much. Right, Mana?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± my cute little soon-to-be-second wife said with a shrug.

    I wanted to reach over and wrap her into a hug, but Yua¡¯s breasts wouldn¡¯t let me move from this spot. They were demanding I fondle them and she herself was starting to breathe a little heavier. Naturally, my Memorize skill allowed me to remember exactly how and where she liked to be fondled.

    Pressing her lips to suppress something, she grabbed hold my wrists, not to stop me, but to steady herself. She wasn¡¯t at all bothered by her fellow cat girl sitting on the bed only a few feet away from us.

    ¡°Nnm¡­ But weren¡¯t you going to spread rumors or something?¡±

    ¡°Yea, but we got something better.¡±

    After all, the plan to spread rumors on the cat-kin¡¯s behalf was something like a last resort that would need time to fester. We¡¯d still do it, but it was never my main plan of attack.

    ¡°Ahn!¡± unable to suppress herself any longer when I tweaked her nipple, Yua had to force herself to speak. ¡°Wh-What is it? ¡­  Nngh¡­. What¡¯s better?¡±

    Spinning Yua by the shoulders, I planted another kiss on her before lifting her by the backs of her thighs. She clung to me for only a second before I set her down on the bed next to Mana. With her looking comfortable and with her pussy looking even more enticing than usual, I started on my belt. She watched my pants fall to the floor with a playful bite to her lip.

    ¡°I was out drinking with Elane, actually. Remember? Miss Bellenfort?¡±

    ¡°Hehe. Yea, I remember. But what about that is better?¡±

    I pulled my underwear off and tossed it over my shoulder. Only then did I find the intelligence to make sure the window was still closed and the sound-proofing enchantment still in effect.

    ¡°Because,¡± I said, taking her knees in hand and parting them for her. ¡°She¡¯s going to be meeting with the Duke and Lord Argento later. And I told her about the thieves.¡±

    ¡°Oh? Did she say she¡¯d do something about them?¡±

    ¡°Nope. But now that she knows, she might be able to bring it up during their talk. If they corner Lord Argento, they might be able to get better trade deals with Dragma.¡±

    At this, Yua giggled to herself and I enjoyed the sight of her sizeable breasts jiggling right along with her laughter.

    ¡°And how does that help us at all?¡±

    ¡°¡­Er¡­ Did I mention I¡¯mdrunk?¡±

    ¡°Hehehe. You really didn¡¯t need to.¡±

    Shit. I wasted the day, didn¡¯t I? It¡¯s not like the rumors I¡¯d planned were going to show any fruit today, anyways, but now we¡¯re a day behind. I think?

    Hopefully it¡¯ll be easier to get in touch with the Duke once his little negotiation thing is done.

    ¡°Alex, maybe we should wait. There¡¯s still time to get some work done.¡±

    She started to close her legs, trying to hide the holy land from my line of sight, but I put my hands on her knees again and held them in place. The sudden show of force didn¡¯t so much as put a crack in her lovely smile.

    ¡°Yua¡­ A lot¡¯s happened while you were gone.¡±

    Fearing for my life a bit. Worrying about Mana. Getting drunk for the very first time. Listening to Elane¡¯s troubled past. Mana showing up naked in a bar.

    And then there was that time where I thought about how sexy it was that Yua popped back into the inn through my portal, butt naked and unashamed of it. Knowing she spent the better part of the last few hours just as naked as Mana had been at the bar, I was pretty sure I was being a giant hypocrite, but the circumstances are totally different.

    ¡°But what about Mana?¡± Yua said, looking at the girl in question as she propped herself up on a pillow. ¡°What about holding back?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I don¡¯t mind. Besides, Big Sis, you know you¡¯re supposed to let your mate mate with you whenever he wants, remember?¡±

    As she spoke, Mana gave me a cheeky thumbs-up and I took it as her doing me a favor in return for me not mentioning her streaking incident to Yua, since she likely would have gotten a scolding. And I was happy to accept her offer.

    ¡°So,¡± I continued, putting a knee on the bed. ¡°We are not leaving this room again until the bedsheets are soaked through and you¡¯ve screamed your heart out from all the pleasure.¡±

    Smiling wryly at the both of us, Yua touched her fingertips to her crotch and spread her lower lips for me. I pounced.

    Maybe getting drunk every once in a while isn¡¯t such a bad idea after all.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 20

    Thankfully, my first drinking experience ended without me doing anything stupid. Being spared the torture of waking to a hangover was just a bonus, unless it just hasn¡¯t set in yet. My mind was still swimming, but not so much that I couldn¡¯t tell night had long since settled over Guerraway.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Maybe I didn¡¯t do anything stupid directly, but I did at least do something stupid by proxy. I¡¯d wasted almost a full day of our quest¡¯s time limit. The village could hang in there, but I might end up having to explain myself to the guild soon if this keeps up. And I doubt Then I got drunk with a pretty lady would count as a viable excuse.

    Shifting in bed, I realized I was naked. My memories of the latter half of yesterday were a little vague, but it clearly ended on a good note. Beside me, Yua looked utterly unconscious as she slumbered, but when I brushed her hair back to check on her, she wore a small satisfied smile.

    Good to know. I only remembered bits and pieces about what Elane and I talked about, but I know I remembered coming back to the inn and almost immediately throwing her onto the bed. The question was, how many rounds did we go? Judging by her still recovering stamina bar, I definitely overworked her.

    And yet, here she was next to me, having put up with this drunken, horny idiot. She¡¯d rolled off my arm in her sleep at some point, but she still deserved full points as a wife.

    ¡°Goddess¡­¡±

    There was nothing I could really say, so I shifted more of the blanket onto her. Apparently, I¡¯d had her put on that new green negligee I bought for her at some point, but with how little it covered on her, she¡¯d need the warmth.

    ¡°Big Bro?¡±

    Squishing her cheek against my chest, Mana¡¯s big blue eyes reflected the moon beautifully. The time on my HUD read that it was past midnight, but she didn¡¯t look even slightly tired.

    I tried to move my arm to wrap it around her, but stopped when I felt the warmth of something soft and springy in my palm. I closed my eyes and internally accepted that I was perverted even in my sleep as I let go of her tiny breast and shifted my palm down to her waist.

    ¡°Was I keeping you awake?¡±

    ¡°No. You squeezed my booby all last night too.¡±

    Fighting the urge to apologize ¨C I knew she didn¡¯t mind ¨C I asked, ¡°Then why are you still awake?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t stop thinking about it,¡± she whispered, her big blue eyes shifting to the sleeping Yua. I whispered back so we didn¡¯t wake her.

    ¡°Ah¡­ I don¡¯t remember much, but I must have been pretty rough with her, huh? Did we keep you up?¡±

    I¡¯d received such a complaint the morning after our stay in the village, but none of their people were right next to us like Mana was. Remembering myself saying something super cringy before I laid into her, I can only imagine that Yua made good use of the sound-muffling enchantment earlier.

    Or so I thought until Mana shook her head.

    ¡°No, I mean back in that place with all those smelly drinks. With Booby-Lady.¡±

    ¡°The tavern. And her name is actually Elane, Mana.¡±

    ¡°So?¡±

    Turning, she pressed her chest against my side before nuzzling her cheek against me.

    ¡°¡­ Okay. Then what¡¯s the problem? Is it because I got mad?¡±

    Naturally, I hadn¡¯t forgotten that or why that argument had happened. I was still a little mortified by the thought of so many people having seen her naked, but the alcohol had taken most of the edge off. I knew she didn¡¯t mind them looking, but I also knew that I¡¯d gotten the point across by officially asking her to stop as her mate.

    I may be jumping to conclusions there, but I got the feeling I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about her doing anything like that again.

    ¡°Or, wait, was it because of how I held you?¡±

    Her thin, sakura pink lips turned up in a happy, gentle smile. Beneath the blankets, her tail wriggled about.

    ¡°It was the first time you treated me like a proper mate. You touch my boobies all the time, but never my special place. It made me so happy. I can still feel your fingers.¡±

    Mana¡¯s fingers ticklishly ran over the hand I held around her waist. My cheeks warmed at the thought of what I¡¯d done.

    ¡°I was starting to think I¡¯d never find a mate,¡± she continued, her fingers still dancing against mine. ¡°None of the males in the village treat me seriously. I think¡­ Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m sm¡­ not big. Every time I look at them, they look away. Sometimes they just leave when I try to talk to them. Nobody plays with me anymore, either. Even Daddy and Chief Tama won¡¯t look at me for more than a second unless they¡¯re mad at me.¡±

    My arm tightened around her on reflex. I didn¡¯t need a cat-kin¡¯s ears to know she was telling the truth. Nor did I need to be sober to remember those two actively shy away from looking at her.

    ¡°It¡¯s been like that for years. I tried fighting again, but nobody would spar with me. They¡¯d take one look at me and look away, even when I hit them. Then there was this time when I found a new animal in the forest. I was sure nobody had seen it before, but when I tried to have someone follow me to its nest to prove it, they got all twitchy and said they were busy. But they weren¡¯t. They just left to go find their mate. And every time I try to help them with something and I messed up, they just tell me to leave, since they won¡¯t look at me long enough to explain what I did wrong. Nobody looks at me anymore unless they¡¯re yelling at me.

    ¡°But not you,¡± she continued and her fingers left mine to slide under the blanket to wrap around my monster. ¡°I love the way you look at me. The way your cheeks get all red like affles. I love it so much. So, so much.¡±

    Before I knew it, my hand slipped down her backside, around her tail, over her small bottom and between her thighs. She parted her legs slightly and let my fingers reclaim their rightful place. She still sucked in a surprised, but happy breath, and I shuddered at the feeling of my own monster filling with life again.

    But I wasn¡¯t doing this for no reason. I wanted to return her truth with my own.

    ¡°How could I possibly look away from such a cute girl? I couldn¡¯t bear it.¡±

    Smiling under the moonlight, a small stream of tears ran down her cheek. She let go of me to wipe them away. I did the same so I didn¡¯t overstay my welcome.

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to thank me. I¡¯m just saying what I feel.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± she sniffled, then looked over me to see if she¡¯d woken Yua. ¡°I heard your heart when I met you with Big Sis.¡±

    ¡°Yea, can¡¯t really deny that.¡±

    I was and will always be faithful to Yua, but I have to admit I was smitten with this girl the moment I saw her. The only moment that day that made me any happier was when Yua gave me permission to make her mine.

    Then again, if Mana was so quick to fall too, then Yua must have heard her feelings long before I did. The opposite was likely true, in multiple ways.

    ¡°Do people do that to you? Make you feel lonely.¡±

    ¡°They use to, but I know now that it was my fault.¡±

    ¡°Were you mean to them?¡±

    ¡°Kinda. They tried to be with me, but I ignored them, so they ignored me back. It bothered me, but I kept doing it. I couldn''t stop myself. And after a while, everyone ignored me. Like I was ghost they¡¯d already forgotten about.¡±

    ¡°Did you want to be alone?¡±

    ¡°No. I just had some bad habits that I didn¡¯t fix until it was too late. Actually, it was Yua that helped set me straight.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡±

    Turning away, Mana let out a long, contemplative breath. Now that we¡¯d brought it up, our situations weren¡¯t too dissimilar. But stupidity and inaction had me pushing away my friends and family and I don¡¯t think I can say the same for her. She may have shunned her people¡¯s love for fighting and may be a little too curious for her own good, but I just don¡¯t see her people disliking her.

    My mistakes were already set in stone, but I think her assumptions were leading her in the wrong direction. Seeing her little brow furrowing as she pouted, as if reprimanding my old friends for abandoning me, I got the distinct impression she was completely mistaken.

    ¡°Mana, when you do something that upsets someone, or when you ask them for something, do the people in your village look away and give in without you having to convince them?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Why?¡±

    ¡°Just answer, please.¡±

    ¡°Mmm. Most of the time, I think. Not so much with Daddy, though.¡±

    ¡°And when did this start happening?¡±

    ¡°Umm¡­ Not long after Big Sis left the village. Why?¡±

    I nodded and smiled at my own conclusion. Confused, probably because I¡¯d dared to smile in the face of her expression of a lonely past, Mana puffed up her cheeks and thumped her chin on my chest. I explained.

    ¡°Mana, I don¡¯t think your people are ignoring you.¡±

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    ¡°I think you¡¯re so cute that they feel the need to look away. Because, if they don¡¯t, they¡¯ll feel the need to give into you. No matter what you want.¡±

    Pretty much everyone there did say she was spoiled, after all. And years of her unintentionally getting her way might have made that true. Maybe, part of Mochi¡¯s request to make her stronger was to help her overcome this side of herself too, since I was (mostly, er¡­ partially) unaffected by her gaze.

    I should have guessed it whenever we were confronted by someone since coming to the city. She¡¯d step up to them, look them in the eye and suddenly they were doing what we wanted. Almost like hypnotism, even though there was nothing in her gaze but curiosity. No malice. No confrontation. No selfish demands. Just the same sort of curiosity any tourist might have in a new city.

    Her puppy-dog pout might just be her natural face, not a form of manipulation. She¡¯d unintentionally caused people to spoil her. This girl really was weaponized cuteness.

    Eyes as wide as the moon, Mana stared at me. Her ears twitched as though she were trying to remember the heartbeats of everyone that ever looked away. Then her cheeks puffed into a pout and she slammed her forehead onto my chest.

    ¡°That¡¯s stupid. They¡¯re stupid.¡±

    I poked and squished her cheek, deflating her pout.

    ¡°And you¡¯re cute enough to make them stupid.¡±

    ¡°Hehehe. Shut up.¡±

    Naturally, I had no way of knowing if I was right. Yua herself claimed Mana was just spoiled, but she¡¯s a woman. She doesn¡¯t understand the sort of effect someone like Mana could have on a man. And since the men of their tribe seem to be in charge (sort of), Mana accidentally convincing them to her side with the occasional pout might have only made her appear spoiled.

    Then again¡­. there was the tavern incident to consider. And her showing up by the barrier. Spoiled or not, she¡¯s at least incredibly impatient.

    Mana extended an arm around my abdomen and held me tight, like she thought she might slip off if she didn¡¯t. She nuzzled her cheek into my chest again, pulled a leg over mine and locked her foot around my calf. I thought she was satisfied enough to go to sleep, but her eyes remained open and trained on Yua.

    She was quiet for a few minutes before I heard her voice again.

    ¡°Big Bro?¡±

    ¡°Yea?¡±

    ¡°¡­ You were really rough with Big Sis earlier.¡±

    ¡°Y-Yea. I guess I probably was.¡±

    After meeting with such a beautiful, busty woman in the city, then encountering the very nude Yua and Mana, I didn¡¯t have a chance at holding back while drunk. Or in general.

    ¡°Did, uh¡­ Did we actually keep you awake?¡±

    Not-so-humble bragging aside, I do at least remember some of Yua¡¯s relentless moaning. Sober me would have held back in Mana¡¯s presence, but drunk me just wanted to watch her drown in pleasure.

    Mana nuzzled my chest again as she shook her head.

    ¡°Not that.¡±

    ¡°Then what kept you up?¡±

    ¡°You.¡±

    ¡°Oh, uh, because I was squeezing you too much?¡±

    ¡°Not that, either. I¡­ liked that. I really liked the way you kissed me earlier. You know, with your tongue.¡±

    ¡°O-Oh, I¡­¡±

    ¡°I couldn¡¯t stop thinking about it.¡±

    The hand Mana had draped over my abs slid back down, trying to slip under the blanket and pushing it aside when she failed. Her hand brushed over my monster, almost like she were petting it.

    A sharp inhale forced her to gaze up at me. A longing-shade of pink colored her cheeks, but then she bit her sakura lips. Some unspoken worry made her eyes quaver.

    ¡°¡­ Big Bro. We¡¯re mates, right? Really, really mates? No lying?¡±

    ¡°Obviously. No matter what happens, I¡¯ll convince your father that you¡¯re mine now.¡±

    ¡°Then, um¡­ can I tell you something?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Anything.¡±

    ¡°Even if I asked you not to tell Big Sis?¡±

    ¡°Um, sure?¡±

    A small nod and an even smaller smile. Lifting herself off my chest, she let the blanket slip down her back. Her soft white skin glowed beneath the gentle pressure of the moonlight. Placing one hand on the mattress for support, she reached behind herself and pushed the blanket further down the bed and off the both of us. Her slender black tail wriggled in its newfound freedom.

    Entirely unphased by the nudity she¡¯d exposed in me, she threw a leg over my waist and lifted herself onto me. My mind was clear enough to know that this was going somewhere dangerous, but at the same time, I was still just drunk enough not to care. I think. It easily could have been the palpitations I felt in my chest staying me.

    Alarm bells were ringing so loud in my head that Yua should have been able to hear them and wake to stop this, but neither me nor my first wife moved a muscle.

    Straddling me, Mana leaned forward pressing her very bare breasts into my chest so her lips could reach my ear. I could feel her heart pounding against mine, but when she whispered, mine nearly stopped altogether.

    ¡°My special place got wet for you.¡±

    She widened her knees, bringing her hips closer to mine. Pressing my cock down to rest on top of it, I learned she wasn¡¯t lying when I felt her lower lips rub up against me.

    ¡°W-Wait, Mana,¡± I whispered hoarsely, morality grasping at my fleeting sense of reason. ¡°Your father said¡­¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± she whispered back, glancing again at the sleeping Yua who still did not move. ¡°I¡¯m an adult now. I choose my mate, not him. And I want you.¡±

    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    She lifted her bottom into the air and reached between her thighs. Her slender fingers wrapped around my cock again. There was no hesitation in the way she held me, no fear in how the swelling throbbed against her palm.

    My pulse quickened enough for me to hear it. Her ears twitched knowingly. To her, hearing that sort of reaction must have been the ultimate, the sweetest confirmation that she was in the right.

    Mana tried to stand my cock up straight beneath her, but had to raise her hips even higher to do so. Sliding her palm up my shaft, she gently took hold of my tip and lowered herself, just enough for our sensitive flesh to meet for a midnight embrace.

    Captivated, worried, entranced, drunk, and wanting, wanting more than anything else¡­ I could not move myself in any way to prevent this. My hands flew to her lightly plump thighs, but all that got me was her hips lowering just a little more. I watched as the head of my cock parted her lower lips. Her arousal dripped down my shaft. She was so Goddess-damn warm.

    The way she smiled at me only made me stiffen more.

    ¡°W-Wait, Mana.¡±

    ¡°I watched your manhood go in and out of Big Sis so many times now, but that kiss made me want it for myself. I want to feel what it¡¯s like to be your mate. I want my special place to feel it too.¡±

    She lowered herself further and my head delved deeper between her labia before it was stopped by her soft, wet flesh. Biting her lip, she pushed me lower towards the right spot she¡¯d missed by only a few millimeters. I slid so easily, so warmly against that I almost fell inside her the moment I reached her entrance.

    And it wasn¡¯t by accident that I was stopped. She tried to lower herself a little more, but my cock was too thick. With just the top half of my tip struggling to slip inside, it was almost like her pussy was trying to push me away. Like I wasn¡¯t allowed in. Not unless I thrust myself.

    Still, her mouth fell open, as if just that were enough for her to cry out, but she didn¡¯t lower herself enough to end her maidenhood.

    ¡°Your manhood is still so big. You mated so many times with Big Sis, but it¡¯s still like this. It¡¯s a little scary.¡±

    Damn you, Increased Stamina Recovery! If only my drunken fun with Yua had been enough to knock my cock out of commission, I wouldn¡¯t be treading promise-breaking territory here.

    ¡°M-Mana, wait, please. I don¡¯t want your father to hate me. Or you. Either of us.¡±

    I already had one father dislike me just for stealing his daughter. I didn¡¯t want hers to be the same, not when all I had to do to win his favor was keep my hands to myself. And yet, for all the points I put into my Strength stat, for how light she was, for as easy as it¡¯d be to yell and wake Yua, I couldn¡¯t stop looking at her. I couldn¡¯t stop feeling her. Feeling how close I was to claiming her heart and hand forever.

    This made her ears flick, but the determined gleam in her big blue eyes didn¡¯t fade.

    ¡°He won¡¯t,¡± she whispered. ¡°He¡¯s just being selfish and stupid and mean.¡±

    ¡°While I hate to defend the guy, you¡¯re his daughter, aren¡¯t you? He kinda deserves that right.¡±

    Mana shook her head and, her petiteness be damned, her breasts still jiggled in the moonlight.

    ¡°Daddy and Mother have been wanting me to find a mate. And now I have. He just wants you to help because you¡¯re human. I heard his heart when he came to meet with you. He doesn¡¯t hate you at all. He was happy.¡±

    But that can change!

    Mana placed a palm softly onto the center of my chest. Her ears flicked and a frown eked across her lips.

    ¡°Big Bro, don¡¯t you want this? To be my mate?¡±

    I drew in a breath and clasped a hand over hers to steel myself. It didn¡¯t work.

    ¡°Mana, right now, I want nothing more than to mate with you. But we should wait.¡±

    The want to just thrust away my worries was so tempting it literally hurt to hold back. A desire for a form of pleasure only she could give burned inside me like a flame that refused to be quenched.

    I wanted this. I was dying for this, for her. But I had to hold back. For both our sakes.

    ¡°Big Bro,~¡± she whispered sweetly, no doubt hearing the turmoil seething in my heart. ¡°If you¡¯re my mate, then you¡¯re supposed to mate with me whenever I want. And I really want to mate right now. With you. So¡­¡±

    Seeing me unable to respond, Mana once more realigned me with her entrance and¡­

    ¡°¡­¡­!¡±

    She slammed her hips down on my cock before I could even think another word. In one swift motion, I was thrown into a world of chaotic passion that instantly silenced my protests. I was enveloped in a heat so intense I started to sweat. But then Mana¡¯s eyes shot open and she clamped her hands over her mouth, barely managing to suppress a scream. She squeezed her eyes shut as a small stream of tears trickled down her cheek.

    In her haste, no because of my hesitation, she¡¯d forced me to take her all at once. My cock tore through her maidenhood and knocked against her womb in one swift, powerful stroke. A thin trail of red dripped down my shaft to shine in the moonlight. Proof that we were a pair, mates, forever. This night had become a wedding made of bedsheets, mutual lust and secrets.

    Her tiny breasts shaking with her every staggered breath, she looked down and, as if she couldn¡¯t believe what she herself had done, spread her lower lips for a better look. Just to make sure the mass splitting her was real.

    Teary-eyed, she forced a smile. Glancing at Yua with her once cute face now twisted in pain, she quietly said, ¡°Owwy.¡±

    Seeing her like this, I forced back the joy I felt at getting to help another beautiful girl shed her virginity. Mana¡¯s pained look was just too unbearable.

    ¡°¡­gk!¡±

    I lifted myself onto my elbows to comfort her, but stopped halfway when my cock shifted inside and pain caused her voice to slip. She was not Yua. Yua grinned and bore with the pain for my sake, but I could never ask that of this girl. Instead, I had to be the one to bear it.

    I laid back into my pillow and offered her my hands. She took them and, slowly, I lowered her until she was laying across my chest. Despite the pain, Mana struggled to shift her hips down my shaft to take me just a little deeper, as if she thought I might slip away if she gave me the slightest of chances.

    Her heart raced as I held her. Her each and every breath whispered against my ear, sending ticklish sensations ripping through my spine in a plea to get me to start moving again. But the feeling of her supremely tight pussy quivering from the strain it took just to hold me inside gave me pause. Her breasts weren¡¯t the only part of her that was small and I was far too big not to acknowledge that.

    The gift the Goddess had given me was a double-edged sword. Mana was so tight, so snug, so hot and still so wet. I felt at once that our bodies were made for each other, but that same thought made just the concept of holding myself still inside her utterly unbearable. But I had to before I broke her.

    ¡°Mana, I love you,¡± I whispered and she sniffled.

    ¡°I¡­ Ng¡­ I love you too¡­. Nggh¡­ M-Mother never told me how much it hurts to be bled.¡±

    She tried to move her hips again, maybe to pull me further in, maybe just to confirm I was still there. Either way, she whimpered.

    ¡°Don¡¯t force yourself.¡± I pressed my hands to her cheeks and made her look me in the eye. ¡°We¡¯re true mates now, you don¡¯t need to prove yourself any further. If this is too much for you, we can¡­¡±

    She messily pressed her hands over my mouth to quiet me. Gasping at every struggled breath, she managed to say, ¡°We¡¯re mates¡­ We both want to mate. We shouldn¡¯t wait¡­ ng¡­ we should just¡­nngg!... Whenever we wan¡­!

    I pressed a hand over her mouth as well to quiet her back. Every word she spoke caused her pussy to quiver around my cock, and that meant pain. Wiping away her tears with my thumb, I pulled her back into a hug when she tried to lift herself again.

    The women of her tribe are so impossibly determined to pleasure their mates, but I refused to let her prolong the pain for my sake. Her sweet, stunted gasps tickled my ear every time her inner walls twitched around me, so I held her down with just enough pressure to not add to the pain.

    ¡°My Mate,¡± I whispered. ¡°It is my desire to hold you like this for a while. Is that okay?¡±

    ¡°Wo¡­ Would that make you feel good?¡±

    ¡°Very.¡±

    ¡°Th-Then¡­ ng¡­ O-Okay. My Mate can hold me however he wants.¡±

    Tears still trickling down her cheeks, she moved her hands from my chest to hug them around the back of my neck. Wrapped so tight in her warmth, I endured her frustration. Even when her nails dug into my flesh. Even when she tried to run her fingers through my hair before grabbing and squeezing it. And especially when she bit into my shoulder just to suppress a scream. She endured this silently, mostly silently, so I endured the pleasure making my thoughts swim so I didn¡¯t act on it.

    We stayed like this for no less than ten minutes. My cock buried in her pussy, unmoving despite the desperate urge to. Despite the pain, her arousal never wavered and neither did mine.

    Several times I thought to hand her a health potion, but didn¡¯t for fear of it somehow regrowing her hymen. Determined as she was, I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d be able to endure this twice in one night, and I knew she wouldn¡¯t wait for tomorrow.

    Soon enough, her breathing steadied, though the passion in her every gasp still lit a fire in my ear each time I heard it. Sniffling one last time, she lifted her chin from my chest and the light of the moon made her big blue eyes sparkle. She pressed her lips together and I knew she didn¡¯t know what to say. And she didn¡¯t need to. Her eyes said it all.

    The pressure she¡¯d been squeezing me with down there had long since steadied as well.

    With a kiss, I slid my hands down her small back to round them over her ass. Testing the waters with a light squeeze, I was relieved when the only reaction I¡¯d drawn out of her was an excited wriggling of her tail.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to start moving now,¡± I whispered and she buried her face in my chest.

    Prepared to handle everything myself and holding her bottom still, I slowly lifted just my hips. My cock drove itself deeper and instantly regained the warmth it¡¯d lost in our waiting. She drew in a long, deep breath that she never seemed to release. Her supreme tightness, the way her inner lust slid against me, made my teeth clench.

    It was only a single thrust, one that was barely a thrust to begin with, and it felt like she was trying to break me in half with her refusal to let me pull out.

    Mana trembled in my arms, but not from fear. The heated breaths that kept catching themselves against my chest were all the proof I needed. I started to move.

    Small, shallow, tender strokes of my cock were what allowed the soft moans she let out to be free of any pain. She wrapped her arms around my neck again as if to thank me for not giving up on her. By chance, Yua actually usually preferred our love-making to be slow and loving, so I wasn¡¯t new to this measured pace. I could bear the seemingly unbearably slow buildup of my own pleasure, but there was something about how the usually vibrant Mana repressed her own voice that turned me on something fierce.

    A bit of saliva leaked down her chin as she opened her mouth into a soundless scream before she clenched her teeth. The long black hair she let drape onto my chest was cool, but she was sweating. Watching her struggle, knowing my cock was the cause to the pink tinge in her cheeks, made keeping my hips moving slowly the hardest thing I¡¯d ever done.

    Mana didn¡¯t move a muscle. She let me thrust for the both of us. Even her tail seemed unsure of how to react to the pleasure as it jerked around, unable to interpret the signals her own body was sending it. Her once adorably cute face scrunched up in a repressed pleasure as she was forced to keep quiet for the sake of our sleeping partner.

    I moved us so slow that, what should have sounded like a wet, lascivious clapping of our hip-on-hip lust instead sounded like a gentle caress ushered by the occasional sweet, mumbled moan that escaped her lips. Her hips trembling, she pressed her knees tight to my sides to keep from falling off me.

    My beloved cat girl¡¯s most arousing desires continued to drip down my shaft no matter how hard or how tightly she squeezed me. I added to her pleasure by memorizing her reactions to how, where, and exactly at which moments to thrust between her quiet moans to draw out the best reactions. After a minute or so, I had her pussy begging me to come back in each time I pulled out to thrust anew. Though it also had her digging in her nails again.

    The bed creaked only after every third thrust, but was it my selfishness that wanted it to squeak and squeal each time my tip kissed her womb? Or was it just my relentless desire as her mate to pleasure her? My cock was seeking its own pleasure, but I wanted desperately to make sure she¡¯d remember this moment, not the pain that led up to it.

    Yua was still sleeping soundly, her breasts rising and falling in a steady pattern of content snoozing. The strap to her negligee slipped off her shoulder exposing the pink of her nipple to the cool night air, but she still did not stir. What I wanted to do would wake her, I was sure, but with each thrust that threatening to cause the damn keeping Mana¡¯s voice at bay to crack, my resolve to maintain the relative silence weakened.

    But it was none other than Mana¡¯s barely whispered voice that broke me.

    ¡°B-Big Bro¡­mnnn¡­ St-Stop. Wait. I think I n-need to pee¡­ nng!¡±

    ¡°¡­!¡±

    My hand flew away from her ass and down between us. Slipping straight past the small tuft of her pubic hair, my fingertips found the soaking-wet button of lust that was waiting to be pressed and began to waltz around it. Her petite body instantly convulsed almost violently atop mine.

    ¡°B¡­!¡±

    She wasn¡¯t able to get a full syllable out before I grabbed her by the back of the head and forced my lips on hers. My tongue invaded her mouth as my fingertips taught her the pleasure of her own unused clit.

    ¡°¡­! ¡­! ¡­! ¡­!¡±

    Unable to move herself away from the kiss we shared, her muffled moans vibrated against my lips. Unable to lift her hips high enough to let my cock slip out, her knees buckled and she fell, drawing me in even more. And unable to bare the feeling of her clit being teased for the first time, her hands flew from behind my neck, to my shoulders, to my chest, to the pillow beneath me, all in a failing attempt to try and grasp reality before she lost herself completely.

    Finally, her hands ended between our hips. Her fingers wrapped around my shaft as if to stop me from carrying her to climax, but with her own lust lubricating me, they slipped away all too easily when I thrust back into her. Unable to stop the new sensations from building, she let her arms go limp. Her hands fell useless beneath her, unintentionally acting as a cushion to dampen the lewd, unavoidable sound of our love-making.

    ¡°¡­..!¡±

    She squealed against my lips and fully surrendered control over to me until¡­

    ¡°¡­! ¡­! ¡­! ¡­!!!!¡±

    First her hips, then her entire body gave a great, sudden jolt that put an end to me teasing her clit. I wrapped my arms around the small of her back to keep her from falling off as she started to tremble almost violently. The bed squeaked its disapproval for the sudden vigorous movement, but I held my lips firmly over hers to make sure her voice couldn¡¯t do the same. And Goddess bless this girl, despite this likely being her very first orgasm, she did her best to keep her moans from reaching the sleeping Yua. Her fingernails were definitely going to leave their mark on my chest, though.

    Something warm and wet splashed against my crotch, but my mind was too foggy to let myself stop moving. I was close. Too close to stop. The only thing that could have stopped my hips now would have been her tears, but none fell. Pressing her eyes shut to endure her climax, she tried her best to focus only on moving her tongue.

    ¡°¡­!¡±

    Reaching the same limit that still had her pussy convulsing, I held her tighter to my chest, thrust deep into her womb and let go of my inhibitions.

    ¡°¡­!!!¡±

    Mana¡¯s eyes flew open in a shocked gasped that had her tongue retreating from my mouth. Sitting up on my lap once I erupted she stopped moving, she openly gazed at our connection. Touching a tentative hand to her belly, she breathed heavily as I filled her womb and as I lost my mind, drowning in the constant flow of pleasure.

    Despite whatever I¡¯d done with Yua earlier, the abnormal amount of semen I shot out hadn¡¯t lessened. Thanks either to my boosted endurance or some unperceived blessing from the Goddess, the voracity of my every orgasm never diminished. Each and every time an absurd amount of lust flooded out of me, and each and every time, it was never enough to completely drain me. Almost like I was born to be insatiable.

    So, when her womb was filled to the brim, she watched in utter disbelief as a couple white rivers trickled back out of her and down my shaft. In our days together, she¡¯d seen me do this with Yua at least half a dozen times, if not more, but nothing could have prepared her to experience it herself.

    ¡°B-Big Bro,¡± she whispered, her voice ragged. ¡°Your white stuff¡­ There¡¯s too much. My belly feels weird.¡±

    Seeing she¡¯d reached her limit; I helped her to pull her hips back so my cock could slip out of her. Mana collapsed onto me, entirely unable to move as the final few spurts landed quietly on her back. She shivered, but it looked completely involuntary.

    Knowing she¡¯d already reached her limit, my monster gave up on its own desires and slowly wilted in retreat for the night. However, Mana forgot to show me the same mercy when she pinned it down beneath herself.

    ¡°So, this is what mating feels like,¡± she whispered between several exhausted gasps. ¡°Big Bro, I can feel your white stuff coming back out¡­ Hehehe. It tickles.¡±

    ¡°Mana¡­.¡±

    ¡°¡­!¡±

    Grabbing her by the backs of her thighs, I pulled her up into another kiss. Though fatigue was evident in how slowly she moved her lips, her tail seemed as lively as ever.

    I knew we¡¯d done something that was just as wrong as it was beautiful, but I no longer cared. Drunk or not, I¡¯d accept whatever came of it. I fought for Yua and I damn well will fight for Mana too. But for now, there was something else I needed to do.

    We¡¯d crossed the line we weren¡¯t supposed to cross just yet. I¡¯d broken one of my promises, but there was still another that I could keep.

    Holding one hand on the small of her back, I held out the other to her. Her ears flicked at the sight of it, but she took it with a knowing smile that I honestly wasn¡¯t expecting from her.

    ¡°We¡¯re mates now,¡± I said. ¡°Nothing is going to stop that.¡±

    ¡°Mhmm!¡±

    Her smile widened, as if hearing the truth in my statement made her even happier, but the continued flush in her cheeks nearly made me forget myself. Goddess, post-sex Mana is somehow even cuter than normal Mana.

    Steeling myself, I continued.

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll ask you again, do you want to be my slave? We¡¯ll be mates no matter what, so¡­¡±

    ¡°Yup!¡±

    I felt as though I asked a question that should have gotten me arrested, but she answered so quickly, so sweetly and with such an adorable smile, that I couldn¡¯t even fathom rejecting her approval.

    Disbelief shook me, but I gulped it away. We¡¯d already had this conversation, there was no reason to rehash it past confirming that her will hadn¡¯t change. She knew what this was and what it would mean for her. So, all that was left was to cast my spell.

    Squeezing her hand gently, feeling the steady, if not excited rhythm of her pulse, I spoke the words.

    ¡°Slave Binding.¡±

    A small glow, brighter now in the night, erupted from our palms to reveal her status window. We both checked on Yua on reflex, but the light didn¡¯t rouse her. I sighed, unsure if it was because she wasn¡¯t awake to stop me, or because I knew she probably wouldn¡¯t.

    I flicked through Mana¡¯s status and found that it was mostly unchanged, save of course for the fact that she was no longer a virgin. I had to bite back a smile reading that before continuing.

    As I willed it, a prompt asking if I wanted to enslave this girl appeared between us. The message was still an affront to my eyes, but Mana¡¯s big blue orbs flicked across the words as though they were a love letter. Her smile never wavered. There was no doubt in her mind, so I wouldn¡¯t let it cloud mine either.

    I hit Yes.

    [Mana has become your slave]

    Without the need for additional details, the light faded and, now that she was mine, I had to be the one to whisk away her status page. I knew that, between us, it essentially meant nothing, but I didn¡¯t want the sight of the Slave tag under her name to ruin this moment.

    ¡°Well? Big Bro?¡±

    ¡°Oh, uh. That¡¯s it. You are my mate and my slave.¡±

    ¡°Eh? But I don¡¯t feel any different.¡±

    Pushing herself off my chest to sit on my abs, she raised her arms up and started twisting and turning, looking at every inch of her body for signs of change. Other than her being a little sweaty, there was none.

    ¡°Did Yua tell you that you would?¡±

    ¡°No, but¡­ Mmnn. This is fine.¡±

    With a shrug and a yawn, Mana let herself fall back onto me. She rubbed her cheek into my chest before she found a good spot and closed her eyes. I smiled at how she hugged me like a body pillow and held her the same. I¡¯d picked her up before, but it never really sank in how light she was until now.

    Soon enough, her once lively tail began to sink as her breathing grew slower and more relaxed. Exhausted from staying up so late and from our passion, Mana drifted off into a dreamland of her own making without so much as another peep.

    [Slave Master Class Has Reached Level 2]

    ¡­ I guess that I won¡¯t be allowed to forget what I¡¯ve done, even if I wanted to. Even if neither of the girls took issue with it.

    [Sex Master Class Has Reached Level 5]

    [New Ability Unlocked: Casanova¡¯s Brides]

    ¡­ Guess I won¡¯t be able to forget that, either. Also, the fuck is that ability?

    Finding a submenu with the same name in my status page, I went ahead and opened it. All that was there was were two rectangular info boxes, each one showing the image of the girls along with their names and, strangely, their levels. The number didn¡¯t quite add up to what I remember, but it didn¡¯t matter right now. So, I closed the menu without a second thought.

    I was already too lost enjoying the warmth of my new wife.

    Unable to stop my idiotic smile as I combed my fingers through Mana¡¯s silky hair, and still very awake myself, I watched her snooze for a while.

    Waiting, thinking. Weighing my options. The cuteness of her sleeping face and the occasional twitch of her ears reacting to something curious found only in her dreams. It all kept me awake while the other two slumbered so peacefully.

    True, a certain part of me was struggling not to react to the nude girl currently sleeping on top of me, but that wasn¡¯t the only reason.

    I now had two wives. It was a statement of fact I could have only ever fantasized about in the past, but now it was my reality. I had a family to take care of and that meant I needed money. And lots of it, a steady flow of it. What we had now could last us a good while, but I¡¯d be an idiot to sit quietly and gradually throw it all down the drain without any sort of backup.

    Right now, working with the guild was the best option I had and I was pushing the time limit of the quest we were on. Especially after yesterday. I could always find something else if the need arose, but why throw away a good gig when the pay was favorable?

    Watching my girls sleep so peacefully had me longing to try an up my guild rank so we could take on more lucrative quests. All so I could keep these wonderful smiles on their face.

    I needed to act. No, I needed to get to work.

    Wrapping Mana in a tight hug to see if she was fully asleep, I carefully rolled her off of me and set her beside Yua. There I paused for a moment, waiting to see if either of them noticed. Neither of them reacted and why would they? My heart was calm. There nothing for them to worry about. Feeling determined, I pulled the blanket back up to cover Mana¡¯s fragile body from the midnight chill.

    I was sure I was in the right.

    Was I still drunk? I don¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t have the experience to judge one way or another. The glow in my mind and the floating feeling in my body could have easily been from all the time I spent enjoying my girls. Besides, finishing up with Mana tonight cleared my mind enough to know that this needed to be done.

    Likewise, I was sober enough to know that what I was about to do was stupid and absurdly dangerous, but all it took to resolve myself was the sight of the contented smile Mana wore in her sleep. Her tiny breasts continued to rise and fall with an ease only comfort could bring. A rosy tinge still colored her dimpled cheeks. She must have been dreaming about what we did. Yua was, too. I may have started this lustful night off selfishly, but I¡¯ll end it for their sake.

    I made a promise to their people, I better live up to it now that I¡¯ve already accepted my prize.

    The room was silent, save for their combined, soothing breathing. I dangled my arm over the side of the mattress and, aiming at the floorboards, silently cast Dimensional Step. The moment the lights of the spell pierced the darkness and steadied, I glanced at the girls one last time and found them still sleeping peacefully.

    Ready to make up for the time I¡¯d lost drinking, and hoping to be back before either noticed my absence, I quietly slipped off the bed and fell straight through the portal.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 21

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    The moon loomed over the grassy plains outside Guerraway, bathing me in its midnight glow. It was so long into the night that I should have been finishing off the first of many dreams and gearing up for the next, but I was conscious enough to see the moonlight raining down, flickering and reflecting off each and every blade of grass like millions of little stars. It was as if the Milky Way had been reincarnated here with me, but instead of running off to the nearest city as I had, it chose to kick back here and enjoy the night life.

    It was so striking; I was sure the sight had to be magical in some way.

    But even more striking was the fact that I was naked and completely at the mercy of the chilly night air.

    ¡°Goddess, damn it¡­¡±

    After Mana and I embraced for the first time, and I made up my mind, I¡¯d jumped out of the inn so fast that I¡¯d completely forgotten to get dressed first. Remembering that I¡¯d left my clothes on the floor before assaulting Yua earlier, I pulled a spare outfit from my item box. Unfortunately, all I had in there was what I bought the girls in the city. Meaning, I was suddenly a naked creep holding a bunch of women¡¯s clothes.

    Unwilling to let my lingering buzz become a reason for crossdressing, I memorized the shape of a few pieces of clothing and used Material Destruction and Creation to reshape them into something a little more manly, all while the moon and stars above chuckled at my expense.

    As a show of love to my new wife, I chose to turn one of her skirts into a pair of boxer-briefs, instead of the article of clothing that first popped into my mind when I thought of underwear. I¡¯d just return them to their original shape later. After cleaning them, of course.

    With the abundance of heat my own cheeks were providing me warding off the chill, and a quick confirmation that nobody was around to see me, I searched the surrounding area for life. It was just as empty as it had been on our way through here.

    ¡°At least I have that small victory¡­¡±

    I opened my map menu and placed a marker right where I remembered the barrier to be, so I didn¡¯t get lost in the forest. An arrow appeared on my HUD¡¯s compass and I said a silent prayer of thanks to the Goddess. Even with my memory, trying to navigate the forest at night was going to be trouble without Yua.

    Stopping a moment to consider going back for her, I instead teleported to the edge of the forest. This was going to have to be my last Dimensional Step for a while. More so than with the girls at the inn, the light show it produced would attract too much attention. The thieves may still be on high-alert after what happened the other day.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s do this.¡±

    Staring into the dark of the forest, where barely any of the abundant moonlight could reach the ground, I instantly lamented the fact that my Fairy¡¯s Light spell was also going to have to be kept on the backburner. Sucking it up, I started walking.

    Though most of the wildlife seemed to be asleep, the forest was full of noises of all sorts. Leaves rustling. Calm footsteps that somehow sounded as though they were shaking the planet. And a heavy breathing that felt all too out of place. In other words, all the noises I was making myself.

    One of the few nocturnal animals I¡¯d passed, a raccoon-looking thing, fled so fast that I didn¡¯t even have a chance to read its info box.

    Seems my Sneak ability wasn¡¯t doing anything. Or maybe I really have to crouch while I walk to make it work?

    Regardless, this time, I wasn¡¯t pitting this ability up against Tama¡¯s bullshit, overly sensitive ears, just a bunch of humans and a dwarf. Meaning I should have a chance, but every time I stepped on a fallen branch or leaf, I couldn¡¯t stop myself from flinching at the thought of being found, not by the thieves, but by that gym-rat cat-kin. I could see it now¡­

    I¡¯d be walking, or maybe crouching, minding my own business on this dangerous spying mission and suddenly the forest would go quiet. No, it was already quiet, but it¡¯d be worse. Way worse. I¡¯d be able to feel the lack of sound on my skin, as his menacing glare would have scared off all other forms of life.

    Then, just when I¡¯d taken notice of something being off, he would appear behind me, emerging from within the blanket of shadow that now turned the grass black. And he¡¯d wait.

    He¡¯d let slip just enough of his killing intent, not to frighten me, but to get me to sense him and turn around. There I¡¯d find him, standing in a clearing devoid of light, save for the gleam of his fanged teeth and the burning glow of his eyes. His tail would flick with pleasure, but the strength of that furry appendage would fell a nearby tree without any effort at all. He¡¯d lower himself, readying to pounce and on instinct, I¡¯d back away, pleading. But my pleas would be ignored entirely, for the crime of deflowering his precious daughter was too much to bear.

    And then he¡¯d punch me in the gut and knock me out again.

    I shuddered. After attempting to reflect on our fight for a while, pointlessly trying to think up how I¡¯d respond to his violence if he actually showed up, screaming revenge for having stolen his daughter now that she wasn¡¯t here to pacify him, I gave up. I settled into the fact that I wouldn¡¯t stand a chance.

    If that was his intent, if he was searching the forest for me, he probably already knew exactly where I was and was biding his time to strike at the perfect moment.

    ¡°Goddess¡­ What does it say about me if the scariest thing I can think of while wondering a forest late at night is my father-in-law?¡±

    I shook my head, then stopped walking for a moment because I was getting a little dizzy.

    Supporting myself by leaning on a tree, I used Material Creation to make myself a cup using the surrounding trees as material and filled it with a cast of Water Ball. I poured it down my throat so fast its taste barely even registered.

    After what I¡¯d done with Mana, I was wide awake, but was starting to regret not asking for some sort of anti-drunk potion when I went drinking earlier. Surely the barkeep had something like that, right? This was a fantasy world with both potions and alcohol. There had to be something that could have cleared my mind. It only makes sense that there would be, right?

    I wasn¡¯t even half way to the barrier yet. Hell, checking the map, I wasn¡¯t even a quarter the way there and the world was already spinning.

    How long does it usually take for this to wear off? Or am I just so weak that it¡¯s gonna persist all night? Or is this new body of mine just extra susceptible to alcohol?

    Remembering enough about drinking to know that cold water was supposed to do, well, something to help, I drank a few more cups and tried to catch my breath. As I did, I tried to dredge more memories of how other people recovered from a night of drinking, but the only thought that kept popping up was how amazingly tight Mana was.

    ¡­ Maybe letting Elane get me drunk wasn¡¯t such a good idea after all. Now is definitely not the time for this.

    Maybe I should try the Cure Poison Potion we got from Kimiko. Alcohol is sort of like a poison, right? It should work, maybe. It might.

    No, I should save it. We only have the one potion. In this forest, who knows when one of us might get truly poisoned? I¡¯d rather deal with this dizziness than risk the life of one of my girls.

    Deciding it best to just power through, I pushed off the tree and continued.

    With my compass leading the way through the thicket, it didn¡¯t take long to find what I was looking for as a bright light stretched across the trees, leaving nothing hidden and making it seem as though the dawn had arrived early.

    Deep inside the Dumort Forest was an enormous dome of light the same shade of orange as the sun and, in the middle of the night, it shined just as bright. It was so easy to find in the darkness that it might as well have been calling out for me. The sight of its radiance and the comparably frigid chill on my back helped to sober me, but it also reinforced the idea that the thieves may not be attempting to hide.

    Seeing the spectacle of half a star arcing over the trees to protect its thieving innards, it took me a grand total of five seconds to not only question why we didn¡¯t search for this big ball of light in the darkness like this, but also why the cat-kin had failed to notice it sooner.

    However, it being easy-to-find had quickly become a double-edge sword. As I feared, the thieves were still on alert and as I hid behind the trees, I counted no less than three different men making the rounds. With two on the outside with me and another under the dome, I couldn¡¯t see a chance for me to slip inside.

    Apparently, Arthur¡¯s blunder the other day had forced them to step up security. Fantastic

    Channeling everything I learned playing stealth games, which in realistic setting seemed entirely inconsequential, I waited for a gap in their patrol and circled the perimeter in search for an opening.

    Ducking behind bushes, slipping past trees, waiting for the thieves on patrol to close their eyes in a yawn, I dashed as quietly as I could. As I moved, I counted each and every man I saw, making an effort to memorize their faces, builds and their weapons, so I knew what I was up against. But this information didn¡¯t do me much good.

    Stopping only to watch and learn the patrol¡¯s movements before exploiting any gaps I found to continue, I eventually circled around the dome and stopped to catch my breath right back where I¡¯d started. As I pretty much expected, sneaking inside like this was never going to work. The thieves, or rather Tillmann, was too smart.

    While the men outside the barrier acted in your typical stealth game NPC ways by walking back and forth along predetermined paths, the men on the inside all remained rooted in place at fixed intervals. Because of this, none of the forest went unwatched.

    This fact combined with how the area around the dome offered nothing but the occasional tree to cover my approach, and the abundance of light, meant that approaching the barrier unseen might actually be impossible.

    ¡­If only I could just teleport inside.

    Tillmann must have really put the scare in them, but their presence and the number on patrol did shed some light on why the last shipment of crystals had been delayed: they were so worried about being caught that they put up a bunch of guards, meaning they couldn¡¯t mine the cave in shifts anymore. Or they¡¯d at least have to do so in smaller groups.

    Either way, they were moving slower and I wasn¡¯t sure if that was a good thing or not. The sooner they were gone, the sooner I¡¯d have the rights to the reward I already accepted. Conversely, the longer they took, the more damage they¡¯d do to the cat-kin. And knowing that Essence Crystals were used in the enchanting process made me weary of letting them get away with stealing them.

    What if they didn¡¯t sell the crystals, but used them? The thought of an endless stream of enchanted goodies flooding the black market, with each one containing some overpowered effect, made me shudder. Wouldn¡¯t that be like giving every criminal in the world access to reality-warping weapons and armor?

    Maybe, if I can¡¯t sneak inside, I could just wait here for them to leave the barrier. I could jump onto their carts and steal the crystals back. If they technically belong to the cat-kin, and I¡¯m working for the cat-kin, I shouldn¡¯t be turned into a thief, right?

    I shook my head at my own question. I had no way of knowing how trying that would affect me. The cat-kin didn¡¯t even know the crystals were there, so who¡¯s to say they even belong to them? I¡¯m only here to get rid of the thieves, not take back the crystals.

    Perhaps a better plan would be to wait until the carts were far enough from the barrier to no longer be visible and attack them, incapacitating the thieves one by one until none were left and Tillmann was forced to leave empty-handed.

    Arthur did say Tillmann always stays in the barrier, so I¡¯d just be up against his men, meaning my chances in a fight would be higher. Much higher if I played my cards right and ambushed them with my abilities and my magic. Direct combat would be too much of a risk otherwise.

    Impaired as my mind was, I still felt as though that was the safest option I had.

    ¡°Uggh,¡± I sighed, wondering if the confusion I was feeling was my mind finally clearing up or if the indecision was just killing me. ¡°That plan could work, but I should get Tama involved, shouldn¡¯t I¡­ Shit!¡±

    Before I could resign myself to calling in the cat-eared cavalry, a hand thudded on my shoulder and my heart shot up into my throat.

    Turning on my heel, unintentionally putting my back against the tree I¡¯d been hiding behind, I met my attacker. Suddenly face-to-face with a wall of moving tree bark and branch-like limbs, my breath caught. The image of me being slammed through a dungeon wall by a treant kept my mouth still.

    Before me stood two people. No, two creatures. Covered head to toe in chunks of jagged bark, their bodies looked neither entirely masculine nor entirely feminine. An incomplete mix of both, they looked only slightly humanoid.

    Their arms were like several thin coils of wood that braided in on themselves, as if simulating muscle. These coils came out to two long fingers, but their lower halves looked only half-formed. Made of what looked like scraps of bark that had been pasted together on an invisible frame, their legs were held together by the same dull, green light that burned in their chest and behind their skull-less faces.

    They straddled the line between human and monster so closely that, from afar, you might be inclined to call out to them for a friendly chat, but see them up close and you¡¯d only be inspired to run away in terror.

    That is, if the vague contours of what I assumed to be their faces had not looked so concerned.

    The one that touched my shoulder, the one that looked slightly more feminine than the other, stooped, its limbs creaking with the movement as it knelt beside me. It said nothing, for it had no mouth to speak from, so when it reached for my feet, I jumped.

    However, what the twig-like fingers squeezed was not my ankle, but the neck of a bright green snake I hadn¡¯t noticed slithering up to me. The animal wriggled and wrapped around the creature¡¯s thin arm to squeeze it, but its bark was too thick to be concerned with it. Instead, it walked the snake away a short distance before releasing it back into the forest.

    Meanwhile, its friend took over watching the barrier for the three of us.

    Confused, I checked their info boxes and¡­

    ¡°Spriggans? Are you Mana¡¯s friends?¡±

    The feminine one cocked her head for a moment, gazing curiously at me, then nodded.

    ¡°Wow¡­ I was kind of hoping to meet you.¡±

    Another fantasy creature! Thank the Goddess it wasn¡¯t the attack-on-sight sort of spriggan often found in video games!

    It cocked its head again, its lack of a mouth leaving its reactions limited.

    ¡°Sorry about that,¡± I whispered. ¡°You scared me. And Mana, too, you know? She¡¯s been worried about you¡­ Wait, can you understand me?¡±

    It nodded and, if I wasn¡¯t mistaken, it looked happy to hear of Mana¡¯s concern.

    Before I could say any more, it pointed to me, to my chest, then off into the forest and then to itself before doing the unthinkable and mimicking a pair of cat ears atop its head. Realizing it pointed towards the village, I had a good idea of what it was trying to say.

    ¡°¡­ Are you asking me how I know the cat-kin?¡±

    It hesitated, but nodded. I must have only been partially right.

    ¡°I¡¯m both Mana and Yua¡¯s husband¡­ er, their mate.¡±

    This statement not only made me smile like an idiot, knowing that it was true still didn¡¯t make it feel any less fantastic, but it made the faces of both spriggans practically lit up at my answer. Or at least the dents resembling eyes in their faces doubled in size.

    The one standing nodded almost proudly before returning to watching the barrier, but the more feminine one reached around and hugged me tight, as if thanking me.

    Geez, Mana. Were even the forest creatures left waiting for you to find a mate? You should apologize for making everyone worry.

    I laughed, but the vaguely breast-like shape of the spriggan¡¯s chest was anything but soft. As hard as the bark of a tree, it practically crushed my face as it hugged me. The worry of waking up tomorrow to find splinters in my cheeks was now very real.

    Goddess, how did I let myself be scared of these two? Well, no. Sneaking up on me like that in the middle of the night would be scary no matter who did it.

    ¡°Thanks for being happy for her. I¡¯ll let her know you¡¯re okay.¡±

    Patting its arm until it let go, I stood and, after a quick check on the barrier to make sure none of the patrol heard me, I pointed to it.

    ¡°Your cave is in there, right? Your home?¡±

    The feminine one nodded, casting a somewhat somber look in its direction.

    ¡°Listen, the cat-kin asked me to help clear these guys out of the forest. That means helping you guys get your home back. But to do that, I need to get inside the barrier without them seeing me. I can¡¯t promise to kick them out tonight, but it will help.¡±

    This time both of them tilted their heads in open confusion.

    Am I speaking too much? Exactly how much English do these two mouthless spriggans know?

    ¡°Um¡­ Okay. The cat-kin want the humans inside your cave gone, too. I can help with that, but I need to get inside. Do you understand?¡±

    They nodded in unison, but the confusion on their faces didn¡¯t fade. This time, the more masculine one pointed to me, then to one of the thieves patrolling the barrier. Then it curled its twig-like fingers over its chest, its heart.

    I considered the meaning behind these gestures while attempting to suppress the wonder of having a midnight sign-language conversation with what might as well be a mythical creature to me.

    They understood me just fine. But my presence here must be confusing them.

    ¡°I may be a human like them, but I¡¯m not working with them. They¡¯re causing trouble for Mana¡¯s family and her people. I want to help the cat-kin.¡±

    This made the masculine one raise its chin in a sort of ¡°ah-ha!¡± gesture before he slammed, pat my shoulder. Smiling and wincing, hoping I wasn¡¯t going to return the inn with a new bruise I couldn¡¯t explain to the girls, I continued.

    ¡°Glad you understand. Think you can help me?¡±

    They nodded again, looking pumped.

    ¡°Great. Great. Okay, all I need you to do is distract them so I can slip through the barrier. You don¡¯t need to fight or anything, just draw their attention. Once I¡¯m inside, run away and let me handle the rest.¡±

    They nodded once more and, suddenly, the joy I¡¯d sensed in their expressions vanished. Turning, almost ignoring me, they faced the barrier again. The want to defend their home burned so fiercely in them, that they didn¡¯t need faces to express it.

    For as long as these thieves have been here, clogging up the forest with their greed, these two have been unable to return home.

    However¡­.

    ¡°Now we just have to¡­Wait! I wasn¡¯t done¡­!¡±

    My strained whisper fell on deaf ears, assuming they even had ears. They¡¯d taken off running, their branch-like legs digging deep into the soil with each step that carried them forwards. They were too far to stop without yelling by the time I noticed. As simple as my plan already was, they took to it as though all I said was go get ¡®em!

    And it wasn¡¯t long before they were caught.

    ¡°Oi! We got trespassers!¡±

    ¡°They cat-kin?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s those tree-things again!¡±

    ¡°Shit! Why did they have to show up during my shift?¡±

    A man, a level 11 Swordsman, drew his blade. When this didn¡¯t stop the two running at him, another of the thieves clenched his spear and ran to help. Meanwhile, a third must have chanted the passphrase to open part of the barrier, because he ran into the dome¡¯s protective embrace. Only, his retreat looked planned, not cowardice.

    ¡°Dammit¡­¡±

    My nails bit into the bark of the tree I hid behind.

    These two had apparently made themselves known to these guys before meeting me, so every thief that heard the warning was on full alert. It was almost like getting caught during a stealth mission in a video game, but there would be no resets for screwing it up.

    They did their job in distracting the guards, but not enough of them. The one inside the barrier overlooking my side of the forest was rooted. Watching the creatures rush his comrades, he did not move. Surely, a human like him had nothing to worry about behind the protection of the barrier.

    ¡°Wait¡­ why aren¡¯t they all inside then?¡±

    They were expecting the cat-kin, which were known for their martial prowess and, if Mana¡¯s assumed skills were to be believed, their archery. Leaving so many men outside the protection of the barrier was just inviting a sneak attack.

    The barrier only allowed humans to pass, and even then, they needed the passphrase. Even the dwarf Tillmann isn¡¯t able to get through it despite being in charge. After all the time they spent hiding here, why take the risk knowing the cat-kin were on to them?

    ¡°Could it be¡­¡±

    Still too drunk, or too stupid to have seen it before, it dawned on me that they might have been baiting an attack when the spriggans and thieves clashed.

    ¡°¡­!¡±

    A voiceless sound of force propelled a whip of bark and leaves at the Swordsman. He blocked it with a flourish of his blade, but then a second came at him. Then a third. A series of metallic clangs rang throughout the forest, each one making my teeth itch. The memory of the treant in the dungeon and the intimate knowledge of how hard its vines could hit made me sweat.

    And unlike those mindless dungeon monsters, these two worked together perfectly. While the masculine one continued barraging its whips on the swordsman, the feminine one circled around them all to his blind spot.

    ¡°¡­!¡±

    It lashed out with its branches, but not to hit. The coil of branches making up its right arm snaked around the Swordsman¡¯s leg. Unable to block the attacks of both, the Swordsman deflected another strike before immediately attempting to slash at the limb that bound him. Only, he wasn¡¯t fast enough.

    The spriggan¡¯s inhuman bodies gave them no need to recoil and pull back before striking again. The masculine spriggan¡¯s whip flew through the air like it had a mind of its own before it crashed into the Swordsman¡¯s face, dazing him enough to almost drop his sword.

    The feminine one began to pull, dragging him closer. He tried to cut its branch with his sword again, but the spriggan¡¯s free arm caught his wrist mid-swing. Despite this, he continued to writhe, trying to wrench himself free on strength alone.

    ¡°You bastard! Let go! Let go of me or I¡¯ll¡­ burn you and¡­.¡±

    Suddenly, he stopped his struggling and gaped at the spriggan. I had to squint to see why the man¡¯s faced paled. The spriggan¡¯s hard, bark-like chest had begun to ripple and spread open.

    The Swordsman struggled with all his might to free himself, even tossing his blade into his free hand to try and cut himself free, but the hole in the spriggan¡¯s chest widened. From withing the dull green light, a thick cloud of locus spewed forth, like a flamethrower made of buzzing insects.

    The wave of insects crashed against the man, filling his mouth and silencing his screams. They latched onto his flesh where it was bare and tunneled under his clothes where it wasn¡¯t. His writhing muffled by the cacophony of tiny wings beating against him, he tried swatting the bugs away, but for each he managed to hit, two more took its place. They were endless. Soon enough, the burst of strength adrenaline had given him had faded. His body quickly grew lethargic and he collapsed to his knees. His life bar was slowly draining away.

    One by one, the locus returned to their host and latched onto its bark. They stayed for not even a second before flying back to the man again and with each return trip, the gaps in the spriggan¡¯s legs slowly began to expand. No, it was regrowing. The spriggan was stealing his health, likely restoring what was lost in a previous attempt to retake their home.

    They must have come here tonight because they planned this attack with or without me.

    Realizing this as I did, the thief running to aid his comrade skidded to a stop and tried to flee, only for another crack of a whip to lash out, wrapping around his ankle as he cried for help. He tried to jab at the spriggan with his spear, but another crack of a whip snapped its tip off.

    With the both of them having secured their prisoners, the spriggans relentlessly dragged their prey back into the forest, away from me. The spear-wielding thief kicked and screamed and pleaded for help long after I lost sight of him. The swordsman¡¯s body, however, was very still.

    I blinked, but the scene didn¡¯t change. I was told this forest was dangerous, but that was¡­

    With a shake of my head, I decided to just be thankful they gave me a chance to prove I wasn¡¯t with the thieves when they snuck up on me.

    ¡°Hell no. I ain¡¯t going into the forest. Not at night. I-I¡¯ll get the boss!¡±

    The man behind the barrier, who had ben standing there in slack-jawed awe moments ago, answered his comrade¡¯s cries for aid by running away back to their camp. His post unguarded, I checked for more guards one last time before bolting to the barrier as fast as my feet would carry me.

    Sliding to a stop before I slammed into the dome, I checked my surroundings again to be safe. Secure in the fact that I was alone, I repeated Arthur¡¯s instructions and raised my right hand.

    ¡°Saint Mejula, warden of peace, I beckon thee. Stay your watch and allow me safe passage into your loving embrace.¡±

    With all my teleporting experience as an example, I willed the barrier to open just enough for me to slip inside without being noticed. It obeyed my command before I could even doubt Arthur¡¯s words and a short doorway cut itself into the side of the dome. The moment it took shape and a section of the orange light split open like a curtain, I dropped to my knees and crawled.

    Ducking lower than was strictly necessary to make sure the barrier¡¯s edge didn¡¯t shave my head, I hurried. Success had my heart pounding, but the stale air inside the barrier had me a little winded. It was cool outside tonight, but inside the barrier felt oddly warm. I guess even the breeze couldn¡¯t make it through the light.

    Kneeling beside the dome, I realized the hole I made in it was way too obvious. A human-sized chunk of darkness cut straight into the wall of bright orange light was going to be hard to miss. Especially if that thief came back to his post.

    According to Arthur, the opening was supposed to last five minutes. That was more than enough time to get in, but it was also way too long to risk someone noticing. So, I used Material Destruction to dig around and uproot a nearby bush and set it in front of the hole to hide it.

    Refusing to clap myself on the back, I took a moment to catch my breath. I was now in the most active part of the forest, but it felt impossibly quiet. There were no animals to speak of, no tiny eyes sneakily watching me from within their nests to see what I might do next. They¡¯d all been chased away a long time ago. And with the breeze removed from existence, the leaves fluffing the branches overhead were all completely still, as if frozen in time.

    It was too quiet. Surely, the pounding of my heart would have deafened Yua if she were here to listen. Every particle of the surrounding foliage could have been one big illusion, a hallucination, had I not leaned on a tree and felt its rough bark against my flesh as I checked my surroundings.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    Thankfully, the spriggans¡¯ attack had thrown several wrenches in the thieves¡¯ operation. Every man that was guarding this side of the dome was either dragged deeper into the forest or they ran back to camp to get help. Now the area was completely empty.

    Crossing my fingers, I cast Dimensional Step, hoping for an easy escape route, but the blue lights fizzled away before they even had a chance to form. Can¡¯t teleport into the barrier, can¡¯t teleport out of it. I really wish that didn¡¯t make sense.

    Turning my back to the tree, I opened my menu and, thanks to the exquisite detail of the map Elane drew, I was able to plot a path through the trees that would take me around their camp as discretely as possible. The barrier itself kept everything as bright as though the sun had never set. Thanks to this, there were plenty of shadows to work with, but I could see everything. And that meant everything could see me if I wasn¡¯t careful.

    I closed my menu, focused on the first of several map markers I¡¯d made and took a breath. Summoning my cup again, I filled it with another water ball and savored every drop as it slid down my throat. Hopefully, this would be enough to put my drunken haze to rest.

    Ducking low, I sprinted from tree to tree, from shadow to shadow. Stopping only to confirm the location of my next marker and to make sure I was still alone, I pressed on.

    I¡¯d played plenty of stealth-based games in my day, but this was different. Strafing straight into enemy lines, ducking behind every slight pixel of shadow that was still in plain sight was never going to keep me hidden. The thieves were not mindless NPCs with poorly constructed AI that was ready and willing to be exploited. They were real people. Meaning that most all of what those games taught me was going to be useless.

    I kept my distance from the center of their camp. Skirting around the edge of the barrier, obeying the order of my markers as though each were a divine revelation sent directly from the Goddess to guide me, I circled around to what I knew to be the backside of the large tent the thieves called home. Even though I couldn¡¯t see it from this distance.

    Hot on their tail and swimming in their blind spot, I slowly trekked towards the camp. They had no beast-kin with sensitive ears to aid in spotting intruders, but the continued stillness of the forest kept me cautiously avoiding touching anything that could make noise like it¡¯d been infected with the plague.

    Slowly, signs of life faded into existence. First it was the smell of the bonfire they kept burning. Then it was the sight of the large tent looming in the distance. Then it was the sounds of men rushing about. I stopped behind a large tree.

    They had been on guard before, but now they couldn¡¯t have been any more alert if an air raid siren was blaring into the night sky. Everyone was awake now, all running about obeying the strict directions of one man. A dwarf.

    ¡°Ye three go tell the rest to come back inside the barrier,¡± Tillmann said, his voice imposing in its calmness. He pointed his thick arm at a group of men. ¡°Ye two head back to where the sprouts were seen and keep yer dammed eyes open. The rest of ye spread out. See anyone, or anything, ye come back to me. I¡¯ll take care of it. Now ship off! Ain¡¯t nobody sleepin¡¯ tonight!¡±

    It was the first time I¡¯d heard it for myself and it had me sweating. All he did was direct his men, but my heart thudded against my ribcage as if every syllable was a threat directed at me. His voice was deep, almost like he had to forcefully project his voice through a layer of sediment us tot be heard. It was nothing like the sweet mimicking Yua had done of him. If all the scares, running and water hadn¡¯t sobered me up, his voice certainly had.

    And thankfully so, as one of the thieves darted right past me on his way to the edge of the barrier.

    Clutching the hilt of his sword as he ran, he brushed past me without stopping on his way to the barrier. The only reason he hadn¡¯t seen me could have been my Luck stat, but reason suggested it was the heavy helmet he wore that obscured his vision. My breath caught and wouldn¡¯t come back to me until he was well out of earshot.

    As clarity struck me dead, my knees grew weak at the thought of how my actions had left me surrounded by enemies ready and willing to flip off the world itself, just to satiate their greed. Even more so when I chanced a peek around the tree and Tillmann¡¯s info box reminded me of just how outmatched I was.

    I slid down the tree.

    What the hell did I just get myself into?

    These were thieves. Real thieves who¡¯d staked their lives on the risk of slavery, imprisonment or death. It¡¯s not hard to imagine they¡¯d kill anyone that got in the way of their freedom. And Tillmann¡¯s hammer was tied to his hip. The thought of the explosive force he could put behind it was deafening.

    I¡¯d been careful of my sword, worrying that carrying it on my hip might cause it to strike a tree or rock and alert them to my presence. I¡¯d left it in my item box. Thankfully I hadn¡¯t tossed it to the floor when I got back to the inn. Maybe the reminder of Tama¡¯s warning to always keep my weapon at the ready managed to cut through the drunkenness. Now, the thought of the gleaming white of its blade almost felt comforting.

    But when I hesitantly reached into the purple miasma to pull it out, I paused.

    Big Bro, I can feel your white stuff coming back out¡­ Hehehe. It tickles.

    ¡°Pfft¡­¡±

    Suppressing a laugh, I shook my head as my reason for being here so rudely interrupted my fear.

    Calm down, me. Remember that you¡¯re not here to fight. Just need to focus on my objectives, not my panic. Just think. Think logically and make up for the mistake you¡¯ve made in coming here alone.

    Squeezing my eyes shut, I ran through the memories of my conversation with Arthur. He knew the limitations of the barrier, but he never mentioned who cast it. Meaning he either didn¡¯t know, or didn¡¯t think it was important enough to mention. And it was easy to see why.

    It must not be a spell. At least, not the kind a Mage would typically cast.

    Aside from Tillmann, they were all only human. They had to sleep sometime, but the barrier never went away. A loss of concentration was not enough to break it and a barrier this big no doubt would take a great deal of focus to maintain if it were a normal spell. Something else must be keeping it going.

    My number one objective was finding out what that something was. Second in line would be breaking or removing that something. If I can manage that, nothing else really mattered. I could head back to the inn and bask in my success with my girls.

    Removing my empty hand from my item box, I carefully peeked around the tree again just in time to see Tillmann heading back into the main tent. Likewise, Erhard, the man I¡¯d designated as the dwarf¡¯s right-hand man, followed behind him.

    I took a breath to steady myself as my objective became clear.

    If the thieves¡¯ strongest fighter retreated into the tent right after they¡¯d been attack, then it should be fairly safe to assume that¡¯s where the something creating the barrier would be. If not, then it was still a good place to start looking. The question of how I¡¯d do that answered itself when I spotted an empty splotch of dry soil behind the tent.

    Checking over my shoulder for the thief that ran past me, then all around to see if any of the others were around, I crept around the tree I hid behind and started towards the tent.

    Unlike before when I rushed to use up the time the spriggans gave me, I made sure each and every step I made was calculated and quiet. Even in the commotion that woke the thieves, I moved as though each of them wore ears as sensitive as a dog-kin. I could hear the crackle of the bonfire now, but they could not hear me. I was sure of it.

    Taking a knee behind the tent, I was surprised to see how tall it truly was up close. The damn thing really was big enough to be a circus tent. But it being so big only hurt my cause as, while I could hear muffled voices within, they were so far away from me that all I could hear was a mumbling. I got to work.

    A quick cast of Material Destruction made a wide hole appear in the soil beside me. A second cast made it deep enough for me to stand in and then some. Thanking the Goddess that this ability didn¡¯t make any sort of sound, I mentally mapped out how far I¡¯d have to dig by setting another map marker on the center of the tent. Ready to get started, I checked around me again before quietly slipping into the hole.

    Unable to see my HUD in the darkness that swallowed me, I cast the Fairy¡¯s Light spell and turned towards the tent marker and started digging. Filling my item box with dirt, I dug and dug and didn¡¯t stop until I was standing directly beneath my marker. Then I started upwards.

    Using my exact memory of how deep I made this tunnel, I stopped digging when there was only a few inches of soil left between me and the inside of the tent. Quickly, I used Material Creation to line the tunnel and cap off the top with the dungeon stone in my item box so it wouldn¡¯t collapse.

    Done with the construction, I waited for Fairy¡¯s Light to fade and when it did, I poked a finger-sized hole through the roof of the tunnel so I could hear what was happening.

    ¡°¡­ How many did we lose?¡±

    ¡°Just the two, Boss.¡±

    ¡°Damned fools,¡± Tillmann growled. ¡°I told ¡®em to hide under the barrier if them sprouts came back.¡±

    ¡°They must have gotten full of themselves after how easily you beat them before.¡±

    ¡°How I beat them! Them fools didn¡¯t lift a finger ta help! And now they¡¯re dead. If¡¯n they¡¯re thinkin¡¯ I¡¯d send for them, they¡¯re greater fools than I thought!¡±

    ¡°Boss¡­¡±

    ¡°Quiet yer gobbin¡¯. The only reason why I beat them so handedly was ¡®cause we snuck up on ¡®em. Had they called on the forest animals ta help, none of us¡¯d be standing here now.¡±

    Tillmann let out a gruff grunt of annoyance and I heard what sounded like the sharp creak of a bed being sat on. This mess must have woken him up.

    ¡°You may be right,¡± Erhard said, then hesitated to continue. ¡°Boss, we¡¯re risking too much by staying here. The cat-kin on one side. The forest on the other. The mine¡¯s just about barren now. Shouldn¡¯t we just leave?¡±

    ¡°We ain¡¯t leaving ¡®til we dug up every crystal from that cave¡¯s bosom.¡±

    ¡°But the men we sent with the delivery haven¡¯t come back.¡±

    Cloaked in the darkness of the tunnel, I winced.

    They made the delivery tonight of all nights? The delay Arthur mentioned must have been quick to clear up. But if the crystals were sent to Lord Argento tonight, the same night Elane was supposed to be meeting with him, then¡­

    ¡°They should have been back hours ago,¡± Erhard continued before I could worry over Elane getting caught up in this. ¡°What if they were caught?¡±

    ¡°And what if they¡¯re wastin¡¯ their time on the city whores? I¡¯m not going to give up our profits just cuz a couple idiots are wastin¡¯ their coin and my time on some cheap pussy. They¡¯ll be back come mornin¡¯ once they realize their purses are empty again.¡±

    ¡°And what if they just run off with our profits?¡± Erhard said, his tone colored with fear and impatience. ¡°That was our biggest haul yet. What if their greed got the better of them when that bag of gold was given to them?¡±

    ¡°Are ye doubting our hands? If memory serves, ye were the one to pick who we took with us.¡±

    ¡°Boss, we brought thieves with us. The world itself has shunned their greed. You¡¯d be a fool to ignore that possibility.¡±

    Another creak, the sound of someone heavy rocketing off the bed. Feet shuffled back desperately, just as a single earthquaking stomp made the tunnel shake. Cracks rippled across the thin ceiling I made and I hurried to seal them with Material Creation.

    ¡°Erk!¡±

    A pained gasp escaped one of the men, likely Erhard. It immediately reminded of when Elane choked me and I found myself comforting my own neck.

    ¡°Ye listen here, boy. I ain¡¯t any kind a fool. I been dealin¡¯ with humans longer than you been breathin¡¯. I know what¡¯s in their heart more than you ever will. I know those two I sent will come back, because they know there¡¯s more coin ta be had. And they¡¯ve fooled themselves inta thinkin¡¯ that diggin¡¯ in that there cave is how they can make up for their past mistakes. By putting in the effort with a day¡¯s honest work. That¡¯s why I sent them alone. They want ta come back because it lines their pockets, and because it feels righteous. It¡¯s the same for you isn¡¯t it, child thief?¡±

    Another gasp and the sound of someone hitting the floor sounded. Erhard coughed roughly.

    ¡°How did you¡­¡±

    ¡°I ain¡¯t no fool. I¡¯ve done my research on the lot of ye before bringin¡¯ ye in on this. And I know ye took that boy from his master.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s my son! My bitch of an ex-wife sold him into slavery just to spite me.¡±

    ¡°Matters not. He wasn¡¯t yers anymore, was he?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°It was yer guilt in letting that happen that brings ye here. You want to earn enough to buy him back, right?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be makin¡¯ that face. That¡¯s fine with me. I don¡¯t care what any of ye use yer coin on. Ye wanna buy him back, buy a boat and sail away into the sunset together, maybe even save a little coin on the side to hire an assassin and send em after yer wife, then by all means, go right ahead. I don¡¯t care. But don¡¯t worry yerself ¡®bout the delivery. It¡¯s being handled by trusty hands. Same as the next one will be.¡±

    ¡°¡­ If they¡¯re found out¡­¡±

    ¡°What? Ye think they¡¯re gonna bring Guerraway¡¯s army down on us? Thanks ta me, they¡¯re too scared of the cat-kin to set foot in this here forest. And thanks ta their own reputation as fierce warriors and their complete lack of morals, all it took was a little nudge in the wrong direction ta make the people think they be a constant threat.¡±

    I clenched my teeth, suppressing a violent urge to burst through the ground and break his nose. It would be futile. Even if I got a good surprise attack in, he¡¯d easily overpower me. So, I stayed my rage and kept hidden, but the thought of either Yua or Mana being insulted like that made my chest burn.

    The cat-kin clearly weren¡¯t amoral. Aside from the nudism, they were just like everyone else. Sure, most of them liked to fight for fun, but they also held the very concept of love so dear that they didn¡¯t mind proving their feelings for their mate right in front of others.

    Strange as it may be, it¡¯s also endearing. This bastard is just using that against them. And it was their reputation that kept him inside this barrier, hiding from them like a child hiding under a blanket after a nightmare.

    ¡°You leave the worryin¡¯ and plannin¡¯ ta me,¡± Tillmann continued. ¡°Do yer job, trade the rest of the crystals to Guerraway¡¯s Enchanter tomorrow like we talked about, and I¡¯ll get ya back home ta yer boy safe and sound. Anything ya could think of has been planned for already. Now, get outta here. Go keep watch somewhere.¡±

    At that, Erhard¡¯s footsteps receded from the tent. I didn¡¯t have the sense of the cat-kin to know if he fled in terror or haste, but he moved quickly. The bed creaked above me again, sounding much closer now that they¡¯d gone quiet. I must have tunneled right under where he slept.

    ¡°Damned humans. Worthless, the lot of ¡®em. If them fools didn¡¯t go around confusin¡¯ gems for crystals, we¡¯d be done with this cave already and on to the next. If only I coulda brought my brothers¡­ No. No. Wouldn¡¯ta mattered. They¡¯re a bunch of knuckleheads too.

    ¡°What cowards would turn on their own kin just because the king said they was guilty? And without so much as thinking the accuser was drunk off his arse? Tillmann Ruchenbrecher, the hero of Ursprung, a thief! Bullshit! After all I did fer him, DeGarmo should be lickin¡¯ my boot, but he¡¯s got me running between countries just so I can keep my head on.¡±

    Another creak and a sigh mixed with a grumble. Assuming he¡¯d laid down, I stood to listen better as he muttered to himself, but it seemed he was finished.

    It didn¡¯t take long for the same silence I felt before to come back. As rock like as he seemed to be at a glance, apparently not even his men actually being attacked and killed could prevent him from catching up on his beauty sleep.

    It was hard keeping a straight face listening to him complain, though. His info box proved he was a Thief and what he was doing here was a good example of why he held that title. While he could have become one accidentally, or he could have been framed, he¡¯d given himself to the thieving lifestyle. Trying to undo his mistake by repeating the sin that led him here was absurd. Not to mention he was slowly destroying the cat-kin in the process. That alone was enough to say he couldn¡¯t be forgiven.

    Still, cringing at the thought of how I must have sounded like him whenever I complained about my problems, I waited a while to make sure the silence continued.

    Fearful of waiting too long incase someone came back to the tent, I made sure Tillmann was alone before raising a hand to the tunnel¡¯s ceiling. Slowly removing the stone and soil, I opened a path into the tent. So I didn¡¯t make a bunch of noise climbing out, I conjured a ladder in the stone and started up.

    At the top, I confirmed that not only was I under a bed as I thought, but we were alone. And the noticeably still bulge in the bottom of the mattress suggested that Tillmann hadn¡¯t sensed me.

    Gulping down my fear and stealing myself, I leaned out of the hole, reached a hand over the bed and grabbed his ankle.

    ¡°What the¡­?!¡±

    Force Sleep!

    Still awake enough to react, Tillmann started to pull away, but a silent cast of the sleeping spell that once tormented Yua instantly forced him to fall asleep.

    Confirming again that nobody heard him and came running, I climbed out of the hole. Heart beating a mile a minute, I checked to make sure he was completely out and found the bearded man sleeping almost peacefully.

    Looking at this strikingly dangerous man slumbering so defenselessly, the knowledge of what he¡¯d done to the cat-kin and thought of how callous he was towards his own men boiled up in me. I admit, I was tempted to cast Slave Binding on him right here and now to put a quick end to all this. It certainly would make this all a lot easier, and in this position, he wouldn¡¯t be able to stop me. But I refused the idea.

    Yua accepted what she was and found relief from that reality in being with me. Mana willingly accepted it in part because it¡¯d help her to improve herself, like I was trying to do with my own life. And maybe it would help protect Elane if she chose that path someday.

    They were all different. There was no malice in making them my slaves. It was because of this that I could never use that power to hurt someone. Using that spell as a weapon go against the peace I¡¯d promised the girls. The idea alone made me sick. So, I let the dwarf snooze.

    Relieved that I was clear-headed enough not to turn to the dark side, I looked around the tent in search of whatever may be creating the barrier, only to find it mostly empty. The back half was filled with boxes, likely food stuffs and other necessities meant to sustain them for a long stay. Other than this, the area leading to the rest of the camp was packed with various sleeping bags and cots, each with their owner¡¯s personal items.

    However, set aside from all this was where I stood. In a section of the tent that looked built entirely to facilitate someone that thought a little too highly of themself, was the ¡°Boss¡¯s¡± quarter.

    The only one with an actual bed to sleep on, his disdain for his men seemed fairly apparent, but was also uncontested. A workbench sat beside it was covered several pieces of mining equipment that were clearly broken, while the tools needed to fix them were carefully set aside in boxes nearby. Like the entirety of his contribution to the dig was fixing whatever tools happened to break.

    The large treasure chest at the foot of the bed practically called my name with promises of end-of-dungeon loot, but I ignored it and read through the info box of everything I could see. And when nothing stood out, I double checked it all with Appraisal, but the only thing that caught my eye was what I thought to have been a standing candleholder set beside the workbench.

    Made pure silver and expertly crafted, the thing held a pretty hefty price tag. Its info box named it The Church¡¯s Shield. Given the purpose of the barrier and the Saint Majula part of the passphrase needed to break through it, I figured the two had to be connected. But it was the Essence Crystal placed atop it that really grabbed my attention.

    ¡°I thought the crystals were used for enchanting¡­!¡±

    Suddenly slapped upside the head with the fact that I was supposed to be quiet, I clapped a hand over my mouth and checked on Tillmann, only to find him still fast asleep.

    Maybe I should actually train my Sneak skill instead of ignoring it to play with magic. I have two motion-detecting cat girls by my side now, one of which loves to train. Just gotta practice sneaking up on her and¡­

    Saving the stupid thoughts for later, I refocused on the crystal. Whatever they were used for, this one was in my way now. If logic in and outside the game world ever served me right, I¡¯d have to guess that the crystal was the battery charging this thing, but I was afraid to disarm it. Couldn¡¯t risk touching it directly, anyways.

    Not to mention they are camped out right next to a mine full of more crystals.

    Still, my job was to disarm the barrier. Might as well see if this works then get out of here. Solving the riddle of the barrier now just means it¡¯d be easier to get around it later.

    Contemplating the possibility of just conjuring a stick with Material Creation and poking it until the crystal fell off, I opted for what I hoped to be a more permanent solution.

    Priming myself for a cast of Material Destruction to cut the device in half, hopefully rendering it useless, I reached out a finger. As I focused on its center, the bed creaked.

    ¡°What in the hells happened?¡±

    My blood froze in its tracks as my pulse died out.

    ¡°Who the hells are ye?¡±

    Feeling my neck snap as his words forced me to turn to him, I found Tillmann already on his feet. He reached for his hammer.

    ¡°I said who the hells is ye? I know ye ain¡¯t one of mine. How¡¯d ye get in here?¡±

    ¡°¡­ I was sent by Lord Argento,¡± I gulped, hoping he didn¡¯t hear it. ¡°He was displeased by the delay and has asked me to keep an eye on the operation to make sure he wouldn¡¯t have to wait for the next delivery.¡±

    Tillmann eyed me, his dark pupils like empty black coals ready to burn.

    The corners of his thick beard curled up into a wickedly toothy grin. He drew his hammer, spinning it in his palm. I reflexively, cautiously, took a step back.

    Goddess¡­ Why did you waste my time with a fake confidence boost instead of giving me a charisma boost?

    ¡°Is that what the Lord said ta ye?¡± he mused, combing his beard. ¡°Tell me, did he also tell ye that we agreed to keep out of each other¡¯s nose hairs while we was here?¡±

    Shit¡­

    Tillmann laughed.

    ¡°Thought so. Now, tell me son, who really sent ye?¡±

    ¡°Snow White. She really misses you. She wants you to come home.¡±

    ¡°No idea who that is. Care ta try again?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Is there a point?¡±

    ¡°No. I suppose not.¡±

    Tillmann thumped his hammer into his palm and took a step forward. Under the overwhelming pressure, I had no choice but to take another step away from him. He was smiling and were it honest, he could have passed for the sort of jovial guy that would offer to help you carry your groceries to the car, but what little senses I had all screamed a deep malice. Buckets of sweat had fallen off my brow before I even noticed my shirt was damp.

    I owed Tama an apology. When I faced him, I instantly felt overwhelmed, but he¡¯d been holding back so much that I was still able to move. But now my knees were knocking together hard enough to almost hear it.

    Tillmann thumped his hammer into his palm again.

    ¡°How did you wake up already?¡±

    ¡°Ah? Are ye the one that cast that spell on me? A Mage, eh? Ha. Look over there. At the pillow.¡±

    Gesturing with his chin, he let my attention drift back to the bed where I found an empty glass bottle. A potion of some sort. It¡¯d been drained already, so no name detailing its effects popped up, but the sight of it made my heart hurt.

    ¡°It were a Status Restore Potion,¡± Tillmann said. ¡°I downed it soon as you grabbed me. Didn¡¯t feel no blade comin¡¯, so¡¯s I figured you were up to somethin¡¯ a little more sneaky. Looks like it took a while to kick in, usually does if you take it before yer afflicted, but it put in the work just fine.¡±

    Another laugh and a weighty slap of his palm on his chest, on the pocket hidden beneath his beard, he continued.

    ¡°I been around a while, son. I know how ta keep ready for anything. You got the jump on me pretty good. Never would have expected a human to dig a hole under a dwarf to sneak up on him, but the surprise is done, ain¡¯t it?¡±

    Tillmann took another step and let his hammer fall to his side. He almost looked defenseless, but I knew he could crush my skull the instant I let my guard down.

    ¡°I¡¯ll ask ye again, who sent ye? And how did ye get in?¡±

    Thoughts of Yua and Mana flashed across my mind. Of the life together that Yua and I had built in that little cabin in the middle of nowhere. And of how Mana hadn¡¯t had a taste of that happiness yet.

    It should have been my own life flashing before my eyes as the death-wielding dwarf stared me down, but they were all I could think about. And that was enough.

    This life wasn¡¯t just for me anymore.

    ¡°Well?¡± Tillmann said, stroking his beard. ¡°If ye don¡¯t make me force yer mouth to move, I might just knock ye out and leave ye to the forest. Them beasties will gobble ye up without ye ever knowing it was happening.¡±

    I closed my eyes, but only for a second. Just long enough to clear my thoughts.

    Then my hand shot out to the side, straight into the purple miasma, the gateway to my item box. I grabbed the handle of my sword.

    Tillmann didn¡¯t so much as flinch from the sudden move, just looked on as his stroking turned curious. To him, my hand must have just disappeared, but my lack of pain intrigued him.

    ¡°Curious magic, that,¡± he hummed. ¡°But it won¡¯t do ye any good. My legs may be short, but I can jump ye before ye can call out for yer ma.¡±

    Clenching my jaw and readying my free hand to cast a spell, regretting that I hadn¡¯t stopped to check if the barrier cancelled out all magic or just teleportation, I drew my sword. Suddenly, Tillmann¡¯s smile disappeared.

    ¡°Yer makin¡¯ a mistake, son. Ye might want to drop that.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I will.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°I may be new to this, but I¡¯m an Adventurer. And this job is how I¡¯ve chosen to support those I love.¡±

    Tillmann snorted. Not, apparently, because he found it funny, but because he looked off to the side. There was nothing but tent where his coal-like eyes fell, but he seemed to see right through it.

    ¡°An Adventurer, eh? Don¡¯t suppose that means yer here to catch me? It¡¯s alright, I get it. I used to be one too. I know how it works. I ain¡¯t gonna fault ye for it.¡±

    ¡°Used to be? What, not enough gold in it?¡±

    Tillmann smirked and, spinning his hammer, shook his head.

    ¡°Nah. I didn¡¯t work fer gold then. It were promises that kept me belly full.¡±

    ¡°Those promises must not have tasted very good if you¡¯re wasting away out here.¡±

    ¡°Oh, no, son. They were the tastiest thing a dwarf could ever swallow. Outside a good ale, of course.¡±

    He gestured to a bottle of such on what looked to be his dinner table and I straightened my sword. Unmoved, he took up the bottle and downed whatever was left in it. Sighing as though the ale were a welcomed glass of cool water after a trek through a desert, he smacked his lips before wiping them dry with the back of his wrist. He looked at the bottle almost reverently before continuing.

    ¡°See now, ain¡¯t nothing like a good ol¡¯ dwarven brew. Only, it¡¯s hard ta find among the human taverns. Too strong fer the likes of ye, see?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡±

    My limited drinking experience, all of which was gained just hours ago, didn¡¯t give me a good idea of what he was talking about. But the lore of other worlds I¡¯d played through suggested he wasn¡¯t looking down on humans in saying we couldn¡¯t handle it.

    ¡°Then why not leave this place and go home?¡±

    ¡°Ha! If I could, I would. See, King DeGarmo promised us unfettered access to his mines if we sent a fighter and a smith to help him with a little project of his. That was me on both accounts. And I couldn¡¯t refuse. The dwarves of Ursprung needed those ores something awful and our forges were ravenous. Our mines were no longer putting out enough to feed all of us. And what¡¯s a dwarf if they ain¡¯t hammerin¡¯ away at an anvil?¡±

    ¡°And he didn¡¯t fulfil that promise?¡±

    ¡°He did. He weren¡¯t fool enough to go back on a deal he made with us. Not when we¡¯re the ones makin¡¯ his weapons and armor. The problem is that his little project was all hush hush. He cursed me to keep his secrets.¡±

    Tillmann opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue. At the center of it lay what looked like a brand, a black mark left behind by a red-hot poker shaped into a crescent

    ¡°I speak so much as a word on what it was we did for him, and my tongue falls right off. But the threat of that weren¡¯t enough for him. No. When we finished his little quest, and I found out the mine I¡¯d been given was full of nothing but tin and the occasional gemstone, I drank until I blacked out. And when I woke, I realized I can¡¯t do nothing with somethin¡¯ as weak as tin or as fancy as gems. My hammer forges tools of war, not gaudy jewelry.

    ¡°I tried makin¡¯ that shit,¡± he continued. ¡°But it felt like my soul was bein¡¯ chipped away every time I failed. And every time I succeeded. I even tried selling them raw, but most dwarves wouldn¡¯t bite and the few other races who did, didn¡¯t pay enough for me to buy real ore. It weren¡¯t ever goin¡¯ ta be enough, but when I went back ta the king ta make a trade, he said no. And when I offered him gold and gems, he said no. So, I reminded him of what I did fer him. Told him that this mark on my tongue weren¡¯t gonna stop my hand from writing about what we did fer him¡­ That were a mistake.¡±

    Tillmann¡¯s knuckles whitened around the handle of his hammer and I could almost feel him imagining the king¡¯s head under it.

    ¡°Ta keep it brief, the king took offense ta my threats. But because my work had saved my people and made me famous, he couldn¡¯t just cut my head off. So, he tricked me. Promised me a deed to a iron mine. Not the best ore ta work with for what I was used ta, but it was miles better than what I had. Only, he had no intention of actually handing it over. And when I picked up the deed that weren¡¯t actually mine¡­¡±

    ¡°You were labeled a Thief.¡±

    ¡°And nobody¡¯s gonna believe a word out of a thief¡¯s mouth. I was kicked out of our territory for fear that the dwarves would hear their hero¡¯s name had been tarnished, that the resentment would grow and fester until relations with the kingdom were broken all together. So I was banned.¡±

    ¡°So, you¡¯re stealing the crystals from the king to make up for it?¡±

    ¡°Not at all. I¡¯m sellin¡¯ the crystals to make enough coin to bribe the head dwarf Eisenast to let me back in. Fool likes to smelt gold coin to turn it into fancy statues for rich folk. The way I sees it, if I can bring him enough gold to make him piss silver, he¡¯ll let me back in and nobody will have to know what really happened.¡±

    He went silent a moment, smiling listlessly at his hammer. He thumped a hand on it, almost like patting the head of a small child impatiently waiting to go play.

    ¡°For fifteen years I worked for the king. And for fifteen years I was kept away from Ursprung¡¯s forges. I went and bungled it all when I couldn¡¯t be satisfied with what I had, and I¡¯m payin¡¯ for it. But I want to swing my hammer at a real forge again. The piddly little fires ye humans use to heat yer metals can¡¯t compare to the lava of Mount Eisenhitze. It can¡¯t even warm my hands.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re doing this just to go home? If you¡¯re willing to break the law, why not just sneak back into your homeland. You managed to sneak past the cat-kin of all people, it should be easy for you. You and this barrier are throwing the entire ecosystem here out of balance and it¡¯s going to cause the cat-kin to starve come winter if you stay.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­ So, it¡¯s the cat-kin that sent ye.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    I tightened my grip on my sword. I¡¯d almost forgotten why we were both here. Knowing them, the cat-kin had nothing to fear from this man, other than his continued stay here, so letting that slip wasn¡¯t a big deal. But it almost felt like I¡¯d been tricked into admitting it.

    ¡°Matters not,¡± he said. ¡°I plan on getting¡¯ my hands on one of them beasties here soon anyways. If they come to me, that¡¯ll just make it all the easier.¡±

    ¡°Planning on challenging them to a fight?¡±

    ¡°Ha! No. Why would I waste my time with their nonsense? No. See, I have a good feelin¡¯ that there¡¯s more than one cave of crystal here in this forest. The conditions in the soil, the air and the stones are just right. And I want to know where they¡¯re hiding it.¡±

    In the distance, I heard something over the sound of the roaring fire outside the tent. Something that might have sounded like leaves rustling in the wind, but it had to be one of his men coming back. Had they heard us?

    ¡°Well,¡± I said, ¡°Hate to break it to you, but the cat-kin didn¡¯t even know the crystals were in that cave you already dug up. They aren¡¯t going to be able to tell you a thing.¡±

    My mind racing for a way out before I get caught in a pincer attack, I stepped closer to the workbench, instead of towards the exit. Tillmann flinched slightly, but I put everything I had into not showing that I noticed and kept my sword raised at him.

    ¡°Bah! You really expect me ta believe they¡¯ve been sitting on all this without knowing?¡±

    ¡°Yea, it¡¯s hard to believe. But it¡¯s the truth. They had no idea. If they did, they would have been able to afford some clothes.¡±

    He snorted derisively, but I kept my ears on the sounds coming from behind me. Now, in the silence under the dome, the sound of footsteps rushing towards us were more vibrant than the barrier itself.

    ¡°You know,¡± I said, masking the steps with my voice. ¡°I bet you could have just asked them to let you mine the crystals. Since they didn¡¯t even know about it, they probably would have agreed if you gave them some of the profits.¡±

    ¡°Unlikely. Son, wars have been started over what we got here.¡±

    ¡°And since what you got here is almost dried up, you can prevent a war by leaving.¡±

    The footsteps grew louder. And it quickly became clear that there was more than one set of them responsible for the noise.

    I tensed, but forced myself to relax. My hand was sweating against the handle of my sword, so I gripped it tighter. I was only going to get one chance. Tillmann wouldn¡¯t allow a second attempt.

    ¡°Stop fooling around,¡± the dwarf snarled. ¡°If you know the cat-kin, and ye want me gone, then call one of ¡®em here. Have ¡®em tell me what I want to hear and, once I clear out that second cave, I¡¯ll be gone that much sooner.¡±

    The footsteps were closer now. Close enough to hear the haggard breath of someone that had run a long distance. Close enough to hear the rattle of their weapons.

    ¡°Unfortunately, I can¡¯t do that. They really don¡¯t know anything and I¡¯m not about to put any of them in this sort of danger.¡±

    ¡°Ye don¡¯t know the meanin¡¯ of the word danger, son. If yer friendly with them, I¡¯m sure one or two might come a runnin¡¯ if I can make ye scream loud enough ta¡­¡±

    ¡°Boss!¡± shouted a man that burst into the tent behind us. ¡°The spriggans are back and¡­ who¡¯s this?¡±

    ¡°Raah!¡±

    The moment Tillmann¡¯s eyes darted to the men that burst into the tent, I put every ounce of strength I had into my arms and swung my sword. His quick reflexes had him block with his hammer, but I wasn¡¯t aiming for him. Nor was I aiming at the men behind me. My one and only target, the only way I had out of this mess, was The Church¡¯s Shield.

    My blade crashed into the silver stand, toppling it. It wasn¡¯t enough to cut it in half, but sparks still flew.

    Eyes widening, Tillmann lunged for it, but he was too late. The essence crystal set in its crown fell into the dirt right along with it. He scrambled for the crystal, never letting go of his hammer.

    ¡°Bastard!¡± Tillmann shouted, jumping to his feet. ¡°I don¡¯t care who ye know. Now I¡¯m gonna¡­!¡±

    A sound of glass cracking overhead stopped his rampage before it could start. The bright orange hue that had been keeping the forest under a simulation of constant mid-day brightness began to flicker before quickly fading.

    Darkness claimed the night again and with it came a violent rush of wind that knocked me off my feet. The only source of light left to us being the bonfire in the center of the camp was whipped out of existence by the rush of air pressure trying to right the atmosphere of the forest.

    ¡°Ye little shit!¡±

    Under the tent and without so much as a spec of moonlight to grant me vision, I was blind, but Tillmann¡¯s rage was unbuffeted by the gale that made sure my hair could never be straightened again.

    Fear heightened right along with my senses, I knew his hammer had to be coming my way. So I dug down.

    Material Destruction caused the soil beneath me to vanish. I fell into this new hole and only a second later, something whizzed over my head and the sound of an explosion rocked the forest. Thinking I¡¯d stayed put, he¡¯d thrown his hammer.

    The wood beams holding up the tent splintered and before they fell, before Tillmann could reclaim his hammer, I cast Dimensional Step.

    Blue lights quickly swirled into existence, but they also lit the area. Tillmann¡¯s face, now shaded in blue but darkened with fury, appeared in the shadow that was the world. He lunged at me and I jumped through the portal.

    Landing face-first into the same grasslands I¡¯d started this stupid night trip in, I quickly cut the portal before anyone could come through it.

    Sitting in the grass, my chest heaving with the effort it took to breathe, I stared into the spot where the portal had been, half expecting it to open again.

    I don¡¯t know how long I sat there, but by the time I started to wish Tillmann had stuck his arm through the portal right before I closed it, I remembered that I¡¯d done what I needed and could call in the cat-kin-cavalry.

    Jumping to my feet, I cast Dimensional Step again, not to the village, but up high in the sky as I¡¯d done with Yua before. Sticking just my head through, I cast my gaze over the forest to see if¡­

    ¡°Shit¡­ He already fixed the barrier.¡±

    Leave it to a dwarf to have something fixed that fast. The bright orange dome was back and seemingly brighter than ever. Whatever damage I had done to The Church¡¯s Shield was either fixed or entirely inconsequential. Meaning Tama couldn¡¯t have his fight yet.

    I fell back out of the portal and onto my ass.

    ¡°¡­ Guess that means I risked my life for nothing.¡±

    And I probably made this even harder.

    Tillmann lost a couple of his men tonight, but all I got from it was confirmation that the barrier could be broken. Which sounded good on paper, but I had a pretty good feeling he was going to be even more on guard now that he knows someone other than the cat-kin are after him.

    I could have handled this so much better.

    ¡°Uggh¡­ I¡¯m never drinking again¡­ Or at least, I¡¯m never letting Elane get me that drunk again.¡±

    Clearheaded enough to fully regret my actions, I rolled onto my stomach and opened another portal. Prepared to act as the boogeyman by crawling out from under someone¡¯s bed for the second time tonight, I connected my portal to the space beneath our bed at the inn so the light didn¡¯t wake the girls. Assuming they hadn¡¯t already noticed my absence.

    Prepared for the worst, but hoping for the best, I crawled over the soft grass, through the portal and onto the hard wood floor of the inn. I cut the spell again and stood, careful not to make too much noise.

    Glancing over my shoulder for fear of what, or whom, I might find staring back at me if I turned around fully, luck finally decided to throw me a bone. Looking every bit as comfortable as they were when I left, both my wives were fast asleep. Hell, at some point, Mana rolled over and clung to Yua, burying her face into the side of the larger girl¡¯s breast in lieu of the pillow I had vacated and neither seemed even slightly uncomfortable.

    I didn¡¯t bother to hide my sigh of relief at seeing them looking so peaceful after nearly getting myself killed.

    Once I was sure the girls and I were all safe and I had a chance to breathe, I yawned. I didn¡¯t bother to check the time on my HUD. I was exhausted.

    Careful not to move too fast, I pulled the blanket the girls were sharing back and froze when I saw Mana.

    Still snoozing peacefully, she didn¡¯t react to the chill the loss of the blanket must have brought her. But looking at her, so small, so weak and still very naked in bed, and at the small blood stain we¡¯d left in the sheets, I was consumed with guilt.

    I had taken her purity and, in a drunken stupor, left her. This same girl that cried over the life of loneliness she shared with me. How could I ever have faced her again if she¡¯d woken up only to find me missing after that?

    Though she was smiling softly as she dreamed the night away, I climbed into bed and hugged her tight, as though she were crying. It was all I could do to repent for the sin she didn¡¯t even know I¡¯d committed against her.

    Her smile widened just a little at my touch and her warmth caused relaxation to nearly knock me out cold. Barely hanging on to consciousness, I pulled the blanket back over the three of us again and, beneath the covers, took hold of Yua¡¯s hand. Deep within the throws of sleep herself, her beautiful face didn¡¯t move a muscle, but her ear flicked, as if to acknowledge my return.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 22

    I had a deep fondness for gemstones. The look of them. The elegant, geometrical shape to their body is so simple, yet so intriguing. The way they both filled with color, yet were almost entirely translucent stole my attention whenever I found one in a video game. So much so that, whenever I did find one, I¡¯d always horde them. Always, no matter the game, I¡¯d lock them up in a box inside my player home or I¡¯d just leave them be in my inventory to slowly watch them pile up.

    The thought of selling them never really crossed my mind as a serious thought, not even when I needed the extra coin to buy something I wanted. I¡¯d just wait and save or take up more side quests until I¡¯d saved enough for it. And these days, I felt as though emeralds had become my favorite of all the pretty gems I could ever hope to collect.

    But now, those same emeralds were cutting into me. Sparing me from the hangover I most definitely deserved, those gems flayed me, tearing, ripping out my weaknesses one by one, just to taunt and ridicule them. And I was utterly defenseless beneath their pressure.

    Sat on her knees beside me on the bed, her lovely visage wrapped in the golden hues of the morning sun, and wearing nothing but that nightgown who¡¯s thinner than paper fabric hugged her every curve so sweetly you¡¯d think it was painted on, Yua glared at me.

    She crossed her arms and I flinched.

    I had woken to this sight, one that once would have left me feeling as though I were still trudging through the depths of a nightmare, but a very real sense of dread kept me from sitting up. Moving just my legs, I realized my lower half was completely exposed, bare, though I distinctly remember falling into bed with my clothes on.

    ¡°Good morning, Alex.¡±

    ¡°G-Good morning. Where¡¯s M¡­¡±

    ¡°Can I ask you something?¡±

    Before I could inquire about the location of my second wife, Yua cut in, questioning if she could ask a question. I nodded reflexively and her arms stayed crossed.

    ¡°When I woke up earlier, I was really excited to try licking your penis again,¡± she said and paused.

    Her admitting that should have had me heating up, but there was something in her tone that made my monster shrink three sizes. She noticed, looked at it without reserve, raised a brow and took it in hand. Gripping me softly by the hilt, Yua leaned forward to press her breasts into my chest.

    She didn¡¯t move after that. Didn¡¯t stroke me. Didn¡¯t lick me. Didn¡¯t so much as kiss me. Nor did she look away. I knew at once that she held me because she wanted the truth.

    ¡°But when I held it, just like this,¡± she continued, lightly squeezing it. ¡°It felt sticky. And when I smelled it, it smelled like Mana¡¯s pussy. Care to explain why?¡±

    ¡°Sm-melled like her¡­¡±

    Yua nodded and I started to sweat.

    Shit! I must have forgotten to clean us up after we finished. I was too busy deciding to go do stupid things in the forest! And not even all the fear-induced sweating I¡¯d done covered the scent of our passion enough to hide from Yua.

    I clenched my teeth under the weight of her emerald gaze and closed my eyes. Knowing it was completely pointless to try lying to this humanoid lie detector, I confessed with a shaking voice.

    ¡°¡­ Mana and I had sex last night while you were asleep. And when we finished, I also made her my slave.¡±

    Yua closed her eyes, sealing her emeralds away from the world with a sigh that almost sounded relieved. She let go of my monster and sat back up.

    ¡°I thought so. Thank you for not lying to me. I was truly hoping you wouldn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t lying be completely pointless?¡±

    Yua¡¯s ears flicked, but for some reason, that made her glare return.

    ¡°I only know what happened because the first thing Mana did after waking was ask me how to get your semens out of her pussy.¡±

    ¡°It was tickling me!¡± Came a voice hidden somewhere behind the foot of the bed. ¡°And it keeps coming out. It makes my special place feel squishy.¡±

    Feeling my cheeks heat up and, realizing that the absurd amount I let out really made my cleaning spells a necessity, I sat up.

    Over the foot of the bed, I found Mana, already dressed, sitting on her ass on the floor. Her skirt was flipped up and, with her knees raised and spread wide, she tugged at the front of her panties to look inside.

    She wasn¡¯t lying about the mess.

    Seeing her pouting, probably because she was forced to get dressed again, I wasn¡¯t even able to complain about her outing the secret she asked me to keep without a second thought. Quietly and with a great deal of shame, I cast both the Body Wash and Clothing Wash spells on both her and Yua, instantly clearing any mess I may have left after last nights rampage.

    Mana¡¯s ears flicked and she tugged her panties harder to check. It was such a simple spell, and I forgot to use it.

    Belatedly, I cast the same on myself as Yua continued.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯d do this.¡±

    ¡°You said you were okay with me making Mana my second wife.¡±

    ¡°I am. But you weren¡¯t supposed to have sex with her until her daddy said it was okay! And you did it in secret! Right next to me! While I was asleep!¡±

    ¡°I-I thought you said some mates start their relationship by jumping into a random tent to have sex? That doesn¡¯t exactly sound like they waited for permiss¡­¡±

    ¡°Are you defending yourself?¡±

    ¡°N-No, Ma¡¯am!¡±

    Grumbling, Yua recrossed her arms. With as much cleavage as her nightgown left in sight, I had to force myself to look away. Even if she normally didn¡¯t mind, those hills looked particularly dangerous to tread upon right now.

    ¡°Uggh¡­ Normally, our people don¡¯t really need our parents¡¯ approval to take a mate. I certainly didn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°But Mochi explicitly told you to wait and you promised you would. Now, because you broke your promise and bled her, he has every right to put an end to your relationship.¡±

    ¡°But if mates are forever¡­¡±

    ¡°He can end it by killing you,¡± she said, her tone nothing but serious. ¡°You¡¯ve broken our tribe¡¯s customs and effectively stolen her from him.¡±

    The thought of how sneaky Mana was flit across my mind. She was able to sneak up on her own people and had done so often enough for her mother to scold her over it. Given their ears, this was no small feat. And she no doubt learned such skills from that same man made a living as a hunter for the tribe. Just like an animal lazily grazing away in the forest, I wouldn¡¯t even see his attack coming before I was dinner.

    ¡°Wait, stolen¡­?¡±

    With my eyes, I threw open my menu and searched around for a Thief tag, but found nothing. I searched my long list of classes, too, but came up just as empty handed.

    ¡°Stop looking at your status,¡± Yua said, demanding I close the menu that should have been invisible to her. ¡°I said effectively stole her.¡±

    ¡°I had her consent¡­¡±

    Hell, technically, she¡¯s the one that jumped on me. I just let it happen.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. You didn¡¯t break any laws, but it was wrong. And you may have just earned Mochi¡¯s hate¡­ You better hope your Luck is high enough and that Mana can convince him to go easy on you.¡±

    ¡°D-Daddy will definitely listen if I ask!¡± Mana chirped, shaking her fists where she sat. ¡°Mother already gave her approval, too! He wouldn¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s beside the point!¡±

    ¡°Eep!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve always been too impatient. Aren¡¯t you supposed to be improving yourself with us? You know you should have waited.¡±

    ¡°...¡±

    Seeing that Mana wasn¡¯t going to say anymore, Yua turned back to me.

    ¡°Now,¡± she said, hefting herself off the bed. ¡°You can put your pants on. I don¡¯t think you deserve a penis licking this morning.¡±

    ¡°Yea, that¡¯s fair¡­¡±

    Leaving me defenseless and guilty on the bed, and with Mana sitting in an awkward time-out on the floor, Yua crossed the room in a huff straight to her backpack.

    She squat down, brushed her long chestnut hair over her shoulder and started rummaging around in her bag. Standing again, she set the clothes she took out on the nearby nightstand and pulled off her nightgown in one smooth motion. She looked over her shoulder, noticed me looking, then faced her clothes again without a word in rebuke.

    It was the simple fact that, even after all that yelling, that she didn¡¯t mind letting me see her naked that told me she was just honestly concerned. Maybe, probably, also upset that we went behind her back. But not fully angry. Not enough to regret our relationship, anyways.

    However, it was the instantaneous flick her ear made when I slid across the bed to get up that drew my attention even more than her body.

    ¡°After all that sex last night, you must be hungry, right?¡± Yua¡¯s said with a sigh as she pulled on her panties. ¡°You should hurry up and eat before we get started with our day.¡±

    Her ears flicked again, as if listening to see if I was moving instead of looking.

    Wait a second¡­

    I jumped to my feet and stormed across the room. Yua¡¯s ears gave a cautionary twitch, but thankfully, love had put her at enough of an ease around me that she didn¡¯t think to defend herself in time.

    ¡°Wha¡­ Hey!¡±

    Grabbing her forcefully by the hips, I pulled her close and pushed the backs of her knees to weaken her stance and lifted her up over my shoulder. As light as she was, it was easy. She squirmed momentarily, but it wasn¡¯t enough to stop me from throwing her back onto the bed.

    ¡°What are you doing?!¡±

    I jumped on top of the mattress, on top of her before she could move. Straddling her lower half, I locked her legs in place with my knees and leaned over her. She tried to push me off, but she put no real power into her arms. Forcing them down over her head was way easier than it should have been.

    My heart twinged in pain when our eyes met and she looked away, burying her face in the mattress. As if denying even our usual morning kiss to show we were alright.

    ¡°Y-You said you¡¯d never force me to have sex.¡±

    While her breasts were bare and our lower halves were touching, I understood why she would think that¡¯s what I wanted, but she couldn¡¯t have been more off the mark. And I knew I was in the right, so I smiled.

    ¡°Yua¡­¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ve been together for over a month now.¡±

    ¡°And?¡±

    ¡°¡­ And every time, literally every time I got up in the middle of the night, you heard me and woke up too. Even if it was just me turning around on our super uncomfortable bed or to get up to go to the restroom, your ears caught me and you woke up.¡±

    The thought of her sweet, tired giggling every time I got flustered over waking her kept me smiling. It was those same giggles that led me to innovate new ways to use my teleportation magic, after all.

    Now, however, her eyes were darting all over the place, as if looking for a way out. She pressed her lips and refused to meet my gaze. Our inn had become a courtroom the moment I woke up, and now it was her turn to act as the defendant.

    ¡°So, tell me Yua, how is it that, if you heard us, you somehow slept through us having sex?¡±

    I tried to be gentle with Mana, but we couldn¡¯t stop the natural sounds of our passion. Nor could someone as inexperienced as Mana hide her voice. Not completely, anyways. And Yua¡¯s ears were impressively sensitive.

    With her brow furrowed and with her cheeks puffing up cutely, Mana lifted herself onto her knees and leaned onto the bed to await an answer. But Yua refused to make eye contact with either of us. She even went so far as to lift her chin, just to move her weakened expression that much further away from us.

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to order you to answer,¡± I said. ¡°But if you¡¯re going to lecture us about what we did, I believe we have the right to know why you didn¡¯t stop us.¡±

    ¡°And no lying!¡± Mana added, her ears flicking. ¡°I¡¯ll know!¡±

    ¡°¡­!¡±

    ¡°Yua.¡±

    ¡°Big Sis!¡±

    ¡°Mm!¡±

    ¡°Yua¡­¡±

    ¡°Bigs Sis!¡±

    ¡°Mm¡­. Fine!¡± Yua shouted, gasping for air. ¡°You two were so cute! I couldn¡¯t bring myself to stop you! Mana confiding in you and then forcing herself on you, only to end up hurting herself was so like her that I almost laughed. Then you! Alex, I could smell your lust since the moment you woke up, but you held back so much! You tried to convince her to stop several times, but only gave in when she made it clear she wanted it too. It was so sweet it, reminded me of our first time.¡±

    Her chest heaving, Yua looked almost frantic as she explained herself. Mana¡¯s pout softened as did my own.

    ¡°H-How could I stop you when the mood was so right? A-And getting to share the male I love with my best friend makes me so happy I almost had to activate Iron Fist just to keep my knuckles from cracking because I was clenching my fists so hard!¡±

    When she finished and her teary emerald eyes flit between us before coming to a rest on me, I laughed. The sight of this beautiful, brave woman getting so flustered as she went on and on about our relationship as if it were some afternoon romcom, was just too much. It was a side of her that was so rare that even I couldn¡¯t remember ever seeing her like this before.

    The thought that she literally handled her father walking in on us having sex with more dignity than she had in her now only made my laughter grow.

    ¡°St-Stop it¡­¡±

    I let go of her hands and took her by the chin before planting a kiss on her lips. She resisted a little, not because she hated it, but because of her own embarrassment told her to.

    When we parted, a strand of saliva connecting our lips, I turned and offered Mana the same. To my delight, Yua didn¡¯t look at all upset to see it. Though her cheeks were bright pink.

    ¡°D-Don¡¯t think you¡¯re off the hook,¡± she said, sitting up on her elbows. ¡°You still shouldn¡¯t have done it.¡±

    ¡°I think you not stopping us makes you just as guilty.¡±

    ¡°Ha. That¡¯s not what I mean,¡± Yua said and clapped her hands onto my cheeks. I thought she was going to ask for a second kiss, but she was smiling wryly. ¡°Aside from what you did with Mana, why do your clothes smell like the forest? And of dirt?¡±

    ¡°¡­Oops.¡±

    Even if I remembered, washing my body wasn¡¯t going to be enough. Now that I think about it, I also forgot to reshape these clothes back into what they used to be.

    Man¡­ Drunk me really is an idiot.

    ¡°Uh-Huh. Thought so.¡±

    ¡°Eh?!¡± Mana shrieked, fear turning her already light skin pale. ¡°Big Bro, did you go to the forest last night? To the village? You didn¡¯t tell Daddy we mated, did you?¡±

    ¡°No, but¡­¡±

    ¡°But I will. He¡¯ll find out eventually. It¡¯ll be easier on you both if you just tell him yourself.¡±

    ¡°Noooo! Big Sis is a bully!¡±

    Leaning further over the side of the bed, Mana pinched and squeezed Yua¡¯s cheeks. Tugging, she messed up the wry smile Yua shot at me. Even in defeat, she¡¯d beaten us. We were all guilty, but I was the biggest sinner here.

    I fell off of her.

    ¡°So,¡± Yua said, her tone serious despite the constant tugging forcing silly expressions onto her beautiful face. ¡°Mind telling me what you did last night?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    The explanation didn¡¯t take all that long. Going over everything in exact detail, Yua¡¯s expression slowly shifted from wry enjoyment at being proven right, to disbelief, to whatever look she was hiding behind the hands that covered her face.

    Meanwhile, Mana had puffed up her small chest proudly when I brought up how much of a help the spriggans were. This lasted until my confrontation with Tillmann, to which her ears flattened and, still kneeling awkwardly on the floor, she clenched my hand in hers.

    ¡°So, let me get this straight,¡± Yua started, pinching her eyes shut. ¡°You got through the barrier and managed to break it?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Temporarily, but yes.¡±

    ¡°And you didn¡¯t teleport Daddy, or me, to help you?¡±

    ¡°N-no¡­ I was a little preoccupied trying not to die to consider that.¡±

    I felt the need to mention that I was drunk, but kept it to myself. Pretty sure I was at the very least mostly sober by that point. Not that that fact would make her feel any better.

    As it happens, Yua noticed me leaving last night, but not soon enough to stop me. She¡¯d been kept awake worrying over where I was and what I was doing, but without anyway to track me after teleporting away, she was at a loss. When I finally returned safe and sound, she was so relieved that she instantly fell asleep before she could say anything. Worry or not, I had worked her way more than I did Mana. Several rounds more.

    Still, finding out that her worrying had been for a good reason didn¡¯t help to improve her mood.

    ¡°Big Bro, you¡¯re dumb.¡±

    ¡°Mana, I¡¯m¡­¡±

    ¡°Yes, he is dumb,¡± Yua added, crossing her arms. We¡¯d both gotten dressed as we talked, so there was nowhere to look but into her glaring emeralds. ¡°For some reason, he seems to like putting himself in dangerous situations.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°Sneaking into a city when you had the coin to pay your way,¡± Yua said, holding up a finger before adding another. ¡°Accepting a loan you shouldn¡¯t have been able to pay back after a lifetime of working for it. Fighting in the dungeon despite having no experience. Angering a noblewoman strong enough to lift your bodyweight with ease.¡±

    ¡°Th-that one wasn¡¯t entirely my fault¡­¡±

    ¡°And then getting drunk enough to think going after an enemy more than twice your level was a good idea! And then doing that alone!¡±

    ¡°Okay, okay! Geez. I know I¡¯m not the smartest man in the world, but when you add all that up without context, I just sound like a complete idiot.¡±

    Furrowing her brow enough to make it seem like she¡¯d never be calm again, Yua huffed and let out a long sigh.

    ¡°You¡¯re not an idiot. You¡¯re plenty smart, but you act like you have no idea how the world works. I used to live in a forest, but I feel I have more common sense than you do.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    It pained me to admit she was right, but without explaining why, I must look like a complete incompetent. My actions last night were supposed to be for her and Mana¡¯s sake, but all I did was make her worry. And I still feel like a piece of shit for leaving Mana right after deflowering her.

    Definitely never getting that drunk again.

    ¡°You¡¯re probably not wrong¡­ But last night wasn¡¯t a complete failure. I did confirm that the barrier can be broken. And I believe we have a lead on our next move.¡±

    ¡°Next move? You don¡¯t mean you¡¯re going to break into the barrier again, do you? Because if I can¡¯t get through, that means you¡¯d be going alone and I don¡¯t want that.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not it. We still have a source we can gather information from.¡±

    ¡°And what¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Remember, they said they sold some of the crystals to Guerraway¡¯s Enchanter.¡± When Yua didn¡¯t immediately pick up on what I meant, and when Mana tilted her head in open confusion, I continued. ¡°One of Tillmann¡¯s men, Erhard, is supposedly going to try and make another deal with him. Today.¡±

    Yua¡¯s ear perked up, her tail flicking with intrigue.

    ¡°And you want to catch him in the act?¡±

    ¡°I think he might know something we can use against Tillmann. They don¡¯t seem to like each other much, but he trusted Erhard enough to let him deal with the Enchanter.¡±

    Erhard choosing the life of a thief to try and buy back his son tugged at my heartstrings a bit, but I couldn¡¯t condone what he was doing. Not when it affected the lives of the cat-kin.

    We¡¯d give him a chance, but if he chooses not to help us, handing him over to the guards would at least lower the number of thieves we¡¯d have to deal with later. And their numbers were already dwindling.

    Tillmann secluding himself in the barrier to protect it whilst leaving his work to everyone else is a mistake we can exploit.

    Taking all this in, Yua weighed the merits of the plan after I laid it out for her.

    ¡°I suppose it wouldn¡¯t hurt to try,¡± she said. ¡°But I wouldn¡¯t get my hopes up thinking it¡¯ll work the way it did with Arthur.¡±

    ¡°I know. That¡¯s why I have a backup in mind.¡±

    ¡°Which is?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll explain on the way,¡± I said, climbing off the bed. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s go, Mana. We¡¯ll get something to eat on the way.¡±

    Extending a hand to the girl that had been sitting on the floor all this time, she looked to it, frowned. Then she moved her legs like she was trying to stand, but stopped with a cute huff. Looking down again, she frowned a little more. She shook her head and I noticed her tail didn¡¯t so much as move at the mention of food.

    ¡°Can I just stay here? I don¡¯t want to go.¡±

    ¡°I guess, but why?¡±

    ¡°Because, um¡­ Because my special place still hurts from last night.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    While I was struck dumb, Mana pressed the front of her skirt down, but not to hide herself. I couldn¡¯t really think of a situation where she¡¯d want to hide from me after what she showed me this morning. She was consoling herself. There was no flush of embarrassment in her cheeks, just raw, unfiltered honesty.

    I tried to be extra careful with her last night during, but I never considered that the pain could linger. Yua certainly showed no signs of the pain lasting past her first time. And we went at it several times that night.

    Is it because Mana¡¯s so small?

    Seeing her there on the floor, apparently unable to stand, was the second time I regretted the size of my monster. I mean, we did have to wait several minutes before we were even able to do anything. Maybe we should have just left it at that and tried again later.

    ¡°Yua, could you¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not healing her,¡± Yua said bluntly. ¡°I already told her; this is her punishment for disobeying her daddy. And that means no potions, too.¡±

    ¡°But you let it happen.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, it was her choice to try.¡±

    Yua, a stickler for both my and the village¡¯s rules, looked away from us in a huff while Mana winced a smile. She seemed to have long accepted this fate, even if not willingly.

    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Here I am, gaining a second wife just last night, and I¡¯m already being forced to pick a side. Force Yua as her master and mate to heal Mana, or let Mana suffer Yua¡¯s punishment.

    Considering it was me, or rather my monster, that caused this, I made up my mind.

    ¡°Sorry, Mana. At least let me help you onto the bed.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡±

    I knelt beside her and she held up her arms, her big blue eyes almost watering as she begged for a hug to end the pain. Scooping her up into a princess carry, I carefully set her on the bed. A quick check to make sure she was okay and I set out some food and water for her.

    Ever the worrywart, I set her bow and quiver next to her so she¡¯d have some protection. And as I did, I discretely let a health potion slip out of my item box and into her quiver, angling it so only she could see the bottle. She smiled a bit, but wisely said nothing.

    No idea if the potion would even help for such pain, but if Yua knew her ability would help enough to use refusing it as a punishment, then I had to try. And this way, Yua gets to be satisfied. It¡¯s a win-win that only I lost.

    ¡°Thanks, Big Bro.¡±

    [Casanova¡¯s Brides Activated.]

    Ah, great. More pop-ups.

    Yua huffed and opened the window, turning an ear to the world outside.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be back as soon as we can,¡± I said, kissing Mana¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°Okay¡­ Can you bring back pork?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Sure.¡±

    Apparently, the food I left her wasn¡¯t going to be enough. Should have known.

    Once the alley behind the inn was clear, we teleported out of the room.

    ¡°So, what¡¯s this about a new ability?¡±

    Taking a dainty bite of her pork skewer as we walked the city, Yua held her cheek with a smile as her mood improved by leaps and bounds. Although, I still sensed that bringing up our earlier conversation would be considered taboo, so I changed the subject.

    ¡°Yea. It¡¯s called Casanova¡¯s Brides. I think you¡¯ll like what it does.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    While I was too drunk off of the alcohol, and Mana, to realize it last night, this new ability was going to be a big help in keeping my girls safe.

    ¡°Well?¡± Yua chimed, delaying her next bite for an answer. ¡°What¡¯s it do?¡±

    Discretely checking the crowd to make sure no one was listening, I said, ¡°Remember how I can choose how to increase your stats when your level grows?¡±

    ¡°Mhmm?¡±

    ¡°Well, this ability gives you another way to level, which gives you more points to add to your stats.¡±

    Yua stopped walking and stared at me, wide-eyed. The half-eaten pork skewer stuck in her teeth; she somehow forgot its flavor enough to stop herself from taking a bite. She leaned in closer, grabbed my hand and asked, ¡°Another way to level? You mean I gained another class like you do?¡±

    ¡°Not quite. This level only exists in my menu.¡±

    ¡°Oh... Then what level am I?¡±

    ¡°Ten.¡±

    ¡°Really?!¡±

    Her emerald eyes lit up like fireworks and she leaned closer, unintentionally pressing her breasts into my arm. Her cloak hid her ears, but the sight of a beauty like her doing such a thing drew quite a bit of attention to us, so I sped up with her in tow.

    ¡°C-Could you put the points into my Strength stat, please? Please?¡±

    ¡°Haha. I figured you¡¯d ask, but hold on. It¡¯s not quite what you¡¯d think.¡±

    Yua puffed up her cheeks in a pout that showed off a bit of her own cuteness, but I didn¡¯t want her to expect too much. Learning that she gained another ten levels this way must have made her assume she had ten levels worth of points to use, but this wasn¡¯t the case.

    Her Casanova level started off at level 9 when I first gained the ability, but she had no points to speak of. This is why I didn¡¯t think much of the ability when I got it and chose to ignore it. However, when I woke up this morning, I noticed that she was now level 10, and that next to her level was a note that said she had 2 points to use. It didn¡¯t take long to figure out where said points were meant to go

    I took this to meaning that the girls would get 2 points per level, and that any leveling she did prior to me getting the ability simply didn¡¯t count. Also, this means that something happened between me falling asleep and me waking that leveled her up. And I had a pretty good idea of what that was, though I chose not to bring it up with her just yet.

    In short, and as mildly embarrassing as it was to consider, I¡¯d done something that caused her to love me more. I knew this because, beneath the description of both her and Mana¡¯s Casanova levels, their love was laid out in plain English.

    Yua¡¯s read: [Slave Yua¡¯s tender love for her Master is as deep as her longing to be with and to dote on him]

    Reading this, I came to the happy conclusion that her love for me affects her level. Meaning that, the more she loves me, the more she levels. I wasn¡¯t sure I someone actually had a limit on how much they could love someone, but I figured it actually had more to do with me doing something the girls like, such as giving Mana that potion.

    And unawares of what happened between the girls this morning, I assume Yua¡¯s love deepened a little more after seeing Mana and I in bed together. Finding your husband in bed with your very naked best friend should have enraged her, but after forcing her to confess earlier, it was an easy guess that this was not the case.

    This ability would be useful in helping the girls keep up with me as I leveled, since my EXP-boost affected me more than it did them. I wasn¡¯t too sure how to feel about how this ability treated their love like some sort of affection-gauge in a dating simulator, but what¡¯s done is done.

    Although, it was what was written under Mana¡¯s Casanova level that concerned me.

    [Slave Mana is deeply in love with her Master. Day or night, sun or rain, and no matter the time or place, this slave is ready for mating entirely at the discretion of her Master]

    I was fully aware that nobody else could see my menu, but reading that again had me closing it about as fast as if someone had walked in on me watching porn. I couldn¡¯t help but think about the cat-kin¡¯s desires to always act on their mate¡¯s lust the moment they let it known. And that was not something one should think about in public.

    We hadn¡¯t been together nearly as long as Yua and I, but her Casanova level was already 8. Her being snubbed of attention for so long, only to have me be immediately infatuated with her upon our meeting, must have been more important to her than she let on.

    ¡°Hmm,¡± Yua hummed after my explanation. ¡°I don¡¯t see the point of it telling you how much I love you. You could just ask.¡±

    ¡°True, but I think it¡¯s meant more for slaves that aren¡¯t in love yet,¡± I said, my cheeks boiling.

    ¡°Hmm. How did you even get this ability?¡±

    ¡°B-By, uh¡­ By having sex with Mana.¡±

    Taboo subject suddenly breached, Yua¡¯s eyes narrowed at me and she bit into the last chunk of meat on her skewer particularly viciously. Her eyes darted to my half-eaten skewer and I handed it over without complaint.

    ¡°I see. So, you put my points into Strength, right? You did, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes, Ma¡¯am!¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡±

    Yua once more turned away from me, but she did continue to hold my arm as we walked. And I could only pray my thanks to the pork for calming her.

    Or, no, it was probably because she started flexing her biceps after I dumped her points where she wanted them. I guess the difference, while small numerically, was enough to feel.

    ¡°Let¡¯s keep this between us for now,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t want Mana to worry about it.¡±

    Nor do I want her to repeat her willingness to mate at the drop of a hat. Hearing her say that after we¡¯ve already done it once might actually corrupt my heart.

    Yua agreed with a shrug and continued guiding us through the city. We¡¯d asked for directions, but she was taking us through the most unpopulated sections of the city so we could chat somewhat openly.

    Satisfied with her newfound strength, Yua crushed the now empty skewers in hand and nuzzled her cheek into my arm with a supremely contented smile.

    ¡°So¡­ You want to dote on me now?¡±

    ¡°Hmph. Shut up and walk.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Ma¡¯am.¡±

    Smirking to myself after noticing that her supposed anger didn¡¯t reach her swishing tail, I pulled her just a little closer.

    The name Enchant Me Not sounded somewhat whimsical for an Enchanter¡¯s shop, but beneath the sign it was carved into were two armed and fully armored guards, one man and one woman, neither lower than level 25 in their respective classes.

    By my count, at least ten more guards just like them patrolled the wide area around the shop. They also made their presence known on the nearby streets, setting it so far apart from the rest of Guerraway¡¯s shops that it looked out of place. But maybe that was the point, it was the only store in the area and it easily drew attention to itself.

    Honestly, with the shop existing in the city¡¯s noble¡¯s quarters, the place looked more like a heavily-guarded bank than a store of any kind. With what they sold being so valuable, it made sense. Especially since the ring Yua and I sold at auction before was crazy expensive, the shop really needed the protection.

    But the unmissable fact that the woman guarding the door was wearing a set of that ultra-skimpy enchanted armor suggested she was being used as both eye candy, and as an advertisement for the shop¡¯s wares.

    I mean, her lower half was covered by the sort of needless skirt you¡¯d expect to find on a female knight if you played a lot of RPG¡¯s, but the top half of her armor barely covered anything at all. Her arms and legs were covered with shiny metal to keep her limbs protected, but her tits and stomach are practically defenseless! And she¡¯s wearing it with every bit of pride Yua said someone would if they managed to get some.

    How can this woman seriously stand there, aiming that discerning, stalwart glare at every customer that stopped by without so much as blushing when they could practically see her nipples?

    Goddess. I know those nudist cat-kin exist, but I just can¡¯t wrap my mind around how this armor is something to be prideful of to actually wear it in public.

    ¡°Something wrong?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± I said, sighing as I turned back to slink into the bench. ¡°Just coming to terms with the fact that my ideas of modesty mean nothing here.¡±

    ¡°Modesty¡­?!¡±

    Yua hurriedly pressed down her skirt before she looked around to see if anyone had noticed. We¡¯d been scoping out the shop for a few hours now, so her posture had gotten a little too comfortable, but I was sure nobody saw anything they shouldn¡¯t have.

    Enchant Me Not was gated off from the rest of the city, there was only one entrance, so we had an easy time scoping out the place by resting on a bench not too far away. Thankfully, due more to this side of the city being less populated during the day, rather than because of how close we were, Yua could hear everything surrounding the shop with a surprising clarity. We also had the benefit of being just outside the guards¡¯ patrol range.

    ¡°Anything?¡±

    Forgetting her skirt with a flick of her ear, she turned back towards the shop and listened.

    ¡°No. Sounds like that nobleman bought his wife an enchanted necklace, though.¡±

    Curious, I looked again and saw a well-groomed man in a set of very fine clothes as he climbed into a carriage before it rolled away. His purse was no doubt much lighter, but he looked quite happy.

    ¡°Well isn¡¯t that nice of him?¡±

    ¡°Mm. I haven¡¯t heard anything about Erhard, though. You think there¡¯s another way in?¡±

    ¡°Like a secret entrance? I doubt it.¡±

    The enchanter may be buying from thieves, but that doesn¡¯t necessarily mean he knows the crystals are stolen goods. He has no reason to assume he needs to sneak into his shop. Erhard could easily just walk in the front door.

    Given how much coin he worked with, I could imagine the Enchanter having a panic room or a vault or something along that line, but that was about it.

    ¡°Did they mention he¡¯d be here by a certain time?¡±

    ¡°No. Just that he¡¯d be here today.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Sighing through her nose, Yua kept her attention on the shop. A few of the people that passed us shot her dirty glares, no doubt because she had to keep her ears out to listen, but I quieted them quickly enough by wrapping an arm around her waist and waving at them.

    When Yua started watching the shop, I did my part in spreading those rumors I cooked up about the thieves, but clearly they hadn¡¯t set in yet.

    ¡°¡­ Alex, we need to talk about Mana.¡±

    ¡°Come on. I said I was sorry. Besides, I need you to¡­¡±

    ¡°I can keep listening to the store as we talk. Nobody else is heading in there right now anyways.¡±

    Unfortunately for my want not to be lectured again, she was right. With how expensive enchanted items were, it was easy to understand why the shop wasn¡¯t seeing very many customers. I braced myself.

    ¡°Alright, go ahead.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s too weak. I want you to put any Casanova points Mana has into her Strength stat, too.¡±

    ¡°Oh, uh¡­ I thought this was going to be about me being too rough with her or something.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Why would you think that? I heard you, remember? You were nothing but gentle. It¡¯s not your fault your penis is too big for her. She¡¯ll be fine next time. Assuming Mochi lets there be a next time.¡±

    ¡°R-Right¡­¡± I said, trying to ignore the blushing looks the women walking past us were giving me. They hurried off, but I continued in a whisper anyways. ¡°Then what, er, why did you want me to level her Strength?¡±

    ¡°Because you keep putting yourself in danger. She needs the extra strength to use that bow you bought her, remember?¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­¡±

    Right. I left it with her so she could defend herself, but she can barely even draw it as she is. I had no choice but to agree with her. Unfortunately, Mana¡¯s Casanova level hasn¡¯t changed since she got it, so I couldn¡¯t do that just yet. The potion, at best, gave her some experience. Just not enough to level up.

    ¡°That aside,¡± Yua continued. ¡°I think she knew I was awake.¡±

    ¡°Because she heard you?¡±

    Yua nodded and shifted on the bench.

    ¡°People¡¯s hearts beat differently when they sleep. If she wanted to check, I couldn¡¯t have faked it in front of her or she¡¯d know. Which means she just didn¡¯t care.¡±

    ¡°¡­ And you still didn¡¯t stop her.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not the one that had sex with her, Alex. I¡¯m just warning you. Mochi is most likely going to ask what happened between you two. And if he¡¯s anything like Daddy, he¡¯s going to assume you attacked her and that she let you.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    I didn¡¯t think him being like Tama has anything to do with it. He knew I was sexually interested in her. Any father would be concerned. It¡¯s why he didn¡¯t want her to come along and why explaining to him why I didn¡¯t send her back after she ran away was going to be difficult.

    ¡°Are you saying I need to throw her under the bus?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s a bus?¡± Yua said, her eyes still on the shop.

    ¡°Never mind¡­ Are you saying I need to push the blame onto her? Because I won¡¯t be doing that.¡±

    It takes two to tango, and I¡¯m not such a coward that I¡¯d push ownership of what we did onto her.

    ¡°I¡¯m saying you might come out of it with fewer bruises if you did. Mochi knows what Mana is like, so he¡¯s more likely to go easy on her. Especially if she¡¯s still in pain when she goes back to the village. He¡¯ll know it¡¯s because of your big penis.¡±

    ¡°Can you stop bringing that up in pub¡­¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s this about a large penis?¡±

    Hearing the sultry, experienced voice of a woman that didn¡¯t sound even slightly embarrassed to mention such a thing in public, we spun in our seats to find a black-haired woman in front of us. I certainly hadn¡¯t heard her approach, but apparently, neither had Yua as I felt her legs stiffen. She was ready to fight if the need arose, but I knew it wouldn¡¯t.

    The woman before us looked tired, but not so much so that it obscured her beauty or the inviting smile she wore. Bent over us, as if ready to share in a secret she meant to whisper, I couldn¡¯t help but let my eyes be drawn to her cleavage. Her breasts were a little smaller than Yua¡¯s, but with the low-cut dress she wore looking tailormade to draw attention there, it didn¡¯t matter.

    The strong, obvious and very fishy scent of lust on her that even my human nose could smell that kept me uninterested. Even if I weren¡¯t to judge this book by her cover, it was clear as day that this woman was a prostitute.

    I snapped to attention. Remembering the request Yua made of me the other day, I defensively threw up my hands, only to end Yua¡¯s preparedness by pulling her sharply to my side, practically forcing her onto my lap in the process.

    ¡°A-Alex?¡±

    ¡°Sorry, miss,¡± I said. ¡°But I won¡¯t be needing your services. As you can see, I¡¯m married.¡±

    ¡°Huh? Oh, I¡¯m not here about that,¡± she said with a laugh. ¡°I just finished with my last three customers. I¡¯m done working for the day.¡±

    ¡°Just finished? Last three¡­? You don¡¯t mean at the same time, do you?¡±

    ¡°Sure do. But don¡¯t worry about that, sweety. What you should be worrying about was how I was just paid a pretty little silver coin to tell you both that that man over there wants to talk to you.¡±

    Throwing a thumb over her shoulder, she pointed to an alleyway down the road. In it was a man, Erhard. He waved once he noticed us looking, but quickly hid himself behind a wall.

    I couldn¡¯t help but notice how he was the perfect distance to keep Yua¡¯s ears off of him, but I was more concerned with how he recognized me enough to call out to us. He must have been one of the thieves that showed up after I confronted Tillmann, but I can¡¯t imagine how he¡¯d seen my face in all that mess.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said, standing. ¡°But you should probably leave.¡±

    ¡°Hey now, cutey,¡± the woman said, coyly circling a finger on my chest. ¡°I want to know more about this large penis I just heard about. I wouldn¡¯t mind letting you sample my services for free if you¡¯re not lying.¡±

    ¡°Wha¡­ I¡­¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not interested,¡± Yua said, jumping to her feet and cutting between us. ¡°His penis belongs to us. So go away.¡±

    ¡°Oh, poo.~ Are you sure? You know, I wouldn¡¯t mind it a bit if you joined us.¡±

    ¡°Go away, or I will hurt you.¡±

    Flinching back at the sight of the emerald glare that was meant to protect my imaginary chastity, I barely had time to be grateful that Yua didn¡¯t make things worse by shoving her hand down my pants to prove who I belonged to. Instead, she grabbed my hand and ran, leaving the woman dumbstruck.

    I, in all my inexperienced ways, waved and smiled awkwardly as I was dragged away.

    Why did the first woman to actually hit on me have to be a prostitute?

    As I lamented this fact, a fact that somehow seemed fictional since I had two wives, Yua stopped running before we got to the alley and pulled us around to the opposite side of the building. Pressing us up against the wall, she lifted an ear to the sky and listened.

    ¡°Sorry, Yua.¡±

    ¡°For what? I know from your heart you really weren¡¯t interested. You didn¡¯t do anything wrong.¡±

    ¡°It, uh, just seemed like something I should say.¡±

    ¡°Mm. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    Thank the Goddess my wife was so understanding. If what happened with Mana already had me in the dog house, I could only imagine where that woman¡¯s proposition would have landed me if Yua didn¡¯t have those ears of hers.

    Coming to grips with my near-death experience, I said, ¡°¡­ Is Erhard alone?¡±

    I knew she pulled us aside to check if he¡¯d laid out a trap for us, so I had to wait and see what she heard.

    Here we were, waiting hours for the guy to finally show up, and when he does, he sends a prostitute to come pick us up. In broad daylight, no less. If this guy wasn¡¯t a known criminal, I¡¯d have to question his sanity.

    Thankfully, didn¡¯t take long for Yua to find her answer.

    ¡°He¡¯s alone. But there are other people nearby.¡±

    ¡°Then be on guard.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡±

    I pushed my thumb against my sword¡¯s guard to prepare, but I didn¡¯t draw. I may be allowed to carry this thing in the city, but I was sure we¡¯d draw attention if I went waving it around. Yua, on the other hand, had to do nothing but clench her fists as we rounded the corner, attempting and probably failing to look casual.

    The alley he chose to hide himself in was on the border of the noble¡¯s district and what I assumed to be the more middle-class part of the city. Cut into the backside of two apartment buildings and what looked to be a church that had been emptied since the end of the morning mass, it didn¡¯t look like the sort of place one would expect to meet a thief in. But it was secluded.

    Even after her assurance, walking into that back alley with a known thief felt like we were asking to get jumped. As if he chose this spot just to show he meant no harm, the street between the buildings came to an abrupt end, trapping himself between us and another building. He had no way out.

    Erhard stuck his head out from behind the first apartment building and quickly found us. Glancing around, he made sure we too were alone before he stepped out into the open. Remembering the sword he held last night, I noticed he was unarmed, but that same memory kept me on my toes.

    However, when he noticed Yua¡¯s ears, he surprised the both of us by letting out a sigh that sounded so relieved, you¡¯d have thought we¡¯d brought him is son oursleves.

    ¡°Thank the gods,¡± he said, catching himself on his knees. ¡°You really were working for the cat-kin.¡±

    ¡°Is that why you called us here?¡±

    Erhard looked up at us and squeezed his knees almost hard enough to hear the leather squeal. He ignored my question by asking one of his own.

    ¡°What is it you really want? Tillmann said you were an Adventurer, are you trying to capture us?¡±

    ¡°No. The cat-kin just want you out of the forest. They don¡¯t care what happens to you, so long as you leave.¡±

    Yua nodded sharply and his shoulders sagged in further relief.

    ¡°I want out. I want out of that damned forest! Forced to live under that barrier, never allowed to leave unless I¡¯m out risking my freedom. Or my life. Living in fear of walking out of the barrier, finally feeling the breeze on my face, only to have the Blood-Soaked Beast of Dumort appear behind me without a sound, rip my heart right out of my chest and run off like nothing happened. That thought has made me lose so much sleep that I can¡¯t even think straight anymore.¡±

    ¡°Blood-Soaked¡­ Is that supposed to be Tama¡¯s nickname or something?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not a thief!¡± Erhard shouted. ¡°I¡¯m not cut out for this! I just want my son back!¡±

    ¡°Then why come to us?¡± Yua asked. ¡°Why not just leave?¡±

    ¡°From what we heard; Tillmann won¡¯t leave the barrier. So, it¡¯s not like he¡¯ll chase you down.¡±

    He shook his head hard and clasped his hands together in prayer.

    ¡°I want the same kind of deal you promised Arthur!¡±

    ¡°What? How did you know about that?¡±

    ¡°He came back last night. After you left. He told Tillmann everything, including the deal you struck.¡±

    ¡°That bastard¡­¡±

    I knew it. I didn¡¯t want to believe it, but it was too easy to convince him to switch sides. He must have been lying to get us to¡­

    No. A quick look to Yua shaking her head confirmed there were no falsehoods in what he¡¯d said at the time. Neither Yua nor Mana picked up on any lies. That great big sob story that was his love life he told us about must have been the honest truth. His lies came from withholding other truths I didn¡¯t think to ask about. Trusting their ears didn¡¯t mean anything if he didn¡¯t speak.

    I fully planned on helping him when we were done here, and this is how he thanks me? Apparently, he¡¯d rather risk any of the possible fates he¡¯d find himself in by continuing to work with Tillmann, than trust my ability to get him home. Not hard to understand since he barely met me five minutes before we struck that deal, but it still feels like I¡¯ve been betrayed.

    Why go back to Tillmann after you told me how to get through the barrier anyways? Change of heart, or is he just as stupid as me?

    Goddess¡­ It feels like Alphonse all over again.

    ¡°We all have our reason for being here,¡± Erhard said. ¡°His was a woman, mine is my son. I don¡¯t have a personal stake in the forest like you two do. But what I do have is this.¡±

    He stepped aside and showed us a small wooden crate. It had been nailed shut before, probably so the guards at the city gates couldn¡¯t shove their noses in it, but he¡¯d since opened the lid far enough to let the shine of the essence crystals and amethysts hidden within reach us. The crate was packed to bursting.

    ¡°By my count,¡± he continued. ¡°I have enough here to buy my son back from the slaver that stole him from me and then some. What I want from you is a trade.¡±

    ¡°Trade? I¡¯m not buying those off you.¡±

    If the thieves were stealing and successfully selling their loot in public, then whoever bought the things must not be affected by the world magic, but I wasn¡¯t about to be a part of black market deals.

    ¡°No. No. You used teleportation magic to get away last night, right? If you teleport me away from this place, as far away as you can, and if you let me keep these crystals, I will let you in on a secret that will help you get rid of Tillmann.¡±

    Weary of accepting yet another deal with a thief, I turned to Yua. Her ears flicked and she shook her head.

    No lies again, but knowing that wasn¡¯t enough last time. So, why should it be this time?

    ¡°What happened to the other crystals? We saw an entire minecart full of them, but that box can¡¯t fit anywhere near that much.¡±

    ¡°Some of the last shipment was sold to Lord Argento of Dragma last night. The rest was already sold to the enchanter the night before that. Tillmann had me bring these today because the enchanter needed more time to gather the coin.¡±

    I looked to Yua and again, she shook her head.

    So that was why the shipment to Lord Argento was delayed. They must have taken their loot to Guerraway¡¯s enchanter and negotiated a better deal.

    ¡°Tillmann, uh¡­ He also said that you probably heard us talking about it and that you¡¯d be waiting for me here. He told me everything about you, including what you looked like and your magic, so it was easy to find you.¡±

    ¡°¡­ And what was he expecting you to do to me?¡±

    ¡°Nothing!¡± he said quickly. ¡°I was supposed to avoid you at all costs.¡±

    Yua shook her head again and I continued.

    ¡°Is the mine really almost empty?¡±

    ¡°Most likely, yes. Tillmann should be checking it now, but if a dwarf can¡¯t find any more crystals in there, then nobody will. This is likely the last of them.¡±

    He tapped the crate with his boot and Yua shook her head.

    Guess that means there¡¯s not going to be much left for the cat-kin. It¡¯s not like they can just waltz up to the enchanter and demand he hand over what he bought. Not after the heavy blow they¡¯ve taken to their reputation. The city knights and the enchanter¡¯s guards would be on them the instant they tried.

    At this point, I¡¯m sure they¡¯d happily arrest the cat-kin under the guise of them attempting to steal from the man.

    ¡°Okay¡­ But Tillmann mentioned another cave.¡±

    ¡°And he¡¯s trying to catch one of my people to get them to talk,¡± Yua added, crossing her arms.

    Erhard flinched more at her than he did me, but he answered regardless.

    ¡°He is. But he has no proof of another cave existing. He keeps saying things like the conditions are right, but that¡¯s it. It¡¯s just guesswork and he refuses to admit to that or the danger that staying there is putting us in.¡± He turned to Yua. ¡°As for your people, Arthur told him that he spoke to a couple of the cat-kin out in front of Guerraway¡¯s Apothecary shop. Told him they were real gullible and that it¡¯d be easy to get them to talk once caught. So, he¡¯s deadest on finding one of you as soon as he can.¡±

    Annoyed, Yua furrowed her brow, but I sighed. Gullible certainly wasn¡¯t the word I¡¯d pick. Unbearably na?ve would be more apt, but he wasn¡¯t wrong.

    ¡°We don¡¯t know anything about other caves,¡± Yua said, taking an aggravated step towards him. ¡°The one you guys stole was just the home of the spriggans to us.¡±

    ¡°Hey, hey! I¡¯m not the one in charge over there. I didn¡¯t choose where and what to steal.¡±

    ¡°Maybe not, but that doesn¡¯t change the fact that you still stole from us. And from the spriggans.¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯m sorry! I needed coin and I needed it fast! I need to buy my son back before someone else does and for that, for him, nothing was off the table. Including working for a man that could crush your skull like an egg¡­ Wouldn¡¯t you do the same for your kid?¡±

    Yua¡¯s mouth fell open, unable to say anything as she grimaced. She hung her head, her ears dropping as her gaze fell to the cobblestones. She quickly noticed me looking and stood up straight as an arrow, but the damage had been done.

    Because our races were too different, we couldn¡¯t have kids together. She knew that before accepting me as her mate. She never mentioned a want to, and I didn¡¯t exactly bring it up, but maybe it bothered her more than she let on. More than I thought.

    Still, she at least didn¡¯t need to have one herself to know innocent children needs protecting.

    ¡°I just want my son back,¡± Erhard said, his voice pleading as he extended his hand. ¡°I¡¯ll leave and I¡¯ll never set foot in this country again.¡±

    With a sigh, I handed the decision to Yua.

    ¡°This is about your people and the crystals. I¡¯ll let you decide this one.¡±

    Yua closed her eyes, nodded and took a deep breath. She must have decided Erhard was being honest, because she didn¡¯t take long to find an answer.

    ¡°We¡¯ll accept¡­ But only if what you tell us about Tillmann will actually help get rid of him.¡±

    ¡°Yes! Thank you! Yes, okay. See, almost everyone there hates him. He works us to the bone every single day. He threatens us with his hammer if we don¡¯t work hard enough, or if we so much as think about asking for a bigger cut. And they aren¡¯t empty threats, either. He¡¯s broken a number of limbs after guys got out of line, only to heal them up with a potion and send them back to work right after. And once, I saw him break a man¡¯s leg, just because someone touched his booze. And it wasn¡¯t even the one he hurt that did it!¡±

    ¡°Yea, yea,¡± I stopped him. ¡°We know he¡¯s a bad guy.¡±

    Arthur and Erhard, at least, had good reasons to be here. Even if they should¡¯ve taken a different path to correct their lives. And from what I¡¯ve heard, it may be safe to assume the others may be in the same boat, they were hand selected because their wants outweighed the risks of being there.

    Tillmann¡¯s desires, though, were entirely selfish. In my head, he deserved no sympathy.

    ¡°How do we beat him?¡±

    ¡°S-sorry,¡± Erhard said, clearing his throat. ¡°What I was getting at was that there are already several of the guys that want to mutiny. Last night was the last straw for us. Because you and those spriggans showed up, he kept us awake all night long waiting for you to come back. Then he made me cart over here without a wink of sleep. And he made the others head into the mine again. He didn¡¯t even care that two of our guys died last night.¡±

    ¡°So, he¡¯s pissed them off enough that some of you would side with us if we come knocking?¡±

    ¡°Yes. They¡¯ll want promises of freedom, but yes. And it¡¯ll have to be obvious that you can win against Tillmann. Because if you don¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°He¡¯ll kill the traitors,¡± I finished for him and sighed.

    Once I opened the barrier again, I planned on calling Tama to help to begin with, but now we really didn¡¯t have a choice. Any dreams I had of finishing this on our own were already dead, but he just spit on their grave.

    If he¡¯s right, and we can convince them the help, we¡¯d at least have some help on the inside. That and whoever Tama brings with him will really increase our chances. After last night¡¯s screw up, just learning this felt like lifting a giant weight off my shoulders, but the final decision wasn¡¯t mine. Not this time.

    Yua held a knuckle to her chin, her ears flicking in thought. This lasted a while before she finally came up for air. She looked to the hand Erhard kept extended to her, but didn¡¯t take it.

    ¡°Before that,¡± she said. ¡°You still have crystals at the camp, don¡¯t you? There¡¯s no way you sold them all off that fast.¡±

    Remembering that just one of those crystals was only a single component of the absurdly overpriced ring we sold a month ago, I realized she was right. None of the shops in Amoranth were able to pony up that much gold on the spot without crippling themselves, and the thieves were selling what was likely hundreds, if not a couple thousand of them.

    At this, Erhard nodded without pause.

    ¡°We do. Lord Argento brought plenty of gold for the lot, but since we cut a deal with the enchanter, we¡¯ve been delaying shipments so the Enchanter could buy more. There should still be a crate or two back in the camp.¡±

    ¡°Good. Then Daddy can still sell them for food.¡±

    Yua nodded, and for the first time in a while, she smiled. Feeling that the cute twist to her lips was just a little infectious, I found myself smirking at the thought of how she planned on her people using the crystals the same way I had.

    She looked to his hand, then to me and her tail flicked. I guessed that me being her master meant it was up to me to actually accept the deal.

    I reached out to shake his hand, but stopped, frozen.

    For some reason, the hairs on the back of my neck began to prickle. A sinking feeling welled up in my gut, almost like someone had opened a portal directly inside my stomach and vacuumed my innards out straight through it before I could stop them. Suddenly, I was struggling to hold myself up. And I didn¡¯t know why.

    I thought I might have subconsciously picked up on the sight of some sort of hidden blade Erhard might have had up his sleeve, but he sheepishly pulled his hand back when he saw my reaction.

    Yua, too, clenched her fists, though she didn¡¯t know why. And neither did I until¡­

    [Caution: Slave Mana is in Danger!]

    I stared blankly at the notification I¡¯d received from the Slave Master class, unsure of what it meant. Yua had been in danger plenty since we met, but such a message never popped up with her.

    Unless¡­ Maybe it didn¡¯t show because I was always there to experience the danger with her, so it wasn¡¯t necessary?

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    Gulping, ignoring the concern on Yua¡¯s face, I asked, ¡°¡­ Erhard, when you said Arthur told Tillmann everything, did he mention which inn we were staying in?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes. Why?¡±

    I clutched my chest.

    I messed up.

    ¡°Alex, what¡¯s wrong? Your heart is¡­¡±

    ¡°We need to go.¡±

    I threw open a portal back to the inn. Erhard stumbled back at the sight of the magic, but Yua tried to get between me and the portal.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What happened?¡±

    ¡°No time!¡± I yelled, and grabbed her wrist. She winced but didn¡¯t try to pull away. ¡°We need to go!¡±

    ¡°Hey, wait! What about our deal?¡±

    ¡°You just wait here! Come, Yua!¡±

    Shoving Erhard back and away from my spell, I pulled Yua through the portal.

    We landed in our room at the inn, only to find it empty.

    I jumped onto the mattress and ripped the sheets away, expecting to find Mana hiding there with her bow and with a welcoming smile on her little sakura lips, but she wasn¡¯t there. The sweet, cute girl I¡¯d left healing on the bed, my wife, was gone.

    ¡°Oh shit¡­¡±

    ¡°Alex¡­ What¡¯s wrong? I thought you wanted to stay and learn the Enchanter class after we talked to Erhard.¡±

    ¡°Look around! Mana¡¯s gone!¡±

    ¡°Sh-She probably just ran off to explore the city again. The health potion you slipped her probably perked her right back up. She must have gotten bored waiting and left to play.¡±

    I should have just forced Mana to drink the damn health potion right then and there and brought her with us!

    Fuck!

    ¡°Alex?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you get it, Yua? Arthur told them where we were staying. That means Tillmann knows we sleep here. He wants to catch a cat-kin to interrogate them and Mana¡¯s gone!¡±

    Her emerald eyes widening with understanding, Yua¡¯s lips floundered before she turned her senses to the world.

    Dropping to the floor, I checked under the bed, hoping against hope that Mana thought to prank us by hiding there, and hesitated to come out once she heard our panic.

    But she wasn¡¯t there.

    ¡°Alex¡­¡± Yua said, her face grim. ¡°I can smell Arthur in this room.¡±

    My stomach lurched.

    I should have sent her back to the village as soon as she found us by the barrier.

    ¡°How did you even know?¡± Yua said, opening the room¡¯s door and sniffing the hall.

    ¡°¡­ The Slave Master class notified me that she was in danger.¡±

    ¡°Then use your right as her master to search for her! It smells like she left out the front door!¡±

    I didn¡¯t waste time getting back to my feet before activating the ability I¡¯d hardly ever used. Hoping again that her leaving through the front door just meant she¡¯d been detained by the cycloptic innkeeper for daring to exist in this building as a cat-kin, it took only seconds to realize her outline didn¡¯t appear through the floorboards. She wasn¡¯t in the building.

    Focusing on widening my search area, I still did not find her outline, but I felt a sharp, incorporeal tug force my body to face what my compass read as North-West.

    I whipped out my map menu and checked to see what lay in that direction, though I feared I already knew.

    With my heart attempting to tear through my chest to slap me across the face, I bit down on the answer.

    ¡°¡­ She¡¯s either in the forest or heading in that direction.¡±

    ¡°Towards the barrier?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I can¡¯t tell from this far away. But we have to go.¡±

    No more time for games. If they were going to stoop this low, we were going to have to do this Tama¡¯s way and use brute force to get them to end this.

    Standing, I pointed a finger at Yua and, using my rights as her master, instantaneously removed her clothes and replaced them with her battle gear of a leather vest and shorts.

    Bewildered for only a moment, Yua¡¯s ears flicked as she tugged her shorts into a more comfortable spot that allowed her tail to move freely. We bought this equipment a month ago, but she¡¯d only ever done light training in it before. I was beginning to think we¡¯d wasted our money on it, but she was going to need its protection now.

    I took off my cloak and equipped my gear as well before opening another portal, this time to the forest. Neither of us hesitated to jump through.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 23

    Led by Yua¡¯s sharpened ears, we plowed through the trees as fast as we could. Leaves, branches and bushes all snapped and crumpled in our wake. Several animals that likely once considered themselves predators scampered away to hide, rather than get involved.

    I¡¯d teleported us deep inside of Dumort Forest, but kept us well out of sight of the barrier. Our panic made me doubt this decision, but getting jumped the moment we stepped out of the portal wasn¡¯t going to save anyone. And the girl that needed saving was dear to both of us.

    ¡°Have you found Mana yet?¡±

    Yua tore a thick, low-hanging branch straight off a tree and tossed it aside as she ran so I could pass unhindered. Her experience traversing forests demanded she take charge and I was too focused on my menu.

    ¡°Not yet.¡±

    Using my rights as her master, I been searching for Mana since we stepped out of the portal, but so far, I¡¯ve gotten nothing to show for it. She was still too far to see her outline. Without that, using just the slight tug that pulled me in her general direction was almost as useless as tracking an animal whose existence was assumed at best.

    What I did know was that we were headed towards the barrier by following her.

    ¡°Goddess¡­ It¡¯s like she keeps getting further away.¡±

    ¡°How¡¯d they even get here so fast?¡±

    ¡°We were gone for hours. They could have used a cart. Or a fast horse.¡±

    And thanks to the tarnished reputation of the cat-kin, I doubted anyone at the inn would have tried to stop them from kidnapping her, even if they dragged her through the lobby kicking and screaming. Once they saw she was cat-kin, most probably wouldn¡¯t have lifted a finger to help even after seeing thrown into the back of a cart.

    The much more nail-biting fact that kept me running as fast as I could was that, in order to make it as far as they did this fast, they must have kidnapped her right after we left for the Enchanter.

    None of us stopped to check if Arthur was still at the inn, but his room was right above ours. He¡¯d have had plenty of opportunities. And if that wasn¡¯t enough, the timing had to mean that Tillmann likely came up with this plan right after Arthur told him about us.

    They both know about my teleportation magic. Waiting up above in his room, knowing we¡¯d want to avoid the innkeeper¡¯s rath, Arthur just had to wait until he saw Yua and I teleport into the alley. If Erhard¡¯s overworked sleeplessness was anything to go off of, Arthur might have been told to watch the alley all morning to await his chance. And thanks to his own room¡¯s enchantment, all he had to do to keep Yua from noticing this was to close his window.

    Arthur and whoever was with him must have been planning on sneaking into our room, wait for us to come back and attack when we had our guards down. Only, they happened to find Mana alone. If Tillmann¡¯s main goal right now was to capture a cat-kin, then taking the defenseless Mana was his best bet.

    And I let it happen.

    Just one failure after another.

    ¡°Wait,¡± Yua said, coming to a stop. Her ears flicking, she quickly knelt behind a tree. Knowing she stopped for a good reason, but with my own impatience burning, I ducked behind her.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    She held a finger to her lips and I held my tongue. Her ears flicked several times before she answered.

    ¡°People are coming.¡±

    ¡°Do you think they know we¡¯re here?¡±

    She paused, then shook her head. ¡°No. Their footsteps are calm and they don¡¯t seem to be walking towards us on purpose. We¡¯re probably just unlucky.¡±

    I sighed. ¡°How many of them are there?¡±

    ¡°Six.¡±

    ¡°Shit¡­¡±

    As I feared, they stepped up their patrol game by bunching up. Likely to avoid getting overwhelmed by the spriggans again.

    Hand on my sword, I considered what this meant.

    When we first found the thieves, there were twelve of them, including Tillmann and Arthur. Thinking back to my midnight trip into the barrier, I mentally counted out the sleeping bags in the tent and the numbers matched perfectly. Unless some of them doubled up, that should be all we should expect from them.

    So, with Erhard still in the city and at least two of them dead, and not counting the six near us, that leaves Tillmann with a minimum of two more men currently unaccounted for. Whether or not they were inside the barrier with him or if they were the ones chasing Mana around was impossible to say.

    Not that knowing that erases the fact that whoever is chasing Mana is definitely several times her level.

    ¡°We need to get Mana out of here. She¡¯s not with the group headed our way, are they?¡±

    ¡°No. Alex, you need to teleport Daddy here.¡±

    Still staring off into the trees, her ears kept at attention, flicking occasionally.

    ¡°You think his nose can track her better than my rights?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but that doesn¡¯t matter right now.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean it doesn¡¯t matter? Mana is out there.¡±

    ¡°Alex,¡± Yua said sharply, turning an openly worried glare my way. ¡°There are too many people coming. And if what you said about their levels is true, then we shouldn¡¯t risk fighting them alone. They aren¡¯t going to be as weak as those guys I beat up in the slave house. We need help.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­¡±

    Without hesitation, I threw my pride to the ground and shot it in the head. I wasn¡¯t about to trade it for Mana¡¯s safety. Tama could help get her back. I¡¯d just grin and bear with his chastising later.

    I drew in a breath and focused on the chief¡¯s tent. The two cots, one for the man in question and his mate, the other for their long-lost daughter. The shelves full of trophies from past battles. The oddly placed crates brimming with potions, medicinal supplies and other keepsakes.

    Keeping all this in my mind with a picture-perfect clarity, I silently cast Dimensional Step.

    Bright blue lights swarmed into existence, slowly building upon themselves until they created a doorway. Once it solidified, all I needed to do was wait for him to step through.

    But he never did.

    ¡°You said he¡¯d be in his tent, right?¡±

    ¡°He should be. He said he¡¯d be ready to fight.¡±

    Her ears flicked again and I knew the thieves were drawing closer. They may not have noticed us yet, but they got damned lucky to have found us so soon.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Grinding my teeth, I stuck my head through the portal, saw that the chief¡¯s tent was completely empty and¡­

    ¡°Tama!! Get over here you muscle-brained asshole!¡±

    Sure that he¡¯d heard me so long as he was still in the village, I pulled back out of the portal. Sound wasn¡¯t able to traverse the spell, so Yua hadn¡¯t heard what I said. Her attention was still on the incoming thieves.

    And still, nobody stepped through the portal.

    ¡°Was he seriously planning on coming here alone? Where is everyone?¡±

    I was expecting a horde of cat-kin warriors to be at the ready to jump through my portal at any moment, but none did. It¡¯s like they didn¡¯t even know what was happening.

    And to make things worse, the longer the light of the portal existed, the more chances the thieves were going to have to notice it under all the shade. But Tama still did not come.

    ¡°Yua, let¡¯s just teleport to a different part of the forest to regroup. Mana¡¯s moving more to the East now and I remember a good place to hide there.¡±

    ¡°¡­ We can¡¯t.¡±

    Standing, Yua balled her fists and I knew it was too late. The forest was quiet. The thieves must have noticed us somehow.

    My hand on my sword, I watched the portal, ready to cut it the moment that man stepped through. But he didn¡¯t.

    Is he off taking a shit or something?!

    ¡°They¡¯re here,¡± Yua whispered, her voice darkened with the will to fight.

    ¡°Damn¡­¡±

    With no other choice, I cut my portal and let it vanish. I couldn¡¯t risk putting half my focus on maintaining it once the fighting started. Not against that many people.

    Yua dropped her posture, bending her knees to be ready to pounce. Her tail had gone still, as if she didn¡¯t want its usual swaying to alert them. I was both surprised and proud of her in a way. Even against these odds, retreat wasn¡¯t anywhere in her mind.

    Meanwhile, I was hesitant to even draw my sword. Unlike her, I¡¯ve never fought a human. And because of how animals and monsters here vanish after you slay them, it didn¡¯t truly feel as though I¡¯d ever taken a life, either.

    Clenching my teeth, focusing on Mana, focusing on Yua, I disappeared just my sheathe into my item box, leaving my blade naked and ready.

    I gripped it with both my hands when Yua once more adopted her fighting stance and I heard the shifting of grass. A figured appeared from behind the tree.

    He was a man. A human thief named Gregor. He was the man that ran past me after I snuck into the barrier last night. His face just barely visible beneath his helmet, he looked maybe ten years older than us, but the wide-eyed smile that took to his lips when he found us made him look years younger.

    ¡°We¡¯ve been looking all over for you guys. Glad you made it safe and sound,¡± he said, then turned and waved. ¡°Hey guys! They¡¯re over here!¡±

    Dumbstruck, I felt my grip on my sword slip, but caught myself and reconfirmed that his info box held the Thief tag. Yua¡¯s ear flicked just as curiously, then a good deal of tension left her shoulders. It was then that I noticed that Gregor¡¯s sword was still in its sheathe.

    Lucky for him, Arthur was not among them.

    Yua and I looked to each other, but it was clear that Gregor wasn¡¯t here to fight.

    ¡°Are you one of the guys that wanted to stage a mutiny?¡±

    ¡°Ah, already met with Erhard? Good, that will save us some explaining.¡±

    Not long after he said this, five more men joined behind him. All equipped to fight, they looked like the sort of rag-tag group of thieves you¡¯d find in a video game, but they were all smiles.

    Yua¡¯s ears flicked around almost wildly, as if testing each of their hearts one by one. She came back with nothing.

    Once everyone formed up, Gregor spoke.

    ¡°Now that we¡¯re all here, let¡¯s¡­¡±

    ¡°Before that,¡± I pointed my sword at them. ¡°Where¡¯s Mana?¡±

    ¡°Mana? You mean, like, for casting spells and stuff?¡±

    ¡°The black-haired cat girl you guys kidnapped!¡±

    My rights were still unable to pinpoint her location. Wherever she was, whatever she was doing, she was moving. I could only hope that was good news.

    Gregor threw up his hands defensively and said, ¡°We don¡¯t know, I swear. One of the others brought her here, but once she saw the barrier, she tried to wriggle free. He managed to force her under the barrier, but she slipped away. She¡¯s hiding in there somewhere.¡±

    He pointed off in the same direction as the map marker I put on the barrier. The hilt of my sword trembled under my grip.

    I tried to take it as good news that she was indeed still safe, to an extent. But why didn¡¯t she fight back until she saw the barrier?

    ¡°We¡¯re sorry,¡± Gregor said, keeping his hands up. None of the others reacted to my blade. ¡°Tillmann said taking one of the women you were with would draw you out. We didn¡¯t have a say.¡±

    ¡°So he knows we¡¯re coming?¡±

    ¡°Yes. But that¡¯s why we were hoping to find you before you got to him. Join up with us and we can take him together.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that,¡± I said, slightly lowering my sword.

    Tillmann seemed ready for anything. Not only did he manage to counteract my Force Sleep spell before I even used it, he already had the necessary potion to do that before we even met. According to the man himself, he¡¯s been around long enough to have what most would probably say was a crazy amount of experience.

    And he knows we¡¯re coming. Mutiny or not, he must have plans prepared for just about anything.

    ¡°We¡¯re not a bunch of idiots,¡± Gregor said. ¡°We have a plan.¡±

    Her ears jumping to attention, Yua spoke next.

    ¡°And what¡¯s that? If I can¡¯t enter the barrier, that means he has to come to us to fight.¡±

    Gregor shook his head, finally lowering his hands.

    ¡°Not true. Beast-folk can enter the barrier just like your friend Mana no problem. You lot just can¡¯t open it. If you say the passphrase, it¡¯ll ignore you. That¡¯s all.¡±

    ¡°We can escort you to the barrier,¡± said another of the thieves. ¡°Then we¡¯ll let you in. You¡¯ll have to act like we¡¯ve captured you, but when we bring you to Tillmann, we can all gang up on him.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s ridiculously strong,¡± another added. ¡°Without your magic, we wouldn¡¯t stand a chance.¡±

    ¡°And he can¡¯t beat us if we all attack at the same time.¡±

    ¡°¡°Yea!¡±¡±

    I blinked at them as they pat themselves on the back for this master plan.

    ¡°That¡¯s your plan? Seriously?¡±

    They were taken aback by my lack of enthusiasm, but who could blame me? This smelled so much like a trap that I was surprised my Detect Trap ability didn¡¯t pop off.

    I looked to Yua after her ears gave them a once over, but she shook her head. No lies had been detected. And here I was hoping they¡¯d do more than just add to our numbers.

    ¡°If we¡¯re pretending to be your prisoners,¡± I said. ¡°Can I assume you¡¯re expecting us to hand over our weapons? Or that you mean to tie us up?¡±

    I pointed the tip of my sword to one of the thieves that hadn¡¯t said anything yet. For whatever reason, he was wearing a length of rope as a sash. Either he had even less fashion sense than Yua, or they were expecting us to be idiots.

    ¡°Nah,¡± Gregor said with a dismissive wave. ¡°You can¡¯t fight if we did that. Plus, it¡¯s not like you can give up your magic, right? Well, I mean, we could gag you, but¡­¡±

    So, they know about my magic, but not my ability to cast it silently? At least there¡¯s a little bit of good news. Tillmann must have been too heated after I tried to break the barrier to notice I didn¡¯t incant my teleportation spell.

    I glanced at Yua and could tell without a word between us that she didn¡¯t fully believe them either.

    ¡°So what do you think? If you have a better plan, we¡¯re all ears.¡±

    I let out a quiet breath and thought it over. They were clearly up to something, that or they were just unbearably stupid and deserving of Tillmann¡¯s complaints, but I honestly didn¡¯t have much of a plan either.

    Causing a distraction so I could slip inside the barrier wasn¡¯t bound to work a second time. I could teleport us to the other side of the barrier and slip inside, but these guys would just follow, trapping us inside the barrier with Tillmann and the rest. At least pretending to work with them would allow us to keep an eye on them.

    ¡°... Erhard said you¡¯d want something for your help.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Where done with this crap. Lord Argento¡¯s already been found out and the mine¡¯s almost empty. There¡¯s no point in being here anymore, but Tillmann won¡¯t let us leave. The man¡¯s lost his mind.¡±

    Lord Argento was caught? When did that happen? As happy as I am to learn that we weren¡¯t going to have to stick our noses into international issues, it was a shame he got away.

    ¡°We want out of this place without so much as a slap on the wrist for what we¡¯ve done,¡± Gregor continued. ¡°We want our crimes to be forgiven and for you to forget you ever saw us. As I¡¯m sure you know, the risk of going against Tillmann is worth that much. We¡¯ll fight and when we¡¯re done, teleport us out of here and you¡¯ll never see us again.¡±

    ¡°Never see you again, huh? I¡¯ve been promised that three times this week and so far, at least two of those promises have been broken.¡±

    I was starting to have doubts about Erhard¡¯s sincerity, especially after he left out the bit about Lord Argento, but we¡¯ll have to meet with him again later regardless. And after what he¡¯s done, Arthur isn¡¯t making it out of this until Yua and I have our way with him.

    ¡°Please. We need your help.¡±

    The thieves pleaded and, I had to admit, their acting was not bad. Hard to say it wasn¡¯t at least a little believable when I knew they were trapped behind multiple fronts, each being more dangerous than the last.

    This was a trap, the question was what do we do about it? I tried opening a portal for Tama behind them while we talked, but the bastard still didn¡¯t show up. We should have just gone to the village first.

    I looked to Yua and received another nod. She was ready for anything.

    My eyes still on Gregor¡¯s, I squeezed the hilt of my sword.

    ¡°One last question before we decide if helping you is worth it.¡±

    ¡°Alright. If I can answer it, I will.¡±

    ¡°Good. Then why did Arthur tell us how to get into the barrier if he never actually betrayed Tillmann?¡±

    This one stumped them and for good reason.

    I thought we had Arthur¡¯s help in the bag after he shared that bit of information with us. Him locking himself up in Guerraway after spilling the beans should have kept him safe from Tillmann¡¯s retribution, the distance was more than enough, and he still went back.

    Maybe he forgot something important in their camp, but short of accidentally leaving a purse overflowing with gold behind, why risk going back after leaking what should have been devastating information for their little setup?

    As I worked through all these facts on our way out here, the only conclusion I could come to was that Tillmann had been trying to capture a cat-kin from the beginning. And Arthur only told us how to get into the barrier in hopes that we would actually try to sneak in. They¡¯d capture or kill me, then Yua and Mana wouldn¡¯t be able to pass through the barrier on their own due to their race. Meaning they¡¯d be stuck inside once I was no longer a threat.

    Only they weren¡¯t expecting drunk me to be dumb enough to sneak in by myself.

    ¡°It¡¯s because we found some sort of spying box in the forest near the barrier,¡± Gregor said finally. ¡°It was hard to spot, but it was pointed at the barrier. Tillmann said it didn¡¯t have any seams, like it had been made with magic, so he figured someone other than the cat-kin was spying on us. He wanted to lure the culprit in to, well, quiet him.¡±

    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Hearing this, I had to actively stop myself from face-palming. I was right on one count, but apparently, we were only in this mess because I didn¡¯t destroy the box I made with Material Creation when Yua and I first started watching them. Mana showing up and making noise had been a distraction, but that was exceedingly stupid of me.

    What sort of spy leaves behind evidence like that?

    Knowing the box had been made with some sort of magic, and knowing that beast-kin could not use magic, Arthur must have connected it to me after he saw my cat girls defending me when Elane attacked us. He was there. I thought he ran as soon as the commotion started, but he must have stayed long enough to see Yua¡¯s ears. It was likely just a suspicion at that point, but us showing up at his door together afterwards all but confirmed it.

    The man was a drunken mess when we first saw him, but he must have come up with this kidnapping plan at least mostly on his own. He shouldn¡¯t have had time to consult Tillmann between Elane attacking us and our meeting at the inn. We underestimated him too.

    Now that I think about it, I¡¯ve been doing that a lot recently. Really hope it doesn¡¯t become a habit.

    ¡°So, you guys were trying to trick us from the start?¡± Yua asked, coming to the same conclusion.

    ¡°N-not us. It was just Tillmann.¡±

    Yua¡¯s ear pricked up and her eyes narrowed. Without looking my way, she balled her fists and nodded.

    Finally, she detected a lie.

    I drew a breath that I was more than happy to let them think was me just thinking this over.

    My rights over Mana tugged at my attention. I checked her status and saw that a small chunk of her life bar was missing.

    Enough of this farce.

    ¡°I see. So, just to be sure, the deal is, you help us beat Tillmann, then I let you all run away? That simple?¡±

    ¡°An easy end to this is all we want. I¡¯m sure Erhard¡¯s told you plenty about his abuse. We want revenge on that bastard just as much as you do.¡±

    Yua tensed. Then I heard the soft metallic pop of a blade being flicked lose from its sheath. Loathed as I am to admit, I became overly familiar with the sound thanks to all the screwing around I did with my own sword, attempting a quick draw like some sort of seasoned samurai, when I should have been doing real training.

    And my Memorization ability made sure I remembered that embarrassment clearly.

    They must be getting antsy, jumping the gun by springing their trap before we even stepped into it.

    ¡°Alright,¡± I said, taking a step forward. I needed to be a little closer. ¡°You have a deal.¡±

    I extended my hand to shake and as soon as Gregor moved to meet it, lips curling with greed, I pointed to his feet.

    ¡°Material Destruction.¡±

    ¡°Wha¡­ Ahh!¡±

    Instantly, the ground beneath him vanished without a trace and he fell into a pit. I tried to make it as wide as possible to swallow up more of them, but it only ended up being enough for him. I clicked my tongue.

    The hole lacked in depth too, as it only swallowed him to his waist, but this was enough for what I wanted. Just when his feet hit the bottom of the hole and his knees buckled in surprise, I incanted again to keep up the charade of needing to.

    ¡°Material Creation!¡±

    Just as fast, the air around Gregor was instantly filled with compacted soil. His legs and his sword were locked in place. He tried to pull himself free, but the soil didn¡¯t budge. He was just as rooted as any of the forest trees.

    ¡°What are you doing?! We had a deal!¡±

    ¡°Yua.¡±

    ¡°Iron Fist!¡±

    Dropping low, Yua slammed her fist into his cheek and his head whipped violently to the side, his teeth scattering into the grass. His eyes fluttered and he dropped face-first onto the forest floor. His health bar had taken a worrying amount of damage, but he was only unconscious. Still, that was one down.

    Yua jumped back to her feet, putting herself between me and the rest.

    ¡°They figured it out,¡± one of them said, drawing his sword.

    ¡°Material Destruction!¡±

    I tried the same trick on him, but one of the others grabbed him by the collar the moment the ground disappeared.

    Man, how do mages in this world get anything done when they are forced to announce their spells before they happen?

    ¡°Get ¡®em!¡±

    All five of them charged at once.

    Yua blocked the sword aimed at her abdomen with her Iron Fist. I¡¯d barely seen it move, but she deflected it easily. Immediately after, she pulled her arm back to parry the strike of a second man before¡­

    That was as far as I was allowed to watch. The other three, two swords and one spear, came flying at me.

    ¡°Raah!¡±

    Their howls masking the metallic brutality of Yua¡¯s Iron Fist, I was forced to grit my teeth and have faith in her fighting ability. I didn¡¯t have the skill to focus on her without dying myself.

    One man, a Swordsman named Gawin, jumped over the pit I tried to make for him, so I cast Material Destruction again just before he landed. He slipped into a new trench, landing awkwardly enough to illicit a cry of pain, but his friends were too fast for me to follow up.

    ¡°Kill the boy! We only need the girl!¡±

    A breath caught in my throat.

    As soon as it became clear that my suspicions were correct, fear flooded me. This was no friendly sparring match, nor was it a duel with your father-in-law. It was the real deal.

    My chest was close to bursting as the remaining two ran at me, their every move prolonged, as if in slow motion. The second my attention shifted, Gawin pushed a potion bottle against his lips. He¡¯d be back in the fight by the time he finished drinking.

    Lamenting my own lack of experience, I almost got lost in the steely, savage eyes of the man named Silvano as he swung his sword at my neck.

    I ducked hard and fast, almost falling back before materializing a thick pillar made of dungeon stone between us to block his follow up. His sword clanged against the stone, barely chipping it. He staggered. I silently cast a spell.

    A portal appeared beneath me and I let myself fall through it to land behind the Spearman named Yelis.

    Having the Spearman class myself, I knew I couldn¡¯t afford to fight the man at a middling distance, or my sword would be useless. I cut lose with my blade, aiming for his back. His leather armor was thin and my blade was made of high-class metal. It should have been an easy win. But my muscles stiffened and I hesitated.

    Deafening sirens of morality blared within my heart hard enough to stop my blade mid-swing. He was supposed to be just a thief, a criminal that needed to be put down, but he wasn¡¯t. He was more. He was a man. A living breathing man with wants and feelings and the thought of stealing all that away stole my breath. But only for a second as my concern for Mana reignited.

    However, my hesitation caused him to sense me. Spinning his spear to knock my blade away, he swiftly pulled it back to lunge at me. His strike was so precise and unwavering, that I was forced to fall to the side to avoid it. I put up another pillar between us, but there was no clang to show he¡¯d hit it. He had more patience than Gawin. And he had none of my hesitation.

    A quick glance at Yua, said she was fighting with every bit of her iron will still intact. If anything, she too glanced my way, as if she noticed me looking, but she had the freedom to do so. She¡¯d already ripped the sword from one of her opponent¡¯s hands. He replaced it with a long dagger, but she didn¡¯t look remotely scared, despite her earlier warnings against fighting them.

    It was the same fierce look she wore in the dungeons. And that was what I needed. To think of this as that, just another trip to the dungeons. These guys were just monsters getting in the way of me protecting my girls.

    I was no longer on Earth. Earthen ideas of morality didn¡¯t exist here. At least, not to the extent my old mostly peaceful world comforted.

    Though I was reluctant, I had a sword. I had my magic. And I had a spell that was damn near useless in the city, but could be exactly what I needed here. More importantly, thanks to last night, I knew it could be particularly effective against these guys if I used it right.

    I jumped away from the stone pillar to see the entire battlefield. Gawin had cured whatever he¡¯d injured and was climbing out of the pit. Silvano was dazed for a moment after my teleporting made me vanish, but he was quick to spot me again. Finally, Yelis was already running me down.

    I took it all in and this time, I used Material Destruction beneath my feet.

    Dropping at the sound of Silvano and Yelis charging, I opened another portal leading to the pit Gawin was still climbing out of and slipped through.

    Before I could completely acclimate to my new surroundings, I saw him. Saw his foot lifting out of the pit to stand and join the others as they lunged for the pit I¡¯d left behind, likely thinking they could skewer me before I could cast another spell.

    I cut my portal. Gawin tried to step forward, but I cast my spell before he could.

    ¡°Strangle Thorn!¡±

    Using the surrounding plant life as the base for its construction, the grass at his feet quickly changed from loose leaves of grass to thick, barbed vines that shot up. Like the tentacles of an octopus, the vines raced up his legs. The thorns digging dark red trenches in his flesh as they tightened around him.

    ¡°Argh!¡±

    He howled in pain as the barbs cut into his calves, drawing enough blood to leave a mark on his health bar. Knowing the tentacles were weaker than they looked from my practicing, I knew the only thing holding him down were the thorns biting into his flesh and the pain they caused every time he moved. But it wouldn¡¯t last long.

    I reached out for him and, with a display of skill that disparaged his low level, he forgot his pain and swung his sword behind himself to cut me. Barely managing to use my own as a shield within the narrow pit, our blades crashed into one another.

    As they did, I gripped his ankle and¡­

    ¡°Force Sleep!¡±

    ¡°What the¡­ huh?¡±

    Still turned, his blade still locked against mine, Gawin¡¯s eyelids fluttered. As it had with Yua back in the slave house, the spell gave him so little room to try and rouse himself that his eyes were closing before his body grew limp and, vines still clinging to him, he toppled.

    His sword slipped from his hands and I let it fall through another portal I made to whisk it away to the far-off land known to the locals simply as the village. In their chief¡¯s tent, no less. Hopefully my muscle-headed father-in-law will notice what the sword means and be ready next time I try to summoning him!

    Grumbling to myself, I quickly checked Yua¡¯s status as I created a temporary coffin of stone for the sleeping thief, purely so he couldn¡¯t move in case he woke early.

    Yua was faring better than I could have hoped. The slight loss to her health bar said she¡¯d taken a scratch or two, but seeing as how she was taking a more direct approach in her attempt to beat the shit out of her opponents, that was better than we could ask for.

    Likewise, Mana was still mostly unharmed.

    ¡°He took out Gawin!¡± shouted Yelis.

    ¡°What do you want me to do about it? He keeps teleporting away! I didn¡¯t even hear him chant that time!¡±

    ¡°Just watch my back. I¡¯ll take the lead.¡±

    They were already on the defensive, Yelis facing me, carefully edging this way while Silvano watched their backs for stray portals. Meanwhile my heart was still beating a mile a minute. I tried to take a breath and calm myself.

    ¡­ If a good way to fight a mage is to force them to waste mana showing off their magic, then shouldn¡¯t forcing a melee fighter to use up their stamina work the same way? No. That¡¯s impossible to tell without seeing the numbers.

    Deciding that it was unwise to risk testing the size of my mana pool against their stamina, I corrected and added to that bit of advice to come up with something more functional. With a plan quickly forming in my mind, I cast another spell.

    ¡°Rock Throw!¡±

    With an intentionally loud chant, I felt a small amount of mana drain out of my palm to form a small, rounded spearhead of stone. I let it loose as soon as it was ready and it shot forward with all the speed of a paint ball.

    Yes. I deliberately held back and watched, memorizing Yelis¡¯s movements as he swatted it out of the air with ease.

    He smirked, hopefully thinking I didn¡¯t have enough mana to teleport anymore. He started to move faster.

    I fired my spell at the same exact spot on his body, making sure he heard me chant.

    He knocked the stone out of the air with even greater ease and I forced myself to focus on how he did it. The way his feet and shoulders moved with the strike. The way his sword sliced through the air at the same angle each time. The way the muscles in his forearm tightened just before impact, then loosened again, ready to deflect the next shot. Nothing escaped my sight.

    A bead of sweat ran down my temple as a third stone spearhead shot through the air, only for it to meet the same fate.

    Yelis moved, nearly breaking into a sprint before I fired a fourth, more powerful shot.

    ¡°Rock Throw!¡±

    I watched as he smirked, watched as he swung his spear to knock it out of the air. Watched as he did so using the exact same movements as before.

    When his spear¡¯s momentum was too fast to pull back, I silently cast Dimensional Step in its path. His spear missed the stone, flying instead into my portal to appear beside me. Briefly surprised by how fast it moved, I gripped the shaft of his weapon and held it as tight as I could. At the same moment a bewildered delirium furrowed his brow, the stone smashed into his sternum.

    ¡°Gah!¡±

    He doubled over, clutching his chest and when I noticed his grip on his spear weaken, I yanked it through the portal. He managed to fight the pain long enough to stop me from stealing his weapon, but that¡¯s not what I was after.

    With his spear still sticking through my portal, I cut the spell. When the blue lights blinked out of existence, the spear was cut cleanly in half. I let its tip clatter to the ground.

    Still wheezing as he clutched his chest, he looked to the smoothly severed half of the spear in his hand and furrowed his brow, his face paling despite his anger.

    Coughing, he drew a dagger from his belt. Since I needed him to be able to see it to knock it out of the air, my spell had only taken about a quarter of his health, so it was no surprise that he was quick to recover.

    I jumped out of the pit I¡¯d been standing in and filled it with soil, burying the only part of his spear that mattered.

    Okay. Okay. I knocked one unconscious and partially disarmed another. Not bad, but this isn¡¯t going to get us anywhere unless I do some real damage.

    Figuring, hoping, that the Yelis¡¯s lack of a proper Thief class or any sort of dagger-wielding class meant he wasn¡¯t as good with one as he was a spear, I decided to focus on him. And seeing that his sword-wielding partner was still diligently watching their backs, I came up with another plan.

    Making a show of breathing heavily, I made up an effort to take up my sword in both hands. I leveled it at Yelis, drawing a mildly confused look out of him. Then, clenching his teeth as if to suppress a smile, he spoke.

    ¡°Oi. I think he¡¯s out of mana.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s rush him,¡± Silvano said, turning to face me. ¡°Most mages suck ass at swingin¡¯ swords.¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± I said. ¡°My wife is right there. Watch your language.¡±

    I could practically hear her tilting her head in confusion before cutely asking what does suck ass mean, but I ignored the itch asking me to look at her. Can¡¯t have her getting distracted. She seemed to have whittled one of her opponents down to a just a sliver of health, but she wasn¡¯t done yet.

    ¡°He¡¯s stalling,¡± Yelis said, grinning. ¡°Waiting for the woman to help.¡±

    ¡°Ha! What a bitch!¡±

    I sighed.

    Well¡­ He¡¯s not wrong. I was stalling, but only to let my mana recharge trait do its thing by giving the casting a quick rest. Thanks to all the spells I¡¯d used, I was running on about a quarter tank of gas. Tama made sure to drill in the fact that a mage running out of mana during a fight was dangerous, so I wasn¡¯t about to let it happen here. These two weren¡¯t going to stop at just knocking me out.

    I just needed a minute or two.

    ¡°Get him!¡±

    Hopefully I can last that long¡­

    Emboldened by my apparent weakness, they ran at me. I braced myself with thoughts of nearly everyone I met this week telling me that I suck at fighting keeping me humble despite my small victories.

    As if bleeding for a taste of action, Silvano sped up and around the Yelis to take the lead. His movements were swift and practiced. He looked as though he were gliding through air despite the rapid tapping of his feet against the grass shrinking the distance between us.

    ¡°Multi-slice!¡±

    In range, Silvano incanted an ability I had yet to unlock. He raised his sword and I blocked with mine on reflex, rather than instinct. In a flash, his blade slammed against mine three times in such rapid succession that I had no chance to react to any of the hits.

    I barely managed to hold onto my sword¡¯s hilt with one hand as it was violently knocked aside. Grinning madly, Silvano quickly pivoted into a horizontal slash.

    My sword too far to protect me, I through up my free hand and cast Material Creation to build another stone pillar. Thankfully, it didn¡¯t require mana, but the materials I had on hand weren¡¯t sturdy enough.

    ¡°Charge Slice!¡±

    Mid-swing, his blade began to glow with an unfamiliarly faint white light that was almost imperceptible in the day. His sword collided with my stone, but instead of stopping, it continued straight through it like it were nothing more than a block of half-melted butter until it came to a sudden stop about three-quarters of the way through.

    I fell back to avoid it, but a stinging sensation in my cheek said his strike had been too fast. Something warm dripped down my chin. Pain erupted into focus, but then Yelis¡¯s knife flew at me before I could so much as wince.

    My hands shot up to block on reflex, but magic took over and formed another portal. The knife sliced through it and through its other end behind him. His own knife dug into his back.

    ¡°Arrrgh!¡±

    His knees buckled, but so long as the portal was activated and his arm was through it, he could not fall. I reached out to cast Force Sleep, but Silvano was on me before I could.

    My every muscle tightening at the thought of the scream I knew was about to come, I cut my spell, severing Yelis¡¯s arm as I had his spear so I could avoid Silvano¡¯s slash. The lifeless limb slapped to the ground with a wet thud. Its stillness sickened me, but his agony was much more deafening. He clutched his bleeding stump as he fell to his knees.

    I felt my chest move, but I didn¡¯t taste any air.

    One slip up, and that could have been Yua. Or me.

    Bile rose in my throat, but I didn¡¯t have the leeway to let it out.

    ¡°Bastard!!¡±

    When my feet refused to move again, my hands worked on instinct to throw up another pillar of stone. And just when I saw the beginning of his charged blade cut through the stone, I cast Shadow Cloak.

    A chill crept up my spine as a heavy gale swept past me. I was sucked deep into one of the endless pockets of shadows in the forest. My field of view swapped with that of the grass beneath us, leaving only the canopy of trees overhead in sight until the top half of the stone pillar fell to the side to reveal Silvano.

    His face was crimson with fury and it only grew darker when he didn¡¯t find me. He gripped his sword defensively and turned. I knew he¡¯d assumed I teleported away again when he turned to Yelis. He likely assumed I was going to further incapacitate him the way I had the others, but there was no longer any need.

    Yelis¡¯s life bar was fading fast, at about the same speed as the thick blood drained from his stump. He held a potion bottle in his remaining hand and weakly tried to pry it open with his teeth.

    And yet, the swordsman made no move to help. Keeping his sword up, he waited for me to act. I watched and waited as well. This time, my strike couldn¡¯t afford to fail.

    His gaze shot towards every sound the forest dared to make, expecting to find me. He ignored Yelis¡¯s pleas for help without so much as glancing at him.

    Had he already written him off as dead? The thought made me sick. Not only was he condemning someone he¡¯d been working with for months now, he was actively going to let me kill the man through inaction.

    Then he turned his attention to the continued sounds of fighting a short distance away. Where Yua was. From how few metallic clangs continued to light up the forest with sound, I guessed she¡¯d finished off one of her opponents. Silvano tightened his grip on his sword¡¯s handle, his left foot turning in their direction before briefly looking over his shoulder. A smirk curled his lips.

    Bastard¡­ He¡¯s not planning on attacking her, is he?

    Deciding it wasn¡¯t worth waiting to find out, I launched myself out of the shadow. I¡¯d put my morals aside and finish him. Then I¡¯d run to Yua¡¯s side. She might resent me a little for interfering, but that I could bear. She¡¯d lost too much health for me to give into her warrior¡¯s pride.

    First to be freed from the shadow, my sword rocketed through the air. Propelled by the same force that pulled me in, I thrust, aiming for his chest.

    Only my blade stopped short.

    Too short. A mere foot away from piercing his body, I¡¯d barely made it out of the shadow when a gauntleted hand appeared and wrapped around the blade of my sword and held firm.

    I hadn¡¯t even noticed him. And now he was kneeling next to me.

    ¡°There ye are, son,¡± Tillmann said, combing his fingers through his beard. ¡°Looks like the boys started the fightin¡¯ much sooner than they was suppose ta. Guess that means ye didn¡¯t take the bait?¡±

    My heart sank.

    I tried to pull my sword free, but it didn¡¯t budge in his grip.

    The swordsman turned around, took one look at me and smirked before finally heading to Yelis to uncork his potion.

    ¡°Not gonna say nothin¡¯?¡± Tillmann said. ¡°That¡¯s fine with me. Hmm? What¡¯s this, then?¡±

    With the simple act of turning his wrist over, he forced my arms to give way and checked the underside of my sword. There was a curious glint in his eye as he stared at the metal, but it quickly turned sour.

    ¡°Bah. What a piss poor example of forgin¡¯. Ye humans put too much focus on aesthetics. Parundum is such a fine metal. This one looks ta be of the highest quality, too. No impurities. A fine grain. Likely from East Vierre,¡± he said, then licked it. Smacking his lips like he were at a wine tasting, he continued. ¡°Hmm. Far East. Under the hammer of a dwarf, it¡¯d take a mountain giant¡¯s strength just ta bend it. But this¡­ It¡¯s wasted on ye. So many weak spots.¡±

    With a gruff, disappointed sigh, he reached under his beard and into an unseen pocket. His hand reappeared holding a hammer, but not the one he used as a weapon. This one was smaller, closer to a nail hammer.

    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡±

    Keeping his attention on my sword, completely ignoring my attempts to free it from his grasp, he raised his hammer.

    I let go and fell back, but the hammer didn¡¯t fall on me. It struck my sword once in the center of the blade. Then twice more just above the cross guard. Then again, while the sword was still vibrating, he struck the center again, but his hammer flew at a slightly different angle.

    He didn¡¯t put any real effort into it. He just swung it as if hammering down a nail that had avenged itself by snagging on his boot after years of being stepped on. And yet, after the fourth hit, my sword snapped.

    Shattering like glass, the cross guard and hilt slid off and onto the grass as the blade itself broke into three jagged pieces. Shaking his head, he unfurled his fingers and the last piece dropped, clinking against the rest.

    ¡°Piss poor forgin¡¯. Always a tell that it were a human¡¯s make, but sad to see good metal wasted.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t speak.

    I bought the sword for its durability, and he shattered it with just a couple love taps with his hammer.

    ¡°How did¡­?!¡±

    ¡°Woah, now.¡±

    The second I tried to speak, Tillmann¡¯s hand shot out and clamped my mouth shut. His fingers felt like a mechanical vice wiring my jaw shut. I punched his arm as hard as I could, as many times as I could, but he didn¡¯t budge. I felt like a small child lashing out at his parent.

    ¡°Let¡¯s not have any of them spells, alright? I still have use fer ye. Matter of fact¡­¡±

    Reaching under his beard again, this time he produced a potion bottle. But before I could read it, he forcefully tilted my head back. Struggling, I heard the sound of the bottle uncorking. Then I felt his thick, rough fingers prying my lips open.

    Realizing too late what was happening, my tongue was doused in a rancid flavor that was so bitter my lips would have been permanently twisted into a pucker had he not been holding them open.

    I coughed, trying to spit it out, but his hand closed over my mouth again. For good measure, he then pinched my nose shut.

    ¡°Come now, son. I¡¯m sure ye know how this works. Ye either drink or ye suffocate. Choice is up to ye.¡±

    I pressed my eyes shut, half in anguish, half in disgust.

    I tried. I really tried to hold my breath. I strained and writhed and punched, but all it did was hasten my need for air. Fit as it was, even this new body of mine was incapable of doing anything without oxygen.

    At my limit, I swallowed the bitter liquid. It burned on its way to my stomach, but beside that, I didn¡¯t feel any different. Tillmann watched my throat, nodding with a smirk. Once it was down, he eased his grip, but did not let me go.

    I coughed.

    ¡°What the hell was that? What did you make me ¨C beard?¡±

    Recoiling at my own words, feeling as though I¡¯d drunkenly misspoke while sober, I tried to correct myself when Tillmann stroked his beard and interrupted calmly.

    ¡°That were an Anti-Focus Poison, but most call it Mage¡¯s Bane.¡± He wriggled the now empty bottle in front of my eyes before tossing it aside. ¡°See, what this little number does is make ye unable ta hold onto a thought long enough to make use of it. That means no plannin¡¯ yer escape. No thinkin¡¯ fer a way out. And in yer case, no magic. Ye won¡¯t even be able to chant yer spells, let alone cast them.¡±

    Unwilling to accept his answer, I tried to silently cast Dimensional Step behind him to once more call for help, but nothing appeared. As if my mind were racing full of an incomprehensible number of thoughts, I couldn¡¯t single out the image of Tama¡¯s tent long enough to ¨C tree.

    What the hell? I can¡¯t even ¨C maple.

    ¡°Heh,¡± Tillmann snorted and I could smell the booze on his breath. ¡°Looks like its settin¡¯ in nicely. Most what ye need is a drop or two on an arrow head or on ye sword, cut yer opponent and wait for it to take effect. But ye were fast with that teleportation spell last night, son. I had to use all of it to make sure ye didn¡¯t run away.¡±

    Blinking repeatedly, I tried to focus on what he was saying but found it almost entirely impossible. My memorization trait forced me to memorize it, but it took multiple trips through the memory to get it all down. It was like a download bar freezing and cancelling itself, only to then pick up where it left off after restarting it.

    And this was it starting to take effect?

    ¡°Yelis,¡± Tillmann said, barely looking over his shoulder. ¡°Ye gonna live?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes, Boss.¡±

    With the arm around Silvano¡¯s shoulder, Yelis wobbled back to his feet. His life bar was no longer fading, the bleeding had stopped.

    He glared at me, but said nothing of revenge after seeing my sorry state.

    ¡°Good. Then take a seat. Silvano, ye tie this one up and I¡¯ll handle the other¡­¡±

    ¡°Let go of him! Iron Fist!¡±

    His own iron grip still refusing to let me move, and with my mind still working overtime just to understand my surroundings, I could only sit and watch as a fist coated in a bright silvery light shot past and tried to engrave itself upon Tillmann¡¯s cheek.

    But as he had with my sword, he caught it effortlessly. Though Yua¡¯s punch had dented the palm of his gauntlet some, his fingers still held enough strength to wrap around and catch her fist.

    ¡°Nevermind. This is easier. Handling one of ye cat-kin is a lot less tricky than a mage.¡±

    ¡°Let go of¡­!¡±

    Suddenly jerking his elbow back, he pulled Yua off her feet and towards him. Her brief flight through the air was ended with a swift, powerful slap that cracked against her cheek.

    Her body flopped to the floor beside us where lay still.

    ¡°Y-Yua?¡±

    My beautiful wife¡¯s cheek was already beginning to darken where she¡¯d been hit. Her life bar took a huge hit ¨C kill ¨C , but she was only unconscious ¨C kill. But that didn¡¯t matter as ¨C death!

    Scraping together enough focus to forge a stone dagger with Material Creation straight into my palm, I tried to shove it into his stomach. But I couldn¡¯t.

    He didn¡¯t stop it. I¡¯d succeeded in surprising him, but the thought and desire to kill vanished almost as soon as it appeared. My wrist went limp as soon as the dagger touched his leather apron and my fingers suddenly forgot how to hold it.

    It thudded into the grass before Tillmann picked it up. Unable to control my thoughts well enough to keep myself on my knees, I fell backwards.

    I reached for Yua, but my hand fell limp. With her unconscious visage still in front of me, I tried again, only to lose strength before my fingertips moved.

    It was like my muscles were receiving the call to move loud and clear, only for it to be cut off before they could act.

    ¡°Yua! Get up and ¨C cake!¡±

    ¡°Ha!¡± Tillmann laughed, turning over my hastily crafted knife. ¡°A stone dagger? Really? What are ye, a caveman? Insultin¡¯ is what it is.¡±

    He thumped it on my head, but I¡¯d already lost focus on the pain as soon as it occurred. Then I lost it again after feeling it a second later.

    ¡°Alright boys,¡± he said, standing. ¡°Collect whoever ain¡¯t dead and bring ¡®em back into the barrier before the rest of the cats show themselves. I¡¯ll handle these two.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Boss!¡±

    Sounding almost relieved for the fighting to be done, both Silvano and Yelis scattered.

    Tillmann surveyed the area a moment, then shook his head with a sigh. Stooping, he grabbed my ankle, then grabbed Yua¡¯s and started walking.

    Dragged behind him ¨C failed ¨C watching Yua¡¯s limp neck bob and sway with every step, I could do nothing. She was covered in small cuts, streaks of blood dripping away here, already dried there. But I could do nothing.

    The poison meant to keep me quiet had effectively paralyzed me.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 24a

    We were dumped in front of their raging campfire close enough to count the embers crackling within the logs. Its heat slowly started to burn my face, but every second that persisted, the more the Anti-Focus Poison prevented me from moving.

    It was like everything happening around me was delayed due to my own perfect memory forcefully repeating the scene in my mind''s eye until I understood it. And soon enough, even the thought of fighting back evaded me.

    Tillmann ¨C murder ¨C threw Yua¡¯s unconscious body close enough to the fire to cause a panicked flurry in my chest, but even my heart forgot how to act. She was so alarmingly close, close enough that, had a light breeze chose that moment to whip the flames in her direction, her hair would have been set alight. And still, I couldn¡¯t summon up a thought powerful enough to move myself to her.

    Silvano dumped Gawin on the ground. They hadn¡¯t bothered to wake him from my spell yet. He landed awkwardly, but drool continued draining down his cheek peacefully.

    The now one-armed Yelis let Gregor¡¯s unconscious body slam into the dirt before he collapsed onto a log bench. He¡¯d already healed his stump enough for the bleeding to stop, but there was nothing he could do about the blood he¡¯d already lost.

    I couldn¡¯t see the men Yua fought anywhere in the mix.

    Tillmann surveyed what was left of his men with a sneer. He tossed Silvano something that looked like a ceramic jar.

    ¡°Open that under Gregor¡¯s nose. Do the same ta Gawin, but don¡¯t get yer hopes up. Magic works different than a good punch ta the face.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­¡±

    I only had enough control over my mind to force my eyes back to the Swordsman every time my attention slipped. There was no stopping him from ¨C trees ¨C stooping in front of his comrade and shoving the jar under his nose.

    There was a loud, regretful sniff and Gregor sat up bolt right. Must have been some sort of smelling salts.

    ¡°Euggh! Whaf the hellf is fhat?! Arghh!¡±

    Lisping through his complaints, he pinched his nose in open revulsion, but just touching his own face caused him to scream in pain. Yua must have hit him harder than I thought. His cheek and tongue were both noticeably swollen.

    ¡°Whaf fhe¡­ Wheref¡¯s my teefh?!¡± he whined, touching the place where his front teeth had once been.

    ¡°Good mornin¡¯, ye fool,¡± Tillmann said, pointing to us. ¡°I cleaned up yer mess fer ya.¡±

    Gregor¡¯s eyes fell to us and he scowled. Immediately, he reached for his sword, but Silvano stopped him with a hand.

    ¡°I said I took care of ¡®em. Now, how about ye explain why it is ye bungled my simple orders?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Because it was obvious they were trying to trick us, or so I¡¯d like to say. And so did Gregor, from what I could tell. He seemed to know better than to ¨C burning ¨C direct his glare at Tillmann, so it found me as he rubbed his swollen cheek.

    ¡°It¡¯s because the cat-kin caught him in a lie,¡± Silvano sighed, helping the sleepy Gawin to his feet.

    He tossed the jar back to Tillmann, but the dwarf didn¡¯t look at all happy to see his numbers increase restored. The dwarf pulled a flask out of his apron and pointed it at Gregor.

    ¡°I explicitly told ye not to lie! Ye were supposed to skirt around the truth when ye could and speak only in vague answers and half-truths when ye couldn¡¯t. A cat-kin can¡¯t hear yer heart stumble over a lie if ye fooled yerself into thinkin¡¯ yer tellin¡¯ the truth!¡±

    ¡°F-Forry boss. I flipped up.¡±

    ¡°Fucked up is what ye did. Now two of ye are dead and Yelis here¡¯s been turned into a lefty!¡±

    He threw his flask at Yelis and the man scrambled to catch it.

    ¡°That won¡¯t regrow yer arm, but it¡¯ll take the edge off. Drink up.¡±

    ¡°Th-Thanks, boss.¡±

    Without a second hand to hold it, Yelis held the flask on his thigh and unscrewed the lid awkwardly with his fingers. He drained at least half of the flask in a series of quick gulps. Tillmann watched him a moment, then shook his head.

    ¡°Was Erhard with ¡®em?¡±

    ¡°No, Boff,¡± Gregor said cautiously. ¡°It fas fuft fhem.¡±

    Combing his fingers through his beard, Tillmann shrugged.

    ¡°No matter. Damned fool was lookin¡¯ ta betray us anyways and he did his part by leadin¡¯ them here. This is better than gettin¡¯ stabbed while I¡¯m sleepin¡¯.¡±

    ¡°What about the crystals he took?¡± Silvano pressed.

    ¡°Bah. Irrelevant. I¡¯m tellin¡¯ ye, there¡¯s more crystals in this here forest. What that fool took is nothin¡¯ compared to what¡¯s waitin¡¯ fer us. Let him run. He ain¡¯t worth chasin¡¯.¡±

    ¡°But, Boss, he knows the passphrase.¡±

    ¡°So do these two. And look what good it did ¡®em.¡±

    The dwarf flicked his chin at us and the lingering fury my memorize trait refused to let go of flared up, but I couldn¡¯t tell if I even managed to furrow my ¨C fire ¨C brow.

    ¡°Speaking of,¡± Silvano said, looking around. ¡°Where¡¯s Arthur and James?¡±

    ¡°After I had James open the barrier fer me, I sent him after that other cat. Can¡¯t say where they are now. Arthur¡¯s in the tent readyin¡¯ the next shipment.¡±

    A small breath filled my lungs, my best attempt at a sigh.

    Mana hadn¡¯t been caught yet. That was relief enough, but it wouldn¡¯t last forever. Even if she remembered the passphrase, she couldn¡¯t open the barrier herself. And eventually, the bottomless pit that was her stomach was going to need food.

    ¡°Now then,¡± Tillmann said, looking at me. ¡°Enough of the chatter. Let¡¯s get this over with.¡±

    His short, meaty legs thudded over to Yua. I tried to get to her before he could, but I failed to move before I even started. At this point, I was surprised I was still capable of breathing.

    ¨CDeath ¨C Tillmann grabbed her by the collar ¨C vest ¨C and lifted. Unconscious, her arms dangled limply, as did her head and tail. He looked at her for a second or two and scoffed, as if the cuts and bruises she sustained in the fight amused him. He pulled her a little further away from the fire before dropping her onto her stomach.

    ¡°Gregor,¡± he said. ¡°You hold the boy down. And don¡¯t let me catch you killing him just yet.¡±

    ¡°Yef, Boff¡­¡±

    Gregor circled around me until he was just out of sight and a pair of rough, calloused hands grab my wrists. My arms were yanked behind my back ¨C uncomfortable ¨C and then something heavy fell on me. He sat on my back.

    I could feel his weight press me down, but could do nothing. Every second, my mind was reignited with the desire to push him off, but the thought never lasted long enough to act on it.

    Bastard dwarf won¡¯t let up even though I¡¯m already effectively paralyzed.

    Apparently satisfied with this, he then directed Gawin to hold Yua down as well. Watching him bind her hands with his ¨C stab ¨C as he straddled her ass ¨C gouge ¨C sent a visceral urge to kill into all four of my limbs, ¨C eviscerate ¨C but none of them were powerful enough to make me move a muscle.

    ¡°Ye make sure ye hold her down, got it?¡± Tillmann said, squatting in front of her. ¡°Don¡¯t let her spindly arms fool ye. This one¡¯s feisty.¡±

    ¡°Got it.¡±

    ¡°Alrighty then¡­¡±

    Checking briefly to see we were both secure, Tillmann once more produced the ceramic jar from his beard and opened it. He held it under Yua¡¯s nose, waved it around, forcefully wafting its scent up her nostrils. Her ear twitched.

    ¡°Get ready.¡±

    Gawin¡¯s grip on her arms tightened and he braced himself. A second later, Yua¡¯s emerald eyes shot open and her entire body jerked violently.

    ¡°Gak!¡±

    Immediately upon waking, she kicked her feet, but not in the sort of way an animal caught in a trap would flail about. Every sharp movement of her legs was an attempt to kick the man off of her.

    None of her attacks reached him. Unable to buck her captor off, Yua tried to rip her arms out of his grasp, but couldn¡¯t. She was far too busy dry heaving and gasping to put any strength into it. I could practically see her lunch threatening to come back up as she lashed about erratically.

    Tillmann continued to hold the jar under her nose. She wrenched her face away from it, swinging her head left and right the best she could, but he kept bringing it back to her. To a nose as sensitive as hers, whatever was in that jar must have been the purest incarnation of torture.

    Finally, her eyes landed on me, on the man holding me down, and she went still. Her pupils dilated and her ears drooped, only to then shoot back up as fury overpowered her need to gag.

    ¡°Let him g¡­!¡±

    Tillmann grabbed hold of her cheeks, squishing them with his fingers. Baring her teeth, she slipped through his grasp and bit him as hard as she could, but the metal in his gauntlet kept him safe. He shifted his grip and squeezed hard enough to make her wince.

    ¡°Enough of that, lass,¡± Tillmann said. ¡°I have an offer fer ye that ye won¡¯t want to ignore.¡±

    Still glaring, but with no other options, Yua stopped fighting long enough to hear him out.

    ¡°Good,¡± he said, placing the jar under her chin on the ground. She heaved, but kept her eyes on him.

    He stood, grabbed the end of one of the log benches and dragged it effortlessly over in front of her. Tillmann took his time sitting, grunting almost contentedly, like he¡¯d decided to relax after spending the whole day doing an honest day¡¯s work before bothering to face her glare again.

    ¡°Alright then,¡± he started. ¡°Here¡¯s what¡¯s going ta happen. Yer gonna tell me where yer people are hidin¡¯ the other essence crystal caves. Do that and I¡¯ll let the both of ye, and that other cat, live.¡±

    ¡°But Boss,¡± Yelis complained. ¡°You can¡¯t just let them go. She¡¯s the one who¡­¡±

    He was unable to finish. One look from Tillmann ended his protests. Cowed into silence, he washed his complaints down with another swig from the flask.

    Tillmann continued.

    ¡°As I was sayin¡¯, tell me what I want ta know and ye get to live. Course, we can¡¯t let ye go just yet. Not until we¡¯re done plunderin¡¯ the caves, anyways. And I¡¯ll have ta knock ye out again when we leave, but after that¡­¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t just let them go!¡± Yelis said, standing. He was unsteady on his feet as he pointed to his stump arm. ¡°Look at what they did to me!¡±

    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°Oh, shut yer gob, would ye? When we¡¯ve settled this here, ye can head into the city and buy a potion to restore your arm. Now quit yer bellyachin¡¯ or ye¡¯ll lose your left one too.¡±

    ¡°But what about Michel and Barda? They¡¯re dead. Because of her.¡±

    He pointed the flask at Yua, sloshing some of its contents into the grass.

    She killed them? My Yua? She killed those men with her bare hands? How could someone so sweet and loving¡­

    This was supposed to be my job to persuade them to leave and I walked us into a trap. I put her in that situation because I acted in haste.

    I could have¡­ I had my chance, but was too gutless to pull the trigger myself and now she has blood, real blood on her hands. And now we¡¯re in this mess. If only I¡¯d¡­ ¨C idiot ¨C .

    Tillmann pinched his eyes and sighed.

    ¡°¡­ Surely ye ain¡¯t ignorant enough to not understand the consequences of killin¡¯ this lot all willy-nilly, right? I¡¯ve been around long enough ta have been sent on bandit killin¡¯ misisons more times than ye seen yer own pecker. I know what it¡¯s like ta live as a bandit too, and I ain¡¯t want that fer myself. If ye idiots didn¡¯t screw up my orders, ye wouldn¡¯t have nothing to complain about.¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re the ones that attacked us first,¡± Silvano said.

    ¡°Only because Gregor fucked up,¡± Gawin added.

    ¡°We almost had them, too.¡±

    ¡°Hey! You affholef fry and lure fomeone info a frap wifhouf felling a fingle lie. If¡¯s nof af eafy af it founds!¡±

    ¡°Gods, just stop talking already. Nobody can understand you.¡±

    Unbeknownst to the thieves as they argued, Tillmann slowly reached for his hammer. His movements were so slight that I wouldn¡¯t have noticed them if I had the ability to look anywhere else. If she noticed, Yua stayed quiet.

    He unclasped it from his belt, raised it over his head and, without a word, brought it down on the log he sat on.

    With a thundering crack that shook the leaves, the log exploded. Splinters erupted from the log, peppering everyone like a load of buckshot. Half of it sprayed into the fire, causing it to crackle violently. Those with the ability to move shielded themselves, but it was all I could do to close my eyes on reflex after the first chunk hit me. Unable to cover her ears, the boom left a deeply pained look on Yua¡¯s face.

    After the chunks of wood and clots of dirt stopped raining over us, the forest went silent again. The half of the log Tillmann wasn¡¯t sat on was gone. Almost without a trace.

    ¡°All of ye, shut yer damn mouths! Next one of ye to speak without my say will be pickin¡¯ their teeth up outta the grass!¡±

    Cowed again by his outburst, Yelis fell back, and the others checked their complaints.

    ¡°Bunch of bickerin¡¯ children, the lot of ye.¡± He turned back to Yua and once more grabbed her by the cheeks. ¡°Can ye still hear me, lass?¡±

    She answered him with a glare.

    ¡°Good. What I said still stands. Tell me what I want ta hear and the two of ye get to live. However, refuse and I might have to hurt yer little friend over there.¡±

    He pointed to me with his hammer and Yua¡¯s glare slipped, but only for a second before it doubled in sharpness.

    ¡°Don¡¯t bother actin¡¯ tough. Yer wastin¡¯ yer time. See, one of my boys saw something pretty interesting in the city the other day. Ta speed this along, how about we all hear what he has ta say so we¡¯re on the same page. Arthur!¡± Tillmann yelled over his shoulder at the tent. ¡°Get yer arse out here!¡±

    Had I been able to move, I would have been hard pressed to keep myself from lunging at the man that staggered out of the tent.

    A large bottle secured itself in his hand until he brought it to his smiling lips to take a long draw of its sloshing amber contents. Dressed in only a pair of loose-fit trousers, an unbuttoned shirt and a pair of unlaced boots that he nearly tripped over, it was like he rolled out of bed and into whatever clothing happened to be lying about. He looked a mess when we first met at the inn, but apparently that was just how he lived.

    Peering over the nearly drained bottle, he spotted us and ran over, surprise coloring his face. He didn¡¯t look like he¡¯d been let in on their little plan, but he was still happy to see it¡¯d work.

    ¡°Ha. Boss, didja catch ¡®em sneaking in again?¡±

    ¡°Ironbreaker¡¯s Kiln, man,¡± Tillmann growled. ¡°Are ye drunk? Again? Was nearly losin¡¯ yer head the other day not enough ta learn that there¡¯s a time and place for drink? I¡¯m a damn dwarf and I don¡¯t drink half as much as ye do.¡±

    ¡°Nah. Nah. No. Hey, I¡¯m just a little tipsy, is all. See?¡±

    Proving himself a liar, he dropped the ¨C alcohol ¨C bottle onto the ground, only for it to bounce off his boot and spill into the grass. He clearly intended for it to land upright, as if that somehow would have proved cognizance. And then he stared at it for a long second before remembering where he was with a shake.

    ¡°So, whatcha need, boss?¡±

    Tillmann sighed, but pointed his hammer at Yua.

    ¡°Tell the lass what ye saw of her the other day. In the city. Just like ye told me.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Kneeling between Tillmann and Yua, he squinted at her. Yua¡¯s glare never shifted away from Tillmann. When he spoke next, Arthur looked a little more sober.

    ¡°Ah, yea. This one. I was at the smith¡¯s and suddenly there was this huge commotion outside. People running around, screaming and such. It was a big deal, apparently, so I decided to leave. Only, after I left, I thought it¡¯d be best to see if whatever it was would affect our business, so I turned back. And I saw that guy pinned against a wall by some big-tittied woman,¡± he pointed to me, then back to Yua. ¡°I was confused why such a beauty was harassing the poor guy, thought maybe she was a prostitute he forgot to pay, or something, so I pulled aside someone else and asked what happened. This guy said he saw the whole thing and that this cat punched that other woman in the face. Said it was like punching a rock, it did nothing. But she tried again anyways.¡±

    ¡°And why would ye do that?¡± Tillmann took over. ¡°I know a few of yer customs, lass, and I know ye wouldn¡¯t go pickin¡¯ a fight ye know ye can¡¯t win any more than anyone else would. Ye gave me a good punch earlier, but if that woman could stand against it without flinchin¡¯, then ye¡¯d be a fool ta challenge her. I may have started rumors about the lot of ye being mindless savages, but I know it ain¡¯t true. Ye may not know much about the world outside this forest, but I know ye ain¡¯t stupid like that.¡±

    Yua grimaced. She seemed to be aware of where he was going with this, but I couldn¡¯t focus long enough to work it out. Still, the look on her face caused a chill to ripple up my spine.

    ¡°However, if that boy were yer mate¡­ see now, then I¡¯m sure ye¡¯d step in.¡±

    ¡°They did show up at my room together,¡± Arthur added. ¡°Them and the little cat girl James is chasing.¡±

    Tillmann nodded sagely and with a smile.

    ¡°Exactly. And ye did fly at me the second ye noticed I had him.¡±

    Yua lowered her gaze, then squeezed her eyes shut. Her breathing quickened uncomfortably.

    Having nothing more to add, Arthur stooped to pick up his bottle, then thought better of it when he saw Tillmann looking at him, and moved to sit elsewhere.

    ¡°I don¡¯t care what he is to ye,¡± Tillmann concluded. ¡°But I know ye care. Ye care a lot. So, if you want him to make it out of this with all his limbs, ye best get ta talkin¡¯.¡±

    Yua clenched her teeth and ¨C chestnut ¨C her head dipped. Her hair covered her face, but her ears flicked and after several attempts at processing what that meant, I got the impression that she understood he wasn¡¯t lying about anything he¡¯d said so far.

    ¡°I say again. Tell me what I want ta hear, and I won¡¯t have ye both killed. And tell me quick, and ye can save yer mate a world of pain.¡±

    Breathing quick, Yua pressed her lips into a thin line. She looked to me, her eyes struggling to keep up a show of strength. I couldn¡¯t even say if I¡¯d moved my face enough to show my regret.

    We both knew she didn¡¯t have the information he wanted.

    ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t know where any crystals or caves are.¡±

    ¡°Lass, I don¡¯t think ye are understanding the depth of my threat,¡± he said, wrenching her face to force her to look at him. ¡°Come on. Think about it. That poison I fed him will cause him to forget the pain almost the moment it starts, but he will feel it, trust me. It¡¯ll hit him, then he¡¯ll forget it exists for a moment, only ta be hit with it all again immediately after. He¡¯ll never be able ta get used to it. There will be no bearin¡¯ with it, it¡¯ll always be fresh. One cut, one broken bone, one lopped off limb, it doesn¡¯t matter. Ta him, it¡¯ll feel like its happenin¡¯ again and again and again, nonstop until the poison wears off.¡±

    A tear dripped down her cheek.

    [Slave Mana Has Gained The Archer Class.]

    What ¨C arrow ¨C?

    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Yua said, her voice weak.

    ¡°Lass¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m serious. I don¡¯t know. None of us do. We didn¡¯t know anything about the crystals until you set up your barrier. To us, that cave was just a spriggan nest.¡±

    ¡°Come now. Ye really expect me ta believe ye were sittin¡¯ on this fountain of coin and didn¡¯t know it? I saw signs of minin¡¯ when we first got here. And I think that ye throwing that Iron Fist of yers would be more than enough ta break them rocks. The cat-kin¡¯s love of fightin¡¯ and yer ability ta see in the dark actually makes you the perfect worker to be diggin¡¯ underground.¡±

    ¡°It must have been someone else,¡± she said, panicked. ¡°We don¡¯t know anything. I swear it!¡±

    Tillmann took in her pleas and shook his head.

    ¡°Lass. Stop yer lyin¡¯, would ye? I¡¯m startin¡¯ ta lose my patience here. We ain¡¯t leavin¡¯ this forest until we strip it of every crystal it¡¯s ever seen. I can move this here barrier whenever I want, so we can search for as long as we need. Just¡­ save us some time and¡­¡±

    ¡°I. Don¡¯t. Know! Please, understand!¡±

    Tillmann¡¯s glare chiseled away at what was left of her steely glare. Tears started to flood her cheeks and despite her continued attempts to move, she was pinned in place. He let go of her cheeks to stroke his beard.

    ¡°Fine¡­ Maybe I was bein¡¯ a bit too lenient. I¡¯m not normally one for torture anyways. Cuttin¡¯ out the screaming by forcin¡¯ down all my drink just so I can sleep would be a waste. Drinks aren¡¯t medicine, they¡¯re meant to be enjoyed.¡±

    He nodded to himself and just when Yua looked up, hopeful, he turned to look at someone behind me.

    ¡°Silvano, I¡¯m going to ask her one last time and, if she lies to me again, cut the boy¡¯s head off.¡±

    What? ¨C death ¨C

    ¡°Gladly.¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    I¡¯d died once before, but it was quick, painless and I might as well have not even noticed it happened until the Goddess reminded me. But it was going to happen again? The thought should have shaken me to my core, but as I was unable to dwell on it, the fact kept slapping me in the face like a fresh threat every time I tried.

    Tillmann refused to accept the reality that Yua, the cat-kin, didn¡¯t know. And that was the only reality Yua knew.

    ¡°You can¡¯t!¡± she sobbed. ¡°I¡­ you¡­ Bandits! You¡¯ll become bandits!¡±

    ¡°Only Silvano,¡± Tillmann said with a shrug. ¡°And he¡¯s already agreed to bear that burden.¡±

    ¡°Ha,¡± Silvano laughed. ¡°Once I¡¯m done here, I¡¯m moving to a place where nobody even knows what a scrying orb is. It won¡¯t matter if I¡¯m a thief or a bandit or whatever. Hell. I¡¯m half tempted to just tell you to lie again. This little shit earned himself some payback for that fight.¡±

    Something, likely a boot, hit the back of my head. Pain struck like lightning. It vanished from thought just as fast, but then it flickered in and out of existence, just as Tillmann said it would.

    The kick caused my line of sight to shift closer to the ground. It was a struggle just to lift my eye far enough to see Yua struggling, trying to kick off her captor again.

    Gawin struggled right back. Stretching her arms further behind her, he pressed his knees into her shoulder blades. She continued to try and fight. It did even less to help, but Gawin strained to keep her in place.

    ¡°Fuck! Boss, this bitch is strong. Can¡¯t you poison her too?¡±

    ¡°Why on Ternia would I waste an Anti-Focus Poison on a dammed beast-folk? They can¡¯t even use magic. Here.¡±

    Tillmann raised an empty, gauntleted hand and smacked Yua across the cheek. I couldn¡¯t move.

    ¡°¡­!¡±

    Unlike before ¨C kill ¨C, it didn¡¯t knock her out, but her expression briefly turned senseless, her eyes vacant. She stopped moving ¨C kill ¨C until he forced her to look at him again.

    ¡°Enough of yer squirmin¡¯, lass. None of us is goin¡¯ anywhere until ye tell me where the other caves are. We got a lot ridin¡¯ on this. Stop wastin¡¯ our time.¡±

    Her eyelids fluttered, as if she¡¯d only just woken from a dream. But Tillmann was still holding her. She was still pinned. And there was a boot pressing against my skull.

    She heaved a sob of despair, tears spilling down her cheeks without end.

    ¡°Please. Just let him go. I don¡¯t know, but I can help you find the caves.¡±

    ¡°Yer stallin¡¯ and I don¡¯t need yer help. I need ye to tell me where they are.¡±

    ¡°Please¡­ I-I don¡¯t know. Please!¡±

    ¡°Hells,¡± Tillmann sighed, dragging his palm over his face. ¡°Maybe seein¡¯ a bit of red will loosen yer tongue. Silvano, kill the boy. When we catch the smaller cat, she¡¯ll be on the block next.¡±

    ¡°With pleasure.¡±

    The pressure of his boot disappeared from the back of my head.

    ¡°No!¡±

    The metallic sound of steel sliding against steel cut through the forest. A sword had been drawn from its sheathe.

    ¡°No, stop! Please! I swear! I swear! I don¡¯t know!¡±

    I should have killed ¨C kill ¨C him when I had the chance!

    ¨C kill ¨C

    ¨C kill ¨C

    ¨C kill ¨C

    A shifting of feet. The helpless grass covering the forest floor was crushed under each heavy footfall, their screams for mercy were brief and were snuffed out without a care.

    I tried to ¨C kill ¨C move. I sent my deepest desires to undue my earlier hesitation and demanded every muscle in my body to move, hoping that at least one would respond. But none did. A twitch in my foot and a slight curl to my index finger was all I got.

    ¡°Please! I swear, I don¡¯t know anything!¡±

    ¨C kill ¨C

    ¨C kill ¨C

    ¨C kill ¨C

    Something cold, no, something sharp pressed against the back of my neck. I could smell steel. Then the stinging pressure vanished. The blade was raised.

    ¨C death ¨C

    ¨C death ¨C

    ¨C death ¨C

    I couldn¡¯t even close my eyes. I was forced to watch Yua plead and beg, all while desperately trying to kick Gawin off her back.

    There was no peace or acceptance easing my passing. I could not move. I could feel an icy, instinctual desperation chilling my bones, but I could do nothing.

    I wanted to continue living this life. To be with my girls up and until the heat death of the universe. To indulge in every pleasure a pair of lovers could have together. With her. With Yua, who refused to give up struggling. With Mana, whose location I¡¯d been forced to give up looking for. And with¡­

    ¡°You bring that sword down and I¡¯ll carve you into so many pieces that the slop of what¡¯s left of you would make a butcher piss himself with fear.¡±

    Where I was supposed to see my vision spin and slowly fade as my head fell from my shoulders, instead, it remained unmoved. A strong, confident and familiarly effeminate voice had stayed my execution.

    Unable to pull my line of sight away from Yua, I could not see who had said it, but I could tell by her own confusion that it was not Yua. Her chin still held by Tillmann, she could only move her emerald eyes over to something that existed somewhere behind me.

    The voice continued.

    ¡°That man and his women are now under the protection of House Bellenfort. If any of you shits have a problem with that, take it up with your local gravedigger.¡±

    A soft metallic clink said the sword raised over my head had been moved, likely pointed to this new threat.

    Slowly, no it was casually, a single set of footsteps moved closer to us. Soon enough, a pair of slender black boots that led up to a pair of exceedingly tight pants ¨C ass ¨C entered my line of sight. But I couldn¡¯t tell who they belong to. I felt like I should, but my mind wouldn¡¯t let me conjure the image of who she was. Regardless of my confusion, she kept moving.

    Finally, she stopped and something heavy thudded to the ground right in front of me and suddenly, I could see myself in some sort of reflective surface.

    She squat next to me, her knees bending wide enough for me to catch a glimpse of her scarred abdomen ¨C thong straps ¨C. Then, just as slowly, as if she had all the time in the world, a seemingly delicate hand scooped up my chin and my line of sight was raised back to the light.

    ¨C Goddess ¨C

    Under the light of the barrier, her golden locks shone like the sun. The only thing more radiant was the gorgeous smile that graced her rosy lips. She¡¯d walked into the lion¡¯s den, but the confident ¨C cobalt ¨C ease in her gaze steadied my breathing.

    ¡°Alex,¡± Elane said softly. ¡°I look forward to learning all about your old world. For now, just leave this to me, okay?¡±

    Grinning sweetly, her cheeks tinged slightly pink, Elane carefully set me back down and stood. My line of sight moved yet again and was further cleared when she removed the shiny surface that reflected me. Able to see it clearly now, it still took several attempts to organize my thoughts and memories to recognize it.

    It was her giant battleaxe.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 24b

    ¡°Stay away from this one, boys,¡± Tillmann said, his voice hard. ¡°None of ye are a match for her...¡±

    ¡°Hoho? How sweet of you, Rock Muncher. Long time no see.¡±

    ¡°Elane Bellenfort... What in the hells are you doing here?¡±

    Elane cocked her head, smiling with nothing but her lips. Her cobalt eyes took a lap around the camp, sizing it up.

    ¡°L-Lady Bellenfort?¡± Yua said, wide-eyed.

    Elane pointed to her, but didn¡¯t let Tillmann out of her line of sight.

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me that. To you, my name is Elane. Just Elane. Kitty can call me whatever she wants, though. Speaking of, where is she?¡±

    Unconcerned with her surroundings, Elane turned left and right, tracing the camp again for signs of the cat girl we failed to find.

    ¡°She¡¯s somewhere in the forest,¡± Yua said, trying and failing to use the distraction to worm out of Gawin¡¯s hold. ¡°And Alex has been poisoned.¡±

    ¡°Poisoned?¡± Elane repeated with a grimace. ¡°Tch. And I just used my last Cure Poison potion yesterday¡­ Now it feels like I wasted it. Least it kill him, right?¡±

    Deciding this on her own, Elane tilted her head in my direction, now looking me over. She clearly didn¡¯t like whatever it was she saw. At least, it brought a furrow to her shapely brow.

    ¡°Don¡¯t ignore me, Map-Fucker!¡± Tillmann shouted. ¡°Why are ye here and how did ye get past my barrier?!¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, how? You always use the same passphrase, dumbass. Saint Mejula, blah blah blah. I mean, really? How many years has it been and you never bothered to change it?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Unable to refute her, Tillmann¡¯s grip on his hammer tightened hard enough to make it shake.

    Wait. Do¡­ ¨C coat ¨C, do these two know each other?

    I must have managed something akin to a confused expression, because Elane looked to me with a laugh pulling on her lips and explained.

    ¡°Tillmann used to be one of my bodyguards back when I traveled the world. This barrier to protect us during the night. Gods, I can¡¯t tell you how hard it was to sleep under this thing. Might as well always be daytime.

    ¡°Anyways, when you mentioned a dwarf and a barrier back at the tavern, I had a hunch you might have meant him, but I shrugged it off as just a drunken thought. Figured old Rock Muncher here was too proud to let himself fall to thievery. Once I sobered up and got some sleep, I thought to tell you. Just in case, you know? I had Erika track you down again and her nose led us to your inn. There she said your trail up and vanished. You were nowhere in the city. So, I figured that, if you left the city, then you must have headed into the forest. Then we tracked you down again. And then I saw the barrier myself and tried that Saint Mejula nonsense on a whim and, well, here I am.¡±

    After her long-winded retelling of her day, Elane levied her axe over her shoulder and set her palm casually on her hip. Tillmann¡¯s eye twitched.

    ¡°Ye still haven¡¯t said why you¡¯re here!¡±

    ¡°Uh, yea, I did. I wanted to talk to Alex. And I had nothing better to do.¡±

    ¡°Gods¡­ Ye always were recklessly narrow-minded. If all ye wanted were ta talk, why bring the axe?¡±

    Elane shrugged. ¡°I bring it everywhere. Old habits, ya know?¡±

    ¡°Old habits, aye? And here I thought ye gave up those habits and settled down in a big fancy house.¡±

    ¡°And I thought you went home to go dig up your metals or whatever.¡±

    ¡°Ores, and yer damned king cheated me! The mine he gave me wasn¡¯t worth pissin¡¯ in, let alone diggin¡¯. All that work protectin¡¯ yer sorry arse, and what do I get fer it? Tin! Gods-damned tin!¡±

    ¡°Oh no,¡± she laughed. ¡°Saint Mejula must have forsaken you. What a shame.¡±

    ¡°This ain¡¯t a damn joke! My hammer forges weapons of war, not trinkets and baubles! I staked time better spent at the forge, years of my life, protectin¡¯ ye and what he gave me wasn¡¯t enough to keep me fed. Or drunk! And when I dared to complain, I was cast aside. Tricked into becomin¡¯ a thief and¡­¡±

    ¡°And then you actually became a thief to make up for it?¡± Elane finished, scratching her head. ¡°Sounds like you were just being picky.¡±

    Tillmann glared at her, his eyes attempting to burn her with the raging infernos of hell itself. But she remained calm. Almost concerningly so.

    ¡°It ain¡¯t that simple. Our work here and the gold we¡¯re makin¡¯ is my ticket home. Even then, it¡¯s bound ta be a gamble.¡±

    ¡°You know, you could have just asked me for help. I might have given you the coin as a thanks for watching my back until I could fight for myself. What happened to being drinking buddies? I leaned on you when I was¡­ tipsy. Why not lean on me when you¡¯re sober?¡±

    ¡°¡­ I seized the first opportunity what came my way. And how was I supposed ta know that the big-tittied blonde choking that boy in the city was you?¡±

    ¡°Right. I suppose you needing to stay under the barrier to keep it active kind of makes it hard to visit. I take it that means you¡¯ve been sleeping under this thing since you became a thief? Suppose it keeps you safe. Well, used to, anyways.¡±

    At this, Tillmann spun the shaft of his hammer in his hand. Elane shifted her grip on her axe, but didn¡¯t lift it from her shoulder.

    ¡°Ye fixin¡¯ ta get in my way, Map-Fucker?¡±

    ¡°Depends, Rock Muncher. Are you going to stop me from collecting Alex and his women?¡±

    ¡°¡­ I might be willin¡¯ ta part with the boy, so long as his woman tells me what I want ta know.¡±

    Elane looked to Yua and, her cheeks dried, she quickly explained the situation.

    ¡°Tillmann¡¯s been threatening Alex to force me tell him where to find more essence crystal caves. But I keep telling him that my people never even knew about the first one. They were about to kill Alex to make me talk when you showed up.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Is that so?¡±

    Elane hefted the battleaxe from her shoulder and let its ¨C massive ¨C head thud against the ground. She glanced at me, at Gregor holding me, and, presumably, at Silvano behind me. Her fingers strangled the axe¡¯s long handle.

    Tillmann¡¯s grip on his hammer tightened in response. Then he took a breath and spoke with a surprising calmness.

    ¡°Map-F¡­ No, Elane, work with me. For old times¡¯ sake. If ye know these two, make em see reason and fess up. Do that and they can leave. I¡¯ll give ¡®em up for ye. But ye¡­ With yer strength and yer love of axes, together we could swing our picks in the next cave and we¡¯d have it cleaned out in no time. I¡¯ll cut ye in on the gold. What say ye ta forty-percent?¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Gawin shouted. ¡°The rest of us only get five-percent! Why¡¯s she getting forty?¡±

    ¡°Quiet, fool!¡± Tillmann barked and Gawin flinched back. The dwarf turned back to Elane. ¡°How about it?¡±

    ¡°No thanks.¡±

    ¡°Do ye have any idea how much an essence crystal is worth? Theres caves full of them in this here forest.¡±

    ¡°I have enough gold. What I want is something much more valuable.¡±

    She winked at me. Tillmann roughly combed his fingers through his beard. A little too roughly. Almost like he were about to tear it out before he suddenly eased up.

    Stroking his beard now as if to soothe the damage, he narrowed his eyes at her knowingly.

    ¡°Big-tittied blonde in the city¡­ Arthur, this is that woman you saw, right?¡±

    ¡°Ohhhh, definitely,¡± Arthur said, staring, enamored at a certain bodacious part of Elane¡¯s anatomy. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t confuse her for nobody.¡±

    ¡°Right, I thought so. Ain¡¯t ye said she was complainin¡¯ about this boy makin¡¯ her a thief?¡±

    He pointed his hammer at me and Elane clicked her tongue. Yua winced ¨C she must have been too distracted in the moment to realize Arthur had circled back to see the commotion we caused.

    Their reactions were dead giveaways ¨C obvious ¨C, but with a seedy smirk, Arthur stood, gripped his lapel with both hands and confirmed it.

    ¡°She sure did, boss. Nearly killed him, too, from what I saw.¡±

    ¡°Interestin¡¯,¡± Tillmann said, fingering his beard. ¡°If he made ye a thief, why are eye protectin¡¯ him?¡±

    ¡°I have my reasons.¡±

    ¡°And what might they be?¡±

    At this, Elane smirked ¨C gorgeous ¨C. She glanced at me and broke into a brief fit of womanly giggles before I noticed her cheeks were flushed ¨C red ¨C.

    ¡°He¡¯s the man I¡¯ve decided to make my husband.¡±

    ¡°¡­ What?¡±

    Tillmann¡¯s jaw ¨C beard ¨C dropped in open confusion. As did everyone else¡¯s. Even Yua tilted her head, staring wide-eyed at the blonde¡¯s inappropriately timed declaration.

    I, on the other hand, was entirely incapable of processing this scene. For multiple reasons.

    ¡°I had a good, long chat with him over drinks.And after sobering up, I realized I¡¯d been enjoying how he treats me as just another woman and not some stuffy noble like everyone else. He doesn¡¯t try to chat me up. Doesn¡¯t run away in fear at the sight of me, either. Though his eyes do tend to linger a bit more than they should,¡± she said and shrugged. Despite herself, Yua nodded along. Elane continued. ¡°That, and he¡¯s a funny drunk. Can¡¯t keep his mouth shut. He accidentally let me in on a little secret that I am just dying to hear more of. Haha. I suppose you could say that nobody on this planet sees me, this world, the way he does. Not on this world, at least.¡±

    With a cute smirk, Elane winked at me again. I couldn¡¯t respond, but she didn¡¯t seem to mind one bit.

    Tillmann pinched his eyes shut, rolling his jaw in frustration.

    ¡°For years, I watched ye bat away every suitor that even looked at ye, and ye pick now of all times to choose a man?¡±

    ¡°Yes. And it seems you¡¯ve hurt that man.¡±

    She shifted her grip on her weapon, her hand closer to the axe¡¯s head now.

    ¡°¡­ Don¡¯t supposed ye¡¯d change yer mind if I said I know a priest what can marry ye? One that would keep his trap shut about ye bein¡¯ a thief?¡±

    ¡°No need. I¡¯ve already decided how that¡¯s going to play out.¡±

    Tillmann hung his head. Spinning his hammer one more time, considering. He thumped it into his empty palm.

    ¡°Then it seems we are both in fer some trouble. Don¡¯t forget who forged that axe fer ye. I know all its weak points.¡±

    ¡°Hoho? Are you saying you intentionally left weaknesses in what you once called your best work? Naughty naughty.¡±

    The dwarf sighed, ignoring the insult hidden within her comment.

    ¡°All metals, no matter who forged ¡®em, has weaknesses. What matters is how obvious the weaknesses are. Same as most things.¡±

    He kicked what was left of the log bench away to make room. Elane glanced at it and a certain knowing furrow arced her brow.

    She widened her stance a hair, shielding me. The massive head to her axe glinted in the barrier¡¯s light as if it received a fresh coat of oil just this morning. His hammer, however, shiny as it was, was heavily scarred. It looked as though it had been abused and fixed countless times.

    The two stared each other down for what felt like a millennium. Each one waited for the other to make the first move. Quite possibly because that first move might be all they¡¯d need.

    ¡°Hold it ¨C hic ¨C right there, Boss,¡± Arthur said, staggering between them. The sheer stupidity it had to have taken to get between the two stunned everyone speechless. Looking full of misplaced pride, he turned to Elane. ¡°Wait just a damn minute. If this beauty¡¯s getting ¨C hic ¨C married, then I want a shot at her first.¡±

    ¡°Arthur! Stand down, ye great fool!¡±

    ¡°Oh shut it. After all the beatings you gave me, I ¨C hic ¨C deserve this much for all my hard work. I want to have her before you go and ruin her face.¡±

    Elane watched him without moving a muscle as he sauntered over to her with all the swagger of a drunkard ¨Cidiot ¨C fresh off a twelve-hour bender. She had to raise her chin to meet his eyes, he was slightly taller than her, but she might as well have been looking down on him as his gaze fell to her chest.

    ¡°Let¡¯s ¨C hic ¨C have a taste, shall we?¡±

    Without pause, without waiting for Elane to react to words, Arthur slammed his hands into her breasts, sinking his fingers into them. Grinning like a kid in a candy shop, he then began to lift and fondle them.

    Elane was still. There was no shock or disgust on her face. She merely smiled at him ¨C chilling ¨C. Tillmann palmed his face, but made no moves to stop the man either. Instead, he looked to the bottle Arthur had reclaimed during the commotion ¨C empty ¨C.

    ¡°Do you like them?¡± Elane said. ¡°Nice and soft? And squishy? Do they feel good in your hands?¡±

    ¡°Gods, yes. I¡¯ve never seen a pair of tits like this.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± she smiled, lifting her axe high into the air. ¡°Go ahead and have your fill. Just hold still for me, okay?¡±

    Passively letting herself be fondled, Elane¡¯s axe extended as far as it could, until her grip tightened audibly. Too focused on his perversions, Arthur was none the wiser when her right foot kicked back and her axe came barreling down on him.

    The sound of a butcher¡¯s cleaver slicing through a thick rack of ribs overpowered all other sound in the forest. But then it vanished and silence returned before I could make sense of it.

    In an instant, the movements of Arthur¡¯s hands ceased. Like every muscle in his body seized up all at once. His expression, still bearing that greedy smile froze solid. Elane took a step back, letting his fingers slip off her. To me, her axe had teleported from over his head to down between his legs. Like it had simply slipped right through him. But that wasn¡¯t it.

    She rested her axe on her shoulder again.

    Expression still frozen, Arthur¡¯s arms fell limp to his sides. Their weight then caused the two halves of what had been a man moments ago to peel apart. Deep crimson blood began to spill as meat and sinew parted. The halves of his body hit the ground before my lack of focus allowed me to notice any more detail.

    Several jumps through the mental image I¡¯d just seen later and I realized she¡¯d killed him. Thankfully, the poison wasn¡¯t letting me focus on that fact. But only because another thought came to mind¡­

    Do. Not. Make. Her. Angry.

    Yua looked moderately stunned, but that was about it. That was the only reaction his death brought to the camp. None of the others really seemed to care. They must have hated Arthur as much as they did Tillmann.

    The conversation continued as I belatedly processed what just happened.

    ¡°Gods,¡± Elane sighed, looking down at her chest as she readjusted her coat. ¡°These tits are such a pain sometimes. More trouble than they¡¯re worth.¡±

    ¡°Great, now I¡¯ve lost another set of hands,¡± Tillmann complained. ¡°Ye usually just break their arms when the drunks try ta have a feel. Got a taste for killin¡¯ now?¡±

    ¡°He groped me right after I said I planned to marry. What would you have me do?¡±

    ¡°Damn fool¡­,¡± Tillmann sighed, his expression oddly neutral. ¡°As humans go, that man was especially poor at handlin¡¯ his drink. He was my link ta dealin¡¯ with that shitty lord, but...¡±

    ¡°Lord?¡± Elane repeated, brow raised. ¡°You mean Lord Argento?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Yes, actually,¡± he said, lifting a glare back to her. If he didn¡¯t know Elane had been in Guerraway, then he certainly didn¡¯t know why she was in Guerraway.

    ¡°Hmm. Well, you best forget about him. By chance, the Duke and I met with him last night. I already sent him running back to his country with his tail between his legs. Took care of that pesky Sir Astore, too. And his men. Damn mut tried to sink his teeth into my maids.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± she continued. ¡°And I confiscated the crystals Lord Argento had on his boat as well. You can give them back to your people when we¡¯re done here, Yua.¡±

    ¡°Th-Thanks?¡±

    Though Tillmann had twice displayed his explosive temper, he managed a breath to calm himself before responding to her jab.

    ¡°Elane, is the Duke comin¡¯ for us?¡±

    ¡°Nope. Why the hell would I bother going to beg that little shit for help when I came here to talk?¡±

    Tillmann nodded sagely, then his eyes sharpened and said, ¡°Gregor, Gawin, you keep those two down. Silvano, Yelis, ye¡¯re with me. We¡¯ll have to kill her.¡±

    Yelis, still very much one-armed and without his spear, was stunned speechless by his inclusion. Shakily, visibly unsure, he abandoned his flask and stood, drawing his dagger. Silvano was too, but for an entirely different reason?

    ¡°But Boss, isn¡¯t she a friend of yours?¡±

    ¡°Ain¡¯t no friend of mine getting¡¯ in the way of me getting¡¯ back ta the forges. I promise ye, if we let her have her way, none of us be walkin¡¯ out of here alive. We no longer got a choice in the matter.¡±

    ¡°And no friend of mine is going to threaten my husband,¡± Elane said, then raised a brow in thought. ¡°Well, future husband.¡±

    What little mental faculties I had left in my control were banging their heads against the wall trying to understand what was going on. They just declared their intent to fight her three against one, but Elane ¨C confident ¨C barely looked like she was taking this seriously.

    ¡°Elane!¡± Yua yelled, trying again to free herself. ¡°Get him off me! I can fight too!¡±

    ¡°Hoho? Sure thing.¡±

    Without missing a beat, Elane turned her back to me and raise her axe with both hands. Gawin paled. With the threat of what letting Yua go to defend himself would mean for him on one hand, and with the thought of what just happened to Arthur on the other, he froze. Indecision made him sweat.

    ¡°Silvano!¡± Tillmann barked.

    ¡°Multi-Slice!¡±

    Dashing past Gregor and me in a blur, Silvano burst into view just as he unleashed three rapid slashes with his sword. Elane spun back and threw up her axe to shield herself. Its long handle twisted and moved to block each attack with ease. In her hands, it was just as much a shield as it was a weapon.

    The three rapid slashes clanged against it and, other than causing a generous sway in her chest, his strikes proved entirely useless. They just bounced off, like his sword were a child¡¯s toy and Elane¡¯s axe an immovable mountainside. I could practically feel his arms tingling from the shock of his own attacks rebounding on him.

    Smirking, her grip on the axe¡¯s handle shifted instantly, flowing from a firm hold to one noticeably nimbler as she pulled back to spear him with its tip.

    But she stopped. Her cobalt eyes darted over to Tillmann before she spun the axe and smacked something out of the air with another loud clang. Tillmann must have thrown something, but it wasn¡¯t his hammer. He was still holding it.

    Yelis ran at her, dagger bared like the fangs of a wounded, desperate animal.

    Silvano, too, chanted another ability and charged forward, his blade glowing.

    Elane¡¯s eyes darted from one to the other, but before she could decide which was the greater threat, she spun her axe again with a flourish and knocked another projectile out of the air. That axe of hers had to weigh at least fifty or sixty pounds, but she moved it as though it were weightless. But when it cut through the air, kicking up a breeze in this windless place, it felt as thick and heavy as a fully grown tree.

    Once the projectile had been deflected, it slowly spun into view as its momentum petered away. It was the same hammer Tillmann used to break my sword. He was throwing tools.

    Axe still spinning, she let its momentum carry her along its path. Flowing through the air, she looked almost elegant enough to mistake the forest for a ballet stage, but her axe knocked aside the glowing blade charging her with a vicious strike that sent Silvano tumbling to the ground.

    At the same time, she sidestepped the dagger aimed at her unprotected stomach and dug her fingertips into Yelis¡¯s forearm before he could recover.

    Tillmann charged at her and his every step sounded like a meteor crashing in front of us. He was strong, but his short legs could only carry him so fast. He¡¯d been bluffing when he said he was fast.

    Yelis paled even more than he had after the blood loss. Without a second arm to help him, he pushed a boot against her thigh in a desperate struggle to free himself. She yanked him forward, as if she only cared about him dirtying her pants. Silvano was quick to lunge at her again. Sword bent, but still sharp, still glowing, he charged again. Likely hoping to attack while one of Elane¡¯s hands were too occupied to fit her axe.

    However, with just a flick of her wrist and a sickening crunch, Elane snapped Yelis¡¯s arm clean in half like a twig. He fell to his knees screaming in agony as he gaped at the jagged bone that tore through his flesh. Elane stepped back and gripped her axe with both hands.

    ¡°Charge Slice!¡±

    Roaring, Silvano closed the gap and his blade sliced through the air, aimed this time for her neck. But this time, she did not try to block it.

    Elane dipped to the side, and his blade just barely missed her golden locks. Axe gripped firmly in both hands, she slammed its handle into Silvano¡¯s head.

    The hit didn¡¯t just make him stagger, he seemed to lose consciousness all at once. His sword slipped from his hand and his body fell into Yelis, causing the man to scream out again as he had no arms left to catch the swordsman. Elane¡¯s axe glittered as she held it aloft. Undaunted, Tillmann continued to charge.

    Another butcher¡¯s cleaver ripped through the forest and in one decisive chop, both Yelis and Silvano lost their heads. The screaming had stopped.

    Tillmann barreled into Elane. As if he knew his men would fall in this way, he brought his hammer down on her before she could completely recover her swing. Unbalanced, Elane barely had the time to throw up her axe and block.

    Hammer crashed into axe and thunder clapped under the barrier. Elane¡¯s arms buckled and his unrelenting force sent her flying backwards.

    He charged again, chasing after her. The two of them fell out of sight and my breath caught as I heard the repeated thunderclaps of their attacks echoing in the distance.

    Elane was skilled enough to handedly defeat the two men I had struggled just to maim, and she beat them not just in a single strike, but in less than half the time.

    The warnings about her had been warranted, but Tillmann¡¯s strength was absurd. Twice now I¡¯d seen him turn a normal hammer strike into an explosive force of nature. Given enough time, I was sure he could bend her axe enough to make it unusable, if not outright break it like he had my sword.

    But I couldn¡¯t see them.

    Watching their fight wouldn¡¯t have given me the chance to help her. I could not cast my ¨C magic ¨C spells and my abilities were essentially useless, but I wanted to see if she was okay. After what she said¡­ no, before that, I had to know.

    ¡°Do you think we should help the boss?¡± Gregor said and I realized that he¡¯d shifted on top of me, like he¡¯d turned to watch them fight.

    Gawin too had been watching, but he turned back with a shocked twist to his face.

    ¡°Are you insane? I¡¯m not getting anywhere near that woman. Just look what she did to Silvano. Yelis is one thing, but besides the boss, Silvano was the strongest of us. And she toyed with him!¡±

    ¡°But she¡¯ll be coming after us next if she beats him.¡±

    ¡°Hey, your guy can¡¯t move. If you want to go fight, just go. But Boss will kill me himself if I let the girl go.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not going alone! I¡¯d get pulverized in an instant. We have to attack together to¡­

    ¡°Let me go,¡± Yua interrupted calmly, but loudly. ¡°And I¡¯ll ask Elane to show you both mercy after we beat Tillmann.¡±

    This caused the men to stop their bickering. Gawin leaned to the side to meet her ¨Cemerald ¨C eyes and I could only assume Gregor did the same.

    Yua continued.

    ¡°You both hate him, don¡¯t you? Arthur lied about a lot of things, apparently, but that part was definitely true. You all hate him.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Of course we do,¡± Gregor said. ¡°Do you have any idea how many times I almost died mining in the cave? The damn thing collapsed at least once a week, but once it settled, he forced us to keep going, spewing some nonsense about how a dwarf could tell it was safe.¡±

    ¡°Then there were the stamina potions he¡¯d force down our throats,¡± Gawin added. ¡°We just had to keep working. No matter how much we pulled from the cave in a day, it was never enough.¡±

    The clashing continued out of view, every blow shaking the trees. Yua glanced at me, worry ¨C grimacing ¨C marring her face.

    ¡°Then help us beat him,¡± Yua said. ¡°Your mutiny plan was a lie, but what if it wasn¡¯t? Together, with Elane¡¯s help, Tillmann really won¡¯t stand a chance against us.¡±

    Gawin looked to Gregor. There was a long pause that was filled only with the sounds of a fierce battle near us, but ultimately, he shook his head.

    ¡°No way. It¡¯s a gamble right now, but if we side with you, we¡¯re guaranteed to lose both the coin and the crystals.¡±

    ¡°We didn¡¯t struggle for this long just to leave without anything to show for it.¡±

    ¡°But you could die!¡±

    ¡°And you could betray us the moment we let you up. Arguing is pointless.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    ¡°GAH!¡±

    A heavy clang stopped the argument and Elane flew far past us towards and past the fire. Landing on her back, momentum caused her to flip over onto her stomach before sliding through the dirt.

    She brushed her golden hair out of her eyes and clicked her tongue as she speared the tip of her axe into the dirt. Using the weapon as a crutch, she forced herself back to her feet. She¡¯d been out of sight for only a minute or two, but she was bruised in several places. Her breathing was labored, it took several concerning inhalations before she was steady again.

    A trickle of blood dripped down her brow, but she smeared it away, her eyes never once turning away from the dwarf approaching her.

    Likewise, Tillmann was not unscathed, though the extent of his injuries were a small smattering of shallow cuts that did little more than threaten to add to his collection of scars. The corners of his mustache curled up into a grin as he thumped his hammer into his palm.

    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    ¡°You¡¯ve gotten soft, Elane. All those years of decadence have made ye weak.¡±

    ¡°This is nothing,¡± she said, hefting her axe into both hands again. ¡°I got a good workout yesterday cleaning up after you. I¡¯d say I¡¯m in top form.¡±

    ¡°Hardly,¡± Tillmann snorted, looking her over. ¡°You¡¯ve been livin¡¯ it up while I kept at the grind. Ye¡¯re out of practice. A waste, really. Ye caught up ta me so fast back then, but ye wasted yer potential just as quick. I¡¯m thinkin¡¯ we both know this ain¡¯t going ta end how ye want, Map-Fucker¡­¡± He paused, then grinned. ¡°Not unless ye go a little berserk.¡±

    Elane tensed, her once confident beauty twisted with a contemptuous anger. Her grip on her axe tightened until her knuckles turned snow white. Fury rose to redden her cheeks, but she quickly managed to suppress whatever he was goading her in to.

    Taking a series of calculated deep breaths, the redness quickly faded, but not before sweat dripped down her cheek.

    ¡°Coward.¡±

    Her eyes still as sharp as daggers, she glared at him.

    ¡°I¡¯m no coward. I¡¯m just not dumb enough to give you an easy win.¡±

    ¡°Nah, maybe not. But it¡¯s the best chance ye got. The stories about that pup Astore must have been a bag of lies if ye managed ta beat him like this.¡±

    ¡°Well, I can¡¯t say he put up much of a fight¡­ Raah!¡±

    Done with her breather, Elane brandished her axe and charged him. Her axe cut a wide arc through the air, only to be blocked by the head of Tillmann¡¯s hammer when he jabbed it into her blade. Acting as though she wasn¡¯t even aware of the existence of recoil, she pulled back and tried again in a flurry of chops.

    Again and again she chopped, like a madwoman trying to slice through every atom in his body, and he blocked every strike. Probably because of his short, stocky stature, he never bothered to dodge. Blocking and tanking hits must have become second nature to him, because his arms swiftly carried his heavy hammer right where it needed to be to block her perfectly each and every time.

    Not that he needed to worry. Elane was capable of moving her axe faster than anyone back on Earth ever could have considered possible, but the sheer size of it still forced a handicap on her speed. And his hammer was more than thick enough to handle whatever she dished out.

    ¡°Raah!¡±

    Another, insanely heavy-handed downward chop was caught with the hammer. She shifted her grip to press down on the handle, trying to drive its blade into his skull, but then Tillmann¡¯s gauntleted fist crashed into the side of her axe head, knocking it aside before he thrust the hammer into her abdomen.

    She coughed, wheezed and tried to grab hold of his wrist, but Tillmann¡¯s quick strike pushed her away before her fingers could wrap around him. Glaring through the pain, she touched a hand to her stomach. As if she could feel the skin there darkening into a bruise, she quickly thrust her hand into her coat pocket and pulled out a small red vial ¨C potion ¨C.

    Just as she uncorked and pressed it to her lips, another small hammer flew at her.

    ¡°Tch...¡±

    She¡¯d gotten maybe a sip, a mere trickle of the life-saving juice to grace her tongue, before she had to let the vial drop to deflect the speeding bullet. A couple of her bruises had faded some, but not nearly enough.

    Tillmann grinned and quickly closed the gap between them to restart the fight.

    This was a battle between seasoned adventurers. Neither were going to let up enough for the other to have time to recover. Neither could afford to.

    And Tillmann was right. Unlike him, Elane had spent the last few years drinking herself silly in her mansion. She was out of practice ¨C lost her edge ¨C and she was quickly losing ground as Tillmann took the offensive.

    She was going to die. She didn¡¯t even need to be here and she was going to die. I was able bodied. I could help. But my damn brain wouldn¡¯t let me move!

    ¡°Alex!¡± Yua cried. ¡°Calm down! Your heart is¡­¡±

    ¡°Quiet, you!¡± Gawin shouted, stretching her arms further behind her back and she grit her teeth.

    Then her ears flicked and her attention turned elsewhere. Seconds later, another clash of steel shook the forest.

    Elane staggered back, she¡¯d blocked his hammer with the handle of her axe, but its force rippled through her arms down to her legs. And still she stood. Still she swung her axe. But the pain in her expression was too obvious.

    I tried to move. I failed. I tried again.

    ¡°Mana!¡± Yua shouted, her voice cracking with desperation. ¡°What are you waiting for?! Stop hesitating and do it!¡±

    ¡°I told you to be quiet!¡±

    Looking like he wanted to punch her, Gawin pulled her arms even further, forcing her chest to lift off the ground as her back bent painfully. She grit her teeth, her ears flicked, and then¡­ she ¨C smiled ¨C?

    ¡°Damn bitch,¡± Gawin said. ¡°Stop fighting, would you? Keep it up and I¡¯ll have the boss break your¡­ Hrk!¡±

    With a small spray of blood, an arrowhead ripped straight through his chest and out his back before his flesh killed its momentum, leaving it embedded.

    [Slave Mana¡¯s Archer Class Has Reached Level 2. New Ability Obtained: Sure Shot]

    ¡°Gawin?!¡± Gregor shouted.

    Shocked beyond comprehension, Gawin¡¯s chin dipped down to look at the shaft digging deep into his chest. He looked at it as if he¡¯d never even seen an arrow before.

    His brow taut in its furrow, he tried to suck in a breath, only for nothing to happen. The light in his eyes faded near instantly, but after his grip on Yua slackened.

    Ripping her arms out of his grasp, Yua bucked her hips hard, lifting him into the air before pulling her legs back. Though he was already gone, she returned the pain he¡¯d caused her by thrusting both her feet into his stomach, launching him well off her.

    Spinning into a crouch, Yua growled at the man on my back.

    ¡°H-Hey wait! No, wait! I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ll let him g¡­ No!¡±

    Feral, Yua kicked off the ground and launched herself into Gregor. His hands occupied with holding me, he couldn¡¯t let go fast enough to reach for his sword as he was tackled to the ground.

    I tried to move, but the moment the thought triggered itself in my brain, it vanished. Unable to make that round trip down to my limbs and back to my brain, it was instead completely overshadowed by an inappropriately desperate thought concerning breakfast cereal.

    ¡°Iron Fist!¡±

    What came next was a man¡¯s scream, followed by a series of painful, meaty blows before a sickening crunch that almost brought up the image of a ¨C crushed watermelon ¨C.

    ¡°Alex!¡±

    Yua skidded in front of me, landing on her knees. Though I could feel my heart trying to claw its way out my throat, she thankfully hadn¡¯t been harmed any further.

    ¡°Alex!¡± she shouted, shaking me. But all it did was shift my line of sight down to her chest ¨C cleavage ¨C.

    ¡°Damn it!¡±

    She cupped my cheeks and lifted my face off the ground. Raising my head, she forced me to meet her worried ¨C beautiful ¨C emerald gaze.

    ¡°Alex, you need to focus! Just open your item box and give me the Cure Poison potion you got from Mother!¡±

    Entirely against my will, another metallic screech of metal forced my attention elsewhere. Then there was the sound of exploding wood and of a tree crashing to the ground.

    I couldn¡¯t see Elane.

    ¡°Alex!¡± Yua cried. ¡°Focus on me, please!¡±

    My eyes wondered across her expression. Her big, loving eyes were now filled with worry. Her shapely brow arced with a forcefully hastened patience I didn¡¯t deserve. Her luscious lips searched for words, but she didn¡¯t seem to find any. She just forced a smile.

    Then, as if preordained by the Goddess herself, one thought led to another, then another and another until my eyes eventually fell south again ¨C cleavage ¨C.

    ¡°Alex,¡± she said softly, almost cooing as she lifted my face back up to her. To what little surprise I could afford to consider in the moment, she didn¡¯t look at all reproachful.

    She looked over her shoulder, then back to me. She spoke slower this time, purposefully enunciating every syllable as though teaching me the language for the first time.

    ¡°Alex. Open. Item. Box. Cure Poison. Potion.¡±

    I stared at her. I could feel her worry, but all I could see was a strained, but very patient smile. She took a breath and tried again.

    ¡°Cure. Poison. Potion. Give. To. Me.¡±

    ¡°Cure. Poison. Potion. Come on, Alex.¡±

    ¡°Cure. Poi-son. Po-tion.¡±

    My attention reeled. My focus flipped. My mind did summersaults trying to force action. But nothing was happening. I¡¯d run through her words in my head enough time to understand them, but that was all I could manage.

    ¡°Come on, Alex,¡± she tried again, then her ears flicked with an idea. ¡°My Mate. My Husband. My love. Give me the potion. You can do it. I¡¯ll help you drink it.¡±

    My gaze fell from her sweet words down to her chest ¨C cleavage ¨C again. But before she could lift me back to her eyes, a purple miasma flickered into existence between us before it faded.

    She went still, and I worked myself to exhaustion trying to bring it back. It flickered again, then disappeared. I tried again. And again. And again. And she kept repeating her desire for the potion, just to keep it in my thoughts.

    And the miasma appeared again. It flickered once or twice, like a light bulb ready to die out, but before it could, a glass bottle slipped out to land on her breasts. The miasma faded.

    Yua fished the bottle out of her cleavage and ripped the cork out with her teeth. She gripped my collar and lifted me. My body limp and unable to stand on its own, she held me up, tilted my head back, pressed the bottle to my lips and poured.

    Liquid rushed past my lips and only after several lapses in focus, did I realize it was draining down my cheek instead of my throat. Somehow the fact that it was bitter it was managed to stick, though.

    ¡°Damn¡­¡±

    Yua stopped pouring. Instead, she leaned in and pressed her tongue hard against my cheek before dragging it upwards to collect what I failed to drink. She then drained the bottle into her mouth and tossed it aside before pressing her lips to mine.

    Holding my cheeks so I couldn¡¯t move, her tongue pushed the liquid into my mouth and, suddenly, it became very sweet.

    My throat still wouldn¡¯t obey my commands to move, but her tongue forced it to act on its own when the liquid had nowhere else to go but down the hatch.

    It started as a trickle, but it tickled the back of my throat enough to force my neck muscles to move out of sheer agitation. And after just one good swallow, I felt a bit of clarity return.

    One more and it was as though the wall between my thoughts and actions had begun to corrode.

    And after a third, the wall all but collapsed and I began drinking on my own.

    ¡°¡­!¡±

    My hand flew up to caress the back of her head and she gasped, but she held firm and she pushed the last of the potion into my mouth. Our lips parted and I gulped the last of it down and looked to her. She smiled and, finally, clarity and focus both hit me like a truck. Suddenly, it was like the mental fog had never existed.

    Yua¡¯s eyes wavered on the verge of tears, but then her ears flicked and she once again turned to the sounds of battle. I, however, opened my item box again and was pleased to see the miasma remain firm when I reached into it.

    ¡°Alex, if you can stand, we need to...!¡±

    Mid-sentence, Yua¡¯s eyes flew open when I pressed a health potion against her lips. She didn¡¯t fight it and quickly drank it down. I drank one myself, though my hands shook as I held it.

    Pins and needles prickled across my arms, re-lighting my sense of touch with fire. I must have fallen on them. That, or they¡¯d been pinned beneath me the whole time and I hadn¡¯t noticed. I couldn¡¯t bring myself to look to Gregor for the answer.

    ¡°Come on, Yua,¡± I said, forcing strength back into my legs as I checked my girls¡¯ health bars. ¡°Mana¡¯s fine, but Elane needs help.¡±

    I stood and almost immediately fell back down as the fire spread to my legs. Yua jumped to help me get my bearings.

    Elevated back to standing height, supported by Yua¡¯s shoulder, my attention quickly snapped to the fight that had been raging in the background.

    Tillmann brought his hammer down on Elane with enough force to shatter an anvil, but she blocked it with her axe. It was all she could do as he¡¯d backed her against a tree. Her head bounced off the bark. She winced, but managed to kick him in the gut before he could swing again.

    For all the weak points he claimed were in her axe, the thing didn¡¯t even look scratched after all the blows they¡¯ve traded.

    Just when Elane managed a smirk and spit out a mouthful of blood before raising her axe, she looked to us, and Tillmann¡¯s hammer flew at her again. She threw herself out of the way, letting it explode the tree behind her before she hurried to her feet.

    She kept his back to us. My mind raced for a solution.

    ¡°Get ready, Yua.¡±

    I whispered and she nodded. I didn¡¯t have time to question how good Tillmann¡¯s ears were, but if he hadn¡¯t noticed us yet, then all the better.

    Needles still stabbing my arms, I pointed my hand at the thieves¡¯ tent and unleashed several silent Fire Balls. The first crashed pointlessly into the dirt, but I adjusted my aim and the rest all struck true, searing their way through the front flaps.

    Flames erupted and the tent was engulfed. The flames peeled away the tent¡¯s outer shell, revealing my true target. The barrier crystal.

    Aiming for it now, I willed my telekinesis to act on it, but it didn¡¯t budge. I forced my legs to move and Yua carried me closer. I tried again and the stand started to knock around. We moved closer still and I focused on working every cell in my brain into action.

    The essence crystal at the top of the shaft wiggled, then it turned on its side. Another couple of steps forward and it shot off the stand, rocketing through the air straight towards me. On track to smash into my face, it zipped straight past my unstable hand, but Yua snatched it out of the air.

    The moment it touched her palm, the bright orange hue of the barrier began to waver. The sound of a thousand panes of glass cracking and shattering all at once stopped the fighting. Elane and Tillmann pushed away from each other to look around for the source of the noise. And as the barrier began to fall apart, as the Sun reclaimed its spot as the world¡¯s greatest source of light, a violent wind ripped past us all.

    Prepared this time, I wrapped an arm around Yua¡¯s waist to hold us up, but its pressure hit both Elane and Tillmann hard. Both put up their arms to shield their eyes from the dust scattering through the camp like a sand storm. The campfire and the flames turning the tent to ash were snuffed out in an instant.

    Just as fast, the atmosphere righted itself. Once the brief gale was gone, Tillmann uncovered his eyes. He looked to the remnants of his tent and the now empty crystal stand.

    Finally, he noticed I was lucid again. ¡°Ye bastard! No more foolin¡¯! Now ye¡¯re dead!¡±

    Eyes burning hot enough to see theirs flames a mile away, Tillman slammed his fist into the still stunned Elane¡¯s jaw, knocking her away. He then pulled back his heavily muscled arm and launched his hammer at us before charging after it to run us down.

    It rocketed so fast I barely had time to toss my hands up. A portal appeared, connected to a part of the forest just outside where the barrier had been. The hammer slipped through just as the lights took shape and not a second later, it crashed into a tree somewhere behind us.

    Tillmann skidded to a stop, aghast. Eyes wide, he watched as the tree it struck slowly collapsed, falling to the ground. His eyes were no doubt fixed on the hammer embedded in its base, like he didn¡¯t know how it got there. He pointed an accusing finger at me.

    ¡°What the hells¡­ Why ain¡¯t I heard ye chant that spell?!¡±

    He must have thought the hammer would hit before I could chant.

    ¡°Out with it! How did ye do it?¡±

    Deciding to show rather than tell, I let go of Yua and aimed my palm at him. Pins and needles still rippled across my arms, making it hard to aim. Unaware of this, Tillmann put up his arms to brace himself just as a stone arrowhead shot out of my palm.

    Surprised but already cautious, he shattered the stone with the back-handed swipe of his gauntlet. I fired a second and a third, keeping an eye on his movements. Unlike the thief before, he wasn¡¯t sticking to the same patterns. Guess a trick like that wouldn¡¯t work on someone like him.

    Yua clenched her fists, forwent her usual stance and bent her knees to rush him, but I put up a hand to stop her.

    ¡°Stay with me. If he manages to get close, my magic won¡¯t be as effective. And I don¡¯t have my sword anymore.¡±

    And I¡¯d rather you didn¡¯t get knocked out again rushing him. Or worse.

    As if understanding this, the already fierce expression that took hold of her face took on a deeper shade of resentment.

    ¡°¡­Hmm.¡±

    After a half glance back at Elane as she tried to stand back up, Tillmann stooped and picked up a grapefruit-sized rock. After a quick look at it, he gripped it firmly. He must have been out of options.

    Undaunted and furious, he advanced and I got the strangest feeling he¡¯d already figured out all the details of my silent casting.

    I took a step back and cast Strangle Thorn. The grass in front of him turned into several thorned ropes and whipped up to coil around his calves, but he tore right through them as if they weren¡¯t there. They didn¡¯t slow him down for a second. He continued forwards, breaking into a sprint.

    I threw open a portal, but he quickly changed direction and avoided it before the lights could take shape.

    If Elane recognized the spell so easily because her experience seeing it in the past, then it only made sense that he would too if they traveled together. He wasn¡¯t as fast as he bluffed, but he knows how to fight against it.

    Assuming physical spells useless, I tried a Fire Ball, but he punched right through it. The flames collided with the steel of his gauntlets and ruptured, leaving nothing of its heat to touch him but a few scattering embers.

    Sweat beaded on my forehead as I checked my mana bar. I¡¯d been hoping to use the portal as a guillotine, but at this rate I was wasting mana. I can¡¯t let myself fall into the same trap I had in my duel against Tama.

    Damn¡­

    The pins and needles were gone. But so was his hammer. Assuming the thing wasn¡¯t named Mjolnir, I shouldn¡¯t have to worry about it flying back to him. It was as good as gone and, as a melee fighter, he had no choice but to improvise a weapon and move in close. How can I use that?

    His hammer landed somewhere near to where we fought the thieves. Over near the stone pillars I made¡­

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Suddenly, the image of my no-show father-in-law popped into mind, just to smirk at me. But I suppose I should be grateful.

    ¡°Yua,¡± I whispered. Her ears flicked, but she didn¡¯t look my way. ¡°I have a plan, but you¡¯d have to distract him for a few seconds. Can you do it?¡±

    The question seemed to have blindsided her, but the ease in how Tillmann knocked her out earlier was still fresh in both our minds.

    After only a second¡¯s delay, she responded with, ¡°¡­ Leave it to me.¡±

    I nodded and used up the last of my dungeon stone to conjure a wall that stretched as far around us as my ability would allow. About twice Yua¡¯s height, it completely concealed our presence. And not a moment too soon, as Tillmann had to stop his charge to prevent crashing into it.

    More importantly, thanks to the combination of Material Creation and silent casting, it truly looked as though the wall appeared out of nowhere. Exactly what I needed.

    ¡°What in the¡­?! Where did ye pull that from¡­?¡±

    Yua dashed for the wall, jumped to grab hold of its ledge and threw herself over it. The moment she vanished from sight, I opened a small portal and tossed a health potion through it to Elane. It was only a low-tiered one, but it¡¯d have to do. Neither Yua nor I were strong enough yet. We needed her help.

    ¡°Iron Fist!¡±

    Hearing the metallic clang I¡¯d been expecting, I hurriedly conjured a staircase to the top of the wall, dashed up it and found Yua, knocking his attempts to bash her brains out aside by slamming her glowing fists into his to deflect them. With his overwhelming strength, this was all she could do, but each of his savage blows still forced her to move back along the wall.

    Aiming at his back, I cast a full power Rock Throw and the spear-tipped projectile slammed into him right as he stepped into a punch. It knocked him off balance, but it wasn¡¯t strong enough to pierce his flesh. Yua wasted no time in crashing her glowing fist into his cheek. His head whipped to the side, but all it seemed to do was piss him off further.

    ¡°Little bitch!¡±

    A powerful left-hook flew over Yua¡¯s head as she ducked backwards. The rock left a severe crack in the stone, but that was enough for me.

    I hated leaving Yua to face him down while I hid in the back, but I knew I wouldn¡¯t have been able to do what she did. And now I knew he could break the wall.

    ¡°Yua,¡± I said under my breath. ¡°Smile if you can hear me.¡±

    Her ears didn¡¯t respond with their usual flick, but the corner of her peachy lips curled upwards. Good.

    ¡°What¡¯s that smirk for?¡± Tillmann growled. ¡°Ye think yer going ta win by dancin¡¯ around? I held back when I knocked ye unconscious. And right now, I¡¯m tempted ta say I don¡¯t mind huntin¡¯ down another of yer kind once I¡¯m through with ye.¡±

    Another violent roar and another dodged swing of Tillmann¡¯s rock. Light on her feet, Yua made no attempts to hit back. Letting her fist get caught would bring a swift end to the fight. Instead, she held that same smirk on her lips. Though, it almost seemed like she was just trying to piss him off more.

    I spoke low again, sure only she could hear me now.

    ¡°I want to bait him into punching through the wall.¡±

    This ended her smirk, but I couldn¡¯t risk giving away more details. Even though she strained to focus on her acrobatic dodging, the request clearly confused her. Still, punch by punch, she narrowly ducked and dodged his fists, always to her right. Leaving just enough room between them to entice and keep him coming, she skillfully led Tillmann away from the wall.

    I fired another Rock Throw at his back, knowing it wouldn¡¯t do much more than remind him I was there. A small chunk disappeared from his health bar, but he powered through as though he hadn¡¯t felt it. Yua dodged further to the right.

    The arc her movements traced through the grass was wide. From afar, it was easy to see she was skillfully looping back around towards the wall so she could put her back to it in a way that looked natural, but each time his fist blew past her, it grew closer and closer to connecting.

    This time I aimed for the backs of his knees in hopes it¡¯d give Yua a chance to put a little more distance between them, but he didn¡¯t tank the spell this time.

    ¡°Damn mages¡­¡±

    As if his dwarven nature could sense when a rock was thrown at him, Tillmann chanced a glare at me just in time to move his leg out of the way. He looked back to Yua, then to me and grinned beneath his beard.

    ¡°Ye think I¡¯m fool enough ta let ye two put me in a pincer?¡±

    Opting to ignore the Monk whose punches might as well have been made of feathers, Tillmann charged towards the wall. Towards me.

    ¡°Ye hide behind yer walls because ye can¡¯t do any up close fightin¡¯ yerself, right?! Fine by me! Don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t see that there weren¡¯t any blood on yer sword before I dismantled it!¡±

    I took his barb on the chin. If I¡¯d had the will power to bloody my sword, we might not have found ourselves in this mess.

    Still, this was not how I intended to get him over here, but if it works¡­

    He¡¯d be mostly right to assume I couldn¡¯t fight hand-to-hand, but that didn¡¯t matter. Yua chased him, her smirk now replaced with a rushed worry. I cast another Rock Throw. He deflected it. It was the same with the next two spells. They just weren¡¯t moving fast enough.

    ¡°Iron Fist!¡±

    Rushing to his side, she once again slammed her fist into his cheek. He grimaced, a small trickle of blood escaped the corner of his mouth, but he ignored the pain to charge me.

    She followed, punched again, only for him to throw up an arm to block. Aiming at his beard, I cast Fire Ball, but the moment the flames appeared in front of my palm, the rock he¡¯d been using as a bludgeon flew at me.

    From this distance, I had no choice but to dodge. I threw myself to the side and nearly off the wall before catching myself. Heart pounding, I forced my sweaty grip to hold and pulled myself back up. I had to see his punch coming or all this would pointless.

    He threw his only weapon without stopping his charge and in the time it took me to climb back up, he¡¯d closed the distanced.

    Fury dyeing his expression in red, Tillmann pulled his fist back, intending to put all the speed he¡¯d picked up behind it. Giving my best impression of a cornered rat, I stayed put and opened a portal directly behind the wall.

    ¡°Raaah!¡±

    Bellowing an almighty roar, his fist drove into the wall right beneath me. A violent vibration struck the stone, ripped up through my legs to weaken my knees as it shattered like cheap clay, but the wall itself didn¡¯t collapse. I¡¯d built it so he¡¯d have to break it down to get to me. And more importantly, I¡¯d purposefully made it thin enough for his fist to plow clean threw it¡­ and into my portal.

    The second his knotted fist sank into the blue lights and appeared out the other side, I cut the spell. The portal vanished in the blink of an eye, cutting the connection between the two ends of space as if to return the world to its natural state. And a lump of bloodied flesh fell into the thieves¡¯ campfire. The fire that once burned bright there had long since been snuffed out, so all it did was kick up a small plume of ash.

    While I¡¯d been hoping he¡¯d tackle the wall and fall through the portal himself, I was proud to say I¡¯d relieved him of the hand he used to smack Yua.

    But before I could pat myself on the back for cutting his fighting potential down several pegs, a sudden realization nearly me lose my footing.

    I heard no cries of pain.

    Another fist drove into the wall and my footing disappeared. I hit the ground, hard, and my ability to breathe was suddenly gone. Stone chunks rained down from the opening he¡¯d made. His eyes burned with hatred. He gripped the wall with the hand he still had and pushed his bleeding stump against the opposite side. Pushing, forcing the wall to crack further, he forced the gap to widen so he could step through. Its hastily-constructed base weakened, the rest of the wall started to fall apart. He already had a potion in his mouth.

    Deprived of oxygen, my lungs sucked in a gasping breath as I forced myself back to my feet. His stump of a wrist hadn¡¯t stopped bleeding, but he showed no traces of pain in his expression. There was only fury carrying him forward.

    His whole reason for being here was to eventually make his way back home. Back to his forge. Where he intended to return to the life of smithing he¡¯d been longing for. And I just robbed him of one of his metal-working hands.

    ¡°Iron Fist!¡±

    A shout came and his head whipped forward as if punched, but he continued as though he didn¡¯t notice. Had the potion dulled his ability to feel pain?

    ¡°Shit...¡±

    I threw open another portal and jumped through it to land beside Yua just as she hammered another punch into the back of his head. Her ears flicked the second I stepped out of the portal, but I wrapped an arm around her waist before she could react and pulled us back through yet another portal.

    Keeping him in sight, we put some distance between us. It was endlessly frustrating to know my plan had both succeeded and failed at the same time, but we had to regroup and start over. All it took him was a quick look around the forest before he found us. And the blood loss didn¡¯t seem to affect his ability to run at all.

    Geez¡­ High-leveled people were basically walking cheat codes.

    ¡°Don¡¯t suppose you can take him now that he¡¯s down a hand?¡±

    Clenching her jaw, Yua gave a frustrated shake of her head.

    ¡°I hit him as hard as I could and it still doesn¡¯t look like it did all that much.¡±

    ¡°And my spells are too weak.¡±

    My memories of fighting in the dungeon were clear enough to realize that leveling my Magic stat had actually caused my Fire Ball spell to fly a little faster on top of doing more damage against the bosses. In theory, I could boost the stat enough to allow a single cast of Rock Throw to pierce his defenses, but that wouldn¡¯t do us any good right now.

    Dimensional Step was our best bet, since it could likely cut just about anything regardless of my stats.

    That, and Elane.

    Trying not to let Tillmann know I was looking at her, I saw that she was once again using her axe as a crutch. I couldn¡¯t say if she managed to drink the health potion I tossed her, but she¡¯d pulled out another of her own. The smaller vial was pressed firmly to her lips. She¡¯d be back in action soon. We just had to hold out for her.

    But Tillmann was getting closer. The bleeding in his arm had stopped. He must have snuck a potion when we teleported away.

    ¡°We¡¯ll have to delay him the best we can until Elane¡­¡±

    ¡°Hey! Big Bro! Big Sis!¡±

    Stunned by the voice I wish I hadn¡¯t heard, I turned in the direction Yua had, only to find Mana jumping up and down, flailing her arms over by the tree line.

    ¡°Big Bro! Big Sis! Look who came to help!¡±

    Deciding she¡¯d gotten our attention, she pointed far to her right. Where I was finally expecting to see a muscle-headed jackass bowing in apology for being late, I instead spotted a pair of vaguely humanoid, plant-like creatures emerge from the forest.

    Well, I say vaguely humanoid, but one did look distinctly more feminine than the other.

    ¡°The spriggans? Where they waiting outside the barrier again?¡±

    ¡°All the fighting must have attracted them,¡± Yua said, managing a small grin.

    But then the ground quaked. Tillmann stopped dead in his tracks.

    The trees shook and the leaves that couldn¡¯t hold on rained all across the forest floor. Flinching, Yua¡¯s ears quivered. Her hand grasped mine in the confusion and squeezed me tight. She stared wide-eyed into the trees, seeing something I couldn¡¯t.

    The ground quaked again and a pack of a dozen black wolves, a handful of foxes and even a pair of slithering snakes all broke through the bushes in a stampede. We readied ourselves to fight, but they didn¡¯t run us down. Instead, they all rallied beside the spriggans.

    They watched us, all of us, indiscriminately. The chorus of their fang-bearing snarls was haunting, but not enough to prevent noticing a flock of birds from swooping down to land on any branches that would have them, as if they just wanted to watch the show. Each of their beaks were not only sharpened into a hook, but the sickening shade of green they bore demanded they be understood as poisonous.

    One such bird fluttered down to sit on the feminine spriggan¡¯s head.

    The ground quaked again. This time harder, closer. Yua¡¯s grip on my hand tightened, but I could feel her trembling as her emerald eyes refused to budge from the same part of the forest she¡¯d been staring at since the spriggans showed up.

    Nobody said a word and nobody moved, not until the ground shook yet again and I finally realized Mana was standing over in that mess of forest dangers. But when I looked, all I saw was that girl standing there, her small chest puffed up proudly as she held her hands on the hips of her skirt. Her tail flicked about excitedly.

    Just before I could call out to her, another mini earthquake shook the forest. Still staring, Yua pulled me back a step, then another, before a pair of glowing golden orbs pierced the darkness of the forest.

    Another quake made a few of the wolves whimper as a hulking mass of fur and muscle broke into view. Just under two stories tall and as thick as a small house, its snarling, mangled snout loomed over the trees. Its mass as wide as a house, it had to push the trees themselves out of its way to step into the sunlight. With each of its limbs as thick as a car with muscle, a few of the tree trunks cracked beneath its pressure.

    It paused beside the spriggans without so much as a glance at them, as if they were too small to notice. It sniffed the air. My legs shook when it turned its massive head towards Mana, locking its crazed eyes on her, and snarled. The low, soul-rending growl that rippled from its throat made everything with a beast¡¯s ears take a step back. Rows of sharpened teeth lined its jaw. The thick saliva that dripped from them landed on a paw bearing a set of claws that were each the size of a curved greatsword.

    ¡°Y-Yua¡­ What the hell is that?¡±

    ¡°A Brawler Bear.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ Wait, wait, wait! Didn¡¯t you say your dad fights those things?!¡±

    ¡°Yea,¡± she said, shaking her head as though coming out of a trance. ¡°But I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the alpha-male. It¡¯s too small. What¡¯s it doing in this side of the forest?¡±

    ¡°Too small? You mean those things get bigger?!¡±

    ¡°Alex, under no circumstance can we fight the bear without Daddy.¡±

    ¡°Then what do we do?¡±

    Unwilling and unable to wait for an answer, I slipped my hand out of hers to open a portal beside Mana, but before she noticed it, the feminine spriggan touched a branch-like hand to the bear¡¯s snout and the beast seemed to almost calm. In seconds, its growling slowly stopped and its attention dropped low, almost bowing to the much smaller creature.

    Its hulking frame lowered to the ground and the spriggan leaned in close, as if intending to whisper to it. And with its fangs still bared, as though it didn¡¯t know how to put them away, the bear listened obediently. There was a long silence and the bear did not move a muscle through it all.

    Then the spriggan pointed at Tillmann.

    Turning to him, the Brawler Bear growled again, this time loud enough to deafen. Its front claws dug into soil as it prepared itself, sizing up its next opponent. And the multitude of scars barely hidden by its fur said it was just as experienced as he was.

    ¡°Damned forest¡­¡±

    Tillmann took a step back, gawking, before his hand shot under his beard and he pulled out a pair of bottles. The info box of the first read that it was another high-tier health potion, but the second was a Greater Potion of Fortify Strength.

    He quickly uncorked both with his teeth, spit out the stoppers and lifted the bottles over his mouth. Before I could question whether he actually intended to fight the bear, I threw open a small portal between his lips and the bottles and two differently-colored liquids splashed to the ground beside us.

    Noticing the lacking taste of potion on his tongue, and seeing the portal before it fizzled out, Tillmann¡¯s face grew red with fury all over again as he crushed the empty bottles in hand.

    ¡°Damn you! If I¡¯m going ta die, then so are¡­ ARGH!!¡±

    Before he could finish his threat, before he could take another step towards us, Elane buried her axe deep into his shoulder blade.

    The blood on her face dried, and the bruises covering her body now mostly faded, she grinned.

    ¡°Ye bitch¡­!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know much about spriggans,¡± Elane said, ripping her axe back out of him to let him fall to his knee. ¡°But I know better than to interrupt a wild beasty during their hunt.¡± She looked to the bear and it watched her right back. ¡°You should have just tracked me down and asked for help.¡±

    ¡°Fuckin¡¯ bitch¡­Graah!¡±

    Somehow, despite the copious blood loss, Tillmann managed to summon enough strength to turn and lunge for Elane. Just as surprised, Elane couldn¡¯t bring up her axe in time to block the hook he drove into her cheek.

    Dropping her axe, she flew back, straight into another portal and into my arms. Her cobalt gaze met mine for only a second before she smiled faintly and closed her eyes. Though the chunk of red that disappeared from her health bar was concerning, she was only unconscious.

    Taking care not to cause her more pain, I set her down and handed Yua a bundle of health potions. Confused, she cradled them to her chest.

    ¡°Make her drink.¡±

    Tillmann quickly scooped up Elane¡¯s axe. With only one hand, it¡¯d be awkward to use. He understood this with a grimace, but turned on us anyway.

    ¡°But what about¡­¡±

    ¡°Make her drink, Yua! I¡¯ll handle it from here.¡±

    I stepped in front of them, but nothing could have shielded us from the ear-splitting roar the Brawler Bear set loose to curse the world. It was done listing to the spriggan¡¯s instruction. Its claws dug up massive clumps of dirt and grass as it and the rest of the horde of wildlife charged for the dwarf.

    He looked to it, to the charging bear, then to us. Fury burning in his eyes, he took a shallow grip on the axe and sprinted towards us. He¡¯d made his choice, and so had I. We¡¯d both bitten off more than we could chew by coming here.

    Fresh out of dungeon stone, Material Creation conjured a wooden baseball bat directly into my hands. I aimed it at the dwarf and readied myself to take a swing at him. At a glance, I could tell he¡¯d make it to us long before the bear made it to him. He had to think I meant to cross blades with him.

    ¡°Ye bastard, human!¡± he bellowed. ¡°I just wanted ta go home! Back ta my forge!¡±

    I said nothing and waited. He¡¯d already reached the fastest speed his weary legs could handle. I suppressed the mounting dread the best I could. The timing was going to have to be perfect or the bear was going to end up running us both down. The spriggans may be controlling it to some extent, but I wasn¡¯t about to risk a fight with that thing.

    Tillmann was on me in a second that passed like a blur. Close enough to see that his face had gone pale, I waited still. Down a hand, when he hefted the axe over his head to cut me down, he no longer had the ability to block my magic.

    I peeled a hand off my weapon, aimed a palm at him and...

    Lightning Bolt!

    A bolt of blue lighting shot from my hand and struck his left knee.

    ¡°Graagh!¡±

    He grimaced, the damage had not been as effective as I¡¯d hoped, but the bolt still managed to twist and paralyze the muscles in his leg just before his foot hit the ground. Sapped of strength, his ankle buckled and he toppled forward straight through the portal I conjured to keep him from crashing into me.

    Staving off a sigh of relief, I watched as he tumbled through the other end of the portal, right in front of the Brawler Bear¡¯s warpath.

    He was quick to spot it, its thundering charge was unmissable.

    ¡°Damned mage!¡±

    With no other choice left to him, Tillmann rose to his feet. He staggered, set the axe down for but a moment to lay a firm punch on the leg I¡¯d hit with my lightning to steady himself. Lifting the axe once more, he faced the bear and, with a mighty howl that matched the rampaging animals, he swung it without hesitation.

    ¡°RAAAAAAAH!¡±

    For all his strength, for all the blood loss he lost, and only because the wild animal wasn¡¯t smart enough to dodge, the head of the axe buried itself into the side of its neck. But the blade head only sank in an inch or two, as if he¡¯d taken a half-hearted swing at a massively thick tree. It was more than enough to kill a human, but all it did was cause the bear¡¯s charge to grind to a halt.

    ¡°Hrrah!¡±

    Tillmann kicked his boot on the bear¡¯s face as it howled and ripped the axe out. He moved to swing again, but the horde of wildlife was on him before he could.

    A series of fangs dug into him. The foxes could only bite and latch onto his legs, but the larger wolves were free to clamp their jaws down on his sides, his back and even his arms. All snarling, all growling, they bit onto every part of him they could reach.

    Forced to drop the axe, Tillmann howled in much deserved pain, but grit his teeth despite it all. He punched the animals one by one, his still mighty blows knocking them aside. The rapid series of punches would have put any boxer to shame, none that received his fist got back up. But they¡¯d done their part.

    As if the spriggans had planned this from the start, the moment Tillmann knocked the last wolf off him, and as the spriggan¡¯s whip-like branches coiled around his ankles, rooting him in place, the Brawler Bear had recovered enough to swipe at him with its massive paw.

    It must have felt like a brick wall flying toward him, but when it collided, all it did was slam him to the ground. He croaked a gasp, but clawed at the vines binding him. The male spriggan lashed him, but it didn¡¯t stop him from trying to free himself.

    The feminine spriggan looked up, up to the bird nesting on its head and it flew. Diving to land beside Tillmann, it jabbed the tip of its beak into his shoulder. It was followed by the pair of snakes, who sank their fangs into his stump wrist as the phantom hand attached to it flailed and failed to grip his bindings. It was possibly the only place on him they could pierce.

    He paled further at the sight of them and tried to knock them away. It ripped its beak back out and returned to the spriggan¡¯s head. In turn, their venom spent, the snakes slithered back into the trees.

    ¡°What¡­ What was¡­¡±

    Immediately slurring his words, Tillmann¡¯s posture wavered for only a second before he collapsed into the grass. He twitched for less than a second, but his entire body fell still.

    His info box read that he¡¯d been paralyzed outright.

    The spriggan¡¯s released his ankles and stepped back, apparently content with letting the bear loom over him, its own blood dripping as it raised its right paw to blot out the sun.

    Showing far more resilience than I could have anticipated, Tillmann continued to twitch violently, but his limbs failed him. Remembering how he broke free of my Force Sleep spell, telekinesis grabbed hold of Elane¡¯s axe and I pulled it to me.

    I then immediately thought better of it when I saw the spinning guillotine soaring towards me. Remembering how all my attempt to use this ability so far ended, I opened another portal at let the axe fly through it.

    And just when the blue lights vanished, and I felt a twinge of mana fatigue, Tillmann roared one last time, his voice muffled by the lips he couldn¡¯t move. The bear as it raked its claws across his torso, slicing straight through his leather apron.

    Tillmann¡¯s muffled roar echoed into nothing and I turned away the moment I saw his health bar vanish, before I could see the bear¡¯s greedy follow up. Enraged by the gash in its neck, it continued to claw at him long after I looked away.

    Just then, a small bundle of cuteness-incarnate barreled into me. Rubbing her cheek into my chest, Mana beamed in delight as she grinned up at me, her tail flicking happily. Seeing her like this, it would have been all too easy to assume I¡¯d hallucinated the last few minutes.

    She certainly didn¡¯t seem to mind what was happening. Sheer enthusiasm for the result must have blinded her to the means.

    ¡°Big Bro! We did it! Now Daddy can¡¯t complain about us being mates! And the spriggans get their cave back!¡±

    I hugged her tight, but I refused to give into any urge to celebrate just yet. Weary of the fact that the bear seamed to hate this girl for simply being cat-kin, I lifted Mana by the backs of her thighs. Smiling still, she let me hold her and wrapped her arms around my neck. I grabbed the freshly-healed Elane by her coat and hefted her over my shoulder before opening another portal leading to where her axe landed. To safety.

    With no need to wait for an order, Yua jumped through and the three of us followed.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 25

    ¡°You know¡­ I¡¯m kind of starting to like the idea of building a second house out here.¡±

    The grassy plains just outside of the forest had become our respite from danger multiple times now. Just feeling the clean air on my sweat-drenched body after it all was enough to say I wouldn¡¯t mind living this close to the in-laws.

    Then again, on second thought¡­

    As soon as we were through the portal, I let Mana hop off me and carefully set Elane down on the grass and collapsed beside her to catch my breath. However, the moment Mana¡¯s ass hit the ground, I pulled her back to her feet and over to me and started searching for wounds. I honestly couldn¡¯t help myself.

    I lifted her chin to the sun to see her face better. I held her arms to look them over closely. And I tugged at every part of her dress to see the smooth skin beneath it. I even pulled her shoes off to check her feet. I left no part of her unchecked and she just smiled whimsically through it all.

    Finding nothing, I fell back into the grass and let relief take me. Her health bar said she¡¯d taken a hit somewhere, but she looked entirely fine. I sighed and turned to check on Elane. Our health potions had topped her off, but she hadn¡¯t woken yet.

    Her axe had dug itself deep into the soil, its handle pointing up to the sun after flying through the portal. A true testament to its make, rather than its maker, the thing didn¡¯t look remotely beat up, bent, chipped or even scratched.

    Still, after all the risks we just taken, I was going to have to ask the Goddess why exactly it was that none of us got any EXP from Tillmann when he died. Since Yua and Mana, and by extension myself, all got EXP from the other thieves, the only working theory I bothered with was that the killing blow had to come from either me or my slaves to get the boost. Meaning letting the bear finish him off screwed us over.

    That is not to say that Yua and Mana didn¡¯t level up, though. Both gained a new level after all that mess. Mana even gained a second class.

    ¡°Speaking of¡­¡±

    Sitting up, I held a hand out to Mana and she took it happily, dropping her bow to plop down on her spot on my thigh. Yua continued to stand, diligently keeping her ears on the forest while I recharged my mana.

    ¡°Let me see this.¡±

    Without waiting for her to give the okay, I pulled Mana¡¯s quiver off her shoulder and inspected its contents. After a quick comparison of her remaining arrows against how many she¡¯d started with and I guessed she¡¯d fired at least six.

    One, for sure, helped Yua escape her bindings, but my hearts sank at the thought of how she managed it. How they both did.

    ¡°Mana¡­¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    Without another word, I slipped a hand up her skirt. My hand bored under the waistband of her panties, over her pubis and between her thighs. There, I let my middle and ring fingers slip inside her without further warning. This was the best way to get the truth out of her. I was beyond caring how awkward this action was.

    Her ears stiffened, but her smile brightened as she leaned into me. We needed to talk, and now she was ready to listen.

    ¡°What happened, Mana? How did they take you from the inn?¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡± her ears drooped. She must have thought this was going to be a happy conversation. ¡°That man we met there, the one that smelled like mating, he came to talk after you and Big Sis left.¡±

    Understanding she meant Arthur, as he¡¯d just finished with a prostitute before we first spoke, I prompted her to continue.

    ¡°What¡¯d he say?¡±

    ¡°Not much. He just said that he had an idea of where the spriggans were, so I went with him to find them.¡±

    I pinched my eyes shut. If that¡¯s all it took to get her out of the room, it was a Goddess-send that there were no dingy white vans with the word ¡°candy¡± spraypainted on their side in this world.

    ¡°Mana¡­ Why would you believe that?¡±

    She tilted her head, her big blue eyes staring at me in open confusion. Sensing that something was worrying me, she tugged at the front of my pants and slipped her own hand inside to grasp me.

    ¡°His heart wasn¡¯t lying.¡±

    ¡°But he tricked you, didn¡¯t he?¡±

    If Tillmann was right about half-truths being capable of tricking the ears of a cat-kin, him saying he might know where the spriggans were must have been some sort of double speak, he did actually know they were in the forest, but not exactly where in the forest. It was a simple trick, a play on words, and I was fairly certain I might have believed him as well.

    ¡°Then what happened once you got here?¡±

    ¡°Hmmm¡­.¡±

    According to her explanation, which came with minimal detail, they arrived here by cart as we thought, but as soon as she spotted the barrier in the distance, she finally realized their trickery and tried to jump away.

    Arthur caught her by the wrist and easily overpowered her. Pinning her arms to her sides, he even went so far as to clamp a hand over her mouth to keep her from drawing the attention of the forest¡¯s wildlife. Like this, she was carted into the barrier.

    However, after enough constant squirming, she managed to squirm enough to take a good bite out of Arthur¡¯s hand. This caused him to let out and she fled into the trees with her bow. She didn¡¯t say so, but I assumed the bite had something to do with why he was drunk.

    ¡°Then one of the humans chased me,¡± Mana continued with a sigh. ¡°I lost him easily in the forest, but he wouldn¡¯t leave me alone. So, I had to keep moving.¡±

    That explains why I had such a hard time tracking her.

    ¡°Then he found you?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Yea.¡±

    ¡°And he hurt you?¡±

    ¡°No. I hid again before he could.¡±

    I shifted my grip on her, inside her, and she tightened a bit. ¡°Mana, you don¡¯t need to spare me the details. If he hurt you¡­¡±

    If she managed to gain the Archer class before coming to help us, then it only made sense she killed him. So, I would not be getting my revenge for whatever he did, but I still wanted to know.

    ¡°He didn¡¯t,¡± she insisted. ¡°I hid. He said some mean things and I ran. Then he kept chasing me, so I shot an arrow at him. It missed, but¡­¡±

    ¡°Mana, I can see your health bar. If it wasn¡¯t him, how did you get hurt?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± puffing up her cheeks into a pout, she said nothing.

    ¡°Mana¡­¡±

    ¡°Mmm¡­ Fine!¡± she huffed, pointing to her shoes. ¡°These things made me slip on a branch. I fell out of a tree and landed on my butt. That¡¯s how he found me. I got up and ran, and he chased me again. I shot some arrows at him, and he kept chasing me.¡±

    ¡°You shot him and he kept chasing you?¡±

    Was the guy a friggin¡¯ terminator or something?

    Still pouting, Mana shook her head, grinding her ears into my chin.

    ¡°No. The string on the bow you gave me is still too hard to pull. I couldn¡¯t aim right while moving. I¡­ I missed all my shots until I was able to get away from him. When I had a chance to take my time and, because he couldn¡¯t see me, I was able to hit him.¡±

    ¡°Is that why you hesitated to help us?¡± Yua chimed, kneeling beside us, unconcerned with how intimately I held Mana. She must have decided we were in the clear.

    ¡°Hmph¡­ My arms were getting tired. And I didn¡¯t want to hit you. Or Big Bro.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­¡± Yua started, huffing. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have had it so hard if you didn¡¯t abandon your training.¡±

    ¡°Mmrk¡­ Sorry.¡±

    Man, these cat-kin show no mercy at all. She was in danger too, Yua.

    Content with her answers, I slipped my hand out from under her skirt and wrapped my arms around her. As I sighed and thumped my chin on her head between her ears, she met me halfway and pulled her hand out of my pants.

    Her swishing tail said she was also content with how things ended, but learning that she almost got caught just because of how strong her bowstring was put me on edge. The Casanova points I put into her Strength stat must have been the only reason why she could use it in the first place.

    Navigating my menu to her status page, I put her new points into her Strength. It felt off dumping so many points into an Archer¡¯s Strength stat right off the bat, but we didn¡¯t have much choice in the matter. We can¡¯t let that happen again.

    I did the same for Yua, but I did set a few points aside for her Vitality as well.

    ¡°There,¡± I said. ¡°You should be able to use your bow now.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Really?¡±

    Her ears perked up at this and she reached for her bow. Aiming at the nothing in front of us, she wrapped the index and middle fingers of her right hand around the string and tried to pull but¡­

    ¡°Big Bro, I can¡¯t do it if you¡¯re holding me. Can you let go for a second?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°But you said¡­¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    Metaphorically putting my foot down, I tightened my arms around her shoulders. Giving way almost too easily, she quietly set the bow back down. Pulling her knees up to rest her feet on my ankles, she let me hold her.

    Letting out a relieved sigh of her own, Yua scoot over beside us and linked her arm with mine, nuzzling her cheek into my shoulder.

    This was supposed to be just a simple plant-picking mission and I¡¯d almost lost both of them. If Elane hadn¡¯t showed up, we¡¯d¡­

    ¡°Well¡­ ain¡¯t this cute,¡± groaned a voice beside us. ¡°Getting all lovey-dovey.¡±

    Lifting herself into a seated position, and using a posture just as unladylike as Mana was want to use, Elane rubbed her cheek. Her health bar was maxed out, but she grimaced as though she could still feel Tillmann¡¯s punch.

    Her cobalt eyes met mine, saw the three of us together, and she fell back onto her hands.

    ¡°What¡¯d I miss¡­ We win?¡±

    ¡°Well, the bear did.¡±

    ¡°Eh. Good enough.¡±

    Nodding, she lifted her arms and looked herself over before adjusting her coat over her chest again. Then, suddenly, she looked up and turned before quickly spotting her axe beside her. She sighed and fell back onto her hands.

    Nice to know she worried enough to check on us before her gear, but she was looking oddly relaxed after nearly dying.

    ¡°Elane,¡± I started. ¡°Tillmann was your friend, right? Aren¡¯t you upset that he¡­¡±

    ¡°Died? No. We haven¡¯t spoken in years and, besides that, he chose that path for himself. This is just the result of his choice. It¡¯s sad to see him go, but after what he did, the best he¡¯s going to get out of me is a toast in honor of our past.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­¡± I was surprised that she¡¯d even go that far for the man that tried to kill her, but a more pressing thought came to mind. Elane was without her usual dog-eared entourage. ¡°Erika tracked us, right? Where is she?¡±

    Surely, even she would have had to enter the forest to pinpoint our location for her mistress, but knowing the bear had been so close made me worry. Elane, however, waved the question off.

    ¡°I sent her back to Guerraway. I wasn¡¯t about to bring her into that mess.¡± She looked up to the sky, to the sun and nodded. ¡°She took the carriage with her, so she¡¯s probably back at our inn by now.¡±

    ¡°Carriage¡­¡± I repeated, but thought better than to question her.

    Of course, a carriage was involved. It¡¯s not like she would have walked all this way just to meet with me. Must have been a fast carriage, though.

    ¡°Anyway!¡± Elane shouted, jumping onto her hands and knees. I was all but forced to watch the generous sway of her breasts as she hurriedly crawled over to me. Remembering her declaration of her intentions for me, I felt my cheeks heat up.

    Grinning, no blushing, she said, ¡°So tell me about your world! Where is it? How did you get here? Magic? N-No, maybe we should take this slow. Just tell me its name!¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­ I¡­¡±

    It¡¯d slipped my mind, but she did mention my old world before saving us. Only, I struggled to remember how she found out in the first place.

    Once again, I traced back my memories of all our conversations and sighed when I found the answer.

    I¡¯d briefly brought it up right after getting drunk with her, before we parted. And here I thought that chat went well. I mean, except for Mana showing up to the tavern in the nude, but that was another matter entirely.

    Damn¡­ Maybe if I just tell her I only said that when I was drunk, she¡¯d¡­

    ¡°Ooooh, come on!~¡± she begged, slinking her arm around mine, tearing it off of Mana to shove it between her breasts. ¡°Don¡¯t be a tease! I know it wasn¡¯t a joke. You keep mentioning that bra-thing like you¡¯re absolutely sure it exists. Yet, I¡¯ve been all over the world and I¡¯ve never even heard mention of it before. Once I realized that, I started to wonder if it might be something common from your old world.¡±

    Shit¡­ And I mentioned that before I got drunk, too. I guess sober me¡¯s just as much of an idiot as drunk me.

    ¡°Oh, and Erika already confirmed you weren¡¯t lying when you brought it up.¡±

    Fuck¡­

    Elane hugged me tighter, forcing my arm deeper into her cleavage and by the gleam in her eye, I was one-thousand percent positive that she hadn¡¯t even noticed.

    However, as Elane¡¯s arms tightened around mine, Yua¡¯s hold slackened until she let go entirely. Facing me down with her emerald eyes, she crossed her arms.

    ¡°Alex¡­ What is she talking about and why is your heart starting to panic? What¡¯s this other world thing she¡¯s talking about?¡±

    Oh boy¡­.

    ¡°Big Bro?¡± Mana chimed, looking up at me. And once her big blue eyes landed on me, I broke. She wasn¡¯t even begging, just confused, and I was powerless.

    ¡°Alex?¡± Yua repeated.

    ¡°Big Bro?¡±

    ¡°Come on! Come on!¡± Elane joined in.

    ¡°Okay!¡± I shouted.

    For all my broken abilities, I couldn¡¯t fend off the assertions of three beauties at once. Forcing myself to accept my fate, I sucked in a deep breath, cleared my throat and turned first to Yua.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I guess I¡¯ve been lying to you. Well, maybe not lying, just not telling the whole truth. Then again, maybe there were a few lies in there as well¡­¡±

    Tilting her head in open confusion, Yua said, ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    With another breath to steady myself, I closed my eyes. I was beating around the bush. I¡¯d wanted to keep this a secret, but if these girls were going to choose to be with and fight with me, despite my flaws, then they had a right to know.

    ¡°I¡¯m not from some far away country¡­ I¡¯m from another world.¡±

    ¡°YES!¡± Elane shouted, her smile nearly splitting her face in half. ¡°I knew it! I knew it! No. Wait. Wait. Wait. Yua, Kitty, he¡¯s telling the truth, right? Right? Oh, please say yes.¡±

    Looking bewildered beyond compare, Yua all but ignored the blonde to stare fixedly at me. She was deathly silent for a long moment, even her tail was still, but then her ears gave a flick and her eyes widened. As did Mana¡¯s.

    ¡°¡­ He¡¯s telling the truth.¡±

    ¡°YEEEEEES!!!!¡±

    Jumping onto her knees again, Elane ripped my arm out of her cleavage and clamped her hands over my cheeks, squishing them. Forcing me to face her glowing, excited eyes, she pressed her lips onto mine.

    I blinked, but the sweetness of her kiss was so intoxicating that I felt my resolve weaken. She pressed me further, shoving herself between Mana and I. Mana was forced to fall back, looking equal parts confused and intrigued.

    Elane pushed her tongue against my lips like a battering ram forcing its way into my mouth. At the same time, she squished her ungodly soft, giant breasts into my chest. She nearly pushed me to the ground just to deepen the kiss further.

    But her embrace came to a swift end before I could slip past the shock to fully enjoy the happening.

    ¡°Stop that,¡± Yua said, shoving Elane off me. ¡°Let him talk first.¡±

    ¡°S-Sorry,¡± Elane pouted, touching a hand to her lips as she fell back on her ass. Pressing and rubbing her thighs together, she said, ¡°I suppose I got a little ahead of myself. It¡¯s just¡­ Learning of a new world that is ripe for exploration was probably¡­ no, it was definitely the sexiest thing I¡¯ve ever heard!! It made me a little we¡­¡±

    ¡°Quiet!¡± Yua barked, her tone growing increasingly annoyed. And I had the odd, sneaking suspicion it had nothing to do with me being kissed right in front of her. ¡°Alex, what are you talking about? Another world?¡±

    Seeing that Yua pre-emptively covered Mana¡¯s mouth to prevent her from distracting me, I continued. She leaned into me hard, the fire burning in her eyes all but daring me to try and weasel my way out of this, but I was not up to the challenge.

    ¡°Okay, okay! I¡¯ll explain¡­¡±

    I left nothing out. From everything that led up to my eventual self-isolation, to the loneliness that influenced my decision to buy Yua, to my sudden death and the Goddess that reincarnated me. I spared them no details as they needed to hear it all.

    After repeated interruptions by a certain enthusiastic blonde, I did also end up detailing certain aspects of how Earth differed from Ternia, namely that there was no leveling or class system, no world magic instantly detecting thievery or magic in general and, of course, no slavery. At least, not in my part of the world.

    Thanks to all the detours, the explanation took longer than needed, but I was sure I got the point across.

    Call me a narcissist for thinking the subject of my own death cropping up would have soured the mood a bit, but it didn¡¯t. The reactions of the three were each night and day.

    Elane was overjoyed, smiling as giddily as though my every word were covered in the world¡¯s sweetest honey. Unable to sit still, she repeatedly rubbed her thighs together. I even caught a hint of staggered breathing, as though the fatigue from our earlier fight was only just catching up to her.

    Mana, however, looked vacant, empty. Her big blue eyes were open, but she didn¡¯t seem to be looking at anything in particular. She just pouted. Not because she found out her mate wasn¡¯t what she thought he was, but because Elane had snatched her off my lap during the explanation to once again forcefully hug the girl into her breasts. Resigned to her fate after several failed attempts to break free, she let the woman hold her.

    Finally, there was Yua. My first wife. She was likely the one most affected by my reincarnation, but she stayed quiet throughout the details. Her arms were crossed and her ears gave the occasional flick, but not from interest. I could tell she was searching for lies.

    It hurt to see, but I wasn¡¯t just the man she¡¯d brought home to meet her parents. I was her master. It would be understandable if she was starting to doubt my rejection of that title and what it meant to her after learning of all my other lies, but she just sat there, her brow furrowed and her emerald glare undaunted.

    I was compelled to look away when her eye twitched, but I forced myself not to. I was ready to pay the price for my lies. Whatever that may be.

    Except, the punishment didn¡¯t come. Her eye twitched again as she sighed deeply, almost painfully.

    Finally, she spoke.

    ¡°¡­ I suppose that explains why you don¡¯t seem to have any common sense. You weren¡¯t born here.¡±

    ¡°Y-Yea¡­ Thanks for always teaching me. And sorry for not telling you sooner. I was just worried about how you¡¯d take the news.¡±

    Her eye twitched again, but before she could speak, Elane jumped in after attempting to, but failing to compose herself. A light sheen of sweat making her shine, her cheeks were bright pink.

    ¡°S-So, this old world of yours¡­ Earth, right? Any chance you could take me to it?¡±

    ¡°Sorry, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s possible. I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m stuck here for good.¡±

    On a whim, I did try to open a portal to Earth a few weeks ago, but nothing happened. Same with trying to teleport to the Goddess¡¯s realm. If there was a spell that could do it, I didn¡¯t know it.

    ¡°Ahhh¡­ Damn it. I was so close, but now it just feels like a tease¡­¡±

    Looking as though all the wind had been sucked out of her sails, Elane dropped her chin on Mana¡¯s head and sighed. Mana¡¯s cheeks puffed, but with Elane¡¯s arms firmly wrapped around her waist, she could do little else.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯d take you if I could.¡±

    ¡°Mmm¡­ It¡¯s not too bad. I mean, if your memory is as good as you say it is, you can still tell me about it, right?¡±

    ¡°It is, and I can share plenty with you.¡±

    ¡°Then that¡¯s more than enough,¡± she smiled, then touched a finger to her chin in thought. Seeing a chance, Mana tried to remove herself from the blonde¡¯s lap, but just one arm was still too much for her. Elane continued. ¡°Actually, it might be even better this way.¡±

    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°What I mean is that, thanks to my Cartographer class, I can instantly map out any new area I set foot in. This is usually exciting in its own way, but I prefer to take my exploring slowly. And if I can¡¯t go there, then it¡¯s sort of like the mystery never goes away!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s certainly one way to look on the bright side¡­¡±

    Just at the idea of new lands excited her enough to risk her own life, but finding out she can¡¯t actually go there hasn¡¯t quelled her enthusiasm even slightly. Her passion for exploring was well beyond what I thought. It was actually pretty admirable.

    Speaking of¡­ Now that I think about it, she did make me a pretty lucrative offer back in her mansion if I brought her this exact sort of information. And then there¡¯s what she said back in the forest to consider.

    My cheeks started to burn at the sight of this bombshell of a woman as she rubbed hers against Mana¡¯s. It almost felt like a crime to break the two up, but as a man, I should be the one to bring it up again, right? After all she did for us, it was the least I could do.

    We all made it out of there alive. We were safe, but I could still feel some of the adrenaline coursing through my veins. I was pumped.

    So, I cleared my throat and¡­

    ¡°Elane, about what you said earlier. In the forest.¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Oh!¡±

    Her cheeks turned a little pink as the meaning of my question sank in. She waited for me to continue.

    ¡°Well, if it¡¯s okay with Yua and¡­¡±

    ¡°Big Sis?¡± Mana interrupted; her pout replaced with enough worry to make her ears wilt. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±

    Suddenly, something ominous caused a shiver to jolt up my spine. A mountain¡¯s-worth of pressure was pinning me down and I had no hopes of moving it.

    Had I over stepped my bounds? Of course I did. Obviously, I should have brought this up with my girls before I ever even considered it. Yua heard Elane¡¯s confession, and she could likely hear my heart skipping at the thought of accepting it. She accepted me being with Mana so easily, but what if that was purely because they were already good friends. I got ahead of myself.

    Quietly, slowly, I turned. Ready to face the consequences of the infidelity I had only considered committing, I was instead met a strange sight.

    Yua¡¯s brow was furrowed, her face red as she gritted her teeth. Her eyes bore into mine, keeping me rooted. But then her eyes twitched, as did her neck and shoulders. No, it was her entire being. As if an endlessly arcing current of electricity was rampaging throughout her body in search of a way out, she spasmed where she sat on her knees.

    Then she sucked in a pained gasp.

    ¡°H-Hey there!¡± Elane shouted, setting Mana aside. ¡°Calm down, Yua.¡±

    ¡°Calm down?¡± I repeated.

    If the thought of me taking another wife upset her so, then we definitely needed to talk. But she didn¡¯t say a word. Just clenched her teeth, glaring at me as the twitching progressed.

    ¡°Alex,¡± Elane said, caution coloring her voice. ¡°This is the slave spell¡¯s rebound effect. You have to say you forgive her to make it stop!¡±

    ¡°What? But doesn¡¯t that only kick in if¡­¡±

    Wait, what?!

    ¡°Alex!¡± Yua yelled, twitching as though her skin were on fire. ¡°Give me permission to hit you!¡±

    ¡°Wha¡­ Come on, Yua. I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t ask you first, but we can still talk about this peacefully.¡±

    ¡°Give me permission! I can hit you if you let me! Please! As your wife and mate, you must let me do this!¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡±

    Yua continued to glare, continued to twitch and Elane sank back. This wasn¡¯t her fight or her fault. Mana, too, stayed back.

    I was speechless. Ever since we met, before she ever had a reason to want to, Yua acted as though she were my shield. And now she wants to¡­

    No, this must be the way of her people. This offense must be more serious than their usual method of conveying a point. She wanted to talk with her fists and it seems I needed to listen.

    I sat up on my knees and faced her. And when I found the tears spilling down her cheeks, I hurried to end her suffering. Hopefully in a way that transcends this moment to become permanent.

    ¡°Yua, as your master, I forgive you. And from now on, if you feel I truly deserve it, you can hit me without repercussion.¡±

    I had no idea if that would work in the long term, but the moment I got the words out, both Yua¡¯s twitching and her pain stopped. Gasping, she sucked in a breath of air and squeezed her knees.

    Then, once her breathing was steadied, she lunged at me.

    Tackling me to the ground, she straddle my hips. Without a word, but still crying, she grabbed the collar of my shirt and yanked me towards her. At the same time, she reeled back and smashed her forehead into my face.

    Pain split the world in two. On one side, only agony. On the other, a daze kept me from moving. A river of blood ran off my chin and, suddenly, I couldn¡¯t breathe through my nose. My body tried all on its own to gasp for air when my clenched teeth refused a breath, but every involuntary attempt had the pain flaring up all over again.

    I touched a hand to my face and felt my nose snapped at an awkward angle. She¡¯d broken it in one hit. She really didn¡¯t hold back. That fact alone caused my daze to deepen.

    Just as she said, the spell¡¯s rebound didn¡¯t seem to have an effect on her, but her tears hadn¡¯t stopped, they¡¯d doubled. And yet, she pushed her palms against my chest and they began to glow with a warm green light that helped the pain start to fade.

    ¡°Why!¡± she cried. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me sooner?!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I just barely found out too!¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± she said, pinching my nose between her fingers. With a quick twist of her wrist, and another sharp burst of pain, she snapped my nose back into place. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me about your other world sooner?!¡±

    ¡°I-Is that what this is about? I thought you were angry about Elane wanting to¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± she shouted, gripping my collar again before slamming me onto the ground. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me? If you warned me you weren¡¯t from this world, I could have taught you better. I could have kept you from making so many mistakes. I could have saved us from so much suffering. You know nothing of this world or its people! You should have asked for help sooner! It¡¯s like you were trying to mess your second chance at life!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that,¡± Elane cautioned, hand up. ¡°It sounds a little like he was just trying to act like life here was similar to one of those video-game-things he mentioned.¡±

    ¡°No! Elane, you don¡¯t know the half of what he¡¯s done. Apparently, the first thing he did since coming to this world was take out a loan just to buy me. One he never could have paid off if it weren¡¯t for his abilities. And he didn¡¯t even know me! Then he nearly gets himself killed multiple times in the dungeons. Then he mouths off to a noblewoman, you, like it¡¯s nothing. Then he gets drunk, has sex with Mana against her daddy¡¯s will and then, on the same night, he sneaks into the barrier to confront Tillmann by himself! And he almost died!!¡±

    Still fuming, and with tears still streaming down her cheeks, Yua clenched my shirt tight in her fists. She wanted to hit me again, but her sobs stayed her wrath.

    ¡°Then he hesitates to kill while we were fighting. And because of that, he almost died! Again! If Elane hadn¡¯t shown up, you¡¯d be dead right now, Alex. Dead!¡±

    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry. But I never even had to consider taking a life back on Earth. Most people don¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Exactly! This world is nothing like your Earth! This world is not a peaceful place. Animals, monsters, demons and other people are a constant threat here, and none of them are going to hesitate to kill you if you give them the chance! There are so many things about this place that you just don¡¯t understand, and you can¡¯t keep walking through it all assuming you know everything. Because you don¡¯t!¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    I had to defend myself. Maybe there was nothing to say. She was right about everything. My hesitation didn¡¯t just risk my life, but hers and Mana¡¯s as well. Even little Mana didn¡¯t hesitate to kill when the need arose. She was born into a warrior¡¯s culture, but there was no part of her petite frame that looked capable of killing.

    And yet, twice today alone, she managed it simply because it needed to be done.

    ¡°This has to stop,¡± Yua said finally. ¡°I love you. I love you so much, and I don¡¯t want to see you die knowing you could have prevented it. Knowing you already died once just¡­¡±

    Yua wiped her cheeks, sniffled, but the tears came right back after just a glance at me. She buried her face in my chest. I wrapped my arms around her, returning her violence with a gentle, but very firm hug. Her shoulders continued to shake as I rubbed her back.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I thought I needed to keep my past a secret so you¡¯d accept me, but it looks like all it did was make you worry.¡±

    ¡°Why would you think that?¡± Elane cautioned to ask since Yua wasn¡¯t able.

    ¡°Because we met when I bought her as a slave. She rightfully resented me for it. I didn¡¯t want to add to that by telling her I came from a place where slavery was seen as wrong, only to then jump at the chance to buy her as soon as I could.¡±

    It was a moment of weakness I¡¯ve admitted to time and again, but I wanted her to see me as a good person at heart.

    A bit of a perv that unknowingly can¡¯t keep his eyes to himself, sure, but I wanted to be someone she could trust. But I suppose keeping such a big secret from her made that impossible.

    ¡°Well,¡± Elane said, crossing her arms. ¡°Looks to me like all that worked out just fine. You risked everything with your secrets, and she failed to notice. Sounds like you both made a mess of this, so now you¡¯re truly equals.¡±

    Yua¡¯s ear twitched at this. Turning her head on my chest to face Elane, she said, ¡°How is this my fault?¡±

    While I surely would have felt a pressing danger had that question been directed at me, Yua¡¯s tone was nothing but confused.

    Elane shrugged.

    ¡°He has all these strange abilities and traits, more classes than he knows what to do with, and he clearly knows little about life here. Seems kind of obvious that there was something strange about him.¡±

    ¡°He did say he was from far away¡­¡±

    ¡°And that doesn¡¯t mean anything. I can promise you that there¡¯s nobody else on Ternia that has abilities like his.¡±

    ¡°That you know of,¡± Yua said. ¡°They could be hiding them like he tried to do.¡±

    It¡¯s not like she knows literally everyone on this planet. Still, with confidence pulling her lips into a smirk, she shook her head.

    ¡°Unlikely. Take his multiple classes for example. We are all limited to two. Countless Kings have ordered experiments to be done to try and prove it was possible to gain more, and every single one concluded that it is impossible. No exceptions have ever been found. None. That¡¯s why I became an Adventurer and not an Axe Warrior. The Adventurer class just happened to come to me first.¡±

    I had little choice but to agree. If all it took for to gain a second class was to meet some sort of requirement, then if that requirement was known, then the experiments would be as easy as doing that task and seeing what happened.

    Yua, though, looked oddly impressed as she wiped away her tears.

    ¡°I had no idea people tried that. I thought people just assumed and accepted their limits.¡±

    ¡°Mhmm,¡± Elane nodded and when she stopped, her eyes landed on me, only to switch back to Yua. ¡°There¡¯s plenty that neither of you, or Kitty, know. Same as him. It can¡¯t be helped with your upbringing. So, I have a proposal. But first¡­¡±

    Mana huffed at this, but made room for Elane as she knelt before us. No, her attention was solely on Yua.

    ¡°When we first met, I treated you like a slave. But seeing you two now, I know that was out of line. So, please accept my apology.¡± Elane bowed her head, but then her shoulders went stiff. ¡°Er, normally it¡¯s customary to offer to drink together, but all my rum is back at the inn, so¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Yua said and a light giggle brightened her mood. ¡°Even if Alex only ever treats me as a wife, I will always be his slave as well.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­ About that,¡± Elane glanced at me again and bit her lip. Then, clasping her hands together in prayer, she quickly lowered her head again until the ends of her hair brushed the grass. ¡°I¡­ If you accept me as his third wife, I¡¯ll help teach you both about the world!¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Yua looked to me, but she was clearly just as baffled. Mana, though, only sighed. Both girls waited, as if to see if Elane planned on saying something else, but the blonde kept her head lowered. Even though her strength was almost as explosive as Tillmann¡¯s, her shoulders trembled as though her prayers were too heavy a burden.

    ¡°Why are you asking me?¡± Yua said finally.

    ¡°I already know Alex wants to fuck my ass,¡± Elane said confidently, and I had several questions. ¡°But as his first wife, it¡¯s only right that I get your permission. I-I know I got a bit ahead of myself when I kissed him earlier, but I was just overly excited. I don¡¯t mean to get in your way.¡±

    Yua sat up on my lap, her tail gave a quick flick, and I suddenly couldn¡¯t bring myself to remember if I ever answered her question on what Elane¡¯s original proposal meant.

    What felt like seconds ago, I thought I¡¯d stepped out of line for even thinking about this, but she was seriously considering it. I wasn¡¯t about to deny my feelings, but the knowing their potential fulfilment rested with Yua¡¯s contemplative expression and not with my own efforts as they were with both Yua and Mana, I was conflicted.

    I, a man, was essentially being proposed to by another woman through my wife. No level of intelligence or experience could have prepared me for this.

    Meanwhile, Yua stared at Elane¡¯s chest, her ears occasionally flicking. Whatever it was she heard helped her come to a quick decision.

    ¡°I already know Alex¡¯s feelings for you, but¡­ Elane, are you aware that Alex made several terrible mistakes after getting drunk with you?¡±

    ¡°I-I am now, but¡­¡± Elane paused. She squeezed her eyes shut and, after taking a moment to breathe, she took my hand between hers. ¡°You¡¯re right, Alex. What you said at the tavern, I mean. So, I¡¯ll accept your offer to save me from being outed as a thief. I¡¯ll be your slave, but only¡­¡± she paused again, squeezing my hand tight. ¡°But only if you order me not to drink so much.¡±

    ¡°Order you? You don¡¯t need to go that far.¡±

    ¡°I do. It¡¯s not something I want to give up entirely. I do love my rum, but I don¡¯t think I can force myself to stop once I get going like I used to. I mean, I can¡¯t even admit when I¡¯m drunk most of the time. I feel ashamed of myself for needing to ask, but I do need to.¡±

    So, ordering her was supposed to prevent her from taking her drinking too far? I wasn¡¯t so sure about that, since I used to have a similar problem dieting while still occasionally eating junk food. I¡¯d always make up some need for a tasty reward, such as reaching a weight loss goal, completing a project at work and so on. I only ever meant to indulge the one time, but it¡¯d always snowball into gorging myself on snacks. And naturally, I¡¯d fail whatever diet I was on at the time.

    Just once was never enough. It was an odd way to use her situation to her benefit, but with the slavery spell forcing her to drink in moderation, it could actually work.

    ¡°Please,¡± she continued, blushing. ¡°Despite my standoffish past, I do want to be your loving wife. A good wife. It¡¯s been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. My parents died when I was really young, so I can¡¯t remember how it felt to live with them, but I¡¯ve heard plenty of stories from those that knew them. All of them mentioned how devoted my mother was to my father and, if you heard the stories about him that I did, you¡¯d think she was a saint.¡± A rueful smirk crossed Elane¡¯s lips, but she powered through. ¡°I don¡¯t know, it just made me happy. I wanted to be like her someday, but I can¡¯t do that as I am right now.¡±

    I knew she was an orphan, but to think she succeeded in tracking down people that knew her parents. Given her extensive history of traveling, it made sense, but I didn¡¯t picture her as the sentimental type. With how hard she had to work to lift herself up out of the gutter, I would have assumed she resented them a little. But instead, she found them inspiring.

    And here I was, all but ignoring my parents¡¯ existence and blaming them for my failures right up until my death.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know your parents?¡± Mana squeaked, her ears flat as tears welled in her eyes.

    Putting on a comforting smile, Elane let go of my hand to reach for her. Mana flinched at first, likely thinking she was about to get hugged again, but all Elane did was run her fingers through her long black hair.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, Kitty. I managed just fine without them.¡±

    Mana tried to smile back, but her lips quivered anyway. I had to imagine she might be missing her parents now after leaving the way she did. She let Elane pet her and even went as far as scooting closer to her.

    But Yua was not so easy to break. Still clenching my shirt, she looked from me to Elane, to Mana, back and forth between them, her ears flicking all the while. Her gaze came to a rest on me, her emerald eyes asking for something without a word. I couldn¡¯t know what it was without forcing it out of her, so I just said what I wanted to say.

    ¡°Yua, I want to promise you that my love for you and Mana will never change, and I truly did mean what I said by the river the other day, but I do love Elane as well.¡±

    Yua nodded, but leaned into a whisper, ¡°¡­ Even though she threatened to kill you?¡±

    ¡°Even then.¡±

    I can¡¯t say I was certain of it back then, but I believe I was smitten to an extent. That¡¯s why I asked Yua to stay her fist and tried to talk Elane down when I had every right to resort to violence.

    There was something more than her looks that attracted me to her. Something I couldn¡¯t explain. Something I felt in my bones. It was the same as Yua and Mana. And just like them, I didn¡¯t want to lose her.

    And thankfully, Yua seemed to understand this as though she could read my mind. Her ears gave another thoughtful flick and her attention returned to Elane.

    ¡°Elane, before I give you my answer, would you make me a promise?¡±

    ¡°Sure. Yes, anything. Just name it.¡±

    ¡°¡­ I want you to apologize to your maids for treating them so roughly.¡±

    ¡°Apologize?¡±

    Yua nodded resolutely. ¡°Yes. Until Alex found me, I was scared I¡¯d someday end up in the hands of a terrible, abusive master. You weren¡¯t as bad as the sort of master I was expecting, but the way you treated Erika when you were drunk wasn¡¯t too far off. And I assume the others were treated the same.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Unable to deny it after we both witnessed her drunkenly order Erika to do something she clearly didn¡¯t want to, Elane stayed quiet, and Yua continued.

    ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to humble yourself by dropping to our level, but as a slave myself, I need you to understand our pain, our fear of being ordered around like an object.¡±

    ¡°¡­ I¡¯ll do it. No, I think I need to. For the most part, I think, I treated them kindly, but I can¡¯t deny how brash I am when tipsy¡­ erm, drunk.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± Yua said with a nod. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t like it if the maids ended up ganging up on you later. It¡¯s best to apologize before that.¡±

    ¡°Th-Then you accept?¡±

    Finally, after what felt like years, Yua¡¯s lips curled back into the smile she deserved to wear all the time.

    ¡°I do. I welcome you as Alex¡¯s third wife.¡±

    Elane sucked in a gasp she quickly covered with her hands. I also had a hard time repressing the happiness tugging at my cheeks, but then Yua turned to Mana. Of course, as my second, she had every right to weigh in as well. Only, she¡¯d been mostly quiet until now. She seemed conflicted as her big blue eyes shifted between the three of us.

    I, and probably Elane, started to worry that her aggressive hugging might have ruined her chances. But then Mana shrugged.

    ¡°Why are you looking at me, Big Sis? You know our people don¡¯t care how many other mates our mate has, so long as he treats us all equally.¡±

    What?! I knew they didn¡¯t mind multiple partners, but she makes it sound like the number could be infinite.

    ¡°Mmm,¡± Yua nodded with a hum. ¡°But it¡¯s still your right to say no.¡±

    Mana glanced at Elane again, her cheeks turning pink before she whipped her attention away in what could barely be defined as a huff.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mind Booby-Lady coming with us as long as Big Bro still treats me as his mate.¡±

    ¡°O-Of course I will,¡± I stuttered.

    ¡°Yes!¡± Elane shouted, making Mana jump in surprise. Only, she jumped straight into the hug Elane lunged at her with. ¡°Oooh, Kitty, thank you! I¡¯ll be a good mate for him! And I¡¯ll make sure to play with you plenty, too!¡±

    ¡°Ack! Get your boobies off me!¡± Mana complained, her cheeks burning as she pushed against Elane¡¯s chest. ¡°I can¡¯t breathe! Big Bro! Help!¡±

    Watching the two hug it out, I couldn¡¯t help myself but laugh. Yua, too, giggled a little. Her ears gave a small flick as she watched Mana squirm to no avail.

    She laughed and turned just in time to see Elane crawling back towards us. Obviously, she¡¯d won her little wrestling match with Mana, so the smaller girl was easily dragged alongside her. Holding my cat girl around the stomach with one arm, she extended a hand towards me.

    ¡°Here,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m ready.¡±

    ¡°You sure you don¡¯t want to wait? I don¡¯t mind if¡­¡±

    ¡°Nope. I made up my mind last night that if I got Yua¡¯s permission, I¡¯d do this. And after seeing these two, I¡¯m confident you¡¯ll treat me right, so it¡¯s fine. The other troubles can come later.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­¡±

    There was going to be the issue of losing her title and of getting called back to the capitol, but we¡¯d face those together.

    I placed my hand on hers and cast the Slave Binding spell. Our hands glowed and a short second later, her status window popped up between us.

    As it had with the other two, it showed every detail of their personal information, including things she might not have wanted me to see. She didn¡¯t so much as bat an eye as she watched me read through, but still, who would have thought a such a well-traveled woman like her, especially with a mouth like hers, would be inexperienced?

    Suppressing a smile, I checked through her stats and found that her Strength and Vigor were both already 60. Understanding how she was able to swing that axe so easily didn¡¯t make this any less of a shock. Her high Vigor must have had something to do with her being able to take Tillmann¡¯s punches without exploding into a fine paste, but that made her other stats a bit of a concern.

    Almost all her other stats rested in the mid-twenties, except for Magic. That one sat at a lowly level 5, like it¡¯d never been touched before.

    ¡°Elane, have you never tried magic?¡±

    ¡°Hoho? Noticed that, did you? I did try a time or two, but the spell books I found always bored me to tears. So, I gave up reading them and just re-read my maps when I was bored.¡±

    I nodded to myself. If she never learned and used a spell, then it made sense for her stat to be so low. Likewise, her Strength and Vigor being so high had to be from her choice in weapon being so heavy, and because of her travels. This more or less confirmed my theory on how, without my intervention, this world¡¯s people passively level their stats by simply doing something related to it. Pick up and swing a heavy axe, you level your Strength. Go for a run every day, you level your Endurance and so on. Plain and simple.

    And since Tama¡¯s level wasn¡¯t too much higher than Elane¡¯s, but he could tank Yua¡¯s strongest punch without so much as moving the way Elane had, then that meathead must truly spend his every waking moment training and fighting.

    Shaking my head to rid myself of any and all thoughts concerning that no-show, I read through Elane¡¯s classes, abilities and traits.

    Unlike Mana, who effectively came to us as a blank slate, Elane¡¯s had plenty to work with.

    Her Cartographer class had the abilities the Detect Map, Instant Mapping, Auto Draft Map and the passive trait, Perfect Sense of Direction. Each one of them looked perfect for creating maps, obviously, but the Auto Draft one reminded of when I watched her quill fly across a piece of parchment to draw the map I¡¯d ordered. I suppose I had probably been too distracted by her slovenly appearance to notice her cast it.

    Aside from that, her Adventurer class held no abilities. Instead, it had only the traits: Strong Back, Iron Stomach, and Camel. After asking about them, she told me that Strong Back somehow eases the burden of whatever you carry, sort of like it makes you stronger, but only when it comes to carrying something. Meanwhile, Iron Stomach and Camel both allow you to survive days without food or water. Essentially, hunger and thirst build up much slower. So, it seems this class was primarily geared towards surviving in the wild for extended periods of time, rather than fighting.

    Still, seeing that her Adventurer class was only level 19, which was lower than mine, I grew confused. I remembered my status perfectly, but I opened my status page just in case and confirmed that I had none of these traits listed there.

    It was the same with the Swordsman class, too. I didn¡¯t have any of the abilities the thieves used. The Monk class I got from punching Tama did have Iron Fist listed, but it came with the class. So, what¡¯s with the discrepancy? Was there some other requirement I failed to meet?

    And speaking of discrepancies¡­

    ¡°Elane, what¡¯s Berserker Rage?¡± I asked and she stiffened. ¡°It¡¯s listed as one of your abilities, but it¡¯s not tied to either of your classes.¡±

    ¡°Oh, uh¡­ It makes me temporarily stronger.¡±

    ¡°Eh, really?¡± Yua gasped. ¡°But I thought only Alex could have abilities outside of classes.¡±

    ¡°N-No, that¡¯s not true,¡± Elane said. ¡°It¡¯s rare, but it¡¯s possible. I haven¡¯t really looked into it much, but I know they¡¯re referred to as Blood-Line Abilities, since they¡¯re somewhat likely to be passed onto children whose parent had them.¡±

    ¡°Wait,¡± I laughed. ¡°So you were born with both a super rare class and a rare ability? Talk about lucky.¡±

    Even if Cartographer wasn¡¯t a combat class, that¡¯s still like pulling a super rare character in a gacha game.

    ¡°Haha¡­ Yea, lucky.¡±

    Her eyes fell and, somehow more worryingly, her grip on Mana¡¯s slackened. In turn, Mana stopped squirming and turned a concerned look at her.

    Assuming that I¡¯d overstepped a little bit after remembering both what blood-line meant and that she was an orphan, I quickly dropped the conversation.

    I cleared my throat. ¡°Anyways, I¡¯ve seen enough. Are you ready?¡±

    ¡°Yes. But don¡¯t forget your promise.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t¡­ Slave Binding!¡±

    Again, a window popped up asking if I wanted to make her mine and, seeing the determination in her cobalt eyes urging me forward, I hit Yes without hesitation.

    [Elane Bellenfort Has Become Your Slave]

    [Slave Master Class Has Reached Level 3]

    ¡°Alright. It¡¯s done. Welcome to the family, Elane.¡±

    ¡°Hmm? That¡¯s it?¡± she said, lifting her arms over her head to look herself over. ¡°I thought I would have felt something change. What if I¡­ Well, would you look at that. My status page really won¡¯t open for me anymore.¡±

    ¡°Did you want to see it? I can confirm that you¡¯re no longer a Thief.¡±

    Perhaps the only benefit of the Slave Binding spell was that it removed that dangerous tag. Though, what it replaced it with wasn¡¯t exactly better.

    ¡°No, no. It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m just a little surprised that I feel the same. I feel like nothing has changed.¡±

    Yua nodded, rubbing her chin into my chest. Mana, too, nodded her agreement.

    ¡°Yup,¡± Yua said. ¡°You¡¯ll only feel different once he gives you an order. No matter what he asks for, you¡¯ll feel compelled to do as he asks. So long as it¡¯s meant as an order, that is.¡±

    ¡°R-right. Well, I won¡¯t lie, after years of being on the ordering side, this is weird for me to say, but I¡¯m ready for my first order, Master.¡±

    ¡°Haha. None of that. Call me whatever you want, but please, don¡¯t call me that.¡±

    ¡°Hoho? Alright then, Husband. I¡¯m ready for my order.¡±

    Her sultry tone caused a shiver of delight to run up my spine and Yua giggled as though she could hear it.

    ¡°Ahem!¡± I started, masking my joy with a serious tone. ¡°Elane, excepting the occasions where I give you permission, you are forbidden from getting drunk.¡±

    At this, Elane¡¯s entire body stiffened, and her eyes went wide. Without a word, she turned over her palms, inspecting them. It was almost as if she were shocked not to find a bottle there. She turned her face up to the sun and drew in a deep breath.

    Forcing her to give up the temptation and the desire to drink herself into a stupor in this way felt odd, but she looked as though a giant weight was removed from her shoulders.

    Adding the stipulation that I could give her permission to get drunk wasn¡¯t part of the agreement, but I was sure there¡¯d be times where¡¯d she¡¯d want to celebrate something with a few drinks. So long as we were alone and at home, I was sure that¡¯d be fine, but she¡¯d have to hold on until she gets most of it out of her system.

    ¡°Amazing,¡± she said finally. ¡°This certainly isn¡¯t the sort of marriage I¡¯d been longing for, but,¡± she sighed with a bright smile. ¡°This is definitely nice.¡±

    ¡°Ah right, about that,¡± I started, cheeks burning from excitement. ¡°Tillmann mentioned getting married under a priest that could keep quiet. But do you think we could find one like that? For the four of us.¡±

    Elane raised a smirking brow at me, but it faded quickly when she thumped her fist into her palm. Mana tried to use this chance to flee her hold yet again, but the blonde was too fast for her.

    ¡°Right, you may not know, but slaves can¡¯t get married legally.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I see¡­¡±

    No wonder she was so mad when she first became a thief. Not only did it ruin all the work she¡¯d done in life, but it ruined her chances of having a proper wedding.

    ¡°Hahaha. Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± she said, wrapping her arms around Mana¡¯s chest. ¡°I¡¯m perfectly happy thinking of us as mates, similar to the cat-kin. They don¡¯t have weddings either, you know?¡±

    ¡°I noticed, yes.¡±

    According to Yua, literally all they did to officiate their pairings was have sex. No rings, priests, or churches needed. It was nice in a way, since it alleviated the headache of preparing for all that, but it would have been nice to have the experience.

    Although, remembering that conversation forced me to remember the part of Yua¡¯s explanation that mentioned how her people were known to decide to get together to moment they noticed their mutual feelings, only to then throw down anywhere. And that was regardless of who was watching. So, I wasn¡¯t sure if this was the better option in the end.

    Yua giggled again, and like she noticed what I was thinking, prompted Elane.

    ¡°Now that Alex has fulfilled his promise, I won¡¯t be letting you forget yours.¡±

    ¡°Hoho? No need. I¡¯m not planning on chickening out of apologizing to the maids. I¡¯d be more concerned on if they were willing to listen, but I suppose our husband can just order them to, right?¡±

    ¡°Sure. But it¡¯d mean more if you convinced them to listen.¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­ Maybe you¡¯re right.¡±

    ¡°Wait,¡± I said. ¡°Wait. Wait. Wait. What do you mean I could to order them?¡±

    Elane blinked at me. She then smiled warmly. A little too warmly and that only made me more confused.

    ¡°Gods, Yua, how do you control yourself in front of him? Knowing his lack of common-sense stems from him being from another world makes me so¡­ Mmm. Alex,¡± Elane said, cheeks flushed. ¡°You are aware that slaves technically can¡¯t own anything, right?¡±

    ¡°Of course. Yua told me that weeks ago.¡±

    Elane nodded. ¡°Good. Then what do you think happened to all my stuff? It doesn¡¯t just disappear. Everything I once owned now belongs to you. That means my mansion, my coin, my axe, my slaves and my ass. Everything is yours now. Well, except for my title. I can¡¯t pass that to you, unfortunately.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡±

    I threw open my menu again and flipped through it to find the girl¡¯s status pages. Yua¡¯s showed up, of course. As did Mana¡¯s and now Elane¡¯s. But flicking past hers showed Erika¡¯s. And Silla¡¯s. And Mary¡¯s. And even¡­

    ¡°Wait, June really was one of your maids?¡±

    Seeing the image of the green-haired girl, that pictured-perfect example of lethargy we met outside of Amoranth appear in my menu made it click.

    ¡°Hmm? You met her already?¡±

    ¡°Yea. Before I met you, actually.¡±

    She¡¯d been ordered to walk from Amoranth¡¯s front gate back to her mistress¡¯s place as a punishment for sleeping in, but she hadn¡¯t given time to change out of her thin white nightgown before being shipped off to the gate.

    Normally, that wouldn¡¯t have been so bad. The walk was a long one, but it was on mostly flat ground. So, it wasn¡¯t so bad. However, seeing that June¡¯s status page said her Endurance stat was an abysmal level 5, the lowest possible from what I can tell, Elane should had to have known she¡¯d end up sweating through that thin layer of fabric.

    But Elane must have already been drunk when she ordered the girl to do that, so she didn¡¯t think of what a sweaty body would do to white fabric.

    ¡°Hopefully she didn¡¯t trouble you,¡± Elane said with a shrug, unimpressed with the coincidence. ¡°She¡¯s actually back at the inn with Erika, if you want her to apologize.¡±

    ¡°No, no. It¡¯s just¡­¡±

    What the hell are the odds that I met all the maids independently on the same day?

    I shook my head.

    ¡°Elane, please tell me you considered losing everything you owned before accepting me as your master.¡±

    ¡°Yup. It was easy, too. I grew up with nothing. And, frankly, I¡¯m bored of what I have.  Being a noble is not as fun as you might think. It¡¯s actually pretty boring. The maids aside, I have no problem giving it all up to learn about your world.¡±

    ¡°But all your things. Your coin. You worked hard for it.¡±

    She nearly killed me because what I¡¯d done nearly took that from her¡­

    ¡°And I¡¯m your wife, right?¡± she beamed. ¡°I can¡¯t claim I own any of that anymore, but it¡¯s still ours. Isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m throwing out the results of my work, I¡¯m just transferring it to you.¡±

    ¡°Well, yea, but¡­ Never mind.¡±

    Seeing the time displayed on my HUD, I decided to deal with the intricacies later. All that mattered was that Elane was my wife now.

    There was still work to be done. Seeing as how Elane was still wrangling Mana into a suffocating hug, I wrapped my arms tight around Yua¡¯s shoulders. The urge to give into the comfort and just fall asleep was strong, but I refused. I could still feel Yua¡¯s headbutt urging me to take the next steps forward carefully.

    As I checked on my mana bar, Yua laid her cheek on my chest and watched the other two, my new wives, with an easy-going smile.

    How could I be so lucky?

    ¡°Alex,¡± Yua whispered, looking up at me. She prodded my forehead with a finger. ¡°Don¡¯t think we¡¯re done talking about your reincarnation.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Yes, ma¡¯am.¡±

    ¡­ Maybe I need to level up my Luck stat some more.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 26

    With several issues still needing to be addressed, we decided to defer to the most experienced of our group and tackle Elane¡¯s suggestion first. Namely: we needed to recover any valuables the thieves left behind.

    According to her, killing a thief meant you had the right to take their possessions, no matter what they were. Doing this would not earn you the Thief tag, it wasn''t stealing, but it wasn¡¯t quite as simple as it sounded.

    Anything a thief stole becomes their property, but only in a sense. The stolen object still technically belonged to its original owner as well, obviously. But it was the fact that the object also belonged to the thief that allowed them to exploit the rules.

    This little loophole of sorts is what allows thieves to give, trade, sell or horde their stolen goods however they wish, instead of spreading the Thief tag like a plague by trying to hand their loot to someone else.

    Conversely, the trade-off for earning the Thief tag affected the thief negatively in another way as well. Nothing they owned previously or would ever own again would be entirely theirs. Stealing from a thief wouldn''t earn you the thief tag, either. But as they were so hated, nobody cared if you stole from another thief regardless. If caught doing so by a third party, it could almost be expected for them to look the other way.

    However, should the thief die, ownership over a stolen item is more or less thrown into limbo. It¡¯s reset, and the item belongs to nobody because its ¡°current owner¡± no longer exists. So, it becomes as free for the taking as any pebble you¡¯d find on the side of the road.

    Most of the time, a thief-hunting quest sent to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild demands a specific item¡¯s return, and not returning it if you found it could land you in hot water. But that¡¯s only because you accepted the quest as it was written. Otherwise, it was up to you if you want to return it.

    It was because of this that the cat-kin¡¯s essence crystals were at risk. As they were without an owner and effectively just a part of nature, anyone could walk up and take them. We had to act fast.

    Not that this truly mattered. The only people in the forest were the cat-kin and us, but it was still best that we remove the potential danger. So, we teleported straight into the middle of the thieves¡¯ camp to begin our search.

    I witnessed Tillmann¡¯s death with my own eyes, while the girls saw to the rest of the thieves, so when we arrived back in their campgrounds, it was eerily quiet. We¡¯d waited long enough for Yua to be sure the Brawler Bear and the other surviving animals had left the area, so we were definitely not in danger anymore. Still, the air was thick with a tension that seemed to only affect me. But I dealt with it.

    ¡°This place is a mess,¡± Yua said, casting a somber look over the damage our fight caused.

    ¡°You think your father¡¯s going to be mad? It is his forest, after all.¡±

    ¡°No. At least, he better not be.¡±

    After lecturing me for most of our trek through the forest, and after several near-death experiences at the hands of her verbal tongue lashing, Yua finally made time to question why Tama hadn¡¯t shown up. He¡¯d promised her he¡¯d be ready to fight and he clearly broke that promise. And unfortunately for him, there was no amount of ¡°but we made it out okay¡± that could stay her anger.

    I believe this was why she decided our return trip to the village was going to be our last stop before we left the area. As doting a father as he was, seeing Yua again no doubt would have overjoyed Tama, but making him happy was the furthest thing from her mind right now. Instead, she helped me search the thieves¡¯ tent.

    Unfortunately for the thieves¡¯ old belongings, Yua tore through them as though they were made of paper. Watching her clench her teeth as she ripped crate lids off with her bare hands instead of using a crow bar made me desperate to change the subject as soon as I brought it up.

    ¡°Hey, uh, about the whole becoming a bandit thing Tillmann mentioned. What¡¯s that all about?¡±

    Yua¡¯s ears flicked, but she didn¡¯t answer. She was too busy pinching her nose shut after opening one of the crates of food. Apparently, they hadn¡¯t been checking to see if their food rotted.

    This left Elane to answer as she effortlessly flipped Tillmann¡¯s bed over to check beneath it.

    ¡°It¡¯s simple. You steal something, you become a Thief. But if you commit an act of unjustifiable murder after becoming a Thief, you then become a Bandit.¡±

    ¡°Okay, but isn¡¯t that just another tag? Nobody would notice as long as their careful.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s true, but it¡¯s also more serious than that,¡± she said, squatting to check the recently disturbed dirt. I quickly told her that Tillmann must have filled the hole I left when I snuck in and she let it be. ¡°You become a Thief, and anyone can request the guild to capture you, or they can enslave and sell you. But Bandits can be killed on sight and nobody would bat an eye.¡±

    ¡°A life for a life, then?¡±

    ¡°Exactly. Anyone can take down a bandit if they want, but it¡¯s usually left to the guild or any knights in the area.¡±

    That explained why Tillmann was so merciful at first. If you could call that mercy. He was just saving his own ass by not pulling the trigger himself. And Silvano was going to run off somewhere where nobody would ever realize his misdeeds, so getting his hands dirty didn¡¯t matter.

    Nodding to myself, content in how I no longer needed to skirt around my lack of basic knowledge, I went to help Elane in her search so Yua could blow off some steam by ripping through the crates. Or rather, I¡¯d spotted the large chest at the foot of where Tillmann¡¯s bed had been.

    Material Destruction removed the chest¡¯s lock in its entirety. I¡¯d missed my chance last night, but now we¡¯d earned our end-of-dungeon loot!

    Expecting to see loads of shiny, expensive things of inscrutable origins such as piles of gold, jewels, enchanted goods and more, I threw the lid open and¡­

    ¡°Wow, really¡­?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Leaning over my shoulder, Elane peered into the chest and shrugged.

    Inside the chest was¡­ nothing but metal-working tools. Tongs, chisels, wet stones and hammers galore. All of it was shockingly well-maintained considering how much use they saw, but still. The thing was packed, just not with anything fun.

    ¡°What¡¯d you expect,¡± Elane asked with a flippant wave of her hand that made her chest bounce. ¡°He was here to earn coin. Not hide it.¡±

    ¡°True¡­¡±

    As disappointing as this was, I stored all the tools in my item box anyway. I may not need them, but the steel they were made of could be scrapped and reused for Material Destruction.

    I closed the lid and Elane smirked at my obvious disappointment, but then an idea widened her eyes.

    ¡°Hold on. If I¡¯m remembering right¡­¡±

    Shoving her face inside the chest for a closer look, she poked around until she found whatever it was she was looking for. With a brief ¡°there it is,¡± she tugged on a small string I¡¯d missed and the bottom of the chest popped open.

    ¡°A false bottom?¡±

    ¡°Yup. Fool kept his passphrase the same, so I figured his hiding spot would be the same. And look at this.¡±

    She pulled out a fist-sized leather bag out of the hidden compartment and tossed it to me. A familiar metallic clink sounded as I caught it.

    ¡°Old Rock-Muncher didn¡¯t know it, but half our guys used to know where he kept his personal stash,¡± she said, digging in the chest for more. ¡°Kind of hard to hide it when he has to make a bunch of noise pulling all those tools out first.¡±

    ¡°Hard to believe he¡¯d make such a stupid mistake after all his successful scheming.¡±

    ¡°Eh. Dwarves are often slaves to tradition. Do something enough times and it basically becomes tradition. Like with their love for smithing and mining. They don¡¯t crawl out of their mother¡¯s pussy and head straight for the forge, but they do live their lives by being around them constantly. It naturally became a habit he didn¡¯t want to give up. Keeping things the way he was used to having them is just who he was.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­¡±

    I opened the bag and was greeted by the gentle twinkling of a handful of gold coins and essence crystals. Assuming the crystals to be the ones we saw him sneaking for himself, I let out a small sigh of relief.

    Naturally, we¡¯d already found the large stash of coin they had from their previous shipments, and as exciting as it was to see all that gold in one spot, I¡¯d already decided it belonged to the cat-kin. So, with a tear in my eye, I stashed it out of sight before it could tempt me.

    Likewise, we already checked the thieves themselves for valuables, but we hadn¡¯t found any crystals on Tillmann. Or what was left of him, anyways. Trudging through the gruesome aftermath of the battle to collect loot was just part of an Adventurer¡¯s job. But, even after forcing down the bile that tried to claw its way up my throat after seeing what the bear had done to him, all he had on him was a couple of broken potion bottles. That and the cylindrical object he¡¯d used to inspect one of the gems back when we first spied on him.

    Unfortunately, while the object, an Occult Lens, was a magic item similar to a magic candle, it was somewhat common. So, it wasn¡¯t worth much compared to an enchanted item. And unfortunately for us, its ability was rather lackluster. All you could see when you poured a little mana into it and held it to your eye was an object¡¯s info box.

    Yea. It gave people the ability I already had, but in a much more limited fashion. It only worked on objects, not people. Aiming the thing at Elane did nothing more than zoom in on her ass after she stood and obscured the sight of her face. The Occult Lens was great for a merchant without the class or the Appraisal ability, but it useless to me.

    I marked it as something to sell and tossed it into my item box. Deciding that what we found in leather bag was Tillmann¡¯s personal stash, I opted to claim it for us.

    Seeing this, Yua¡¯s ears perked and she shoved a hand into her short¡¯s pocket. She produced an essence crystal and tossed to me without much care.

    ¡°When did you¡­ Ah.¡±

    It was the crystal I pulled from the barrier stand. She must have pocketed it during the commotion and forgot. With a shrug, I tucked it away and looked the stand where it had fallen in the commotion.

    It didn¡¯t break when I ripped the crystal off of it, nor did it burn in the fire. It was covered in a fine layer of dust and ash, but its silvery gleam still managed to peak through in places.

    I picked it up and, a quick cast of Appraisal later, I asked, ¡°You think we should keep or sell this? It¡¯s worth quite a bit, but¡­¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯d say sell it,¡± Elane said. ¡°It¡¯s good for defending an area, but only if the person that casted it stays under it. Meaning you have to rely on others to fight off your attackers while you watch. That, or hope they just get bored and leave you alone. Also, sleeping under that thing is a nightmare if you don¡¯t have a roof to block the light.¡±

    ¡°And it makes your teleportation magic useless,¡± Yua added. She was on her knees now, ass up in the air as she pawed through some bags. She pulled out what looked like a glass elephant with folded wings, eyed it with a curious flick to her tail, and continued. ¡°Also, it¡¯d trap Mana and me inside it.¡±

    ¡°True. You¡¯d be better off teleporting everyone away than using it¡­ Ah, there it is. I knew he¡¯d have some!¡±

    Finally leaving the chest, grinning, Elane held up a worn-out bottle. I quick glance at its info box said it was Edelgarde Ale. It was likely a dwarven brew and likely very potent.

    I held out my hand to Elane and her grin vanished. Reluctantly, she handed it to me and, after a brief tug-of-war that I won, I stuffed it in my item box. Her shoulders slunk in a pout, but this is what we agreed on. Since she refused to give up drinking entirely, I¡¯d hold all her booze in my item box. It was the one place we could keep it where she couldn¡¯t reach, after all.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think the crystals are here,¡± Yua said.

    ¡°They must have hidden the rest somewhere.¡±

    Reluctant to have to search the hard way, I tossed the barrier stand into my item box and started putting anything and everything that could vaguely be useful in with it. We¡¯d keep the things like sleeping bags and the still-edible food, but the rest would be canon fodder for Material Destruction and either disposed of or repurposed.

    Soon enough, the tent and everything around the camp was gone. After a quick check to make sure the crystals didn¡¯t get sucked into my item box on accident, I heard a pleased whistle.

    Elane, leaning on her axe, smiled approvingly.

    ¡°That ability is really handy.¡±

    ¡°Yea. I can¡¯t do much about the damage done to the forest, but we can at least make it look like it¡¯s been fixed.¡±

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°I suppose so,¡± Elane said. She stretched her arms over her head and, while I was busy trying not to stare at her chest as it shifted under her coat, she smirked. She then immediately ruined the peaceful mood. ¡°Before we finish searching, I think it¡¯s about time we burn the bodies.¡±

    ¡°Burn them? Wait, don¡¯t tell me, will they become undead if we don¡¯t?¡±

    The thought of a zombie Tillmann rising from the grave to take his revenge sent a chill tearing through my spine.

    ¡°Alright then. I won¡¯t say it.~¡±

    Elane, however, laughed and started towards the nearest thief¡¯s body. Showing her assumed vast experience, she didn¡¯t so much as bat an eye when she hefted the body by the collar and tossed it into the pile of corpses after saving us.

    ¡°It¡¯s not as common as you¡¯re thinking,¡± Yua said, taking my hand. ¡°People only rise after death if they still had strong feelings of regret or hate. Even then, it¡¯s really, really rare.¡±

    ¡°And explaining the different kinds of undead they could become and how would be too boring and time consuming,¡± Elane added, showing Tillmann¡¯s corpse no more mercy than she had during their fight as she threw it into the pile.

    Yua was right, this world is not peaceful. And I needed to adapt.

    Squeezing the hand she tried to comfort me with, I left her side to help. She, however, followed without a word.

    By the time we made it over to where we fended off the thieves¡¯ ambush, I had to stop myself from casting the Body Wash spell every five seconds. I helped Yua carry the body of one of the men she¡¯d beaten to a pulp, but it might as well have been made of lead. The sensation of holding a body, a person, that was supposed to be warm to the touch with life, only to find that it was cold and limp, was horrifyingly sickening.

    This used to be a living, breathing person. A person full of thoughts and desires and now it wasn¡¯t. Because he attacked, and because Yua defended herself, he was no more than a lump of carbon that needed to be disposed of.

    As her husband, I felt responsible putting her in that position, but this was how things had to be. This was the result of our interference; it was only right. This was what I had to be prepared to do, for the sake of my girls, if not myself.

    Steeling myself into accepting this conclusion, we were finishing up when I spotted something glittering in the grass. Remembering the exact shade of silver that colored its metal, I picked up the pieces of my sword.

    The Parundum longsword was supposed to be exceedingly durable. If treated properly, I¡¯d rarely ever have to sharpen it. And yet, the dwarf had shattered it with barely any effort. Had  I not hesitated to use lethal force to end the fight sooner, he wouldn¡¯t have snuck up on me and broke it.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Elane asked to keep Tillmann¡¯s hammer as a memento of a lost friend, but the rest of the thieves¡¯ weapons were fit only for scrapping. And, after seeing what was left of my sword, it should have been in the same boat, but I still needed it.

    Gathering all the pieces into my item box, I used Material Creation to instantly reforge it. I was no blacksmith, so I couldn¡¯t tell if it¡¯d hold up in a fight, but it at least looked exactly as I remembered.

    I returned the blade to its sheath and tied it to my belt.

    ¡°Next time,¡± I said, giving it a pat.

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°Nothing.¡±

    After digging a trench around the bodies so the fire wouldn¡¯t spread, I shot several Fire Balls into the pile to set it alight. Opting not to comment on the smell of burning flesh that immediately covered the forest for the sake of Yua¡¯s scrunched-up, sensitive nose, we retreated to the cave that caused all this to begin with.

    ¡°Mana?¡± Yua called as the three of us stepped into the cave.

    For all the dangers the thieves said this place held, I had to say that it looked to have been mined and secured by professional contractors, not a bunch of thieves. If there had ever been cave-ins in the past, you¡¯d never know it.

    Our little cat girl had dashed away at full speed the moment she claimed she heard the spriggans moving about inside. To make up for all the trouble I¡¯d caused her, I let her reunite with her woodland buddies while we handled the cleanup. But we were going to need her help before we could go.

    ¡°Mana,¡± Yua called again after receiving no response. ¡°Come help us find the crystals!¡±

    ¡°Crystals?¡± echoed a cute voice. From deep within the cave¡¯s depths.

    Soon after, a pair of footsteps sped along through the cave until Mana emerged from the darkness. As a cat-kin, she could see somewhat well in the dark, but I was surprised she didn¡¯t at least ask for a torch. Adding to the surprise was the two that quietly trailed behind her.

    Knowing that the spriggans were capable of controlling the forest animals made me clench up a little at seeing them, but I was distracted by their how calm they were after what happened. Even more so, the masculine one was carrying a large box in its arms.

    ¡°We already found them! Look!¡± Mana said, pointing excitedly at the box.

    As if the small cat girl had ordered it to, the spriggan bent forward for us to look inside the box. What was inside it was about three times the number of crystals Erhard had smuggled from the thieves. And mixed in with them were a few amethysts.

    ¡°See?¡±

    Puffing up her small chest with pride, Mana congratulated herself for completing the task we all set out on.

    ¡°Tillmann must have hidden them in the cave to keep them away from us.¡±

    Not the best hiding place, since it¡¯d be the next place we¡¯d look after clearing the tent, but he was limited on options inside the barrier.

    ¡°Wow,¡± Elane said, leaning over the box. ¡°Never seen so many of these in one place before.¡±

    At this, as if offended by her abundant cleavage, the masculine spriggan tilted its head and pushed the box into Elane¡¯s chest just hard enough to knock her back a step. It passed the box to her and pointed towards the mouth of the cave.

    When she raised a brow in confusion, Mana interpreted for her.

    ¡°It says humans aren¡¯t allowed in their cave anymore.¡±

    ¡°What? How did you¡­ But I had nothing to do with the thieves! And Husband is also a¡­¡±

    ¡°Big Bro is my mate, so it¡¯s okay.¡±

    Baffled at the unfair treatment, Elane gawked. Undaunted by this, the spriggan¡¯s whip-like arm slowly pushed against her shoulder until she gave in and turned. Then it pushed against the center of her back.

    ¡°Fine, fine. Geez,¡± Elane huffed, but started walking. ¡°When you¡¯re done, I get to hug Kitty all I want!¡±

    At the spriggan¡¯s gentle, if not forceful, insistence, Elane left the cave with only a couple of complaints. But at least they didn¡¯t seem to want to fight over the crystals.

    ¡°You know,¡± I said, turning to the spriggans. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for her, you wouldn¡¯t have your cave back.¡±

    The spriggans nodded in unison, but were otherwise visibly unmoved. I suppose the actions of the thieves were the cause of the entire forest¡¯s ecosystem being thrown out of whack, but it¡¯s not like she had anything to do with that.

    Once she was gone, however, the masculine spriggan gave a half-nod to the other. The feminine one nodded back and softly coiled a vine around Mana¡¯s right wrist. Then it reached out and did the same to my left. It tugged us both gently and I followed along as it slowly brought us together.

    With a flick to her ear, Mana grinned up at me and when we were close enough, she let the spriggan guide our hands together. Her slender fingers easily laced between mine. I¡¯d told them we were mates back when we first met. This must just be their way of acknowledging that.

    But then, with our wrists still bound, the bark of both spriggan¡¯s chests parted and began to emit a green glow. The memory of the terrifying end the thieves that tried to fight them had faced got the better of me and I braced myself. Had it not been holding us so gently, I would have expected a swarm of insects to fly out and drain us both dry. Instead, thankfully, only two flew out.

    A pair of fireflies wafted out, their glowing abdomens lighting the cave like a pair of beautifully dancing torches. They landed on our foreheads, one to each of us. It was hard not to give in and brush away the ticklish feeling of their tiny legs clinging to me, but when I caught sight of Mana happily blushing, all other thoughts faded.

    The spriggans lowered their heads and the lights in their chests began to glow ever brighter. They fell silent. Well, even more silent, like they¡¯d fallen into deep prayer.

    ¡°What are they doing?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re giving us their blessing as mates.¡±

    The question of why someone other than her parents felt the need to do such a thing popped into my head, but I pushed the thought away. I squeezed Mana¡¯s hand just a little tighter and she leaned into my arm, her tail swaying.

    [New Title Acquired: Friend of the Spriggans.]

    The title held no extra description, nor did it come with any effect, but all the same, when the fireflies flew back to the spriggan and it let go of us, Mana jumped into my arms. Throwing her arms around my neck, she pressed her lips against mine.

    After everything that happened today, I let myself enjoy her kiss until it reached its natural conclusion. Not just because she parted her lips from mine with a happy, blushing smile, but because she wrapped her legs around my back.

    Looks like I was going to have to carry my bride out of here.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said with a small laugh as I slipped my hands beneath Mana¡¯s thighs to hold her better. ¡°But, do you think you could bless Yua and me as well? And Elane? The, uh, human you sent outside.¡±

    Naturally, Elane was new to them, but I had told them about Yua. Their lack of a properly emotive face made it hard to tell if they understood what I was asking. The spriggans¡¯ reactions were as limited as always. So, while they silently looked to Yua, it was up to her to respond.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I didn¡¯t spend time with them the way Mana did. Let this be for her.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re sure¡­¡±

    The dents making up the spriggan¡¯s eyes seemed to soften in unison. The masculine one reached a vine out to Yua, patting her lightly on the head. She gracefully accepted their thanks with a happy flick of her tail, but it looks like Elane wasn¡¯t going to receive the same treatment.

    We were then quietly ushered out of the cave. I could practically hear the spriggans saying ¡°now get out of here you crazy kids¡± as the vines they pressed against our backs guided us to the exit.

    Once we all left, the feminine spriggan waved a twig-like hand and the greenery surrounding the cave¡¯s mouth grew and expanded until it was completely hidden.

    And, holding true to her word, Elane snatched Mana out of my hands the moment I let my guard down. Smashing the girl¡¯s face into her breast, Elane kicked the box of crystals over to me.

    ¡°Trade.¡±

    ¡°Hey! Stop trying to kill me with your boobies! Put me down!¡±

    Shaking my head as I quietly enjoyed the sight of those two getting along, and of Elane joyously rubbing her cheek against the top of Mana¡¯s head, I stashed the crystals in my item box.

    The spriggans, though, looked understandably confused.

    After checking on the fire, I confirmed that it had done its job. Fire magic must burn hotter than a normal fire, because the thieves had already been reduced to a pile of ash. I quietly reshaped the soil with Material Creation and buried them beneath it.

    Ready to be done with this place, I moved onto the last task we needed to settle in the forest.

    Taking their apparent mastery over mother nature itself as a sign, I took the guild quest slip out of my item and presented it to the spriggans.

    ¡°Before we got caught up in all this, we were searching for these flowers. Do you know where we can find them? We¡¯d like to collect as many as possible.¡±

    The pair bent over to examine the paper and were still for a while. Before I could question if their eyeless faces could even see the details of the drawing, the feminine one wrapped a vine around my wrist and started pulling me towards the trees.

    ¡°Oh, um. Thank you. Elane, let¡¯s go.¡±

    ¡°So cute. So cute. So cute!¡±

    Her exasperation coming in the form of a long sigh, Yua dashed over to the blonde and helped pry Mana out of her arms. Elane put up a fight, but gave in rather easily after seeing me dragged away.

    Having my second wife hand delivered to me by my first was fun and all, but Mana jumped onto my back and nearly choked me when she tied her arms around my neck. Elane rushed after us and immediately set upon trying to convince Mana to ride on her back instead.

    We followed the spriggans through the forest until we stopped in what looked like a random part of the forest. I wasn¡¯t sure if I was expecting a full-on meadow filled with flowers, but that certainly wasn¡¯t what we were shown.

    A small cluster of trees stood apart from the rest, not in distance, but in how their bark was just as green as their leaves. Not knowing much about trees myself, I might have assumed they just weren¡¯t fully grown yet, but they were just as wide and just as tall as any of the others. They could have blended in with the rest of the forest, were it not for the deep purple Connifery flowers that hung like bells blooming across their roots.

    Oh, and the fact that the trees started moving as soon as they came into view was also a dead giveaway.

    Rooted firmly to the ground as trees should be, they still managed to bend and twist their girthy trunks to face us as we approached. Three jagged holes were cut deep into each of them in patterns reminiscent of faces, but they held no emotion in them.

    The sound of wood creaking, like lumber being bent to its limit just before snapping, erupted from their mouths in controlled bursts aimed at the spriggans. The spriggans, from what I could tell, took this in stride and waited patiently for them to finish. I had to read their info boxes before I let myself speak.

    ¡°¡­ Bleakwood Treants. Yua¡­ you didn¡¯t mention treants being in this forest.¡±

    ¡°Because I didn¡¯t know. This is the part of the forest we¡¯re really not supposed to be in.¡±

    ¡°And it¡¯s easy to see why,¡± Elane added. ¡°Treants are just about everywhere, but these ones are extra nasty.¡±

    She paused. Since we stopped, she¡¯d been trying to pull Mana off my back, but my newly blessed wife was stubbornly refusing to let go. The best she could do was pull Mana hard enough to stretch my shirt where she gripped it. Finally, Elane gave up and crossed her arms in a pout before continuing.

    ¡°Hmph. These things are the primary reason why I suggested you buy Cure Poison potions. See those things on their branches?¡± she pointed up high, specifically, at the dark orange bulbs that could easily be mistaken as fruit. ¡°If they manage to hit you, those bulbs release a cloud of poison dust that¡¯ll likely kill you. Assuming the hit didn¡¯t kill you first. But treants are easy to spot if you¡¯re paying attention. Although, you¡¯d be in trouble if it was too dark to tell.¡±

    ¡°And they¡¯re all above level 20. Must have been plenty of people that weren¡¯t paying attention. Sorry, Yua.¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s probably why only our best fighters allowed to come out here.¡±

    As we spoke, the spriggans seemed to be working through a conversation with the treants, as, while the only ones making any noise were the treants, the spriggans occasionally pointed to the Connifery flowers.

    The treants, however, didn¡¯t look too pleased. I think. Hard to say with their faces barely moving, but at least neither looked ready to let the conversation turn violent. It really pays to be friends with nature.

    ¡°Mana, do you know what they¡¯re saying?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? No. Why would I?¡±

    ¡°What do you mean, why? Like twenty minutes ago, you were talking like you understood what the spriggans were saying.¡±

    ¡°Hehe. Don¡¯t be silly,¡± she giggled, poking my cheek. ¡°Spriggans don¡¯t talk. I just play with them a lot, so I kind of understand them... Kind of.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Then how do you know they blessed us?¡±

    She grinned as she nuzzled her cheek against mine and, with full confidence, said, ¡°What else would it be?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    I took a breath, thought over the myriad of options left to me and nodded to myself. Wrapping a hand around Mana¡¯s slender thigh, I pulled her around to my front. Holding her up by her bottom, I hugged her tight, kissed her little sakura lips and enjoyed the sight of her happily swishing tail while the spriggans negotiated on our behalf.

    Then I tossed her to the wolves. To Elane.

    ¡°Kitty!¡±

    ¡°Wha! Hey, Big Bro! Betrayer!¡±

    I watched Mana clench her teeth, cheeks blooming with a pink hue, as she was once again pulled into Elane¡¯s breasts. She fought and squirmed and pushed against them with all her might, but it was as if those glorious mounds had a gravitational pull greater than that of a black hole. And it was a force that affected only her. The small cat girl was force to succumb to their abundant softness.

    ¡°Nooo¡­!¡±

    I steeled my heart against my own jealousy as Yua sighed.

    As we fooled around, the spriggans seemed to have concluded negotiations. The feminine one stooped and began plucking the flowers from the treants. I took a step, intending only to help, but the masculine spriggan put up a vine to stop me before kneeling to help the other.

    Forced to stand by without any sort of proper explanation, and as the treants stared at us, the spriggans quickly finished collecting all the flowers they could from the first one. The feminine spriggan scooped the pile up with her vines and handed them to me to store in my item box. As she did this, the masculine one laid a twig-like hand on the treant. Seconds later, little green buds began to sprout where the flowers had once been.

    Assuming the compromise they¡¯d come to likely boiled down to something like only the spriggans being allowed to pick the flowers, but only on the condition that they then aided in their speedy regrowth, I waited patiently for them to finish.

    In the end, we were only allowed to collect from seven of the treants, which totaled 32 Connifery flowers. I didn¡¯t know the recipe for Cure Poison potions yet, but since health potions brewed in batches, I figured this was plenty.

    With this, our first guild quest was finally complete.

    The fact that it was supposed to be a simple, low-level quest for beginner Adventurers nearly brought a tear to my eye, but I stayed strong. We still had to actually turn in the quest and I still had to brew my half of the potions to complete Madame Turquesse¡¯s side mission. Only then were we allowed to rest.

    I sighed and my feet suddenly started to ache.

    ¡°Are we heading back to Amoranth now,¡± Yua asked, trailing beside me.

    ¡°Amoranth¡­ No. Not yet. We still have a few things to take care of in Guerraway before we leave.¡±

    Remembering the man we left waiting, I turned to Elane, only to find her carrying Mana princess style. Elane proudly wore a dopey smile, but Mana looked exhausted as her head became a kickstand for the blonde¡¯s right breast. I looked to the axe jostling about on Elane¡¯s back.

    ¡°Elane, you mind helping out with something?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

 Volume 2 - Chapter 27

    ¡°Good, you¡¯re still here.¡±

    ¡°Of course I am. You¡¯re my only way out of this hole!¡±

    True to his word, Erhard obediently stayed put. At least, mostly. To avoid unwanted attention, he¡¯d slunk further into the alley we¡¯d left him in. Night was always growing closer and a dirty, poorly-dressed man fidgeting at every sound in the middle of an alley might have prompted someone to call the city guard. That, he could not allow.

    Out of everything we needed to do before heading home, ending the band of thieves that once occupied the Dumort Forest had become our top priority. And that meant dealing with the last surviving member. The same one that led us into their trap. Only, he¡¯d saved us the trouble of tracking him down.

    ¡°So, um,¡± he hesitated, trembling. ¡°Why did you leave in such a hurry?¡±

    ¡°In short, your friends kidnapped Mana here.¡±

    I pat the shoulder of the girl in question and, while she was holding her bow somewhat at the ready, she was too busy ogling the strange city buildings to pay any attention to the conversation. He took one look at her and started to shake.

    Of course, Mana was only about as intimidating as a newborn kitten with a bag of sugar strapped to its ass, but she was not the cause for Erhard¡¯s blanched face. The real reason was simple¡­ his feet weren¡¯t touching the ground.

    ¡°So¡­,¡± Elane started, her tone low and her axe aimed at his neck. ¡°Were you in on the plot to kidnap my Kitty?!¡±

    ¡°K-Kitty? You mean her? No way! Lady Bellenfort, I swear I ¡­¡±

    ¡°Simple yes or no answers only! Were you trying to lead Alex and Yua into a trap?!¡±

    ¡°N-No!¡±

    ¡°Did you know your buddies set a trap?¡±

    ¡°No!¡±

    ¡°Did you truly think the others meant to mutiny?¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    We looked to Yua just in time to see her ears flick. She shook her head, but crossed her arms. So, he was telling the truth, but she wasn¡¯t entirely sure of his innocence.

    ¡°Their trap was obvious,¡± I said. ¡°They turned on us almost as soon as we got there. Honestly, it¡¯s hard to believe you didn¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Wh-What?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t lie to us!¡± Elane barked, pressing the blade of her axe to his neck. ¡°I already cut Tillmann down, along with the rest of your buddies. I don¡¯t mind adding another notch to my axe.¡±

    Though her interrogation reminded of an unfortunate memory for me, this was part of why we chose to handle Erhard with Elane present. With her being a noblewoman famous for her violent nature, she had a better chance of making him talk without any actual violence. As a bonus, if any guards got in our face, she could easily throw her assumed nobility around to make them leave.

    Not that this seemed at all necessary anymore. The moment she mentioned the dwarf¡¯s death, Erhard¡¯s face brightened several shades.

    ¡°T-Tillmann¡¯s finally dead? Really?¡±

    ¡°Did you really want him dead?¡±

    ¡°I would have felt safest if¡­¡±

    ¡°Simple answers only!¡± Elane yelled, but I put a hand up to stop her. At my call, she removed her axe from his neck and let him down. Though she did so with a click of her tongue.

    If he truly wanted the dwarf dead, then that was enough for me. But I wanted him as calm as possible so Yua could get a clear reading.

    ¡°Take a breath and answer calmly. Did you want Tillmann dead?¡¯

    Erhard fell back against the wall and put a hand to his chest. After several deep breaths, he finally managed an answer.

    ¡°Yes. I wanted him dead.¡±

    A direct answer to a direct question. Elane¡¯s eyes darted to Yua, who had closed her eyes to listen to his answers without any other stimuli to distract her. Arms still crossed; she chewed over every syllable of his answer.

    And finally, she opened her emerald eyes with a gentle smile.

    ¡°He¡¯s telling the truth,¡± she said and Mana nodded before returning to her sight-seeing. ¡°About everything.¡±

    ¡°Hmph¡­¡±

    Keeping up the tough act, Elane took a step back and Erhard let out a long breath like he¡¯d been holding it this entire time.

    ¡°Gods¡­ Please, is Tillmann truly dead? Am I finally free of him?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± I said. ¡°Here¡¯s your proof.¡±

    I reached behind my back, into my item box and pulled out Tillmann¡¯s hammer. The metal brick with a handle was heavy enough to almost make me lose my balance once its weight appeared in my hand, but I hefted it up to let him look at it closely.

    He flinched at the sight of it, but when he saw it wasn¡¯t flying at him, his mouth fell open into a wordless gape. And soon enough, the corners of his lips turned upward into a smile and tears spilled down his cheeks.

    ¡°Gods¡­ It¡¯s really over. I can finally go save my son.¡±

    His relief to powerful too deny, Elane quietly put her axe away. We¡¯d told her the questions we wanted asked and told of his reason for joining Tillmann before we even left the forest. Hearing of his young son¡¯s enslavement had tugged at her heartstrings. Enough so for her to agree to the interrogation before I even asked. She wanted to know the truth herself and now she did.

    I nodded and stuffed the hammer back in my item box.

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep my promise to shorten your trip back to your son, but before that, I have a request.¡±

    ¡°Yes, anything. Anything. If I can do it, I will.¡±

    He agreed without hesitation. No, he clasped his hands together, practically pleading for me to hurry up.

    I spotted the small box he¡¯d had with him since before we parted earlier, but instead of being filled with crystals, it was packed tight with rows and rows of neatly-stacked gold coins.

    ¡°I take it you spoke to the Enchanter while we were away?¡±

    ¡°Y-yes. As you can see, I already traded the crystals, so¡­¡±

    ¡°Relax,¡± I said. ¡°Yua already agreed to let you have those. What I want to know is, can you introduce me to the Enchanter? Personally, I mean.¡±

    Erhard shot me a confused look and for an understandable reason. The Enchant Me Not shop was open to the public. It was a store, after all. I didn¡¯t need permission to enter, but I felt I needed an introduction to move things along the way I wanted.

    If this worked, it¡¯d be my best bet to protect my girls in the future.

    ¡°I can, but¡­¡±

    ¡°Great,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s get going then.¡±

    Unwilling to waste the lingering daylight, we dragged Erhard and his heavy box of coin to the Enchant Me Not shop, only to be stopped at the door by the guards.

    ¡°Hold,¡± Joseph, the male guard, tapped his spear on the ground and put up a hand. ¡°Weapons are not permitted within this place.¡±

    His partner, Luthiel, a woman, shifted her arm slightly towards her sword without waiting to see if we¡¯d comply. Though she looked more like the shop¡¯s poster girl in her enchanted bikini armor, she wore the air of a seasoned swordswoman that¡¯d cut us down the moment we even thought to draw.

    Given how valuable the goods sold here were, I understood the caution. Elane had warned us about this on the way, so it wasn¡¯t a surprise. She handed him her axe and, bearing its weight fairly easily, he stowed it in a small room behind his post. He showed no signs of knowing who she was.

    Not that she had a weapon to give, but Yua chose to stay behind and cool down on a nearby bench. Mana stayed with her, though she just wanted to avoid another suffocating hug, so it was just us three. Erhard decided he was next in line and handed the guard a dagger he¡¯d hidden in his boot, presumably in good faith.

    I untied my sword from my belt and handed it to him and said, ¡°I¡¯d like to have that sword enchanted.¡±

    ¡°Very well,¡± Joseph said, as if he¡¯d said the words a hundred times today alone. ¡°But I will have to carry it in for you.¡±

    Now properly disarmed, the three of us were then subjected to a pat-down, to which I requested Luthiel to do the honors. Not because I suspected there was a beauty hiding beneath her helm, I just didn¡¯t want to give Joseph an excuse to grope Elane. And, surprisingly, they had no issue with this. Not even an eyeroll. This too, must be standard as Elane went out of her way to jokingly smirk at me when I asked.

    ¡°This way,¡± Joseph said as Luthiel held the door.

    The second we stepped into the shop, I immediately understood that their caution was fully warranted.

    Weapons, Armors and shields lined the shop¡¯s interior walls, leaving no space free of something sharp or heavy. Likewise, several gilded glass cases occupied a large corner of the floorspace. Each were locked and filled with various forms of jewelry, some of which looked entirely commonplace, things you¡¯d see sold at a leatherworks store, while others wouldn¡¯t have looked strange if gifted to a queen.

    Naturally, almost everything on display was enchanted, save for a few items of ornate design. I guessed they were meant for customers to buy as is so they could be enchanted however they wanted, but the prices listed in their info boxes were still staggering as is. Even more so was how a few of the items I spotted were worth more gold than I had on hand.

    The enchanter must have been making good use of all those crystals he bought up.

    ¡°Wait here.¡±

    Still carrying my sword, Joseph wandered into the back of the shop. I took a moment to eye every item in the shop I could and memorized their enchantments for reference. However, while a lot of it looked good, nothing really caught my eye. It was all pretty much standard affair enchantments you¡¯d find in an RPG.

    This at least gave me plenty of ideas to work with, but when I glanced at Elane, only to find her with her arms crossed, it looked more like she was focused on holding up her breasts to relieve the pressure on her back than she was interested in shop. With nothing but her coat holding those things back during the fight, she must have been starting to get uncomfortable.

    ¡°We¡¯ll be able to relax soon,¡± I whispered while Erhard was busying himself perusing the enchanted daggers.

    ¡°Maybe you will, but unfortunately, I have a few things to take care of before that.¡±

    ¡°What is it? I¡¯ll help if I can.¡±

    She smiled sweetly, then stopped rolling her shoulder to lightly elbow me in the arm.

    ¡°That¡¯s sweet of you, but there¡¯s no need. Besides, it sounds like you still have work to do, too.¡±

    ¡°Yea, unfortunately¡­¡±

    Such was the life of a working man. It didn¡¯t matter that we all nearly died just a short while ago, I still had potions to brew and in-laws to appease.

    The repeated clanking of Joseph¡¯s metal boots flowed back into the room. Trailing behind him, aided by a cane, was an elderly man who had more wrinkles on his face than he did hairs in his long white beard. The long silken robes he wore were reminiscent of what you¡¯d find on middle-eastern royalty. His sleeves were long, but when he raised a hand in greeting, the fabric slipped to reveal four golden bracelets around his wrist. Each of which were enchanted.

    ¡°Welcome, all,¡± he said feebly. ¡°I am Guerraway¡¯s Enchanter, Mobus. I already heard from Joseph here, but¡­¡±

    His long eyebrows drooped low enough to almost cover the fact that his eyes widened, not at the sight of Elane, but Erhard. He paused, only briefly, before stepping up to the counter. Erhard did the same and gestured to me.

    ¡°Sorry to be back so soon, but I promised my friend Alex that I¡¯d introduce him.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡±

    Mobus looked me up and down, then eyed the box of coin Erhard had no choice but to hold in the open. He must be aware that buying those crystals from him had been wrong to some degree, but I was sure my post-battle state looked just seedy enough to show I wasn¡¯t a nark.

    ¡°And what would young Alex here need an introduction for?¡± Mobus asked, contemplatively pawing at his beard, as if meaning to show off the three enchanted necklaces he wore.

    Clearing my throat, I introduced myself.

    ¡°Good afternoon, sir. As I¡¯m sure your guard told you, I¡¯d like the sword he¡¯s holding to be enchanted. But, since it¡¯s a family heirloom, I¡¯d like to watch your process to ensure everything goes smoothly.¡±

    This was the lie we cooked up. According to Erhard, who¡¯d we pressed for info, Mobus did all his enchanting in the shop¡¯s back room. Our little deception was our best bet to get me back there. At least, I was sure he wouldn¡¯t just accept a can I watch without a good reason to back the request.

    Unknown to Erhard, I hoped watching Mobus work would meet the conditions to allow me to learn the Enchanter¡¯s class.

    I did want to own an enchanted weapon, but what I really needed was the Enchanter class. I wasn¡¯t quite sure how to go about that, but since I obviously couldn¡¯t enchant anything myself without the class, I had no other choice than watching.

    As for why my sword and not anything the girls had¡­ Well, I am the most unskilled with a weapon. I needed the buff to keep up if and when my magic failed.

    This lie, however, was not the only chip I came to bargain with.

    ¡°Please, permit me the chance to watch a master work and I can promise you more essence crystals in the future.¡±

    This cause Mobus to stop pawing at his beard. His eyes flicked to Erhard, then back to me. Apparently, Joseph was aware of their dealings, as he was permitted to stay for the answer.

    ¡°How do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Erhard¡¯s friends were polite enough to turn over the crystals they mined to the cat-kin of the Dumort Forest. They didn¡¯t know they were farming on their land, see? And as it happens, I am married to their chief¡¯s daughter, so I can guarantee that they will sell to you exclusively.¡±

    Elane and I planned to give the crystals we confiscated both from the thieves and Lord Argento back to Tama, so they were going to have plenty. They were going to have to sell them to make coin to buy food and supplies anyways, so why not sell here?

    And even if Tama decided to be an ass, which would be understandable in this case, and choose not to sell to the people of Guerraway out of spite for their mislead-racism, then I¡¯d just sick Yua on him. One word (or fist) from her and I¡¯m sure that doting father will change his tune.

    ¡°He has my backing as well,¡± Elane said, throwing our last chip into the pot.

    ¡°Ah, Lady Bellenfort. Welcome, welcome. I wondered what you had to do with this. Surely you could have just sent a letter with him.¡±

    ¡°No need. I happened to be visiting Guerraway by request of Duke Callahan anyways.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­¡± he said as he stared fixedly at her chest. Unphased, she let him look by pretending not to notice. I guess even the old and lecherous were at the mercy of her tits. ¡°Well, I suppose if it¡¯s you asking, I don¡¯t mind letting him watch.¡±

    ¡°Thank you¡­¡±

    Hopefully, putting a proper shirt on her won¡¯t be as difficult as it was with Mana.

    Oh, who am I kidding? With that chest of hers, there¡¯s nothing she could wear that would ever look ¡°proper.¡±

    ¡°However,¡± Mobus continued. ¡°I want the same deal I had with Erhard. That¡¯s 900 gold per crystal. Just because the crystals changed hands to the cat-kin doesn¡¯t mean they get to be greedy.¡±

    Doing the math, I realize they must have marked down the crystal¡¯s worth to less than two-thirds their original price to ensure he¡¯d keep his mouth shut. He no doubt questioned how they managed to scrounge up that many crystals at once, after all.

    ¡°Make it an even 1,200 and you have a deal,¡± I said, letting my Merchant class take the reins.

    ¡°What?! You¡­¡±

    ¡°1,200 gold per crystal, and not only will you be their exclusive trade partner, but they won¡¯t have to find out that you were buying what was stolen from them.¡±

    That¡¯s probably more than enough to ensure the cat-kin wouldn¡¯t have to worry about needing coin for years to come, but I wasn¡¯t about the let them get cheated.

    They get money to live off by selling crystals when needed, and Mobus still makes a huge profit. Everyone wins.

    Mobus¡¯s eyes narrowed, but his staggering level 65 Merchant class stayed his anger. Sure, with his hired help and the city guards, the cat-kin would be hard pressed to take their revenge on him, but that¡¯s not what he needed to be confident in.

    ¡°And if I refuse, I suppose you¡¯ll tell the cat-kin to trade with someone else? To someone in Lady Bellenfort¡¯s Amoranth, I¡¯m guessing?¡±

    ¡°Exactly,¡± I bluffed. The only semi-reliable way we could sell something so valuable in Amoranth would be the auction house. ¡°But since your shop is so close¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯d save time and coin. Hmm¡­ I can respect that. Still, the cat-kin are a warrior people, correct? Then, as a show of good faith, how about you have them promise to only buy enchanted weapons and goods from me. Do that, and you have yourself a deal.¡±

    ¡°¡­Deal.¡±

    His thick white beard didn¡¯t quite hide the merchant¡¯s grin he bore and I didn¡¯t blame him. Surely, any life-long warrior would strive to own an enchanted weapon, but from what I¡¯ve seen, the cat-kin didn¡¯t seem to use enchanted gear in the first place. Certainly not armor, anyways. So, to him, this sounded like a fair deal that would promise him future sales.

    Not to mention that, if they did want something and I did gain the class, they could just hand me their favorite weapon and a spare crystal and, boom, happy cat-kin.

    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    However, I kept that to myself as I offered a hand. He shook it with little hesitation, surprising me with the strength of his grip.

    ¡°Now,¡± he said with a clap of his hands. ¡°You¡¯d like your sword enchanted. Have you thought of the enchantment you¡¯d like to imbue it with?¡±

    ¡°Fire, please.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure? As enchantments go, that¡¯s pretty mundane.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure. Fire¡¯s sort of my element. I¡¯m used to handling it.¡±

    Or, in other words, Elane¡¯s experience and my look around the shop suggested fire was the cheapest enchantment you could get.

    ¡°Well, if you¡¯re sure, follow me. Lady Bellenfort, I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯ll have to ask you to stay out here.¡±

    ¡°Yea, yea. I¡¯ll just have a look around, then.¡±

    Now that her part in this was done, Elane already looked bored as she rolled her shoulder again. I made a mental note of how she completely ignored the weapons and armor and went straight for the jewelry. Supposing she wasn¡¯t actually as much of a battle junky as Yua was, I followed Mobus and Joseph into the back room.

    Mobus brought us into a room that was mostly empty, devoid of anything that could distract from the job, I¡¯d guess. There were no decorations to speak of, save for the large table at the back and a few glass cases hanging on the wall showing off what were likely pieces he¡¯d enchanted, but didn¡¯t mean to sell.

    Atop the desk was a wooden box filled to bursting with essence crystals and, the main event, a large wooden bored with several runes and arcane circles carved directly into its surface. At a glance, they looked like they¡¯d been painted green, but they were glowing faintly beneath the dagger placed in their center.

    It¡¯s info box marked it as an Enchanting Table, the Enchanter¡¯s equivalent of a cauldron. He must have been fulfilling some order when we got here, but he set the dagger aside.

    ¡°Joseph, his sword, please.¡±

    Without a word, the guard handed over the blade and took only a single step back, his eyes on me all the while. Unconcerned, Mobus unsheathed my sword and started looking it over. There was a certain artistic intuition behind his gaze that felt oddly comforting, but at the same time, I got the strangest feeling he¡¯d reject my gold if he found the sword lacking in any way.

    ¡°Could you explain how enchanting works?¡± I asked to break the silence. ¡°Besides the crystals, is there anything else you need?¡±

    Apparently satisfied, he nodded sagely and sheathed the sword again before setting it on the enchanting table. He held up a teacherly finger.

    ¡°First, you need an enchanting board like this one. Without it, you¡¯d just waste your crystal. Second, is mana. How much depends on what enchantment you wish to imbue an object with. The third and final requirement is the incantation for the desired enchantment.¡±

    Incantations? Even if silent casting still let me skip that step, that meant I was going to have to find a way to learn incantations.

    ¡°Is that really all?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes. Gather all that and the spirits will do the rest.¡±

    ¡°Spirits? You didn¡¯t mention anything about spirits.¡±

    Mobus nodded again, this time with a smile, and I got the impression he was enjoying being able to share the fine details of his work.

    ¡°The essence crystals aren¡¯t just pretty rocks. They are solidified mana. And the spirits love their mana, that they do. This is why the crystals only appear in areas that are dense with mana. Speaking of¡­¡±

    Mobus leaned on his cane, examining the box of crystals. Assuming the absurd asking price for most enchanted goods was in part due to the crystals needed being so rare, I saw a chance to lower the damage that would soon be inflicted on my purse. I pulled one of the crystals I¡¯d collected from Tillmann¡¯s things out of my pocket.

    That bastard broke my sword, so I might as well use his labor to improve it.

    ¡°I actually have a crystal myself. Could you it, please?¡±

    Seemingly aware of what I was going for, Mobus didn¡¯t let his smile slip as he accepted it, set it on the enchanting table and continued.

    ¡°The crystal is something of a mix between a conduit connecting the enchanter to the spirits, as well as an offering to them. They¡¯re a selfish bunch, you see? It¡¯s their magic that gives your enchanting power and only an enchanter can commune with this particular sort. Likewise, no matter your skill as an enchanter, if you don¡¯t make them an offering, they will ignore you and refuse to help.¡±

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t I just give them my own mana then?¡±

    ¡°Oh, no. Not at all. Spirits thrive on nature¡¯s mana. They think it¡¯s tastier than anything you¡¯ve ever eaten. Mortal mana, however, disgusts them. Our mana¡¯s been corrupted by the vice and sin that lies within us all.¡±

    ¡°And that¡¯s why they will ignore us unless we offer a crystal? Talk about picky eaters.¡±

    Mobus lifted his head from the table, as if a thought had occurred to him, but he refocused almost as fast.

    ¡°Exactly. And that¡¯s enough for the lessons. If you need more, you¡¯ll have to do the research yourself, same as I did. For now, I need to get back to manning the shop.¡±

    Leaning his cane against the table, Mobus rubbed his hand together as he cleared his throat. Careful not to provoke Joseph and his watchful eye, I stepped a little closer so I could watch.

    ¡°Oh, greater spirits of scorching flame! Lend me your power so that I might burn my enemies to ash in overwhelming conflagration!¡±

    He finished, and the runes on the table began to glow brighter until their light filled the room, almost completely swallowing the elderly man in shadow.

    And then, in a flash, the light was gone. As was the crystal I¡¯d given him. I didn¡¯t see any spirits or fairies come and steal it, but it was no more. All that was left was my sword, physically unchanged as it was. Although, its info box did now read Parundum Sword of Flame.

    [New Class Acquired: Enchanter.]

    I closed my eyes in a brief, silent prayer to the Goddess. With this, I¡¯ll be able to equip the girls and myself with better gear without having to worry too much about the cost.

    ¡°And there you have it,¡± Mobus said, handing the sword not to me, but to Joseph. ¡°I was curious why you¡¯d go so far just to watch, but now it makes sense. How long have you been an Enchanter?¡±

    ¡°Uh¡­¡±

    ¡°No need to be coy,¡± he laughed, patting my shoulder. ¡°You wanted to learn a new incantation, right? Could have just asked, I wouldn¡¯t have minded sharing a few. Learning them is the hard part, but all it takes is a few to open up a shop of your own. If you have a good supply of crystals, that is. But don¡¯t go cheating me out of our deal with the cat-kin, ya hear?¡±

    Realizing my mistake, and wondering if I needed another headbutt to set me straight, I didn¡¯t bother to deny it. Though, this time I did have a good reason for being so secretive.

    ¡°But shouldn¡¯t you be preventing me from opening a shop? Why would you help?¡±

    Surely another enchanter¡¯s shop opening up near his would drive away some of his business. I doubted there were laws about monopolies on the market, but it was easy to say he very nearly had one as the only enchanter between here and Amoranth. So, why ruin that?

    My Merchant class was telling me to keep my mouth shut so I didn¡¯t end up kicking the gift horse in the dick, but it made no sense.

    ¡°We Enchanters are a dying breed,¡± he said. ¡°Because of what we can do, and our immense potential to aid in the war effort, many a king and nobleman sought to claim us. Many of us died in the fighting. I barely escaped the last war myself by settling here and picking a side before I was forced to.¡± He paused, combing his fingers through his beard leisurely. ¡°Due to how many of our ilk perished, I say I¡¯d rather welcome a newcomer. Matter of fact, say, by chance, is Lady Bellenfort your woman? I don¡¯t see why else she¡¯d bother coming here, unless she wanted to tag along with you.¡±

    ¡°Er, uh¡­Yes. Why do you ask?¡±

    Again, no need to hide the truth. Elane certainly held no such compunction when she put the fear of the Goddess into the cycloptic innkeeper for failing to help Mana when we returned our room key earlier. She¡¯d introduced herself as my wife and that was more than enough to quiet the innkeeper, despite the two cat-kin that stood beside us.

    Mobus nodded knowingly and once more held up his finger.

    ¡°Then with all due respect to her and yourself, I¡¯d say you need to get started on making babies. The class can only be gained through inheritance and the world needs more enchanters. And I say the more the merrier!¡±

    ¡°¡­!¡±

    I was too stunned to respond. Not because of his request, but because I¡¯d been taking so much pleasure in living it up with Yua each and every night, that I¡¯d forgotten that the only reason why she wasn¡¯t already carrying my child was because a cat-kin can¡¯t breed with a human.

    I never felt the need to hold back with Yua and just cut lose whenever pleasure grew to be too much. And now, thanks to last night, Mana was in that same boat. But unlike them, Elane is a human¡­

    I felt my cheeks heat up. Mobus laughed heartily and Joseph let a snicker or two slip out of his helmet. Leveraging his cane for support, Mobus bent down and rummaged around under the table.

    ¡°Feel free to take these as the words of an old relic of a man. I just don¡¯t want to see the art of enchanting die out, and it¡¯s already far too late for me to pass it on.¡±

    ¡°Ri-ight¡­¡±

    A book fell from beneath the table and hit the floor at my feet, kicking up a cloud of dust. It fell open to a page and, as luck would have it, it turned out to be an old enchanting book textbook of sorts. Memorization kicked in and I made a mental photograph of the page, but the incantations on the pages were all super basic. Useful, but nothing to write home about.

    I was about to ask to borrow it, but when Mobus caught me looking, he was quick to stuff it back under the table. Grunting with the effort, he stood back up and offered me a dusty plank of wood.

    ¡°Take this. A gift for a fellow rarity,¡± he said, wiping some of the dust away with his sleeve to reveal an exact copy of the runes on the table. ¡°It¡¯s my old enchanting table. Worn out, but still just as effective. Do as you will with it. Just, keep your business out of Guerraway, okay?

    ¡°Thank you very much. I was actually going to ask where I could get one.¡±

    ¡°Think nothing of it. That poor old thing was just gathering dust down there anyways.¡±

    I tucked the gift under my arm and helped Mobus out of the backroom, where we rejoined Elane. Bent over a glass case, our eyes met and she straightened up. Even, no especially when viewed from the side, the sheer prominence of her bustline made thoughts of baby-making impossible to avoid.

    As I took in the sight of her profile, the thought of what would come later tonight refused to leave my mind for more than a second. It was almost like I¡¯d been hit with the opposite of the Mage¡¯s Bane poison.

    Remembering Mobus¡¯s advice and finding it difficult just to look her in the eye, I shoved my hand into my pocket and accessed my item box.

    On top of using my own crystal, I was able to talk down the price further by offering the Occult Lense for trade as well. Thanks to this, I didn¡¯t immediately empty my purse with this one trade. I still had plenty of coin left.

    Transaction done and my Merchant class one level higher, we grabbed our weapons and left the shop in rush.

    ¡°You okay?¡± Elane said, smirking. ¡°Your face is all red.¡±

    ¡°N-Nothing. Just reminded of how beautiful you are.¡±

    ¡°Hoho? You were only in the other room for a few minutes and you¡¯re already missing me?¡±

    ¡°Something like that¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh my! I didn¡¯t know my husband was so clingy! But we still have work to do, so settle down and wait for tonight, would ya? My pussy¡¯s not going anywhere.¡±

    Smiling rather proudly, her bountiful chest bouncing as though her feet were skipping through each step, Elane followed as I led the way back to the girls.

    Sufficiently cooled off, and likely sensing the sudden turmoil in my heart, Yua jumped to her feet, but I gave her a thumbs up to let her know the plan we cooked up worked.

    Mana less enthusiastically slid off the bench and clung to my arm before Elane could make a grab for her.

    Looking incredibly out of place, Erhard did his best to keep his distance, though his own flushed cheeks were more than enough to say he¡¯d heard our conversation. Knowing his inability to keep still had nothing to do with her, though, I hurried everyone along to a nearby alley to finally finish off my half of our promise.

    Once Yua was sure nobody was looking or listening, I cast Dimensional Step on the wall and the titular blue lights appeared without issue. Apparently, Amoranth was within teleporting distance.

    Erhard clutched his box of coin to his chest as he watched the swirling lights settle into place.

    ¡°As promised, a free one-way trip to the outskirts of Amoranth.¡±

    He shook his head as if coming out of a trance and offered a hand. I shook it.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for all the trouble. Really, I am.¡±

    ¡°You did it for your kid. While I can¡¯t say I condone the method, I do at least understand.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d say our people could forgive you for that reason,¡± Yua said, then carefully added, ¡°But it¡¯d probably be best if they never catch you in the forest again.¡±

    ¡°R-Right. Um. Well then, I¡¯ll be off.¡±

    Erhard gave us all a small sheepish wave and, as if he thought we were going to prank him by cutting the spell early, he jumped through the portal and was gone.

    The girls sighed in unison now that the thief problem was done with and I nearly gave in as well, but we still had one more thing to do here before we followed his example.

    After selling off the rest of the useless stuff we¡¯d picked up from the bandit camp, I asked Elane to show us the best spots to pick up building and crafting supplies. And instead of taking us to a shop somewhere in the city, she brought us to none other than Guerraway¡¯s docks.

    Lord Argento¡¯s boat was gone, as were his knights, so we had unfettered access to all it held. And what it held was a myriad of imported, wholesale goods that were ripe for a picking. And pick we did.

    I bought up everything from crates full of raw cotton and rolls of fabrics to iron and steel ingots. Not only did buying all this up at once make the merchant captains grow pale with shock, only to then become outrageously elated once I put my money where my mouth was, but it should be more than enough to last us through all our house¡¯s renovations.

    Namely, at long last, I had what I¡¯d need to build us a proper bed. What had originally been one of my primary goals in choosing this quest had been tossed onto the backburner almost at the start, but now it too was complete. And just in time.

    ¡°Erika!¡± Elane called as she let us into the room she¡¯d been renting. Not even a moment later, there was a clatter in the room adjoining the bedroom. ¡°We didn¡¯t bring much, so it won¡¯t take long to clean up.¡±

    The inn she¡¯d brought us to looked more like a properly furnished apartment that could have been plucked out a modern hotel catalogue, were it not for the medieval scenery outside the window and the magic candles lining the room.

    Seeing it made me feel as though I¡¯d been too stingy when picking out our room, even if we had a reason for staying there.

    Elane set her axe down, leaning it against a dresser that creaked beneath its weight. Stretching her arms over her head, uttering a notably cute squeak as she did, she made her way to the large bed at the back of the room.

    Just before she reached it, the bathroom door erupted open. Thankful for her dog ears hearing us all appear, Erika, who¡¯d clearly just taken a bath, was able to quickly pull on her maid¡¯s dress before stepping into the room. Although, the shoulders of the dress were a little askew as her chest heaved from our sudden appearance.

    She took one look at us, her cheeks flushing at the sight of Mana, who was grinning at her for some reason, but she ultimately chose to ignore us.

    ¡°M-Mistress, are you okay? Are you hurt? You were gone for so long.¡±

    ¡°Calm down,¡± Elane sighed, reaching under the blankets where a human-shaped lump was hiding. ¡°Pack the bags. We¡¯re leaving the city.¡±

    ¡°B-but what about¡­¡±

    ¡°Erika, it¡¯s fine. I¡¯m fine. The thieves have been dealt with. Now get moving would y...¡±

    Elane stopped, raising her chin at the maid with a curious arch to her brow when she found the dog-kin fretting beside her. Then realization struck and Elane shrugged.

    Erika had essentially and unknowingly disobeyed a direct order, but she was no longer Elane¡¯s slave.

    Seemingly unbothered by this, Elane grabbed hold of the lump under the blanket and yanked. Tossing aside the covers, she lifted the limp body of a green-haired girl up by the scruff of her neck like a mother cat would its disobedient kitten. As all four of the girl¡¯s limbs dangled weakly at her sides, she looked positively dead, but her status window read that she was only asleep.

    Wearing only a thin, white sleeping gown, June continued to doze as Elane held her so they were face-to-face.

    It wasn¡¯t much of a surprise seeing June here. I realized she was one of Elane¡¯s slaves when her ownership transferred to me along with Erika¡¯s, but I didn¡¯t know she was here in the city.

    ¡°Mistress,¡± Erika started with an excuse for the green-haired girl. ¡°June did her chores this time, so¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m not mad that she¡¯s sleeping during the day, again,¡± Elane said, but the way she held the girl made her hard to believe. ¡°We¡¯re leaving.¡±

    Erika glanced at us, her tail shifting uncomfortably beneath her skirt.

    ¡°Mistress, is something wrong?¡±

    Elane sighed, unused to the girl not doing as she was told. When June¡¯s groggy eyes slowly opened, the blond calmly set her down on the bed. June stretched into a yawn, noticed us in the room, then stretched and yawned some more before standing.

    ¡°Okay, look,¡± Elane said. ¡°I¡¯m in a bit of a rush here. I just got married and I¡¯d like to¡­¡±

    ¡°M-M-Married?! Mistress, when?! You said you were going to fight some thieves!¡±

    ¡°Heh,¡± June laughed wryly. ¡°Can¡¯t you see, Headmaid? She¡¯s finally had too much to drink. She¡¯s lost her mind.¡±

    ¡°B-but I don¡¯t smell any alcohol on her at all. Mistress, are you sick?¡±

    ¡°The thieves probably just hit her extra hard in the head,¡± June shrugged, then yawned again. ¡°Can I go back to sleep now?¡±

    Eyebrow twitching, cheeks flushed bright pink in the face of their doubt, Elane thrust an open palm out to me.

    ¡°He¡¯s my husband! Him. Alex!¡±

    ¡°Ehhhh?!¡±

    Erika squealed, her dog ears jumping in shock. Meanwhile, June tilted her head and slowly blinked at me. It seemed to be the only reaction the sleepy girl was capable of in the moment.

    ¡°Uh, hi,¡± I waved. ¡°Sorry to spring this on you so suddenly, but she¡¯s telling the truth.¡±

    ¡°B-B-But you¡­ Mistress¡­¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­I remember you.¡± Holding a finger to her chin, June squinted at me. ¡°You¡¯re that guy that gave me water the other day when I nearly died.¡±

    ¡°Walking for five minutes isn¡¯t going to kill you¡­¡±

    ¡°I disagree. I was definitely one more step away from perishing before you swept me into your arms. You really saved me. And for this good deed, you have my permission to bed my mistress.¡±

    Looking about as satisfied as a cat lounging on a warm carpet beneath a sunny window, June nodded to herself.

    ¡°Since when did we need your permission?¡± Elane said, shaking her fist.

    However, she did not hit, smack or chop the nodding girl. Instead, she took a breath to cool herself. Then she grinned wickedly.

    ¡°Not only is he my husband, June, but he is also my master.¡±

    This caused June¡¯s nodding to come to a sudden grinding halt. Likewise, Erika¡¯s attention snapped to Elane so hard, I nearly heard it.

    ¡°M-Master? Y-You mean, um, that he¡¯s teaching you something? Like maybe his magic?¡±

    ¡°Uh-huh,¡± Elane grinned, folding her arms.

    ¡°But if he¡¯s your master, then¡­¡±

    ¡°Then I am his slave. And that means you two are as well.¡±

    Silence bloomed at this shocking revelation and it continued to permeate the room for several long seconds before¡­.

    ¡°Noooooooooo!¡±

    Erika screamed and dashed, trembling as she hid herself behind Elane. And after a brief delay, June crumpled to the floor like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Neither Elane nor Erika tried to catch her.

    ¡°B-but¡­ B-But¡­ B-But¡­ But he¡¯s a man!¡± Erika cried, shaking Elane desperately. ¡°Why, Mistress? Why? Did he threaten you? Did he force you? I-I mean, Miss Yua and Mana look happy, and he seems nice enough¡­ b-but he¡¯s a man! A man!¡±

    Hearing the honest fear in her voice, I quietly checked their Casanova levels to see how they really felt and, aside from them both understandably being only level 1, their descriptions were¡­ confusing.

    Erika¡¯s read as, Slave is a little proud to serve such a kind master, but is deeply weary of her maidenhood being devoured by him.

    Devoured? It was disturbing enough to know she thought me capable of that, but June¡¯s was even more confusing.

    Hers read simply; Slave is on guard against her new master.

    I had no idea how that puddle of green-haired lethargy could ever be considered on guard, but I couldn¡¯t blame them. Not really, anyways.

    Sighing, but with a small smile, Yua hurried to Erika¡¯s side to whisper in her ear. Only a couple words in and Erika¡¯s whining stopped. Yua continued and Erika¡¯s eyes widened, still watching me cautiously. Then her tail flicked beneath her dress. A quick ¡°Really?¡± and an even quicker nod from Yua eased the rest of the tension in them maid¡¯s shoulders.

    Finally, she let go of Elane and¡­

    [Casanova Skill Activated: Slave Erika has reached level 2]

    [Slave is no longer weary of her new master.]

    ¡­ What the hell did she say to get her to calm down so easily?!

    I looked to Mana for the answer, only to find her happily slouching into one of the rooms comfy-looking chairs. Her eyes closed as a slovenly smile spread across her lips, she sank further into the cushions. She clearly hadn¡¯t been listening.

    Yua practically skipped back to my side, but showed no signs in wanting to divulge what she shared with the maid. Figuring it best not to bring it up here, I turned back to the trio by the bed.

    ¡°¡­ June, you okay?¡±

    Her status page didn¡¯t show anything was wrong and she was definitely conscious, but she hadn¡¯t moved a muscle since she fell.

    ¡°Hoho, don¡¯t mind her,¡± Elane said, scooping June up by the armpits, where she dangled limply. ¡°She¡¯s a timid girl. Show her the tiniest bit of force and she collapses just like this.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not timid,¡± June replied, but her dangling head made it look like she was talking to her breasts. ¡°But I will meet you halfway, er, Master. You can¡¯t have mine, but the Headmaid here is willing to sacrifice her body to satiate your carnal desires.¡±

    ¡°J-J-June!¡±

    ¡°We maids only want peace.¡±

    At this, June bowed deeply. Or, rather, she dangled limply in Elane¡¯s hands in a way that looked somewhat like a bow. Erika, however, immediately flushed and covered her chest the moment my eyes shifted in her general vicinity.

    Elane snorted.

    ¡°As you can see, June has a bit of a mouth on her, but she¡¯s a good girl. Mostly.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­ Well, why don¡¯t I help you pack up? We still have things to do today, so the rest of the explanation will have to wait until later.¡±

    I looked around the room, aiming my gaze anywhere but at the maids, only I found nothing to collect for them. With two maids caring for it, the room had been kept spotless.

    ¡°I-I can handle it, um, M-Master?¡± Erika said, her voice cracking. ¡°Gods¡­ It feels weird to say that.¡±

    ¡°Then don¡¯t. Just call me whatever you like. Both of you.¡±

    ¡°U-Understood, Master.¡±

    ¡°¡­ No. I said you don¡¯t have to call me that. Oh. Here, I order you to call me whatever you like. How¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°I understand, Master.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    I looked to Elane and she shrugged, handing the limp June to Erika. The pair dashed into the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

    ¡°Erika¡¯s been trained as a slave,¡± Elane said. ¡°That¡¯s what she¡¯s been for years. Just give her time. And leave the packing to her. Trust me, she¡¯ll just redo it herself if any of us tries to help.¡±

    I scratched my head and waited. It was surely hard enough to learn that your very life had been traded away yet again, this time without you even knowing it, but she lived the life of an actual working slave. She wasn¡¯t just a girl who¡¯d been told to sit on the storefront shelf of a slave house by her master. Even Yua hadn¡¯t really gotten to that point when we met. June and the other two under Elane¡¯s care were likely the same.

    It¡¯d probably be best if I gave them some space to adjust to things.

    After several minutes of noises I chose not to acknowledge as the sounds of a woman getting dressed in the room beside me, the maids came back out. Erika, face still flushed, had fixed her dress while June had dawned hers. She did a quick job of brushing her hair as well.

    Considering how this was the first time I¡¯d seen her properly dressed, I had to say she was cute, but I was more impressed she was on her own feet again. And barely, at that.

    Once the maids had finished packing and had all their things gathered in one spot, I opened a portal to the drawing room in Elane¡¯s mansion to save them a trip.

    Elane was the first one through, but only because she carried June through. The maid had collapsed again at the sudden appearance of the silently cast spell. Elane came back empty handed and I helped her carry their things through.

    Holding the last of their luggager in hand, Erika bowed.

    ¡°I-I look forward to serving you, Master.¡±

    ¡°Again, there¡¯s no need for that. And until we meet again, could I ask that you try to soften up the other two for me? Maybe things will go a little smoother if you warn them first.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Master. I will do my best.¡±

    A little hesitant in the face of this strange magic, Erika tested the portal with her foot before lunging through. Short of ordering them not to, there was no way Erika and June were going to keep quiet.

    Elane watched her go and when we were alone, she pushed a large box into Mana¡¯s hands. And when Mana rejected the blonde¡¯s offering, she instead handed it to Yua.

    ¡°These are the crystals I confiscated from Lord Argento. Give ¡®em back to your people for me, okay?¡±

    ¡°Sure. Thank you again.¡±

    ¡°No problem,¡± she said before leaning into me for a kiss, as if she¡¯d done so a thousand times already.

    Our lips parted and when I opened my eyes again, I noticed June sticking just her head through the portal, watching us, her mouth agape before turning into a playful grin before she receded back through the portal. Elane did not seem to notice this.

    ¡°Hurry back. The things I have to take care of won¡¯t take long.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try. Just keep the maids clear of the drawing room.¡±

    ¡°Can do.¡±

    Elane threw her axe over her shoulder, tossed her room key onto the dresser and marched through the portal¡¯s glowing blue lights. I gave it another couple of seconds to make sure nobody tried to stick their necks through again before I closed it.

    I took a moment to compose myself before turning to Yua and Mana.

    Tossing the crystals she held into my item box, I used my item box to instantly remove everything Yua was wearing, rendering her completely nude where she stood. I then did the same for Mana, but this time, I kept my own clothes on.

    Yua, who¡¯d been wearing her battle gear all this time, let out a contented sigh as her breasts were finally freed from their tight confinement inside her vest. Meanwhile, Mana looked as though she¡¯d achieved enlightenment the moment all fabric was removed from her body.

    ¡°Let¡¯s head back to the village.¡±

    Sensing it was time for us to face the music, Mana latched onto my arm. Despite her joy in experiencing her natural form once again, she did look a little weary to go back, knowing who her parents were going to react to the news.

    Yua, though, looked calm. Perhaps a little too calm. Aside from helping to calm Erika and helping with Erhard¡¯s interrogation, she¡¯d hardly said a word since we returned to Guerraway. I was sure her anger had cooled a fair bit, but as time went on, it was clear from the glare she aimed at nothing in particular that a certain someone wasn¡¯t in the clear yet.

    I cast Dimensional Step.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 28

    As it had the first, and probably second time, Yua¡¯s return to the village drew in a large crowd of happy, naked, cat-kin. Only this time it was Mana¡¯s name on their lips.

    ¡°Mana, where have you been?¡±

    ¡°What happened? Are you okay?¡±

    Men, women, and children alike instantly crowded around her the moment we stepped through the portal. Children playfully tugged at her arms, lobbing curious questions about what she found in the human city. Women hugged her while a few more checked her all over for wounds. And the men let out sighs of relief over her safe return, all while Mana held a confused smile on her face.

    She thought her people were ignoring her, but she had truly been misjudging the situation all this time. Their obvious concern over her and their relief at seeing her return so soon when it took Yua years to do the same, made Mana start to tear up a little.

    ¡°Your father has been worrying so much,¡± said a rather large-chested woman named Moka. ¡°He hasn¡¯t gotten any sleep since you left.¡±

    ¡°Haha¡­ Yea¡­¡±

    At the mention of her father, Mana¡¯s ears drooped. Yua had explained that Mana was with us when she went to make her report, but it apparently hadn¡¯t stopped the people from worrying. Especially, Mochi, apparently.

    I nodded solemnly to our fate. Telling Mochi what we did was going to be hard enough as is, but knowing that he¡¯s sleep-deprived doesn¡¯t make it any easier.

    As I lamented the future, surrounded by sea of pointed ears, swishing tails, bare breasts, vaginas and penises, all of which belonged to the crowd clamoring to know what happened to us over the last few days, I took a moment to steady myself.

    Being use to the sights and sounds of the village by now, I didn¡¯t let it get the better of me. Nor did I let myself regret the fact that keeping my clothes on this time had really made me stand out. There was no time. We had other pressing matters to worry about.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Yua said, unmoved by her people¡¯s glee. Her expression only grew more serious as she pulled us out of the crowd.

    The repeated flicking of her ears and her refusal to return any of the greetings that came her way were proof enough she was searching for someone. And knowing who that someone was, we let her drag us along.

    I¡¯d teleported us to the edge of the village to avoid the possibility of my violent father-in-law diving through the portal, assuming a fight was waiting for him, only to end up unleashing his power in an easily-destructible, high-class inn whose repair bill would no doubt be staggering. My caution had only prolonged the search, but thankfully, the crowd caught on and quickly quieted.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    After we broke free of the mob, nobody spoke to us. The obvious tension carrying Yua forward made them grow serious. None looked at me with anything resembling hostility, but knowing why we¡¯re here made their collective gazes feel accusatory.

    Mana squeezed my hand. Any joy she¡¯d had in finally getting to undress without being scolded was gone now that we¡¯d returned. There was nothing to do but follow Yua through the village, until¡­

    ¡°There he is.¡±

    Even though the front flaps to the chief¡¯s tent were closed, Yua glared at it as though she could see her target standing in front of it, mocking her with a vicious smile.

    Fully beyond my control at this point, Yua squat down into a runner¡¯s stance. With her ass up in the air and without acknowledging what those behind us could see of her, her tail gave a single flick before she took off. Jetting through the village, kicking up a cloud of dust in her wake, she flew. With something akin to fear on their faces, everyone she passed was either pulled out of her way or jumped aside to avoid being mowed down. We rushed after her.

    Without stopping to kill her momentum, Yua smacked the tent flaps out of her way with the back of her hand to reveal it¡¯s interior, and the single man sitting by himself inside on the cot he called a bed.

    Tama¡¯s ears jumped and his tail flicked at the sight of her, but he remained still up until Yua reeled back and launched her fist into his cheek.

    She didn¡¯t hold back at all. The way her body moved made it clear that she¡¯d hit him as hard as she possibly could without leading the punch with a cast of Iron Fist.

    And yet, Tama being Tama, the only part of him that was affected by the blow was the soft flesh of his cheek where it bent beneath her fist. She might as well have punched a wall of steel.

    The crowd uttered a collective gasp, but Tama did not stand. He did not speak a word of reproach. And his matching emerald eyes remained sharp until she raised her voice.

    ¡°Where were you?!¡±

    ¡°Daughter, I¡­¡±

    ¡°You promise you¡¯d be there to help! Alex tried to teleport you multiple times!¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Seeing that the father-daughter¡¯s third reunion this week was not the loving one they¡¯d been hoping for, the cat-kin near the tent were quick to disperse. Mana, too, moved behind me, peeking out to avoid letting any of Yua¡¯s wrath finding her.

    While I fully supported her, knowing how hard it was to treat her beloved father like this, if this was the result of Yua cooling down before confronting him, I was a little scared of what she¡¯d originally planned on doing to him. I mean, she broke my nose just to make a point.

    ¡°Well?!¡±

    Tama¡¯s eye twitched, but not from anger. His mask of strength wavered and I noticed how the way he sat, hands gripping his knees, almost made him look like a child being scolded by his parent.

    ¡°You said you¡¯d wait for us,¡± Yua continued, slamming her hands on her hips. She clenched her jaw, bearing her canines, before adding, ¡°Alex almost died. I almost died. And Mana too! If Elane hadn¡¯t¡¯ showed up¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°Why are you just sitting there? Say something! If you¡¯re here now, where were you earlier when we needed you?!¡±

    Slowly, Tama closed his eyes and drew a deep breath. As stoic as a statue, he was still for several moments. With those ears of his that apparently dwarfed even Yua¡¯s in their sensitivity, he knew the anger in her voice to be the real deal. And because of his experience as the village¡¯s chief, he knew he needed to think over his answer before blurting out like he normally would.

    Finally, he opened his eyes and locked them with Yua¡¯s.

    ¡°¡­ The Brawler Bears challenged me for control of the forest again. I didn¡¯t have a choice¡­ I wasn¡¯t in the village when you called for me.¡±

    This gave Yua pause and, if I¡¯m not mistaken, a tinge of regret twisted her brow. She hung her head, shoulders trembling as she clenched her fists, but when her stance softened, I stepped up.

    ¡°What are you talking about? We saw one of those bears by the barrier. There¡¯s no way you fought one of those things.¡±

    Even the outrageously strong Tillmann barely managed to give the bear a flesh wound when he drove an axe into it. And it was supposedly one of the smaller ones. Despite this, Tama didn¡¯t have a single scratch anywhere on his body. He wasn¡¯t sweaty, nor did he look even slightly winded from what should have been a life-altering battle. He could have said he¡¯d done nothing but sat there all day and I would have believed him.

    After seeing the bear myself, I was almost positive that the stories Yua told about him were just exaggerated tales told on behalf a father by his loving daughter, just to hype him up before we met. But it was the strong, yet shockingly calm look he slowly turned to me that made me doubtful.

    He looked reluctant as he stared at me, but it wasn¡¯t the usual, barely-feigned hate he normally shot me with.

    ¡°I did fight it, and I won. And when I returned, I heard that you yelled something disrespectful through your spell. But that was before I came back.¡± He stopped and turned to Yua, her head still hanging. ¡°Daughter, I promise you, I ran to the barrier as fast as I could the moment I knew. Only, when I got there, I saw that the barrier was gone and so were the humans. When I didn¡¯t find you, or your body, I returned and waited right here, because I knew you¡¯d come to me.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Why didn¡¯t you send someone to help?¡±

    ¡°You told me how strong that dwarf was. No one in the village could stand against him without my help. To send them would be sending them to die.¡±

    ¡°You could have sent multiple¡­¡± I started, but he shook his head.

    ¡°That would leave the village defenseless.¡±

    ¡°What about Mother?¡± Yua said.

    ¡°Unacceptable. You know that one of us must always stay in the village.¡±

    Clenching her teeth, Yua¡¯s hands trembled at her sides, but she no longer looked capable of keeping her fists primed to strike him again.

    ¡°Daddy¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    As if those two words were the last straw, Yua¡¯s ears flicked and a single tear ran down her cheek, but long before it reached her chin, she was already flying into his arms. She wrapped him into a tight hug. Pressing herself to him, she nearly snapped him in half she squeezed so tight, but he bore with it and rubbed her back as she sobbed.

    I could only guess she¡¯d heard the truth in his heart, but¡­

    ¡°I don¡¯t get it. He went to go fight something else and basically left us for dead. Why forgive him so easily?¡±

    It was absurd. The only reason why we ever considered fighting the thieves was because we thought he was going to help. If Mana hadn¡¯t been kidnapped, we never would have started without him.

    And yet, as I muttered to no one in particular, a pair of alluringly, shockingly-soft somethings pressed against my back and left arm. Overly familiar with the sensation thanks to Yua and Mana, I opted not to look, which caused me to miss my chance to keep her from wrapping her arms around mine. Arm sandwiched in her abundant cleavage; I was suddenly unable to move.

    ¡°My Mate had to make a difficult choice,¡± Kimiko said softly, as though she didn¡¯t want him to hear. ¡°He had to choose between keeping his promise to our daughter, or to leave the village to be destroyed if he failed to meet the bear¡¯s challenge. If he dishonored their challenge by not even showing up, they would have attacked. And it wouldn¡¯t have been just the alpha that attacked us.¡±

    ¡°So, it was the three of our lives against the lives of the entire village?¡±

    The thought of the damage just that one Brawler Bear could do to this place caused me to shiver. The cat-kin were warriors, but that thing made Yua quake in her boots at just the sight of it. If the alpha and the rest were added into the mix¡­

    Still, the bears coming to challenge Tama must be why the one that killed Tillmann was in the area in the first place. They weren¡¯t supposed to exist in that part of the forest.

    It must have wandered off from the pack once Tama accepted the alpha¡¯s challenge. Then the spriggans showed up to reclaim their home and controlled it for us. It was pure coincidence and yet, in a way, we were lucky Tama hadn¡¯t showed up.

    ¡°My Mate is this village¡¯s chief,¡± Kimiko continued. ¡°He steeled himself and chose the harder choice, because it was right. Even though neither of us liked it.¡±

    ¡°But you won your fight,¡± Tama said. He took Yua by the arms and pushed her just far enough away to look her in the eye. ¡°I¡¯m proud of you.¡±

    Yua sniffed and whiped at her tears, but shook her head. ¡°I wasn¡¯t able to do much of anything. Tillmann was too strong.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. You survived. The experience surviving such a battle is alone victory enough.¡±

    ¡°Daddy¡­!¡±

    Shaking off his hands, Yua once more threw her arms around his back and pressed herself into his chest. Finally letting his tail give a happy flick, he locked his arms around her as well.

    Unable to hold onto my anger after seeing Yua forgive him so completely, I forced myself to see things from his point of view. This doting father had reluctantly chosen to forsake his daughter for his people. I had no children myself, but just the thought of being made to make that decision made me regret forcing him to say all that.

    I closed my eyes, ready to let it all go, and started pulling out the boxes of essence crystals. I set them in front of Kimiko¡¯s feet and, surprised by their sudden appearance, she gasped.

    ¡°These are the essence crystals Tillmann and the humans were stealing from you. I know you didn¡¯t know anything about them, but as far as I¡¯m concerned, they belong to you. Since, you know, you did win the contest with the bear. I guess.¡±

    Okay, maybe I wasn¡¯t fully ready to let bygones be bygones. But in my defense, I did almost lose my head, you know?

    Kimiko let go of my arm to squat beside the boxes. With just a finger, she pried and flicked open one of the lids to peek inside. I could tell she found the purple crystals pretty from how her tail swished, but she looked slightly confused.

    ¡°They don¡¯t look like much, but they¡¯re worth a lot of gold. I already set up a trade deal for you with Guerraway¡¯s Enchanter.¡± I leaned in to whisper in her ear the most sensitive part of the information. ¡°He¡¯ll pay you 1,200 gold per crystal.¡±

    ¡°Th-That much?¡±

    This drew a crowd of gasps from the villagers. Despite my efforts, the cat-kin¡¯s penchant for eavesdropping got the better of us all.

    ¡°There¡¯s also this.¡±

    I dropped the sack full of the coin the thieves collected. Save for Tillmann¡¯s personal stash, I gave them everything. The sack hit the ground with a loud thud and Kimiko jumped back in surprise, her full naked form now thrust into full sight.

    It wasn¡¯t as much coin as one would think given the crystals¡¯ value, but it was still quite the heavy sack. I guessed the thieves had been selling at a significant loss to Lord Argento, since the number of crystals I saw them haul out of the mine just didn¡¯t add up to the coin. Knowing they were losing out on a lot of gold must have been why the thieves sought trade with Mobus.

    Unfortunately, the crystals Elane confiscated from them also didn¡¯t add up, either. The thieves had been working this gig for months now. They had plenty of time to sell their loot. Lord Argento must have had a second boat that already ferried the rest back to Dragma.

    ¡°It won¡¯t fix the damage done to the forest, but it should be more than enough for you to buy what supplies you¡¯ll need to make it through winter. And then the next several winters, if you spend it wisely.¡±

    ¡°But we only asked you to get rid of the humans,¡± Kimiko said, stunned as she looked up at me with concerned twisting her pretty face. ¡°You didn¡¯t need to go this far.¡±

    ¡°I did. As far as I¡¯m concerned, all this belongs to the cat-kin.¡±

    And I¡¯m not about to steal from the family I just got. I¡¯d rather not ruin my relationships with my new family the way I had my old one.

    Well¡­ Except, maybe, Tama could keep some distance between us.

    ¡°Daughter!¡±

    Looking as though his joy for life had been fully and completely restored after earning her forgiveness, Tama squeezed Yua against his chest hard enough to worry that her bare breasts might actually pop against his equally bare pecs. And yet, despite his death grip, Yua¡¯s tail swished happily.

    I was only moderately annoyed to see that his hug had made her so happy, but I bore with it. After all the trouble I caused her, it was the least I could do to let her have this moment.

    Besides, I suddenly had much greater concerns.

    ¡°Are you sure the humans are gone?¡± Mochi asked.

    At some point while I was watching Yua get squeezed to death, Mana¡¯s father appeared beside Kimiko where she remained crouched. And as expected of a member of the cat-kin, Kimiko was entirely unmoved by the fact that Mochi¡¯s penis was close enough for her ear to brush against it if she so much as turned her head.

    Not that she was of the mind to, though, as she gazed worryingly into the sack of coin. Points to her, at least she¡¯s not greedy.

    My heart, however, nearly stopped at the sight of the man. Along with his sudden appearance, and the heavy bags under his eyes, he¡¯d also snatched Mana away from me. Seeing her held so tightly in his arms, as though protecting her from me, I gulped and answered promptly.

    ¡°Yes. Tillmann and the humans are dead.¡±

    ¡°That so?¡± he said and squinted at me.

    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    When his ears flicked, I nearly panicked. Technically, one of the humans wasn¡¯t dead, as we let him go, but did my heart let the truth slip? Did it matter? He only asked to get rid of them, not kill them.

    ¡°¡­ I didn¡¯t think you had it in you.¡±

    ¡°Haha¡­ Well¡­¡±

    ¡°Grr! Daddy!¡± Mana shouted, squirming wildly in his arms until she managed to free herself. She fell to the ground, but shot right back up. ¡°Don¡¯t be mean to Big Bro. He¡¯s been nothing but nice to me. And he even made me stronger like he promised. Look, look, I¡¯ll prove it. Big Bro, give me my bow.¡±

    Standing tall, grinning as her tiny chest puffed up with pride, she held out a hand and beckoned me. Mochi raised a brow, but crossed his arms and waited. Confused, but curious to see where she was going with this, I did as I was asked and dropped her bow out of my item box.

    She caught it easily without even looking and shifted it in her hands into a proper hold. Then, holding it aloft and aiming at nothing, she demonstrated her newly advanced strength by¡­ pulling the bowstring?

    Her grin widened when she saw how easily it moved. Even though she¡¯d chosen this as her proof, it was the first time she¡¯d actually tried it since I last updated her stats. It was a wonder if she knew she¡¯d be able to pull it off before she tried.

    ¡°It¡¯s not just this,¡± she continued proudly. ¡°He¡¯s helped me lots. Fed me lots of tasty food. Let me sleep in a really soft bed¡­ Oh, oh! And he only fought the humans because they stole me from him! He saved me!¡±

    Mochi watched, silent, as she repeatedly pulled on the bowstring that once gave her trouble. While I questioned her method, as Mochi likely didn¡¯t even know I¡¯d bought her the bow or how strong it was in the first place, he apparently had another question in mind. And he aimed it at me.

    ¡°Alex¡­ I thought she had to be your slave to get your power boost?¡±

    I froze, as did Mana, her ears falling flat. She¡¯d said too much, too soon. Her fingers slipped off the bowstring and it snapped with a loud twang that cut through the air.

    Mochi glared, and not because of the loud noise. The fact that she was safe and sound allowed him to ignore the mention of her kidnapping, as he didn¡¯t even ask for clarification.

    ¡°Explain. Now!¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡±

    ¡°Did you enslave my daughter without my permission?!¡±

    Why does that question sound so weird?

    ¡°Daddy, I wanted¡­¡± Mana started, but stopped when her ears shot to attention. Mochi¡¯s did the same and both father and daughter turned to the right at the same time.

    Ripping through the village like a bolt of lightning, Chibi rammed her shoulder into Mana¡¯s gut, knocking the both of them into the dirt in a cloud of dust. Grinning, Chibi grabbed Mana by the hips and flipped her onto her head, as if trying to show how to do a piledriver. And before Mana could make sense of what was happening, her mother¡¯s hands shot between her legs and pushed them far apart.

    ¡°M-Mother?!¡±

    Suddenly forced into an upside-down split, Mana tried to squirm out of her mother¡¯s hold, but her kicking was fruitless. Chibi had wrapped a leg around her daughter¡¯s waist to lock her in place.

    ¡°Hehehe!¡±

    Still wearing that giggling grin, Chibi slapped her palms down on either side of Mana¡¯s crotch and, shocking everyone, Mana¡¯s cute face then turned bright red. Flushed with embarrassment for what may be the first time in her life, Mana pleaded and squirmed.

    ¡°Mother, stop! Don¡¯t!¡±

    But the equally petite mother paid her no mind at all. Easily fighting off Mana¡¯s squirms, she ducked the heel kicks sent flying at her. I took a step forward to stop them, thinking she wasn¡¯t aware of the situation, but then Chibi did the unthinkable.

    Giggling evermore, she excitedly pressed her thumbs inside Mana¡¯s pussy and spread her open in front of everyone.

    ¡­ And when my brain finally managed a complete reboot, I found myself watching as Chibi then leaned over Mana to peer inside. Perhaps confused, Mana mistakenly covered her face with her hands, instead of the part that really needed the protection, but it was already too late.

    It was then that my damned memory so graciously decided to remind me of the fact that the cat-kin could actually see in the dark. And when I realized this, I knew that the hymen Chibi was looking for was not going to be found.

    Mochi said nothing. Nor did he do anything to stop this. He just crossed his arms and watched his mate. It was almost like he was waiting for her verdict. And finally, Chibi¡¯s grin widened.

    ¡°Yes!¡± she shouted, letting go of Mana¡¯s special place.

    Jumping to her feet, Chibi grabbed hold of Mana before she could flip herself over and hoisted the girl up over her head, as if presenting the antidote to a dreaded plague that had been ravaging their village for years.

    Then, as loud as her tiny frame could have ever possibly allowed, she yelled, ¡°HEY EVERYONE! MY MANA¡¯S FINALLY BECOME A WOMAN!! SHE¡¯S BEEN BLED!!¡±

    As you¡¯d expect from a village filled with people with super sensitive ears, everyone heard and looked at the mother happily dancing in place. A few of the village women giggled, but several more men clapped raucously as they cheered for Mana¡¯s progress in life.

    I, however, just blinked.

    ¡°Nooo!¡± Mana cried, her cheeks a deep shade of crimson. ¡°Mother! I told you I didn¡¯t want to do this! You¡¯re making Big Bro uncomfortable!¡±

    ¡°Hahahahahahahaha! I don¡¯t care! You¡¯re my daughter, and now you¡¯re finally a proper woman! How was it? Did it feel good? I bet it hurt the first time. Alex is pretty big, after all.¡±

    ¡°Grrr!¡±

    Growling, Mana doubled her efforts to squirm free and succeeded in breaking free of Chibi¡¯s hands. Landing nimbly on her hands and feet, she kicked off the ground into a full-on sprint, but Chibi was already long gone, laughing uproariously as she ran away.

    Stunned speechless, I watched as Mana chased her mother throughout the village.

    I blinked again, but the memory of that moment was still there. It really happened. I couldn¡¯t undo it.

    ¡°She mentioned it before, but¡­ I thought she was just joking about checking Mana¡¯s virginity¡­!¡±

    The moment it dawned on me that I still had a lot to learn about these people, or at the very least her family, a chill tore up my spine. It was getting late, but the sun was still visible in the sky and yet, it felt as though the blood in veins had been assaulted by a thousand-year-winter.

    A hand fell on my shoulder and I jumped, but the grip it exerted kept me rooted. Even more so than when I was poisoned and pinned, I felt as though death was beckoning me.

    His tail whipping the air furiously, Mochi glared at me, fists clenched white. Only, he was standing in front of me. The hand did not belong to him.

    Sweat dripped down my face when my back and arm were once more greeted by the unfortunately alluring softness of a woman. Even knowing who the gigantic mounds belonged to, I was too scared to move.

    She¡¯d been kneeling in front of me only seconds ago. I never even saw her move.

    ¡°Alex,¡± Kimiko whispered directly into my ear, her voice anything but sweet. ¡°I thought I told you, you weren¡¯t Mana¡¯s mate yet. Remind me, did I say that?¡±

    ¡°Y-yes, ma¡¯am.¡±

    ¡°Then why did you mate with her?¡±

    ¡°I¡­¡±

    ¡°Our customs are clear. If the love is mutual, you can be with each other as much as you want, whenever you want. But her father explicitly asked you to wait. And as the father of his once pure daughter, his word over her is law.¡±

    ¡°I know, just let me explain¡­¡±

    ¡°You mated with my Mana?¡± Mochi said, fists trembling. ¡°My baby? My pride? My Mana? You bled her? With your manhood?¡±

    Anger overflowed from the man, but at the same time, I couldn¡¯t help but pity him. He had every right to be mad, but for some reason, I got the impression he was more concerned about his daughter being taken from him, than he was the timing. He¡¯d already promised her to me, but now it looked like he was regretting that he really gave her up.

    ¡°Oh, come on Mochi,¡± Yua said, raising an almost condescending brow at him. ¡°They love each other. Besides, I the one that let them¡­!¡±

    Before she could finish, Tama clamped a hand over her mouth and an arm around her waist before pulling her back against him. She tried to pull his arms off her, but the effort was even more pointless than Mana¡¯s had been.

    ¡°He may be your mate,¡± Tama said evenly. ¡°But this doesn¡¯t involve you.¡±

    Kimiko¡¯s grip on my shoulder tightened. The pain wasn¡¯t yet unbearable, but it did spur me into action.

    Wrenching my shoulder out of her grasp, I jumped away. I got the feeling she could have been on me in less than a second, but she stayed put. Turning away from the fires of hell burning in her eyes, I faced Mochi.

    ¡°Yes, I did it. I mated with her.¡±

    Mochi flinched, but said nothing. That much he knew. What he wanted was an explanation.

    I wasn¡¯t going to bring up how I was drunk or how Mana had been the one that initiated that night. Shifting the blame to her wasn¡¯t going to solve anything. So, I¡¯d bear the brunt of it for both of us.

    ¡°I know it was wrong, but I don¡¯t regret it. I love her and I know she loves me. I was impatient, but I never forced her to do anything she didn¡¯t want to do herself.¡±

    Mochi gnashed his teeth, but I straightened my back and threw up my arms, purposefully leaving myself defenseless.

    ¡°Listen to my heart. Tell me I¡¯m lying.¡±

    Reluctantly, but almost on instinct, Mochi¡¯s ears flicked. His eyes widened with the answer he already knew, but didn¡¯t want to admit to. I continued.

    ¡°We¡¯ve only been together for a few days, so I know it may sound weird, but I already know I want to spend the rest of my life with her. The order wasn¡¯t what we agreed to, but I fulfilled my promise. The barrier and the thieves are no more. I am sorry we went against your wishes, but Mana¡¯s my mate now, and I¡¯m not going to give her up no matter what¡­ Even if that means fighting you for her.¡±

    Instead of raising my sword, or my hand to cast a spell, I lifted the front of my shirt, bearing my stomach.

    Yua already thoroughly explained the consequences of my wrongdoing. About what could come of admitting to it, but I¡¯m not lying my way through it. I¡¯ll take his wrath and, if he wants it, we¡¯ll fight it out the cat-kin way. Winner take all, and the prize would be Mana, but I¡¯d give him the first punch.

    ¡°Ha.¡±

    Tama snickered with a half-assed grin and Mochi kicked of the dirt. Flying at me faster than expected, I had no time to brace myself as his fist flew straight into my gut. At the same time, he grabbed my shirt, pinning me in place. Forced to lurch over his shoulder, my vision swam.

    Mochi wasn¡¯t as strong as Tama, wasn¡¯t anywhere near his level. In fact, I was fairly certain Yua was stronger than him, but his technique was perfect. His knuckles slipped between my abs and twisted right as they made contact with the softer part of my belly. It was the same spot Tama had hit the other day.

    I¡¯d left myself defenseless on purpose to show him I meant business, but now it took all my resolve to keep strength from draining out of my legs.

    He held his fist there, unmoving. He didn¡¯t pull back to strike again, nor did he speak a word. It was a punishment. No, this silent conversation was a test. Man-to-man, father-in-law to son-in-law, we were going to hash this out. He¡¯d struck first, but it was up to me to react. Without a word between us, we agreed to this.

    He loved Mana as much as any father could love his daughter. His caution over us being together when she first confessed her feelings and his fury now made that clear, but he knew what she wanted as well as I.

    What he wanted to know was if his daughter¡¯s mate was strong enough to protect her. Unlike Yua, Mana didn¡¯t make it her life¡¯s goal to become a better, stronger fighter. She¡¯d need support.

    So, I grit my teeth and forced my eyes to stay open.

    I focused on my breathing, willing the pain to leave my body. He twisted his fist and I could feel it grinding against my organs, but I suppressed a grunt. It was a weakness I couldn¡¯t afford to show him.

    He went still again. His fist didn¡¯t drive itself any deeper. I clenched mine at my sides, fighting without moving to keep my consciousness in place.

    I had no idea how long we stayed like that. Nor could I tell who or how many of their people were watching us. It didn¡¯t matter. It was only us here. Everyone else might as well have been a myth.

    Finally, just as the pain was starting to subside and I could breathe normally again, he pulled his fist back out of my gut. This brought a whole new pain, but I braced myself for another severe punch, anyways. It never came. Instead, he pat my shoulder.

    Confused, I met his eyes and saw him suppressing his tears.

    ¡°I accept you,¡± he said, squeezing my shoulder. ¡°For Mana¡¯s sake¡­ No. You¡¯ve already proven your love for her. So, welcome to the family.¡±

    Stunned yet again today, it took me several seconds to register what he¡¯d said, but when he pulled away, my hand shot up on its own to grab his shoulder right back. Equally shocked and bracing himself, but his fury gone, Mochi watched me.

    I leaned in close to whisper in his ear, so that nobody but he could hear me.

    ¡°I promise I will take care of her. And I may still not know everything about your culture, but I¡¯ll do my best to live up to what being her mate means to her. But before that, there¡¯s something you need to know.¡±

    Mochi waited, his ears flicking. I thought to tell him about my reincarnation, but stopped myself. Telling family was one thing, but I didn¡¯t want to announce it to everyone else. Though nobody was directly looking our way, I was under no illusion that this conversation was as private as I wanted it to be.

    Besides, I had something more important to say.

    ¡°Mana thinks you¡¯ve been ignoring her.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s true. You and everyone else here. She told me herself. It¡¯s because you always look away when she¡¯s talking to you.¡±

    ¡°But that¡¯s¡­ I can¡¯t help it,¡± he admitted, a little too easily. ¡°My daughter is too adorable. Way too adorable! I¡­ Even though I¡¯m her father, I feel like I can¡¯t discipline her properly because my heart melts just looking at her. I know that all she has to do is pout and I¡¯d give into anything she asked for, no matter how poor a decision it¡¯d be to let her have her way. I mean, what kind of father can¡¯t say no to his daughter?¡±

    My brow twitched. I couldn¡¯t believe that really was the reason, but points to him for being so open about it. I guess.

    ¡°I can understand that myself,¡± I said. ¡°But she¡¯s been feeling lonely because nobody takes her seriously. I promise you, she¡¯s not using her cuteness to get her way, she just wants your attention.¡±

    Mochi took this in and scrunched up his face as though my words had physically pained him. He hung his head.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t she say¡­ No, maybe I wouldn¡¯t have listened if she tried. I¡¯m a terrible father. How could I not notice?¡±

    ¡°From what I understand, nobody noticed. So don¡¯t feel so bad. But I¡¯ll let you in on a little secret. How you can improve your relationship with her before we go.¡±

    ¡°Before you go¡­¡± Mochi closed his eyes. We didn¡¯t live here, so leaving was inevitable. The fact that he¡¯d be giving up his daughter and that she¡¯d have to move away struck him once more a little too late. But he pushed the sadness aside to ask, ¡°What should I do?¡±

    ¡°I plan on resting here for a little while. Spend some time with her while you can. Forgive her for disobeying you, pretend it didn¡¯t happen, and give her a happy send off.¡±

    I let go of him, feeling as though I made it sound like he¡¯d never see her again, but as we agreed the other day, Mana could visit literally whenever she wanted via teleportation magic. I just didn¡¯t want them to part with her knowing how much he actually cared.

    ¡°I understand,¡± he said firmly. A small sniffle struck my eardrums, but I elected to ignore it as he drew a long breath. ¡°Then, as her mate, I¡¯d like to ask you let me borrow her for a while.¡±

    ¡°Have fun.¡±

    Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, and showing a side of himself I hadn¡¯t seen much of, the side that was more ¡°doting¡± than ¡°father,¡± he took off running. He seemed to already know exactly where his mate and daughter ran off to, so he dashed straight through the village to find them.

    I watched him go, imagining him rubbing his eyes as he ran, when another pair of soft somethings pressed against my arm. Noticing they were much smaller than the previous ones, but also how they were no less soft, I recognized her immediately. Still watching him, I put an arm around Yua¡¯s waist.

    ¡°So, how much of that did you hear?¡±

    ¡°None at all,¡± she said, pressing her hand to my chest. Smiling warmly, she healed me. ¡°But are you sure you want to stay? Don¡¯t you have to turn in the quest and brew those potions?¡±

    I laughed, but hooked my hand around her hips to slip my middle and ring fingers inside her vagina. Despite the fact that we were standing out in the open amongst her tribe, she didn¡¯t so much as twitch in discomfort, nor did she stop her Healing Fist. Her warmth only hugged me tighter.

    As we were still within the village, I¡¯d live according to their ways. And I wanted her to know I was being serious.

    ¡°I promised to let you spend some time with your family when we were done with the quest, remember? Let me handle the boring stuff while you go have some fun.¡±

    Turning in the quest aside, I¡¯d already done the math. Even if the Cure Poison potions ended up taking a little longer to brew than Health Potions, I still had plenty of time before the deadline. And if all else failed, I could buy a few more cauldrons to speed up the process.

    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Her healing finished, Yua shifted her hand down to my crotch and squeezed me lightly over my pants. ¡°We could go finish our work and just come back after.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re persistent, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Well, I know you¡¯ve been worrying about finishing the quest on time, so¡­ Hueh!¡±

    A surprised squeak caused her loving expression to break form. Without either of us noticing, Tama appeared behind her, grabbed her by the waist and lifted her up and away from me before tossing her over his shoulder. The thought of her bare-naked ass being shown off to the village bounced off my mental forcefield before it could bother me, even though her pussy was now staring me in the face.

    ¡°Daddy? What are you¡­?¡±

    ¡°The boy said you can stay. So¡­¡±

    He paused, holding Yua by the backs of her thighs, and looked me up and down. For a second, a very brief second, it looked as though he was about to apologize, but I wasn¡¯t surprised when he didn¡¯t.

    ¡°Boy, I thought you accepted our culture? Why are you wearing clothes when your mates aren¡¯t?¡±

    ¡°Wha¡­But last time, you said¡­¡±

    ¡°Bah,¡± he scoffed, adjusting Yua on his shoulder as if she were a sack of potatoes. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Daughter, let¡¯s go fight.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ Hey! Geez.¡± Yua shot me an apologetic look, but surrendered easily enough and let herself be carrier away. ¡°Let me know when you want to go!¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡± I called back, then in a lower tone, added, ¡°They both just lived through a supremely dangerous battle, but they still have the energy to fight?¡±

    Laughing a little too wryly at myself, I took a brief look at Mana¡¯s outline to make sure she hadn¡¯t chased Chibi until she¡¯d collapsed from exhaustion, only to find that she wasn¡¯t too far away. She was sitting near one of the village¡¯s many campfires, hugging and nuzzling her cheek against Mochi¡¯s arm while Chibi pat her head tenderly. Though, Chibi was still grinning.

    Wondering if she was the root cause of what happened between Mana and myself last night, and her running away from the village to join in the first place, I shook my head. Clearly, I had Chibi¡¯s approval from the start, but it would have been nice if she¡¯d at least pleaded my case while we were gone.

    Before I could decide how to spend my time during this little break, Kimiko rushed over to me. I froze stiff, but the obnoxious an overly-exaggerated bouncing of her mountainous bare breasts made it impossible for me not to notice her approaching.

    ¡°Wait, Alex.¡±

    ¡°In my defense, Mochi already forgave me, so there¡¯s no need to¡­¡±

    She laughed, but shook her head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me. I was only angry on his behalf. You broke our rules, but since they were rules regarding his daughter, it was always going to be up to him to decide your fate.¡±

    ¡°Could you maybe not word it like that? Fate is a really strong word.¡±

    I¡¯d rather not think about my wife¡¯s mother killing me because my other wife¡¯s father asked her to. It was a weird string of thoughts that shouldn¡¯t be possible, but that¡¯s actually what almost happened. Kimiko could be scary at times, but I¡¯d always prefer seeing her as a warm, motherly sort of figure.

    And as if noticing my trepidation, she giggled. It hadn¡¯t lasted long, but her malice was thankfully nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°Here, take these,¡± she said, holding out her hand. When I reached out, she let a pair of essence crystals and ten gold coins drop into my palms.

    ¡°But I collected these for you guys.?¡±

    ¡°And you gave us more than enough. You take a few for yourself. Think of it as an apology for My Mate not being able to keep his promise.¡±

    ¡°Haha. Then shouldn¡¯t he be the one giving them to me?¡±

    Her smile turned just a tad sympathetic as she shook her head.

    ¡°Sorry, but he asked me to do this. And that¡¯s the best you¡¯re going to get from him. Though, he did apologize profusely to Yua once you were out of sight.¡±

    ¡°I figured, but didn¡¯t want to assume¡­¡±

    I sighed. Even ridding the forest of its illegal inhabitants wasn¡¯t going to be enough to appease dear old dad.

    As I was lamenting this, Kimiko leaned in and planted a quick peck on my cheek before tussling my hair with a smile.

    ¡°As Mochi said, welcome to the family. It¡¯s interesting that the girl I treated like a daughter has actually become my daughter now. Well, sort of.¡± She giggled. ¡°I¡¯m going to go watch My Mate and daughter fight. I know you really aren¡¯t interested, but¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d love to watch,¡± I said, offering her my arm. She took it gladly and with a smile.

    We took our seats, not on one of the log-benches, but directly on the ground, as it was the only seating available around the sparring grounds. Kimiko sat with her legs crossed and without care for how exposed the position left her special place. I sat beside her, mainly so I wasn¡¯t tempted to look.

    The fight between Yua and Tama was already well under way and going exactly as one would expect, but even after Tama¡¯s punch lifted Yua off the ground, he grinned proudly at her.

    He¡¯d noticed a small change in my strength just by being near me when I used my stat points, so fighting Yua must have really drilled in how much progress she¡¯d made.

    Sighing contentedly, Kimiko let herself lean on me as she watched the two with a smile every bit as loving as a mother watching her husband and daughter having a tea party.

    Once the fight ended with the victor surprising no one, Tama slapped his hand on Yua¡¯s chest, healed her, and she jumped right back up to accept her next challenger. He stood nearby, watching.

    As we watched along, I explained the events leading up to our fight with Tillmann, how it ended and what we did afterword to Kimiko. She nodded along without cutting in, despite several questions flitting across her face. And when I ended with an explanation of how to find the Enchanter¡¯s shop in Guerraway, she finally spoke up.

    ¡°A third wife, hmmmm?~¡± she joked. ¡°Your manhood¡¯s rather large, but it sounds like it¡¯s really energetic too.¡±

    Wearily, I laughed at my own expense and said, ¡°Yea, well, maybe I¡¯ll bring her along next time we visit.¡±

    I¡¯d have to give her a thorough warning of what she¡¯d be witnessed too once she got here, though.

    Yua¡¯d finished another fight and this time won, but was knelt in front of Tama as he explained how she could have done better. As I watched, I was once more forced to take note of the scars on his chest when Yua pressed him for another hug, this time in thanks.

    ¡°Hey,¡± I said. ¡°If the Brawler Bears are so huge, why are the scars on Tama¡¯s chest so small?¡±

    Just the smaller of the bear¡¯s claws could have cleaved him in half, but the scar looked like they had been put there by, at most, a regular bear from Earth.

    ¡°Oh,¡± Kimiko sighed. ¡°It¡¯s because he insisted on keeping the scars in the first place, but refused to stop fighting. The wounds kept reopening and didn¡¯t heal right. He might not even have a scar if he¡¯d just stayed put.¡±

    ¡°¡­ I believe it.¡±

    Finished with their most recent hug, Tama lifted Yua up over his head and threw her at her next opponent. And I unfortunately mean that literally. Threw her through the air like a javelin.

    I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever stop being amazed at how much these two love to fight.

    Eventually, Mana and her parents came to join us. Much calmer now, Mochi didn¡¯t look even slightly upset when Mana plopped down on my lap and pulled my arm around herself. Now that there was nobody to stop her, she eagerly pushed my hand between her thighs so I could hold my mate how their people demanded.

    Chibi, however, for reasons I couldn¡¯t begin to guess at, opted to sit on my shoulders and fool around with my hair, as though amused by my lack of cat ears.

    Like this, I tried to relax and watch the fights as one of my mothers-in-law pressed her breasts into my arm, while the other pressed her pussy against the back of my neck. Seeing how closely the other cat-kin sat together around the sparring grounds in similar fashion, I tried not to dwell on it as we watched the fights progress.

    It seems I¡¯ve been fully accepted as a part of their people. Only, I¡¯m not sure this was how I would have liked to find out.

    After an hour or so of enduring this, and after making sure Yua was properly healed, we said our goodbyes and made for Amoranth.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 29

    ¡°Wow¡­ So this is where Booby Lady lives?¡±

    Awed at the grandeur rather than impressed, Mana gaped at the d¨¦cor furnishing Elane¡¯s drawing room. As she spun around, excitedly gasping at everything from the utterly mundane to the entirely intriguing, Yua couldn¡¯t help but giggle at her.

    Enjoying the sight of Mana wagging tail as she bent over to study the trinkets on one of the bookshelves, I quietly slipped a finger under the strap of her frilly white dress and pulled it back onto her shoulder before she revealed too much.

    Even though she¡¯d obtained her freedom once again, we had no problems getting Mana back into her clothes before we left the village. Although, she did need our help putting them on. That little heart-to-heart we had back in the tavern must have really gotten through to her, as the most I had to deal with once she was ready was Chibi playfully attempting to wear Yua¡¯s clothes.

    Chibi was no doubt the older of the two, but Yua¡¯s ¨C assets ¨C were far too bountiful in comparison, so it all slipped right off the petite cat girl¡¯s body. Not that she minded, of course.

    ¡°Think we should let them know we¡¯re here?¡± I asked.

    Yua shook her head, looking supremely relaxed now that she¡¯d had the chance to beat the crap out of a bunch of people.

    ¡°No need. They¡¯re already coming.¡±

    It was honestly a little surprising that she¡¯d taken notice. I¡¯d already cleaned the sweat from her body with magic, but she was still steaming with pride over leaving with another winning streak under her belt.

    Before Elane separated from us, we¡¯d planned on meeting up in this room again since it was the one I was the most familiar with. Also, it felt a little uncouth to teleport straight into a maiden¡¯s bedroom as the sun was setting.

    Soon enough, the drawing room door was thrown open, leaving the mountainous breasts of the woman that disturbed it bouncing after thrusting herself into the room. And I am happy to report that she beamed when our eyes met. It was a far cry from how our first meeting in this room had gone.

    Elane was just as we left her, though her axe was no longer slung over her shoulder. Instead, what she held there was the ass-end of a very limp, green-haired maid. Thankfully, unlike Tama, Elane had the decency to press down June¡¯s skirt with her hand so I couldn¡¯t be accused of looking at something I wasn¡¯t supposed to.

    As for June herself, she eyed us blearily, like she¡¯d only just woken up. She didn¡¯t even seem to notice that Elane was accidentally groping her ass in order to press down her skirt. She simply dangled, nothing more. She was utterly defenseless.

    ¡°Welcome back!¡± Elane beamed. ¡°As promised, I already¡­ wait. Girls! What are you doing? Get in here!¡±

    ¡°S-Sorry!¡±

    At their former mistress¡¯s call, Erika dashed into the room, her cheeks bright pink as she held the door for the others to join.

    Despite the vibrant shade of blue that colored the drill-shaped twintails she wore her hair in, this third maid hunched her shoulders cautiously and clenched her hands together in front of her chest as she entered.

    I couldn¡¯t bring myself to feel at all insulted by how she trembled when her purple eyes met mine, but it only made her look smaller. And she was already a little more on the petite side than Mana was. At least, in one area.

    ¡°Tch¡­¡±

    Pushing the smaller maid forward was a fiery-haired woman bearing the same maid¡¯s dress. Unlike all the other maids, she was not blushing, not trembling and most certainly not on the verge of falling asleep. She was glaring at none other in the room but me. The sort of fury in her eyes and the caution in her gate as she approached reminded of how Yua used to treat me when I first bought her.

    Then, as if she noticed that I noticed this, she covered her chest with her arms and huffed. I politely looked away.

    We waited patiently for the maids to line up in the middle of the room, Erika included. Elane then carefully set June¡¯s feet on the floor, made sure she could stand on her own, and moved behind the lineup. In no particular order other than Erika the Headmaid standing at attention on the far left, they bowed to me in unison. Though the lazier one of them was forced to do so by Erika.

    ¡°¡°Welcome home, Master.¡±¡±

    They chanted their greeting in unison as well and, for better or worse, I had to admit they looked well trained as they each dipped into a curtsy. Seeing them now, I fully believed Elane when she told me she bought them all simply because they were cute.

    Elane clapped her hands with a grin and said, ¡°Good. I already explained everything to these four, so let¡¯s just skip the questions and move straight into the introductions! You first, Headmaid.¡±

    ¡°Eep!¡±

    Pushed forward, or rather, forced to move by the hand that lightly slapped her ass, was Erika. Pouting, she reached back to rub her backside, but immediately thought better of it. Instead, she clasped her hands together in front of her apron and began.

    ¡°I-I¡­ As you already know, my name is Erika. I¡¯m a dog-kin of the Greater Vierre Forest. In this household, my duties are to organize the other maids, tend the garden and cook¡­ A-And my three sizes are 84-53-85.¡±

    Momentarily bewildered, I suddenly couldn¡¯t do anything more than acknowledge the fact that Erika was only slightly smaller in each area than Yua. But I quickly shook my head before the next girl could speak.

    ¡°Wait. Wait. Wait. Elane, did you tell them to share their sizes with me?¡±

    ¡°Yup! I figured you, as a man, would want to know. I did, anyways.¡±

    Elane grinned and proudly gave me a thumbs up, but now that I know why the maids were acting so cautious of me. I pinched the bridge of my nose.

    ¡°Girls, forget whatever Elane told you. You don¡¯t need to share any personal details about your body with me. Erika, sorry she put you on the spot.¡±

    ¡°I-It¡¯s okay, Master.¡±

    ¡°And you don¡¯t need to call me Master, okay? That goes for all of you.¡±

    ¡°Understood, Master.¡±

    Erika dipped into another bow and, sighing, I was torn on how to proceed. I could just as easily demand she stop referring to me as Master, but wouldn¡¯t that make me a hypocrite? I was here to basically give them their humanity back. Using force didn¡¯t seem right. Which leaves letting her work it out of her system until she¡¯s used to being around me.

    Then again, I suppose I did give Yua a few orders without ever revoking them. And the fact that Mana¡¯s wearing clothes is a result of another order, though that was more between us as mates, rather than master and slave.

    Before I could come to a decision, however, the fiery-haired maid took a step forward. Her arms crossed and her cheeks flushed, she glared intently at me as though I were the only other being in the room. Midway between wondering if her Spear Warrior class had something to do with her defiant attitude, I noticed her Casanova level said she held a deep dislike for me. So I prepared myself for the worst.

    ¡°My name¡¯s Mary. No family name. My duties are to sweep and wax the floors and tidy the many bedrooms of the mansion. And if you¡¯re going to devour us, Master, I ask that you thrust all your lewd desires onto me. Alone. Just keep your paws off the others. Please.¡±

    ¡°M-Mary!¡± Erika shouted.

    Taken aback and unable to respond despite my efforts in bracing myself, I looked to Elane to ask if she suggested something else inappropriate, but she too looked shocked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any experience with men,¡± Mary continued, gritting her teeth as she squeezed her arms. ¡°But if you just tell me what you to do, I¡¯ll¡­¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

    Looking even more shocked than the rest of us, Mary staggered back into line. But it wasn¡¯t me she looked fearful of anymore. The one that yelled, the woman whose tail was as stiff as a blade, was none other than Yua.

    ¡°Alex has no intention of laying a hand on any of you!¡± she continued. ¡°He¡¯s not that kind of master. When he bought me, we slept together in the same bed for a week and he never laid so much as a finger on me until I asked him to! Assuming that he¡¯d be so terrible¡­ Erika, did you not tell them what I said?¡±

    ¡°I-I tried,¡± Erika cried. ¡°But um, well¡­ After dealing with a carnivore like Mis¡­ Like Elane for so many years, having an actual man show up to put a collar around their necks scares them.¡±

    ¡°Not me,¡± June said, languidly leaning back onto Elane. ¡°I¡¯m perfectly ready to use the Headmaid as a meat shield to guard my chastity. Oh, and by the way, my name¡¯s June. I¡¯m reluctantly in charge of all the laundry and I can mend any clothing that needs it.¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t a time for jokes!¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s joking?¡±

    Wondering just what in the hell I walked myself into, I took a step back from the girls and tried to speak as calmly as I could.

    ¡°Girls, I understand your worry, but I promise you, I¡¯m not going to take advantage of you. I¡¯d actually like for all of us to get along, so¡­¡±

    I was interrupted by a shaking hand that was raised high into the air, like a student waiting for their teacher to call on them. She squeezed her eyes shut, but her determination was apparent, so I gave her the floor.

    ¡°Go ahead, Silla.¡±

    ¡°Oh, um, right. I guess you already know, but, my name¡¯s Silla Felisara. I tend the library and handle all the dusting with my magic. But, um¡­. If you¡¯re not going to eat us, why do you keep staring at our b-breasts?¡±

    ¡°Huh?!¡±

    Before I could question what she meant, as I legitimately had no recollection of meaning to do that, Yua sent a sharp elbow jab into my side. It only hurt a little, but seeing as how the slave spell didn¡¯t rebound the pain on her, I guessed it must have been true.

    She whispered in my ear.

    ¡°They¡¯re not going to trust you if you keep staring like that.¡±

    ¡°I swear, I¡¯m not doing it on purpose!¡±

    Sure, I did just spend the last couple hours in a village of literal nudists, but I wasn¡¯t feeling at all pent up like I¡¯d been during my first visit. This was concerning in its own way, but¡­

    Seriously, how do I keep doing that without noticing or trying to?

    ¡°He¡¯s staring at Elane¡¯s right now,¡± Erika said. ¡°But¡­ It¡¯s strange. I don¡¯t smell any lust on him at all.¡±

    Who the hell could be lustful in this sort of situation? Also, when the hell did I look at her?

    ¡°Of course he¡¯s not,¡± Elane bellowed. ¡°My husband is a man of great taste. He knows full-well that ass is superior to tits. I mean, just look at Yua. She¡¯s his first wife and she¡¯s got a great backside too.¡±

    ¡°Elane, you¡¯re not helping¡­¡±

    ¡°So he¡¯s already eaten one of his slaves?¡± Silla said, wiping away a tear. ¡°Gods, we really are going to be devoured.¡±

    ¡°Quick, Headmaid, show him your tits,¡± June added. ¡°Distract him while the rest of us run¡­ Well, I¡¯m not actually going to run anywhere, but still.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to do that!¡± Erika shrieked, causing June¡¯s muscles to give out. She collapsed to the floor, into a puddle of lethargy that spread until it pushed Mary to step forward yet again.

    ¡°Master, please, these girls are too innocent to be devoured.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Just as I was begining to weigh the pros and cons of asking Yua to use Healing Punch to see if it¡¯d cure the headache that was brewing in me, Mana stomped up to Mary. Puffing up her small chest, she slapped one hand on her hip and with the other, shot an accusatory finger at the maid.

    ¡°Stop being mean to Big Bro! He¡¯s really nice. If you¡¯d just shut up and listen to him, you¡¯d know that!¡±

    Mary, bewildered, raised a confused brow at the smaller girl who¡¯d yet to be introduced.

    ¡°Thank you, Mana. As I was saying¡­¡±

    ¡°Besides,¡± Mana continued, shifting her pointed finger over to Yua. ¡°The only one here that¡¯s done any devouring is Big Sis. Three times. Three times I saw her eat his manho¡­!¡±

    Before she let out a sentence that would have insured the maids fear me for the rest of their lives, Yua and I moved in unison to cover her mouth. Letting her squirm, I handed her off to Yua and addressed the room.

    I wanted to be casual about this, but I clearly needed to put my foot down here, or this would only continue.

    ¡°No one is to say any more about anyone being devoured, because it¡¯s not going to happen! That¡¯s an order!¡±

    As expected, this instantly compelled all present to quiet down. Elane shrugged as though she had nothing to do with this, Erika quickly hung her head, Silla trembled, June remained a puddle on the floor, but only Mary continued to stand tall despite my yelling.

    ¡°Look,¡± I continued in a controlled voice. ¡°As I was saying, I do not like slavery. I know I must look like a giant hypocrite in saying that while having so many slaves, but I¡¯m serious. Aside from Yua, Mana here and Elane both willingly chose to become mine. I didn¡¯t force it on them, right?¡±

    ¡°Mmhmf!¡± Mana muffled her agreement proudly into Yua¡¯s palm. She even accentuated it with a proud nod.

    Elane, though, stepped around the girls to stand beside me. She¡¯d been fooling around so far, but seeing the honest worry in the maids must have compelled her to give it a rest.

    But nobody was expecting her to bow her head so deeply to them.

    Their former mistress, their master, lowered herself in front of them. And when her golden hair fell to cover her face, she brushed it over her shoulder so they could see her.

    ¡°Girls, I¡¯m sorry I was so rough with you. With the yelling, the threats and punishments, I let my drinking get the better of me and took it out on all of you. If it weren¡¯t for that, if I wasn¡¯t drunk all the time, you¡¯d probably be a little more trusting.

    ¡°But trust me when I say I¡¯m positive Alex is different,¡± she continued. ¡°Part of his conditions to take me as his wife was to apologize to you four. So, I know I probably don¡¯t deserve your forgiveness, I am truly sorry. I never meant to make my lovely, cute, maids worry so much.¡±

    Finally, a chink appeared in Mary¡¯s glare and Erika teared up a little, as did Silla. June even managed to sit up and gawk at her former mistress, but all of them were dumfounded by Elane¡¯s actions.

    While it was true I asked her to apologize to the maids, I figured she would have done it while we were away. Maybe it was her hesitation on that end that led to all the noise, but at least it seemed to have helped them calm down.

    ¡°Woah,¡± June muttered. ¡°She actually admitted it.¡±

    ¡°Yes, June. I truly am very sorry.¡±

    ¡°No, I mean you admitted you were drunk. You usually lie and say you¡¯re only tipsy, even after drinking enough to pass out in the bath.¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯ve fallen asleep while eating several times,¡± Silla added.

    ¡°And you usually end up walking around the mansion with your boobs out because you forget how to close your coat and give up trying,¡± Mary said with a sigh.

    ¡°A-And you groped me all over last night,¡± Erika added, then cautiously flitting her gaze between Elane and I, she continued. ¡°You touched everywhere.¡±

    Pretending I hadn¡¯t heard the last two, I stayed quiet. Elane, flushed a bit, but denied nothing.

    Elane kept her head bowed, while Mary hefted the limp June up by the collar of her dress and the four huddled together. Occasionally, one of them poked their head up to look at me, but quickly withdrew to whisper some more. Whatever it was they whispered to each other about must have been private matters, as even Yua elected not to eavesdrop.

    We waited patiently for them to come to terms with the sudden changes, but Elane was starting to tremble the longer it took them to respond to her apology.

    Finally, Mary raised her head and kept it raised. She aimed her next question at Yua.

    ¡°So, you two are with him willingly? He¡¯s not forcing you?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s not. I¡¯m his mate, and so is Mana. Though, I suppose it¡¯d be easier for you all to understand if I said we¡¯re his wives.¡±

    ¡°But then why did you act like a slave when you first came to visit?¡± Erika asked.

    ¡°That was just an act. I knew we were going to be meeting with a noblewoman, so I didn¡¯t want to upset her by acting too casually.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡±

    Erika put a knuckle to her chin and fell silent. She must have been reinterpreting every moment she¡¯d seen of me with my girls under the new line of thinking that we weren¡¯t just a master and his slaves. Her Casanova level said she was no longer weary of me, but she clearly still had some misgivings. And thankfully, the tension slowly left her.

    It was Mary that spoke next.

    ¡°Then, if you don¡¯t like slavery, and you don¡¯t treat those two like slaves, what about us?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯ll be the same with you girls. Elane already agreed to come live with us, so I¡¯d like it if you girls kept this place up and running. We¡¯ll still visit from time to time, and we¡¯ll be using this room as a teleportation point, but this mansion is as good as yours. This isn¡¯t just where you live, it¡¯s your home now. Well, so long as you want to be here.¡±

    The time period may be different, but I¡¯ve had enough of living in the city. And even though I made it clear I wasn¡¯t going to budge on that point, Elane agreed readily and without complaint. I could just as easily expand our house for free anyways.

    ¡°It¡¯s my way of apologizing,¡± Elane added, head still bowed. ¡°All the gold in my vault technically belongs to Alex now, but he¡¯s already given you all permission to use it as you need.¡±

    ¡°R-Really?¡± Erika pressed. ¡°But what about¡­¡±

    Apparently knowing where the dog-kin was going, Elane answered her next question swiftly to save her the trouble.

    ¡°I¡¯m barely a noble. You know I don¡¯t have any real duties outside of being a Cartographer. And there¡¯s more than enough gold in the vault to cover the yearly tax. You shouldn¡¯t have to worry about a thing.¡±

    This was the crux of why we were here. We didn¡¯t stop by to say I was moving in, but that Elane was leaving the mansion and everything in it to them. It¡¯d still be ours, well, technically just mine, but all we were going to use it for was a teleportation spot to prevent us from wasting coin entering the city by the front gate.

    ¡°Staying here means you¡¯re all free to act just like regular girls. So long as I am your master, you¡¯re not slaves anymore.¡±

    Despite myself, I let slip a small chuckle at how ridiculous that sounded, but the maids took this all in about as well as we were expecting. Meaning they all stood there, unsure of how to react to what was essentially their freedom being handed to them on a silver platter.

    Refusing to let their apprehension continue, I tried a different approach.

    ¡°Okay, how about this? As a show of good faith, how about each of you tell me one thing you want that Elane wouldn¡¯t let you have and I will give it to you.¡±

    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t let them have?¡± Elane repeated, looking confused where she remained bowing.

    The maids ignored her and looked to each other before huddling together again. After a few moments of whispered bickering, occasionally stopping to take a peek at me, Mary stepped forward first.

    It seems that, even though Erika was in charge of the maid quartet, the fiery Mary was their backbone. Although, her shoulders raised themselves defensively.

    ¡°Ma¡­ No, Alex, may I please have a spear?¡±

    Taken aback for but a mere second, I realized her trepidation came from the fact that she, a slave, was asking for a weapon she could potentially harm her new master with. But I was a man of my word.

    Clapping my hands together, I activated Material Creation. Using all the spears I¡¯d seen in the blacksmith¡¯s shop as a reference, as well as a few from video games, I created what I hoped was a good representation of my sincerity.

    Right before her ruby-red eyes, I materialized a weapon with a shaft as long as she was tall, but with a thick-headed, steel blade that somewhat resembled a serrated leaf.

    I was no craftsman. Nor was I a weapon designer. And what I made did look something more like a fan-created fantasy weapon that you¡¯d have to mod into a game, rather than one sculpted by a professional, but I was confident that it could serve its purpose.

    Mary¡¯s eyes glowed and, finally, a smile appeared on her lips. That bright, childlike smile rang home the fact that Elane¡¯s taste in cute girls was unparalleled.

    However, though Mary unconsciously started reaching for the spear, it was not her that spoke up.

    ¡°W-Wait, Husband,¡± Elane pleaded, jumping out of her bow to grab my wrist. ¡°You can¡¯t give her that! What if she cuts herself and ends up with a scar like mine?!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯s not that clumsy.¡± She did have the Spear Warrior class, after all. ¡°Besides, a potion can clear up any cuts she gets, right?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not the point! What if she can¡¯t get a potion in time and she scars her face? Her super cute, tomboyish face? A scar?!¡±

    I blinked at her, as I¡¯m sure most present did. The subject at hand, though, only had eyes for the spear in my hands.

    ¡°Elane¡­¡± I said. ¡°Did you deny her a spear just on the off chance she¡¯d cut her face?¡±

    ¡°Obviously!¡±

    ¡°¡­ Mary, catch.¡±

    ¡°Noooo!¡±

    With my wrist held firm, I flicked the spear into the maid¡¯s waiting hands and she caught it, spinning it all around herself in a flourish that could have rivaled Elane¡¯s prowess with her axe had the force it created not ruffled her skirt so provocatively.

    Holding it in her hands, she admired it from top to bottom before hugging it to her chest like a stuffed animal.

    [Casanova Skill Activated: Slave Mary has reached level 2]

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    [Slave is content with her new master.]

    Right. Content. I¡¯ll take it.

    ¡°It¡¯s perfect! And its balance is amazing! And what is this spearhead? It looks so deadly!¡±

    ¡°Haha, well, I may not know much, but I do have the Spear Warrior class, too. So, I at least got the basics of what a spear needs down pat.¡±

    In a flash, her animosity and caution vanished, only to return in small amounts the moment I took notice. Coughing into her fist, brow furrowed with embarrassment, she bowed politely.

    ¡°Thank you for this. I will cherish and polish it every night.¡±

    ¡°Please do.¡±

    ¡°Nooo! Husband, how could you?!¡± Elane whined, but Silla shoved her aside and dashed between us, hand raised high to ask a question. Or several questions.

    ¡°Are you a Mage? Are you a Mage? Are you a Mage?! How did you make that spear out of thin air? Magic, right? How¡¯d you do it without an incantation?!¡±

    Suddenly full of energy as she jumped up and down in front of me, Silla had lost her earlier worries. Her drills continued bouncing after she stopped, but I, as a man, couldn¡¯t help but notice that her nearly-flat chest hadn¡¯t budged at all despite all the movement. Still, I was a little shocked by the change.

    ¡°I am a Mage, yes. Among other things. And I have a trait that lets me cast spells and abilities without incanting them first. See?¡±

    Carefully, I held out my palm in front of her and, without making a peep, a softball-sized sphere of water appeared. Without the instruction for it to move, it just hovered over my palm, but Silla¡¯s eye lit up as though the water had taken human shape and started dancing.

    Her mouth hung open in a wide, wordless grin until¡­

    [Casanova Skill Activated: Slave Silla Felisara has reached level 3]

    [Slave greatly admires her new master and wishes to study magic under him.]

    Wait, did she seriously level up twice from just this? I did literally nothing but cast a spell!

    ¡°Amazing!¡± she shouted, snapping my attention away from her status window. ¡°Silent casting was thought to be a myth that so many have wasted their lives in pursuit of, but to actually see it for myself¡­ And from such a tall, han¡­!¡±

    As if noticing her cheeks growing a little pink, she quickly shook her head and locked her eyes on mine.

    ¡°I know what I want. Please, can you¡­¡±

    ¡°Sorry, but I can¡¯t teach you silent casting,¡± I interrupted with a hand up to stop her hopes from going too far. ¡°It¡¯s not an ability I learned. I was¡­ born with it.¡±

    Same as I had with the in-laws, I decided to withhold the news that I was from another world. At least for now. Explaining it again would take too much time.

    The rejection, however, nearly caused Silla to wilt.

    ¡°O-Oh¡­ I see. I understand. It¡¯s not a secret you can give to just anybody.¡±

    ¡°No, I was really just born with it. I¡¯m not trying to keep it a secret from you. Though, I do have to order all of you not to tell anyone anything about my abilities, classes or magic. For all of our safety.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ Then, um, can I have the right to learn some more magic? Besides Homemaker spells, I mean. That¡¯s all Elane would let me learn. I¡¯d really love to learn some sort of offensive magic, but anything other than Homemaker spells would be greatly appreciated. Elane actually collected a few tomes herself, so you won¡¯t even need to buy any.¡±

    ¡°Noooooo!¡± Elane cried, gripping the sleeve of my shirt. ¡°You can¡¯t! Not Silla! Her only rival in adorableness in this world is Kitty! Don¡¯t ruin her!¡±

    With my new wife nearly in tears at just the thought of this small girl learning magic, despite her already knowing the Dust Disperse and Drying Gale homemaker spells, I had only one question. I let my water ball disappear in to my item box.

    ¡°Elane¡­ Did you stop her from learning new spells because she might somehow harm her cuteness?¡±

    ¡°Obviously! Just think, what if she were to burn herself with fire spells! Or if she cuts herself with a wind spell! Or, Gods, what if she accidentally teleports herself into a group of wild beasts that¡­!¡±

    ¡°Here you go, Silla,¡± I said, ignoring Elane¡¯s rambling to hand the tiny Mage the Water Ball spell book I¡¯d pulled from my item box. Elane gasped in despair. ¡°I¡¯ll make you a deal, since I already mastered that spell, you can borrow it for as long as you need. In the meantime, could I ask you to bring me the spell books Elane keeps? Oh, and any books about enchanting as well.¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes, Teacher!¡± Silla said, rubbing the book affectionately against her cheek. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back!¡±

    ¡°Mary, if she needs help, would you¡­¡±

    ¡°Sure, sure,¡± the redhead said with a shrug and followed the tiny mage that had already dashed out of the room. She carefully dipped her spear under the doorframe without even looking as she left.

    With her Spear Warrior class being level 2 and Silla¡¯s Mage class already level 5, I had to guess that they had a fair bit of experience by this world¡¯s slow-leveling standards. So, I don¡¯t see why Elane was so overly cautious. Besides, this way they could protect themselves and the mansion once we took Elane home with us.

    ¡°Noooo, Husband, you¡¯re so cruel! My cute maids are being soiled!¡±

    Withstanding her nonsense as she grabbed me by the collar to shake me, I looked to Erika.

    ¡°How about you, Erika? What would you like?¡±

    ¡°Erm, well¡­ If it¡¯s not too much trouble, as a dog-kin, I¡¯d really love it if I could have June sew some holes into my clothes so my tail can fit through them.¡±

    Not shocked at all by the immediacy of this request, I looked to Yua and she nodded back with a smile. She¡¯d asked for the same before, so she knew of this beast-kin¡¯s woes.

    ¡°Consider it done. Matter of fact, one of my abilities can put a tail hole in the dress you¡¯re wearing, if you¡¯d like.¡±

    ¡°It can? I-I mean, that would be greatly appreciated! Keeping my tail beneath my clothes is so uncom¡­¡± she stopped, cheeks filling with a blush that quickly carried to the rest of her face. ¡°U-Um, can it be a dress I¡¯m not wearing?¡±

    ¡°You can relax,¡± I laughed. ¡°There¡¯s no need to undress. Just turn around and point to the base of your tail for me.¡±

    ¡°O-okay.¡±

    Staggeringly, she first looked to Yua for assurance, but did as I said and pointed to a barely perceptible bulge in the back of her dress that lay just above her rounded bottom. She even flicked her tail, as if to further accentuate its location.

    After actually watching her back grow stiffer by the second, I pointed to the part of her dress in question and cast Material Destruction. As it had with Yua¡¯s things, a small hole appeared and the base of her tail became visible. Although, since I hadn¡¯t seen her tail before and therefore didn¡¯t know how wide to make the hole, it ended up being a little too large and showed off more skin that she was likely comfortable with, so I fixed it up before she noticed.

    ¡°All done. Try it out.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Already?¡±

    Confused, she turned just her torso to check her backside. Her tail flicked a couple times, but when she felt the hole with her hand, she quickly and with just as much tail-dexterity as Yua had, shot her tail through and out into the open.

    Fluffy and covered with thick black fur, her tail was about as long as her arm. Smiling broadly, she lifted it and swished it about, testing the new limits I suspected she was used to feeling only when alone and undressed.

    [Casanova Skill Activated: Slave Erika has reached level 3]

    [Slave is genuinely happy to serve her new master.]

    Inwardly cringing at my own ability refusing my denial of her enslavement, I made sure to smile for her. And just when I had the silly thought of wondering if it was alright for me to see this part of a woman that had spent so many years hidden beneath her dress, Elane¡­

    ¡°Nooooo! First you endanger Mary and Silla¡¯s beauty, now you maim Erika¡¯s cute dress?!¡±

    ¡°Elane¡­ It¡¯s just a dress. And she needs to¡­¡±

    ¡°W-Wait, Master,¡± Erika said, cradling her tail like a baby. ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to say this for years now, but I never felt I could until now. Elane¡­. to me, covering my tail like this is just as uncomfortable as it¡¯d be if Master asked you to bind your b-breasts with a rope.¡±

    ¡°R-Really?¡± Elane gasped, looking honestly shocked. ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you ever say anything?¡±

    ¡°I was your slave. It was not my place to complain¡­ Actually, I did say something once when you had me model some clothes for you. You were just too drunk to take me seriously.¡±

    ¡°Erk¡­¡±

    Reminded again of her own problems, Elane was quick to quit her complaining. I pressed on to keep it that way.

    ¡°June, would you please fix the rest of Erika¡¯s things when you have the chance?¡±

    With a half-sigh that practically screamed ¡°meh,¡± June shrugged and said, ¡°Why not?¡±

    I figured Erika would be more comfortable with a woman handling the rest, and I was proven right when she happily bowed her head, still cradling her tail as she did.

    ¡°Thank you so, very much Master. June, why don¡¯t you tell him your wish?¡±

    After a quick yawn, June nodded, but held her chin in her palm as if she needed to prop it up while already standing.

    ¡°Hmm. First Mary asked for a weapon to protect us all by striking down any evil doers that might come our way. Then Silla pleaded for the right to learn all mighty magics that could warp reality itself. Then our one and only Headmaid disappointed us all by asking for a way to stop warming her own ass with her tail¡­¡±

    ¡°H-Hey!¡±

    ¡°But what should I ask for? It could be mountains of riches. No, even if you handed me all the gold in the world, it¡¯d never be mine. I could ask for the right to order Elane around for a while to make up for all the chores she made me do, but no. Watching her work would just make me fall asleep. Then how about¡­ no, the Headmaid would just make me clean up the mess afterwords. Hmmm.¡±

    June scratched her head, looking deep in thought. Meanwhile, Erika sighed and cradled her fluffy tail.

    Then suddenly, as if she¡¯d been struck by one of the Goddess¡¯s epiphanies, June¡¯s eyes widened with what could only be called hope.

    ¡°Wait, Elane¡¯s going to be leaving with you, right? For good?¡±

    ¡°Yes, she is.¡±

    ¡°A-And you have a bed at your place, right?¡±

    ¡°I will soon, yes.¡±

    Clenching her shaking fists, June bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut before continuing as though she dared not look at me when I responded to whatever it was she was about to say.

    Several deep breaths later, she made her request.

    ¡°C-C-Can I have Elane¡¯s old bed?! Specifically, the one from her bedroom!¡±

    ¡°Yea, sure,¡± Elane said for me with a flippant wave. ¡°Do whatever you want with it.¡±

    ¡°Yes!¡± June shouted, then collapsed to the floor as if her own voice had startled her.

    [Casanova Skill Activated: Slave June has reached level 2]

    [Slave now thinks her new master is a pretty good guy.]

    ¡°The beds we maids have are nice,¡± June continued from the floor. ¡°But hers was always so comfy when she forced us to sleep next to her. It was so soft that it made putting up with her giant tits pinning me to the mattress actually bearable.¡±

    ¡°I-I never forced you!¡±

    ¡°Yes, June,¡± Erika agreed. ¡°Her getting drunk and dragging us to her room for a sleepover doesn¡¯t count as force... I think?¡±

    ¡°Erk¡­¡±

    Geez, Elane, no wonder why they were all so scared of me. Also, how could that not be seen as forced?

    ¡°Maybe,¡± June continued with a shrug. ¡°I suppose she only really did those things when she was drunk. But she was drunk all the time, so¡­¡±

    ¡°Mmm. True. But I wasn¡¯t as worried about her drinking. I was more worried about what she might do if I angered her while she was drunk, that¡­¡±

    ¡°Never mind that!¡± Elane said sharply, causing June to collapse yet again. ¡°Erika, go see what¡¯s taking Silla so long. I only have a few spell books and I know she knows where they are. June, you go wait in your room. I¡¯ll move your bed myself later.¡±

    ¡°O-Okay!¡±

    Erika hefted June into her arms and sped out of the room, her long tail flying freely behind her. I wondered if she¡¯d already forgotten she didn¡¯t have to listen to Elane, but when the woman in question sighed, I gave up worrying.

    So quick to throw out the maid that was helping cover for her ¨C kind of ¨C Elane waited until Erika¡¯s footsteps faded before she fell onto one of the couches. She pressed a hand to her forehead and went quiet. I imagined she was thinking this would be a happy send-off, but all she got for her efforts was having her dirty laundry aired out to us. This once powerful woman looked just like any other fragile girl as she moped.

    As her husband, her master, or even just as a man that could see she needed it, I sat beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She let go of her forehead to squeeze my hand, but leaned her head back over the couch to stare at the ceiling.

    ¡°You know, if this is happening too fast, we can wait¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not that,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ I was really hoping they wouldn¡¯t bring any of that up.¡±

    ¡°I did already know about some of it, though. But, uh, what¡¯s this about you groping Erika?¡±

    Blushing, Elane puckered her lips and huffed. ¡°After I realized you might actually know about another world to explore, I might have gotten a little excited and groped her in the bath.¡±

    ¡°Haha, I see. Yea¡­ I guess we both got a little too handsy after all that drinking.¡±

    I looked to the victim of my groping, only to find Mana on her knees. With her ass swaying side-to-side in the air, she inspected yet more trinkets on the lower shelves of the book cases. She¡¯d gone right back to observing the new surroundings as soon as Mary left the room.

    Elane nodded. ¡°Yea, June was complaining the whole time.¡±

    ¡°Wait, June too?¡±

    ¡°Anyway!¡± she shouted, turning to face me. Just as I noticed her cheeks were the deepest shade of crimson I¡¯d ever seen on a woman, she continued. ¡°After this, you¡¯re going to the Apothecary, right?¡±

    ¡°And the guild. Why?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going with you.¡±

    ¡°But don¡¯t you still have some packing to do?¡±

    ¡°That can wait. This is something we should do together.¡±

    ¡°Okay?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m serious. Don¡¯t leave without me. Promise me you won¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°Okay. Okay. I promise.¡±

    She squinted at me for a moment, as though expecting my nose to grow, but stood again with a small grunt. Rolling her shoulder, she linked her arm with Yua, whose ears flicked in confusion.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to go move that bed and I¡¯m taking Yua here as collateral to make sure you don¡¯t leave without me. Just wait here. It won¡¯t take long.¡±

    ¡°Wait, if it¡¯s just moving it, I can throw it in my item box and¡­¡±

    ¡°No need. Between us, it¡¯ll be too easy. Besides, even June might get a little jumpy if you enter her room. She likes to joke at the expense of others, but as you¡¯ve seen, she really can¡¯t take it when the heat is turned on her. Come on, Yua.¡±

    ¡°Uhm¡­ I guess we¡¯ll be right back.¡±

    Yua offered a confused smile as she was summarily dragged out of the room and we were left to wait in a mansion that was simultaneously mine and almost entirely foreign to me.

    Resigned to waiting, I reclined on the couch. After a few minutes of silently waiting, Mana came to join me. And naturally, she did so by hopping onto my lap to use my thigh as a cushion.

    ¡°Big Bro, if this is Booby Lady¡¯s home, when are we going to yours?¡±

    ¡°Soon. We have a few more things to take care of, but they shouldn¡¯t take long.¡±

    ¡°Mmm¡­¡±

    A tiny sigh escaped her sakura lips as she leaned into my chest. Reflexively, my arms flew around her waist to hold her.

    ¡°You getting tired?¡±

    ¡°No. Your heart has been acting up ever since we got here. I think you should take a break.¡±

    ¡°My heart, huh?¡±

    Well, I suppose that being accused of wanting to essentially rape a group of girls I barely knew was a little stressful, but I believe we cleared the air just fine. The maids should know they¡¯re in safe hands now. Hopefully.

    ¡°Excuse me, Teacher.¡±

    A knock came from the door to the drawing room and before I could answer, it was pushed open by what, at a glance, looked like a floating stack of books sporting blue twintails, but Silla peered out from around the stack with a smile. Mary, followed behind her, still clutching her spear to her chest.

    ¡°I¡¯ve brought the books you asked for. I think you will like¡­ Eep!¡±

    With a shrill gasp, Silla scrambled to save the stack of books she nearly dropped at the sight of us. Blushing furiously, she spun on her heel to face the door. Mary, though, took one look and glared briefly before turning her chin up at us.

    ¡°Um¡­ Something wrong?¡±

    ¡°Tch. That Mana girl may be your wife or whatever, but couldn¡¯t you at least go somewhere private before getting all flirty?¡±

    ¡°Flirty...? Oh!¡±

    I palmed my forehead immediately upon recognizing the reality of our situation. The way Mana straddled my thigh no doubt looked strange literally anywhere that wasn¡¯t the village. And with her legs spread so far apart under her already semi-short skirt, it no doubt must have looked as though we were trying to start something naughty.

    But for me not to notice¡­ the village really has made me a little too complacent with this sort of stuff.

    Seeing that Mana was oblivious to the maid¡¯s fuming embarrassment, I pushed her thighs together and spun her so her legs rested safely over both of mine. And for some reason, Mana confusedly pouted up at me once she was in a less provocative position.

    ¡°It¡¯s not what you think,¡± I said quickly. ¡°This is just how her people sit with their mates.¡±

    ¡°Mhmm. Sure. Come on, Silla.¡±

    Mary tapped Silla¡¯s behind with the shaft of her spear, causing the small maid to jump with a shriek. She turned and shuffled over to us before setting the pile of books beside me on the couch. She then took a long step backward and stood ramrod straight. With a roll of her eyes, Mary leaned on her spear.

    ¡°Th-These are the books you requested!¡± Silla said, clutching the front of her skirt. ¡°For spells, you have Conjure Lesser Familiar, Mind Vision and Thought Steal. As for books on enchanting, the only one I could find is Famous Enchanted Jewelry by Remus Beliard, but it¡¯s basically just a catalogue of equipment worn by kings and other figures of note.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more than enough. Thank you.¡±

    I really wasn¡¯t banking on Elane randomly having a copy of an enchanting text book, but this one should at least give me an idea of what sorts of enchantments are possible in this world.

    That being said, I picked up the Conjure Lesser Familiar spell book, set it on Mana¡¯s lap and cracked it open. The other two spells sounded like they¡¯d have interesting effects, but if I could summon something to protect me while I cast my spells, Yua and Elane wouldn¡¯t have to put themselves in harm¡¯s way to protect me.

    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s a novice spell,¡± Silla said, a bit of a smile returning to her lips as I sped through the book. ¡°The other two are intermediate.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely. Elane had me check them with the Mage¡¯s Guild to be sure. She tried to sell them a while ago, but the guild wouldn¡¯t take them, so she brought them back and sort of forgot about them.¡±

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t they want them?¡± I asked, finishing the book.

    [New Spell Acquired: Conjure Lesser Familiar]

    ¡°Because she picked them off of the bandits she slaughtered,¡± Mary said with a that¡¯s-that sort a smile.

    ¡°Th-The books themselves are clean, though,¡± Silla added quickly. ¡°I make sure everything in the library is spotless and properly organized.¡±

    ¡°Great. Keep everything there neat and you have my advance permission to read any book in there. Now, how about we try this spell out?¡±

    I handed the spell book back to Silla, who took it with a deeply confused look, and stuffed the rest into my item box to read later.

    ¡°Um, Teacher, what do you mean by try it out? All you did was flip through the pages.¡±

    ¡°Oh, right. I guess Elane didn¡¯t tell you. I have an ability that helps me learn spells quickly. I already mastered that one, so you can put it back in the library.¡±

    One day, I¡¯d like to have a library jam-packed full of spell books, but knowing she¡¯d eventually want to learn it too kept me from being greedy.

    ¡°M-Mastered it already? How¡¯s that¡­ That¡¯s impossible! It should take a least a few weeks just to read a book that large! You¡¯d have to memorize it to learn the spell.¡±

    ¡°I know, but it¡¯s true. Here, watch¡­ Conjure Lesser Familiar.¡±

    With a short incantation I made sure she could hear, I leaned forward with Mana, pointed my palm at the floor and cast my new spell.

    I felt mana drain from my reserves and Silla¡¯s eyes widened when a thick purple light emanated from my outstretched palm. She gulped when the same light then spread into a circle on the floor.

    Mana¡¯s tail wagged excitedly when the light ate away at the flooring, turning it into a deep, pitch-black pit of darkness, but the only reaction I got out of Mary was a raised brow. Guess she wasn¡¯t very interested in magic.

    Video game experience taught me that the spell should bring forth a temporary, and possibly spectral ally, but the spell itself made no mention of what it¡¯d be. All I knew was that it¡¯d be spiritually connected to me. So, I was just as eager to see what would happen.

    But what we saw shocked me to my core.

    From within the pool of light emerged a set of paws coated in pitch black fur that was indistinguishable from shadow itself. The sharp, hooked claws protruding from each dug into the rug as the beast pulled itself free of the darkness.

    First to appear was its head, covered in the same pitch-black fur, but when it opened its maw for its first taste of air, a row of needle-like teeth stretched forth towards the ceiling, as if attempting to take a bite out of the sun for daring to rouse it. The rest of its body began to take shape as it pulled itself free to stand on it four strong, but slender legs. The fur that darkened its head coated its entire body from its snout to its writhing, wriggling tail.

    When the summoning finished, and when the spell¡¯s light faded, the beasts wickedly sharp ears jerked upright from where they¡¯d been matted down, revealing that one was deeply chipped. Slowly, it pried its eyes open to look my way, as if it instinctually knew I was the one that summoned it. It was the heterochromatic green and blue orbs trapped within its skull that stared back at me that left me momentarily speechless.

    Its pupils narrowed into slits and its thick tail thumped against the floor, arrogantly waiting to be acknowledged. And I quickly found myself unable to stop myself from speaking the creature¡¯s name.

    ¡°¡­ Lucy?¡±

    ¡°Big Bro, what¡¯s this thing? It¡¯s an animal, right?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just a house cat,¡± Mary said with a disappointed huff.

    ¡°He¡­ He really learned the spell already.¡±

    [Casanova Skill Activated]

    I ignored the notification to focus on the cat. The constant drain its existence had on my mana pool was so low it was basically negligible thanks to my mana regen trait, and it proved it was definitely my summon. But not only did its info box read the name ¡°Lucy,¡± it looked exactly like the cat I had on Earth. From its eyes to the notch that existed in its ear before I¡¯d taken it in off the streets, it was exactly the same.

    It was Lucy, my Lucy. But it couldn¡¯t be. The Goddess told me she¡¯d found a new home when I died. How was she here now, in this other world where that home shouldn¡¯t exist?

    Before I could question if I¡¯d summoned a copy or if enough time on Earth had passed for Lucy to pass away and that I only summoned her ghost, the cat jumped onto my lap.

    ¡°¡­!¡±

    I grit my teeth as she dug her claws unnecessarily into my leg to catch herself, just like the real Lucy always did. Her differently colored eyes stared at me for only a few seconds and, perhaps because I summoned it, I felt as though she recognized me, but at the same time, she felt foreign. As if she and I were only strangers.

    Ignoring my confusion, Lucy¡¯s attention immediately flew to the cat-kin occupying my lap. They locked eyes, and Mana¡¯s mouth fell open. Lucy took a cautious step onto Mana¡¯s lap, then another. Then, as if she needed glasses, Lucy raised its forepaws into a half-jump, landing the soft pads of her paws harmlessly on Mana¡¯s small chest to take a closer look.

    Curious still, Lucy sniffed the air around Mana. Transfixed herself as she sniffed it right back, Mana¡¯s big blue eyes gazed wondrously at the cat. When Mana¡¯s love for animals finally got the better of her and she carefully touched her hand to Lucy¡¯s head to pet her, the cat slipped off of her.

    Lucy¡¯s claws must have hooked on the fabric of Mana¡¯s top, as when the cat fell, so did her dress.

    ¡°M-Mana?!¡±

    Silla gasped when the girl¡¯s bright pink nipples were suddenly thrust into view, but Mana herself didn¡¯t even seem to notice. She just pet Lucy with an obnoxiously cute smile, and Lucy returned the favor by selfishly nudging her head against Mana¡¯s palm, urging for more head pats as she was want to do.

    Confused, but happy to see this old friend again, I hurried to fix Mana¡¯s dress so Silla could breathe again. Then I hit Lucy with my patented chin scratch technique. Her tail flicked happily, as did Mana¡¯s.

    Seems the two were fast friends.

    ¡°I take it you¡¯ve never seen a cat like this before, Mana,¡± Mary asked, striding over to us.

    Mana shook her head. ¡°The only animals I know are the ones that live in the forest¡­ and the ones I eat.¡±

    ¡°Well, you don¡¯t see much around here, but they aren¡¯t exactly rare. I¡¯ve played with a few myself. Here, try petting it behind the ear like this.¡±

    To illustrate her point, Mary leaned in to pet Lucy, but the cat whipped its head away from all of us at the mere whiff of the maid. It then jumped away and bolted to the far side of the room, where it hid under Elane¡¯s desk before fading away into nothingness.

    The girls gawked, but when I noticed my mana pool was no longer being drained, I took it as a sign that Lucy could dispel herself at will.

    ¡°Hmph,¡± Mary huffed cutely, retreating with her spear. ¡°This is why I don¡¯t like cats. They¡¯re too picky.¡±

    ¡°A-Are we just going to ignore that fact that Teacher learned a new spell within seconds of picking up the book?!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it,¡± said Yua reentering the room with Elane, Erika and June in tow.

    Yua and Erika clearly heard everything and were thus unsurprised to see us all gathered around the couch. Elane set the luggage she was carrying on the floor before rolling her shoulder yet again. It was still so hard to believe she was willing to give all this up, but none could deny the smile on her face when I moved it all into my item box for easy traveling.

    June, though, looked both totally unmoved and exhausted. Her maid¡¯s dress was suddenly and impressively messy, like she¡¯d tried to take a nap in her new bed the second they set it in her room.

    When she caught me looking, she covered her chest with her arms and smirked wryly. Positive I was innocent of all wrongdoings, I quickly looked away.

    ¡°Was that everything you want to take?¡± I asked, looking around the lavish room again. ¡°We can take as much as you¡¯ll need, you know?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s still more,¡± Elane said.

    ¡°But we should head out soon and turn in the quest before it¡¯s too late,¡± Yua finished for her, pulling Mana to her side.

    Confirming the late hour on my HUD, she was absolutely right. While the Adventurers Guild doubled as a bar and was therefore open late into the night, the Apothecary wasn¡¯t so lax.

    ¡°Master, please feel free to leave the rest to us and hurry along,¡± Erika said with a small bow.

    ¡°Elane can just tell us what she wants gathered and Silla and I will get it. Then the Headmaid can pack it up for you.¡±

    ¡°And I,¡± June started proudly. ¡°Will sit on this couch. Take your time.¡±

    With all the fanfare of a wet paper bag slopping onto the floor, June collapsed into the couch Mana and I had warmed for her.

    ¡°Alright, thank you, girls. We¡¯ll come back for the rest later. Let¡¯s get go¡­¡±

    ¡°Wait!¡± Elane cried, clenching her fists. She turned to the maid quartet. ¡°Why are you all so eager to be rid of me? Aren¡¯t you going to respond to my apology?¡±

    This single question filled the room with a deafening silence that put even Mana on edge. Revisiting our earlier conversations in my head, I realized that they really hadn¡¯t answered her yet.

    ¡°O-Oh, right,¡± Erika said. ¡°I suppose we got a little carried away with Master¡¯s gifts. Girls?¡±

    At her call, the maids huddled around Erika once again and when June didn¡¯t join them, Mary clicked her tongue, grabbed her by the collar and hauled her limp body over towards the group. Together the quartet fell into another round of hushed whispers.

    Elane waited with baited breath, clenching her thighs as if to stop herself from moving close enough to listen in.

    Although, if Yua¡¯s soft smile was anything to go by, I don¡¯t think she needed to worry so much.

    Finally, it was once again Mary that faced her down first. She slammed one hand on her hip and the butt of her spear into the floor and looked Elane straight in the eye. She took a deep breath before starting.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing to forgive, I suppose,¡± she said, stumbling a little as her cheeks flushed.  ¡°You picked me up off the streets and took me in when the knights were chasing me over stealing a bit of bread. Dealing with your drinking and having to share the occasional bath with you whenever I screwed up wasn¡¯t so bad.¡±

    ¡°Y-You had to deal with me? But bathtime was bonding time! You said you like skinship!¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡±

    Whipping her head away from Elane¡¯s complaints, Mary gave the floor to Silla, who stepped forward with her hand needlessly raised high.

    ¡°I don¡¯t hate you either. I only sold myself into slavery to prevent my family from falling into financial ruin, but I was prepared for anything. I¡¯m truly grateful to have been bought by someone like you instead of some brute¡­ Although, I do hate the constant comparisons the others make between our chest sizes.¡±

    A self-deprecating smile turned Silla¡¯s lips as she looked down at herself and sighed. Elane lowered her chin in turn, but I didn¡¯t get the idea she was ever the one making such comments. The rest of the maids, however, all looked away.

    ¡°You know,¡± June said, tilting to one side. ¡°If I¡¯m being honest, I can¡¯t complain much either. Even with the chores and forced exercise, you still treat me better than my parents ever did. So, we¡¯re okay. Your enslavement is punishment enough for making me do chores.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t see how that makes us equal, but thank you.¡±

    The next and last of the maids to step up was none other than Erika. And when Elane noticed the comforting smile the girl wore, I could feel tension ease out of her.

    ¡°Elane, I know why I¡¯m a slave. I have for a long time.¡±

    ¡°You do?¡±

    Erika nodded softly. ¡°Since you bought me, actually. I¡¯ve never once blamed you for it. It was my mistake alone¡­ Oh, and thank you for holding yourself back all this time.¡±

    At this, and with tears in her eyes, Elane dashed in to wrap Erika into a tight bear hug that lifted the maid¡¯s feet off the floor. Grimacing slightly at the show of force, Erika barely managed to wrench an arm free to rub Elane¡¯s back and she sobbed into the shoulder of her dress.

    When she saw that the rest of us, her fellow maids included, all looked confused by the exchange, Erika politely explained.

    ¡°To cut a long story short, I accidentally stole something from Elane when she visited my people during her travels. I was on my way to Vierre¡¯s capitol to do a bit of trading for my people and I brought what I¡¯d taken with me. The guards spotted it, assumed I stole it and when they made me use a Scrying Orb to prove it, they had me enslaved. Coincidently, when Elane was leaving the capitol, she spotted me through the window as I was finishing up my training and rushed inside. The rest is history.¡±

    ¡°What she stole was the special quill I use to use to draw my maps,¡± Elane clarified, wiping her tears. ¡°It was a gift from the king, so it stood out. And when her former master told me what she stole and showed it to me, I felt like what happened was all my fault for being careless enough to leave it behind¡­ But how did you even know it was mine? When did you find out?¡±

    ¡°Like I said, it was when you bought me. I recognized your scent. It matched the one on the quill perfectly. From there, it wasn¡¯t hard to figure out what happened with you spending our first year together looking so guilty all the time.¡±

    ¡°It was that obvious? Why didn¡¯t you ever say anything?¡±

    ¡°Because you were kind to me, to all of us,¡± she said, rubbing the skirt of her dress between her fingers. ¡°You gave us all these nice clothes to wear. You shared your every meal with us. You protect us whenever we leave the mansion. You never even hit us when we messed something up. Elane, regardless of whatever it was you thought of yourself as our mistress, you gave us a good life here. It was honestly a very pleasant existence¡­ When you weren¡¯t drinking, that is.¡±

    ¡°Pfft. Hahahaha! Sorry. I¡¯m sorry! All of you!¡±

    Still refusing to let Erika¡¯s feet touch the ground, Elane held out a hand to the others and one by one, they all joined in. Their former mistress then went out of her way to hug each and everyone of them as tight as she could.

    Though Mary tried to hide it, she, Erika and Silla all ended up with tears in their eyes as they said their thanks and goodbyes as if Elane were just another member of the family that finally moved on with her life.

    June, however, was different. While she too teared up, she looked to Elane as she buried her face, sobbing, between Erika¡¯s and Silla¡¯s chests. June then squinted and slowly turned to me from where she hung, draped over Elane¡¯s arm to keep from falling to the floor.

    Quietly, she gave me a thumbs-up and smirked a wicked smirk. Her light green eyes darted to Yua and the cat-girl¡¯s ears perked up as she listened to June¡¯s whispers. Finished with whatever she needed to say, June returned her attention to the group hug and let her limp self be whisked around.

    ¡°What did she say?¡±

    ¡°She asked you to give Elane hell tonight,¡± Yua said with a happy flick of her tail. ¡°She also said that she won¡¯t be giving Elane her bed back no matter what.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha¡­¡±

 Volume 2 - Chapter 30

    The Bubbling Cauldron had to be in some sort of decline. Every time we stopped by, the place was nearly empty. Sure, it was getting late, but this was Amoranth, a huge city with an even bigger population. There should have been someone there perusing the goods, or maybe someone enjoying a good lecture on the finer sides of potion-making, but there wasn¡¯t anyone to be seen. Save for the apothecary herself.

    Madame Turquesse, for once, was not behind her counter. She¡¯d taken it upon herself to restock the vast supply of stamina potions she had on the display stand nearest the store front.

    I¡¯d thought so before, but seeing her from the side in her skin-tight dress as she moved vial after vial from her basket with a loving smile meant only at her potions, I had to say she was small. Small and thin. About as small as Mana, but clearly without the cat girl¡¯s love of meat.

    As mildly concerning as it was, her polar opposite in Elane, had to dip her head so her axe¡¯s handle didn¡¯t knock against the doorframe when she entered behind me.

    ¡°Welcome, Dear Customer¡­?¡±

    With a tired, honest smile, she tried to greet us, but her eyes flew open at the sight of me. She nearly dropped the basket of potions in the process.

    ¡°Why are you here? Don¡¯t tell me you haven¡¯t left for Guerraway yet? I told you I need the ingredients by the end of the week!¡±

    ¡°Relax,¡± I laughed. ¡°We¡¯re just getting back. We¡¯ve collected thirty-two Connefery Flowers. Hope that¡¯s enough.¡±

    Madame Turquesse looked over at Yua, but she lingered on Mana with her brow raised as the girl gave into her curiosity and dashed about the shop to look around. Soon enough, a knowing smirk played at the green-haired apothecary¡¯s lips. She looked like she was about to say something, but she knowingly kept her mouth shut. Then her eyes went wide.

    ¡°Thirty-two?¡± she gasped, ignoring my complaint. ¡°How did you manage to make it over there, trudge through the forest, find the flowers and come back in just a few days?¡±

    I threw my thumb over my shoulder at Elane and she smirked proudly.

    "Since I happened to be headed to Guerraway myself, I let them share my usual carriage."

    This little story was actually entirely Elane¡¯s doing as, according to Erika, she was apparently well-known for hiring the fastest carriages available to have them go on booze runs for her. Madame Turquesse ate it up with a nod.

    ¡°Ah, yes," she murmured, placing the basket on the table. "Lady Bellenfort, welcome, welcome. Although, I must remind you that I still do not sell alcohol."

    Elane rolled her eyes, "Very funny, Turquesse," she said dryly. "But I''m not here for that. I¡¯m escorting my new husband here on his errands."

    "Husband?" Madame Turquesse repeated, her eyes widening in surprise for a second time before a knowing smirk spread across her face. "Ah, I see. Well, Dear Customer," she said, turning to me, then to Yua and Mana. "You''ve certainly been busy. Hahaha! Then let''s see the fruits of your labor, shall we? You don''t even need to ask if I have enough stamina potions for you all, because I do."

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Ignoring her smirk, I brought Yua over to the counter and pulled half of the Connefery Flowers out of her bag. Elane had already given the okay to out our marriage status in the city, but I got the feeling this woman was the last person she should have told.

    Madame Turquesse took them one by one, assessing their condition with an appreciative smile. In the candlelight the flowers¡¯ vibrant purple petals shone almost like velvet. The apothecary¡¯s eye sparkled with excitement.

    ¡°Excellent. Excellent! The sooner we get to brewing, the more potions we¡¯ll get to create!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you mean the more coin we¡¯ll make?¡±

    ¡°Yea, yea. That too. Now, let me put up my side of the agreement.¡±

    Slipping past us, she nearly skipped into her backroom. She came back a minute later carrying a basket filled with a pile of puke-green balls that looked like they were made of gelatin. She offered them to me, basket and all, with an honest to Goddess smile.

    ¡°These here are War Frog Eggs. They are the only other ingredient you¡¯ll need. Well, these and water, obviously. Here.¡± With an unneeded flourish, she slipped a hand up her sleeve and pulled out a slip of parchment. ¡°This is the recipe for Cure Poison potions. Follow it to the letter and I promise you¡¯ll have no problems.¡±

    I took the paper and, though I memorized it the second I saw it, I made a show of reading it over carefully.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been wanting to learn more potion recipes, but I wasn¡¯t expecting it to be so simple.¡±

    ¡°Oh, yes. The Cure Poison potion, while very useful, is only a novice-level brew. Perfect for a beginner like yourself.¡± She paused, as if expecting me to thank her after she was the one to offer it, but then her finger shot into the air. ¡°Ah, right. You¡¯ll be needing proof you¡¯ve completed the quest since you delivered the ingredients to me and not the guild. Do you still have the quest slip?¡±

    I once again made a show of rummaging around in Yua¡¯s bag, pretending I didn¡¯t see the knowing smile on her lips, and reached into my item box.

    Madame Turquesse took the slip and pulled out a quill and ink bottle from behind her counter. She quickly detailed what we brought her and signed her name. Blowing on the paper to dry the ink, she handed the slip back to me.

    ¡°You¡¯ll still need to collect your reward from the guild, but make sure you come sell me all the potions you make. And remember, if you sell them to anyone else, I¡¯ll never ever speak to you again. Now get going. I have potions to make.¡±

    ¡°Alright, thank yo¡­¡±

    ¡°W-Wait,¡± Elane said, grabbing my sleeve. Her grip was strong, but her arm was shaking as she turned to Yua. ¡°Could you and Kitty wait outside a moment?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like to speak to Alex alone.¡±

    Yua tilted her head, but agreed easily enough. Adjusting her backpack, she took Mana by the arm and hauled her out of the shop. Once they were gone and once we saw Yua press down Mana¡¯s ears through the shop¡¯s window, Elane pulled me close. After a brief look to make sure Madame Turquesse wasn¡¯t listening, she whispered to me.

    ¡°So, um, I don¡¯t know how things are done in your old world, but we haven¡¯t really had a chance to talk about this yet. It¡¯s usually one of the first things people discuss after they get married.¡±

    ¡°What is?¡± I asked, but then I saw how red her cheeks were and how hard she was pressing her thighs together. I figured it out and my own cheeks heated up.

    ¡°U-Um¡­ Alex, what do you think of children? With me, I mean. D-Do you want me to bear your children?¡±

    ¡°¡­ I¡¯m not ready yet.¡±

    I¡¯d been thinking about it since I was reminded of the fact that she was a human. And I came to the conclusion that I was not ready to be a parent. Specifically, one inhabiting this new world. There were still way too many things I need to learn before I go and try raising a kid here.

    Not to mention it might come as a slap to the face for Yua and Mana, but that was a talk we¡¯d have to have later.

    ¡°I¡¯d like to someday,¡± I clarified. ¡°Just not yet.¡±

    Elane¡¯s wavering cobalt eyes rested on mine for several seconds before her shoulders slumped and she let out a long sigh of relief.

    ¡°Thank the gods. I¡¯m not ready yet either. I don¡¯t want to give up my sex life before it even starts.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±

    ¡­ certainly one reason to want to put it off.

    ¡°Well,¡± I continued. ¡°Is there something we can do about that? I, uh, to be honest, I never had to worry about that with Yua and Mana, so¡­¡±

    ¡°I have just what you lovebirds need.¡±

    Elane and I jumped in unison and, shakily, we turned only to find Madame Turquesse wearing the widest shit-eating grin I¡¯d ever seen.

    ¡°I, uh¡­ How do you even¡­?¡±

    ¡°How? We¡¯re the only ones in my shop. I don¡¯t have to be a cat-kin to hear you.¡±

    ¡°Then¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh, but don¡¯t worry. I didn¡¯t hear anything about other worlds or anything like that,¡± she said, resting her chin in her palm. ¡°But I would like to remind you that I have plenty of stamina potions for sale right this second.¡±

    ¡°¡­ And how can you help us?¡±

    Pulling out my coin purse, I was fully prepared to accept her forced bribe. Blushing, Elane looked away.

    Giggling to herself, Madame Turquesse pulled a key out of her witch¡¯s hat and stooped below her counter. The faint sound of something being unlocked echoed throughout the shop. Elane squeezed the hem of my shirt, looking almost like a lost child as she pressed her forehead into my back.

    Madame Turquesse popped up and, with a wide grin, carefully set a vibrant pink potion on the counter. Finding it familiar, I tried to focus on its info box, but she beat me to it.

    ¡°This here is called Lasserwort¡¯s Melange. Have her drink this once a month and you can pin her to your bed as long as you want, and as often as you want, and you two won¡¯t have anything to worry about.¡±

    ¡°¡­ I¡¯ll take ten.¡±

    ¡°W-Woah, there killer. Didn¡¯t you hear me? This potion¡¯s effects last an entire month. And I guarantee its quality.¡±

    ¡°Great. Ten it is, then.¡±

    Though I was sure both the women in this room were misinterpreting my intentions, I¡¯d really rather keep this embarrassing situation from occurring again for as long as possible. And judging from how Elane softly and repeatedly thumped her head into my back, she felt the same.

    Goddess¡­ Why does it feel like I¡¯ve snuck my high school girlfriend to the convenience store to buy a box of condoms for the first time? And why did it have to be this tiny witch selling them?

    With a smirk and a shrug, Madame Turquesse produced nine more pink vials and I added a whopping twenty more stamina potions to the pile in order to buy her silence. Combine these with the ones I bought the other day, and we should be good for a while.

    I set the coin on her silver tray and dumped as many of the vials into my pockets as I could. However, before I could grab the last Lasserwort¡¯s Melange, Elane snatched it off the counter, uncorked it with her teeth and downed it on the spot like it were a shot of her favorite rum.

    Feeling myself heat up as I watched her throat move as she gulped it down, I noticed. She didn¡¯t spill a single drop. And when she finished, cheeks bright red, she quietly set the now empty bottle on the potion, kissed my cheek and hurried outside.

    Flinching when she accidentally slammed the door in her haste, I could almost hear Madame Turquesse smirking.

    ¡°Wow,¡± she said, her chin in hand again. ¡°Considering how I¡¯m sure she knows it takes a few hours for that particular potion to work its magic, I¡¯d wager you¡¯re in for a wild night. That being said, can I interest you in a second cauldron? Brewing at twice the speed will allot you more time for¡­ other activities.¡±

    ¡°¡­ How much?¡±

    Thankfully, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild was a much more inviting destination. A real sight for sore eyes after the implied blackmailing and bribery.

    Amidst the sounds of drunken revelry, lively music and a slew of men and women alike, all patting themselves on the back after a long day¡¯s fighting in the dungeons. That, or they spent their whole day hear, drinking themselves stupid.

    One such man slunk out of the guild, nearly knocking into and falling over a handrail, before skillfully dodging it, only to then miss two out of the three stairs leading back down to the street. Looking happier than he¡¯s ever been, he fell flat on his face and a pair of angry housewives hiked up their dresses, stepped over him and stomped straight towards the door. Likely there to collect their husbands.

    As the man¡¯s laughing buddy came to help him up, I had to wonder if this was just what I should expect at a bar, or if the alcohol in this world was just more addictive.

    Elane grimaced at the sight.

    ¡°You guys go on ahead.¡±

    ¡°You sure? It¡¯s not like you have to have a drink, you know?¡±

    ¡°Yea, but I¡¯ve actually been banned from entering this guild branch. Some, uh¡­ drunken mishaps led to me breaking a lot of their stuff. So, yea.¡±

    I do remember the Guild Master telling us something like that. It¡¯s a shame that an Adventurer like her can¡¯t even enter the guild anymore, but I guess making her do so would just cause trouble at this point.

    ¡°Once someone sees me, the Guild Master will be on us before Yua even hears him coming. Trust me.¡±

    ¡°Speaking from experience?¡±

    Elane shrugged, barely hiding her smirk. The walk here from the Bubbling Cauldron had been more than enough to cool her down.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I said. ¡°I have to be the one to turn in the quest anyways. You coming, Mana?¡±

    Curiously observing the drunken buddies carrying themselves down the street, Mana didn¡¯t seem to register what I said until she looked towards the guild and lifted her chin. She took a long whiff of whatever the bartender was selling and her ears drooped. She then looked to the smiling Elane. And then back to the tavern for another whiff before her ears dropped again.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ll stay.¡±

    The scent of so much booze must be too severe for a cat-kin who wasn¡¯t used to the city. How it was that she managed to brave the tavern in Guerraway despite this was a mystery. Maybe one of the drinks inside the Guild just didn¡¯t agree with her nose?

    Dropping her chin, Mana turned herself to Elane and, while her cheeks were a little pink, she put up her arms like she were offering herself as a human sacrifice. And without missing a beat, and with a delighted squeal, Elane scooped her into a hug that lasted only a second before she set her back down.

    ¡°Thanks for that, Kitty. I feel empowered again, but I¡¯ll have to leave you for a little bit. I actually have a friend that lives nearby. And since I¡¯m already here, I¡¯d like to let her know I¡¯m leaving. I¡¯ll be right back.¡±

    With a quick wave, Elane walked off down the street and Mana let out a cute sigh. When she thumped her forehead into my chest, I couldn¡¯t help but pet her.

    ¡°You know,¡± I said once Elane was out of earshot. ¡°If her hugging you like that really bothers you that much, I can ask her to stop.¡±

    Much to my surprise, Mana shook her head.

    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ hate it. It¡¯s just¡­ weird.¡±

    At this, Yua tilted her head, brow furrowed in confusion as she stared at Mana¡¯s chest, but she shrugged it off quickly enough. And I had to agree. Elane¡¯s my wife and if what happened at the apothecary was anything to go by, she was deadly serious about seeing this marriage-thing through.

    And yet, she¡¯s only embraced me once with that level of enthusiasm.

    I¡¯m not jealous.

    Telling myself this, I led Mana to the alleyway facing the guild building. There, I kissed her, intentionally making it seem like we were nothing but a pair of lovers that couldn¡¯t quite wait to make it home before locking lips. But all I really wanted to do was discretely slip my hand up the back of her skirt to request something of her as her mate. So, I made sure nobody was looking.

    The very second my fingers slipped inside her, her big blue eyes shot open and her tail swished, just as revitalized as Elane had been a moment ago.

    ¡°Mana, we won¡¯t be in there long. So, please, just wait here.¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡±

    With a happy grin, she skipped over returning her people¡¯s groping customs and tiptoed into another kiss. I let her go and took Yua¡¯s hand to hurry inside. Mana, still grinning, leaned on the alley wall to wait for us.

    I was sure I could trust her so long as I asked that way, but I didn¡¯t want to push my luck and have a repeat of the last time she found me in a bar if I didn¡¯t go that extra mile.

    The line for the guild girl¡¯s window wasn¡¯t too long, but getting to it through the crowd was a little annoying. We were no longer dressed in our battle gear, so we couldn¡¯t blend in perfectly with the other Adventurers, but the civilian population inside the guild helped us from standing out.

    That being said, while we waited for the bunny-eared guild girl Milly to work her way through the line of Adventurers, I wrapped my arms around Yua¡¯s waist and let my chin rest atop her head. Over the hustle and bustle of the bar¡¯s patrons, I could only guess that she laughed a bit as she tried to pry my hands off her. Naturally, I resisted.

    ¡°Alex¡­¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care anymore,¡± I said. ¡°Let them watch.¡±

    This whole thing about showing affection towards slaves was nonsense anyways. The guild, or at least the Guild Master, knew she was my slave, but I didn¡¯t mind if they knew what else she was to me.

    ¡°Besides, with Elane blabbing about us to everyone, people are going to find out sooner or later.¡± Tightening my arms around her just a little more, I added in a whisper, ¡°And I never got to do this sort of thing back where I¡¯m from.¡±

    Or, in other words, let me engage in a little PDA already. Specifically, the kind that won¡¯t get me arrested for public indecency like they do in your village.

    ¡°Well, if you¡¯re sure¡­¡±

    ¡°I am,¡± I said, stepping forward with her when the line moved. ¡°So, are you okay with this? What happened at the apothecary, I mean.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡±

    I laughed. ¡°Come on, Yua. We both know you were listening.¡±

    Since she was too busy covering Mana¡¯s ears to cover her own¡­ Well, if she heard any of that, she was nice enough not to comment on it. Thankfully, she didn¡¯t look at all upset at being left out of a conversation our different races said we couldn¡¯t even have. But that didn¡¯t mean she wasn¡¯t.

    ¡°It¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t thought about it,¡± she said, her hands slipping off mine to briefly caress her abdomen. ¡°But I don¡¯t regret how things turned out.¡±

    The line moved forward again.

    ¡°Besides, if Elane can give you what Mana and I can¡¯t, then I see it as a good thing¡­ We¡¯ll just have to make sure any children you have can fight!¡±

    Eagerly clenching her fists, Yua stepped forward with the line, looking very much like she was dragging me along. I laughed again.

    ¡°Well, thanks for being so supportive. Though, I guess you know that sort of thing won¡¯t happen for a while yet.¡±

    ¡°Mhmm.¡±

    The line moved ever forward and, as I thought, nobody bothered us. And while resting my chin between Yua¡¯s fluffy ears was way more comfortable than it should have been, we thankfully made it to the window before I could doze off. We parted just before our turn.

    ¡°Good evening, Adventurer,¡± Milly said with a soft, tired smile. ¡°Are you returning a quest or accepting one?¡±

    ¡°Returning. It was a collection mission and I already delivered the requested items. Here¡¯s the signed quest slip.¡±

    She took the slip and quickly skimmed it. Do perhaps to how tired she looked, she didn¡¯t seem to notice the discrepancy with the distance and time it took to complete. Instead, she merely nodded and pointed to the Scrying Orb on her desk. I set my hand on it and let her confirm my information.

    Again, she nodded, this time her expression just a tad brighter.

    ¡°Good work on successfully completing your first quest, Adventurer Alex. Madame Turquesse can be quite the handful to work for, especially since her requests usually come with little to no time to complete them.¡±

    ¡°We just got lucky. Ran into a friend that showed us exactly where to go.¡±

    ¡°Fantastic,¡± she chirped, clapping her hands together. ¡°Completing a quest with a little help is just fine. However, since you are the one that accepted the quest, I can only issue the reward to you.¡±

    ¡°No problem there.¡±

    Not like the spriggans cared. They were content just having their cave back.

    ¡°Wonderful. Just a moment, please.¡±

    Milly jumped up from her seat a little too fast, fast enough to make her breasts bounce. With such abundance being a trademark of guild girls everywhere, I assumed, it was impossible not to notice, but it did earn me a slight playful elbow jab from Yua. Even if she was tired, I guess even a rabbit-kin could underestimate the power of her legs.

    Following Yua¡¯s example, I tried to play it off like I hadn¡¯t noticed, but Milly had already disappeared, completely unawares. She came right back with a silver tray with three neat stacks of silver coins piled on it.

    ¡°Here you are. 30 Silver coins for a job well done. Get a few more quests like this under your belt and you¡¯ll be able to rank up within the guild.¡±

    ¡°Looking forward to it.¡±

    And to the more lucrative rewards that doing so will bring. I don¡¯t even have kids yet, and I already have four mouths to feed. No reward was enough.

    Although, after all the trouble we went through during this quest, when I scooped up the neat stacks of silver and felt their weight in my palms, it felt like we weren¡¯t being paid enough.

    Sighing to myself as I stuffed the coins in my pocket, we took another quick look at the quest board. Now that being an Adventurer was my job, I needed to make it a habit every time we visited, but we found nothing within our rank waiting for us.

    With a final wave to Milly, and a quick refusal to Guild Master Cade as he offered us both a drink to celebrate our first completed mission, we hurried out of the guild to rejoin the others.

    Only, when we stepped back out into the dwindling sunlight, we saw that Mana was indeed still there, but she wasn¡¯t alone. And the blonde girl pinning her to the wall in that way that only works in anime, was most definitely not Elane. She was much too small in the chest and Mana looked way more confused than flustered.

    Confused myself when the blonde lifted Mana¡¯s chin with only a single finger and an openly seductive smile on her lips, I took a quick peak at her info box and saw that it was none other than the Thief Lilt.

    Yua, having come to the same conclusion via her nose, clenched and pumped her fist with a powerful grin.

    ¡°Your luck really is something, Alex. Now we can get our revenge on her for stealing the panties and the coin you gifted me.¡±

    ¡°Ah, yea. That.¡±

    I did promise her we¡¯d deal with that after we finished the quest. But what freakish luck that she¡¯d show up literally right when we finished it.

    ¡°What?¡± Yua smirked. ¡°You forgot that she stole from you?¡±

    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t forget. I have perfect memory, remember? I simply misplaced the thought.¡±

    ¡°Ha. Well, just leave this to me and I¡¯ll¡­¡±

    ¡°Hold on,¡± I said, grabbing Yua by the arm. ¡°Calm down a second. Lilt hasn¡¯t noticed us. Let¡¯s not scare her away by charging over there.¡±

    Lilt was a level 5 Thief. Regardless of her circumstances, she¡¯s likely been at the thieving game for a long time now. She probably knows the city like the back of her hand, as well as all its hiding spots. We really can¡¯t risk her running away.

    Yua huffed, but stayed her fists. ¡°If she runs, you can just open a portal to somewhere secluded right in front of her.¡±

    ¡°True, but I¡¯d still rather not do that in public.¡±

    Though the night was growing heavy, the streets weren¡¯t quite empty yet. Someone would see. Flirting with Yua or the other two in public was fine by me, but showing off my magic would just be idiocy.

    ¡°We need to catch her before she sees us.¡±

    ¡°How are we going to do that without your magic?¡±

    Normally, I¡¯d be on Yua¡¯s side on this one. We were on the sidewalk outside the guild, while they were near the mouth of an alley on the opposite side of the street. Trying to book it down the same street we were already on would be like begging us to catch her.

    However, since the alley itself stretched far enough to reach the street on the other side of the building Lilt had Mana against, that¡¯d probably be her go-to route for escape. She could easily make it to the other side and round the corner before I could enter the alley to cast my spell where others couldn¡¯t see. She¡¯d be gone and we¡¯d be left trying to track her via smell.

    Let¡¯s just skip the hassle so we can get out of here already.

    ¡°It¡¯s easy,¡± I said. ¡°Lilt is a human like me. So she can¡¯t hear us.¡±

    Nodding along with my unspoken plan, Yua discretely readied herself to lunge. I did the same. We¡¯d decide what to do with the thief once we slapped a pair of handcuffs on her.

    ¡°Mana,¡± I called just loud enough for her to hear, and her ears perked up. ¡°Catch that girl and hold her down for us. We need to talk to her.¡±

    With a nod and a furrow to her brow that looked a little too cute to take seriously, Mana grabbed both of Lilt¡¯s wrists in a single swift move.           Using a bit of her new strength, Mana then pushed her shoulder into Lilt¡¯s chest, pivoted and wrenched her arms around to slam the thief into the wall.

    Lilt, for whatever reason, blushed when the tables were turned on her. Although, the seductive twist to her lips didn¡¯t abate. We rushed her.

    ¡°O-Oh my. I wasn¡¯t expecting a cutey like you to be so forceful. But why don¡¯t we wait until we get to the inn before we¡­¡±

    ¡°Hey, Big Bro, I caught her. Now what?¡±

    ¡°Huh? Big Br¡­ Shit!¡±

    Finally noticing us, Lilt tried to wrench herself free, but Yua caught her by the scruff of her neck. Circling around to put myself between her and Mana, I wrapped an arm around Lilt¡¯s shoulders.

    ¡°Walk with us for a minute, would you?¡±

    ¡°Wha¡­ Hey¡­ Who are you? What did I do?¡±

    ¡°Hands out in front of you. Keep them where we can see them. Now, walk.¡±

    I¡¯ve had my fill of thieves and their tricks for a while. I¡¯m not about to risk her running away under the cover of a hidden smoke-bomb or something.

    Ignoring her complaints and pointless squirming, the three of us led her further into the alley and out of sight.

    ¡°L-Let go! If you do anything weird, I¡¯ll scream. I¡¯m pretty popular around here. One word and a bunch of the adventurers in the guild will¡­¡±

    ¡°Scream and I¡¯ll yell and make sure everyone knows that you¡¯re a thief.¡±

    ¡°Wha-What are you talking about? I¡¯ve never stolen anything in my life! Let me go!¡±

    Trying and failing to free herself again, I couldn¡¯t help but compare her strength to what Mana¡¯s was when we first met, even though she was a higher level. Meaning I felt like I was being a brute. Lilt must be some sort of dex build.

    ¡°Do you really not remember us?¡± I asked, stopping our little walk in the middle of the alley. ¡°I know you¡¯re a thief because you stole from us.¡±

    ¡°I-I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re¡­,¡± she started, then stopped to squint at me. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re that guy that didn¡¯t know where Guerraway was.¡±

    ¡°Exactly. And you¡¯re the girl that stole a bag of coin from Yua here.¡±

    ¡°And my panties,¡± Yua added truthfully, but unnecessarily.

    ¡°P-P-Panties? Why would I ever steal those? If you couldn¡¯t tell from my tits, I¡¯m a girl too.¡±

    Blushing, she pointed towards the wide leather strap that made up the entirety of the clothing covering her chest. I had to admit that I looked at her modest bust, but I wasn¡¯t falling for any tricks here. I kept her hands in sight at all times.

    ¡°Lilt, we know you¡¯re the one that took our things. They disappeared right after we met you and you¡¯re the only one that touched Yua. I mean, really. Accidentally bumping into someone to pick their pockets has to be the oldest trick in the book.¡±

    I say that, though we did make it all the way to the forest before we even noticed anything was missing. And technically speaking, the only reason we¡¯re sure it¡¯s her is because I read her info box. To anyone else, what we were doing was nothing more than guessing.

    ¡°Not to mention that, while not the same thing, you did just try to steal my wife from me.¡±

    I pointed to Mana, who waved back with a bemused, bored but still very cute smile. Lilt paled.

    ¡°Y-your wife?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± I said, letting her go to show I meant no harm. Yua did the same and Lilt unconsciously backed herself into a wall. ¡°You can¡¯t lie to Yua. Tell her yourself that you weren¡¯t the one that stole our things and, if Yua says you¡¯re telling the truth, we¡¯ll let you go.¡±

    At this, Lilt turned a hopeful, pleading gaze towards us.

    ¡°R-Really? You¡¯ll let me go? Just like that?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    ¡°¡­ You won¡¯t tell the guards we had this conversation?¡±

    ¡°Won¡¯t need to if you¡¯re not guilty.¡±

    She looked to each of us dubiously, the trembling in her shoulders was unmistakable. I couldn¡¯t know if this was the first time she¡¯d been caught, but knowing what lay in store for a caught thief would put the fear of the Goddess into anyone.

    We gave her a way out. Maybe I was being too lax since she was a cute girl, but it¡¯s not like I wanted to beat on her or hand her into slavery. I just wanted the coin she took back.

    Seemingly having made up her mind, Lilt took in a long breath and spoke as calmly as possible. She looked Yua dead in the eye and¡­

    ¡°I didn¡¯t steal anything from you.¡±

    Yua¡¯s ears flicked, then she cracked her knuckles.

    ¡°She¡¯s lying.¡±

    ¡°Oh, come on!¡±

    ¡°Also,¡± Yua said, taking another whiff of the air. ¡°The bag that had the coins was made from an old shirt of mine. I can smell it on you right now.¡±

    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°What?!¡±

    On reflex, Lilt¡¯s hands flew towards the pouch on her hip and I had to question the legitimacy of her Thief class¡¯s level. She was clearly a Thief, but to steal a coin purse from a beast-kin, then hold onto it for days without discarding the purse? Knowing it could be used to track her? Even I wouldn¡¯t make that stupid of a mistake. And, unlike me, she was born in this world.

    Unable to deny a beast-kin¡¯s nose, Lilt quickly produced the bag of coin.

    ¡°I-It¡¯s all there,¡± she promised, her voice cracking. ¡°I was saving up for something, so I didn¡¯t use any of it yet.¡±

    ¡°Good,¡± Yua said, snatching the purse back. ¡°Now give me my panties back.¡±

    ¡°I-I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. W-Who would steal something like that?¡±

    While just about anyone else with any amount of common sense would agree to that, her voice cracked at every other word. Seems like, if put under enough stress, she becomes a terrible liar. Funny to think, after she managed to trick us so confidently and with a straight face when we first met.

    Yua, however, didn¡¯t find this so amusing.

    ¡°If you don¡¯t steal panties, why don¡¯t you show me what you have in that pouch you carry on your belt?¡±

    ¡°I-I-I-I don¡¯t know what you mean! There¡¯s nothing in there like that. Nothing at all!¡±

    Sighing, I reached for the pouch, but she squirmed away, turning against the wall to hide her bag.

    ¡°D-Don¡¯t touch me! If you take my bag, you¡¯ll be branded a thief!¡±

    ¡°Then show us what¡¯s inside.¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing¡­¡±

    ¡°I can smell the scent of other women on you. In that bag.¡±

    ¡°Eeep! Okay, okay, fine! You win! I took them, okay! I¡¯m sorry!¡±

    ¡°Then just give them back,¡± I said.

    ¡°You want them back? Like, now? What, do you think I¡¯m wearing them or something? Why would I wear something so precious? Hers are back at my place.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Yea, Imma go ahead and keep quiet on that one. Yua may not be easy to embarrass, but if Lilt didn¡¯t steal her panties to wear them, then I didn¡¯t want to force out the real reason. Not in public, anyways. Watching her try to pick up Mana was kind of proof enough of her motives.

    ¡°Why do you even want more of these things?¡± Mana, the sole member of the peanut gallery in question, said. She grabbed at the hem of her skirt and ruffled it. ¡°They¡¯re so uncomfortable.¡±

    The paleness in Lilt¡¯s face started to brighten, but it skipped her normal complexion and jumped straight to beet-red in an instant. Chest heaving as though she¡¯d somehow run a mile within the span of a second, tears spilled down her cheeks. She clutched at her chest. Before I could check if she was having a heart attack, she pleaded.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry! Please don¡¯t report me to the guards! I don¡¯t want to be a slave! I¡¯ll do anything, I swear! Anything!¡±

    The sobbing¡¯s thief¡¯s knees were shaking so badly, that it was a wonder she was still standing. Yua was so taken aback by her plea that she nearly dropped her coin purse when her fists slackened. I knew at once that the thief¡¯s pleas struck a chord on the heart of the girl who had once gone through the same thing Lilt¡¯s capture would mean for her.

    Lilt collapsed to the ground, rubbing at the river of tears spilling down her cheeks, no doubt because she knew her freedom was coming to its end. By the time Mana had caught up with the severity of the situation, Yua¡¯s anger had already left her body completely.

    ¡°Alex¡­¡±

    ¡°I know.¡±

    Even if she was a thief, I didn¡¯t want to ruin her life just because she had sticky fingers. Going to prison was one thing, but you can¡¯t get out of slavery on good behavior.

    ¡°Lilt,¡± I said, bending down to look into her eyes. ¡°Why would you resort to stealing women¡¯s underwear? You clearly don¡¯t mind flirting.¡±

    ¡°I¡­I¡­¡±

    She continued to rub her eyes, unable to speak. So, I gripped her wrists and pulled them down to force her to look at me.

    ¡°I¡­I just¡­ I like girls. And it¡¯s hard to find other girls like me. So¡­¡±

    I nodded, content with the answer I knew I¡¯d hear.

    It was hard to hate her for what she did when I once felt the same. Wanting what you told yourself you¡¯d never have, only to then feel like you had no choice but to take it by force. I bought a slave, she stole from the women that likely couldn¡¯t return her feelings. Like Yua, the beauty she saw hanging all over me. For all I know, the stealing was just a strange sort of revenge on the girls that ignored her.

    The problem was that what I did was technically legal, if not amoral. I only did it once and I regretted it the moment the contract was signed. And judging by how she protected her bag, I was confident in saying she was a repeat offender.

    Unsure of how or why this turned into an intervention for the girl we barely knew ¨C I just wanted the coin back ¨C I discretely checked Mana¡¯s status box to confirm she wasn¡¯t going commando before I turned to Yua.

    ¡°Yua, she stole from you. What do you want to do about it?¡±

    Yua¡¯s anger had already mostly disappeared after the thief¡¯s explanation, but when she huffed and crossed her arms, she looked unsure of what to do herself. And to be honest, so was I.

    If it¡¯d just been the underwear, I¡¯d say we could let it go. But it wasn¡¯t that simple. While I didn¡¯t want to doubt how absurd this world could be at times, I wasn¡¯t going to let myself assume she grew to be a level 5 Thief just by stealing underwear. Letting her go could be dangerous.

    Already anticipating the worst, Lilt clenched her fists and another river of tears started down her cheeks.

    As a former victim of the same consequences Lilt was facing now, I knew her tears were only going to further weaken Yua¡¯s resolve. After the years she spent suffering in that slave house, even a realist like her would have a hard time condemning someone else to that fate. So, I whispered to her to help ease things along.

    ¡°Forget the panties she stole. I¡¯ll just make you a new pair myself when we get home.¡±

    Knowing her, she valued them because they were a gift more than because she needed them. So, I didn¡¯t mind doubling down on the gift by putting Material Creation to good use. And as I thought, this helped Yua come to a decision.

    ¡°You said you were saving the stolen coin for something. What was it?¡±

    Lilt gulped, then blushed, but she saw Yua¡¯s firm gaze needling her. She bit her lip and answered.

    ¡°Th-There¡¯s, um¡­ There¡¯s this woman I like who, um¡­¡±

    Before the stuttering thief could finish, Yua¡¯s ears shot to attention, as did Mana¡¯s, and both whipped around to face the mouth of the alley we¡¯d come from. Suddenly, we weren¡¯t alone anymore.

    Fifteen men slowly filed into the alley. In the dwindling sunlight, I couldn¡¯t tell their faces apart, but all of them were wearing armor. Some wore a set of simple adventurer¡¯s leathers, while others donned sets of full plate mail. Regardless, each and every one of them were carrying a weapon that had already been drawn. The street behind them was empty.

    For a brief moment, I thought someone had called the guards on us after seeing us pull a poor defenseless Lilt into the alley, or maybe that they were the Adventurer buddies she said she had, but after looking at them, she took a step back, eyes wide.

    I focused on them, on their info boxes, only to learn that most of them were labeled as Thugs whose level ranged from 10 all the way up to level 18. All save for one man, the only Slave Master and only one of them without a combat class, was level 19.

    This man, Brennen Michaelis, stepped further in front of the group with a gravitas that suggested he was confident in his complete control of the situation. The pale blue glow of the city¡¯s street lamp illuminated his face and his lordly sneer. He was clean shaven, gaunt with sunken eyes, but he wore a finely tailored suit beneath a breastplate that was far too small for him. It was like he threw on the first peace of armor he could find before coming here, but still somehow found the gall to laugh at us.

    ¡°Heh heh heh! Looky what we have here,¡± Brennen said, tapping his sword on his shoulder. ¡°A human man with dark brown hair and a cat-kin bitch with lighter brown hair, right? Say, you two wouldn¡¯t happen to be Alex and Yua, would you?¡±

    My hand fell to the hilt of my sword.

    ¡°I recognize some of these guys,¡± Yua growled, raising her fists. ¡°From DeGrave Imports.¡±

    ¡°DeGrave¡­ You mean these are Alphonse¡¯s goons?¡±

    ¡°Speaking of Mr. DeGrave,¡± Brennen said, shunting his sword into the cobblestone to use it as a cane. ¡°Where is he? He¡¯s been missing for weeks now and nobody knows where he is. Thanks to that, I had to come all the way out here to Amoranth just to fill his position, but without him, all our purses are still feeling mighty light these days.¡±

    As he spoke, more of the thugs stepped into the alley, barricading one of our escape routes. I quickly locked onto only one of the faces among the crowd. He alone was familiar, but his face was just plain enough that I would have forgotten him completely were it not for my improved memory.

    It was the same balding man with his over-worked muscles that had been guarding the DeGrave building the day I bought Yua. He must have noticed us in the crowd tonight and rallied his buddies while we waited in the Guild.

    Realizing this, I whispered, ¡°Mana, can you track Elane?¡±

    ¡°Yea? She didn¡¯t go far. What¡¯s happening? Who are those guys?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. Run. Go get Elane. Tell her what happened and that we need her help.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t question me and go. Now!¡±

    Shocked, her ears jumping at the haste in my tone, Mana didn¡¯t argue and took off down the back end of the alley.

    She had her bow at the ready, but her fear of heights meant that teleporting her to the top of either of the buildings bordering the alley would only cause her to freeze up. And leaving her to shoot from ground level was a no-go. The alley was wide and with only me and Yua to defend her, any number of the thugs could slip past us and head straight for her. Sending her for help was the best option.

    Brennen watched her run, but his smile never wavered. Hopefully, he knew she had nothing to do with what happened a month ago.

    Lilt too looked like she wanted to run, but she stayed put. A trembling in her knees stopped her feet from moving.

    ¡°H-hey, why are those guys after you two? Don¡¯t tell me you were stupid enough to mess with DeGrave¡¯s possie.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d like to know that too,¡± Brennen said. ¡°Last I heard, he had something of a deal with you.¡±

    ¡°Yea. I bought a slave from him and paid her off. Far as I¡¯m concerned, my business with him is done. For all I know, he went on vacation.¡±

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think he did. See, I happen to know he was staking out your room at the Lazy Cat a month ago. A few of the boys here saw him enter your room, but never saw him leave. Never saw you leave, either. Ain¡¯t that funny?¡±

    ¡°Boss, are you saying he killed Alphonse?¡± one of his men, a level 11 Swordsman named Albin, asked. ¡°Didn¡¯t he say that Alex kid was only level 1? How¡¯s that even possible?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how he did it, but Mr. DeGrave never would have up and left like that without asking a bunch of you to tag along with him. You were supposed to be his bodyguards, after all.¡±

    ¡°Guess we should have just followed him into the inn that day.¡±

    ¡°Maybe, but that¡¯s his fault for not asking. Still, I want to know how you two managed to off him.¡±

    Apparently, they¡¯d already decided our guilt. The worst part was that they weren¡¯t exactly wrong. Even if they couldn¡¯t know the details of what happened in our room that night, if they¡¯d been watching the building like they said, then they¡¯d have their proof that we never left on foot.

    And sneaking away via other means after knowing we¡¯d sprung Alphonse¡¯s trap, only for him to wind up missing might as well be proof enough that we killed him.

    ¡°Well, how¡¯d you do it? I know you two didn¡¯t call in any help, or they would¡¯ve been seen. So, how¡¯d a couple low-leveled brats like you manage to beat Mr. DeGrave? We¡¯re all ears. Please, tell us why we¡¯re missing our benefactor.¡±

    Sneering, Brennen pointed his sword at us and the rest followed suit. Any loyalty they had towards Alphonse was purely business, but that was all it took to earn their ire. I doubted what I had on me could match the lifetime of steady work Alphonse had offered them. Not that I planned on giving them a single copper.

    I drew my sword and the moment its blade touched the open air, it sparked against the sheath and burst into thick, roaring flames that illuminated the darkness of the alley like a torch.

    The flame had no need for fuel. Until I sheathed it, it¡¯d burn continuously no matter how long the flames danced along its edge. And yet, the flames themselves were hot enough to put my Fire Ball spell to shame.

    Unfortunately, however, this meant I had to put some distance between Yua and myself. Can¡¯t risk burning her with a bit of friendly fire. Not that she minded. She just took up her usual fighting stance.

    We couldn¡¯t run from this. If we did, if we¡¯d teleported away the moment they found us, we¡¯d just run the risk of Elane walking into their trap all on her own. And waiting for her and Mana before fleeing would just mean that these guys would attack us every time we showed our faces here from now until we saw the fight to its inevitable conclusion.

    Amoranth would be off limits until then, meaning no apothecary, no guild and no food runs. And more worryingly, there was no way of knowing now if they¡¯d catch wind of the maids back at the mansion and their relationship to us and decide to target them to get to us.

    Without even knowing the full breadth of it, they had us in a bind. Still, we just had to hold out for Elane. She may be able to throw around her nobility to get these guys off our backs.

    ¡°Wh-Why did you drag me into this?¡± Lilt cried. Still shaking, she scrambled to draw a small knife out of her bag.

    ¡°Ha!¡± Brennen laughed, unimpressed with our lineup. ¡°Look, boys. They want to fight. Guess that means they did kill Mr. DeGrave.¡±

    They all laughed as if our deaths were already a foregone conclusion.

    ¡°Alex¡­¡± Yua whispered without looking my way.

    ¡°I know.¡±

    No holding back this time. If I saw an opening, I¡¯d have to take it. And that was exactly what I was doing.

    Running through my list of spells and scanning the crowd, I took in their armor and weapons, trying to decide which to attack first and how. The heavily armored guys seemed the best bet. With their armor being made of heavy metal that surely slowed them down to some extent, I was pretty sure a few silent casts of Lightning Bolt would do the trick.

    At best, it¡¯d instantly take them out of the fight and at worst, it should momentarily stun them and I could follow up with something that hit a little harder. Either way, it¡¯d thin their numbers significantly. After that, we¡¯d thin their numbers even more by focusing on the ones with the lowest levels.

    But that was only assuming they didn¡¯t reach me first.

    My mind made up, I discretely focused on the man I meant to strike first. Brennen and the others all readied themselves, a mixture of smiles and excitement written all over their faces. They were cocky. Maybe that was a good thing.

    ¡°Hope all that fighting in the village didn¡¯t tire you out.¡±

    ¡°Not at all. I still have plenty of energy to watch your back.¡±

    ¡°Wh-What about me?!¡± cried Lilt. ¡°I¡¯m not a fighter!¡±

    Yua and I looked to each other, shared a brief and silent conversation that quickly ended with a nod.

    ¡°Lilt, go track down some of the city guard and bring them here, fast. Do that, and you can consider us even.¡±

    If she can¡¯t fight, then she¡¯d just be a liability. I didn¡¯t want to run the risk of Yua or I getting hurt trying to protect her.

    ¡°R-Really?¡± she said, the beginning of a hopeful smile cracking her trembling lips. ¡°I-I know where all the guards are stationed and their patrol routes. I can get them here in five minutes.¡±

    ¡°Then we¡¯ll do our best to hold on until then.¡±

    ¡°Y-Yea. Just promise you won¡¯t tell them what we talked about.¡±

    ¡°Fine, just go already!¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡±

    Behind me, I couldn¡¯t watch Lilt take off running, but I did listen for her footsteps. They began to fade and then they vanished without a trace.

    I don¡¯t know what I was expecting, but I wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if Lilt betrayed her promise and fled the city just to be free of us and Brennen¡¯s men. She didn¡¯t have a good enough reason to actually follow through with her promise. And that was fine. This was our fight. Thief or not, I didn¡¯t like the idea of dragging her into it.

    ¡°N-No¡­¡±

    However, what I never would have expected was to still hear her voice behind me.

    Weary of the men in front of us, I chanced a look over my shoulder only to witness Lilt¡¯s knees give out. She fell onto her ass beside me and stared, not at Brennen and his men, but down the opposite end of the alley. Color faded from her face until all that was left was a sickly white. Sweat beaded on her brow. Her eyes wider than the moon was round, she trembled violently, like every muscle in her body was twitching with an intense burning she could never hope to stop.

    Shit. Are there more of them behind us?

    Brennen managed to rally this many men on such short notice, so it wasn¡¯t hard to guess he might have had more waiting at the other end of the alley incase we tried to run. But what did that mean for Mana?

    With a click of my tongue, I turned and put my back to Yua¡¯s, ready to take on half this make-shift army by myself, only to find the other end of the alley stoppered by a buxom, woman whose usually golden hair was shaded in the same blue of the street lamps above. And beside her was a comparably much smaller cat girl looking all proud of herself.

    Elane was gripping her axe tight with both hands, while Mana cautiously nocked an arrow.

    A relieved sigh escaped my lips.

    ¡°Looks like the cavalry is here, Yua.¡±

    ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t know how to feel about being saved by her twice in one day, but the odds weren¡¯t in our favor.¡±

    ¡°Tell me about it. I¡¯m the husband here. I¡¯m supposed to be saving her.¡±

    ¡°Haha. I think you¡¯re going to need a lot more training before you can save her from anything.¡±

    ¡°Haha. Ouch.¡±

    Unfortunately, I couldn¡¯t disagree. The only way I really had to save anyone right now was to teleport them out of a situation. Or, in other words, run away. And unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t an option here.

    Perhaps sensing the admittedly abundant relief I¡¯d been fueled with in seeing Elane again, Lilt tried to stand, but the earth-shattering trembling that had consumed her caused her to fall right back down. Her legs refused to work, so she looked up at me from where she sat. Eyes wrecked by a manic confusion in the face of our casual banter, she looked at us as though we¡¯d gone crazy.

    ¡°Wh-wh-what are you two talking about? D-Don¡¯t you know who that woman is? That¡¯s Elane Bellenfort! Her being here is a thousand times worse than facing Alphonse¡¯s goons! Just look how pissed she is!¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I said, then tapped my forehead. ¡°Oh, right, guess you don¡¯t know. Elane¡¯s actually my wife.¡±

    The revelation caused Lilt¡¯s jaw to drop and not in the ¡°how the hell did you manage to land such a beauty¡± way. Her assumptions of my insanity were now set in stone.

    ¡°Y-you married her? Didn¡¯t I warn you about her?!¡±

    ¡°So? Come on, now. She¡¯s a fun person once you get to know her.¡±

    Lilt¡¯s mouth opened and closed several times as she stared, but I couldn¡¯t say for certain if she even meant to say anything. Her complexion was still worryingly pale.

    I offered to help her up, half tempted to just teleport her back to the mansion so she could start breathing again, but she didn¡¯t notice the hand I extended her way. Her eyes were fixed on Elane. And Elane stared right back.

    ¡°Hey, Elane!¡± I shouted. ¡°Think you can come talk some sense into these guys for us?¡±

    Unhesitant to ask her to throw around her former title to put an end to this since these guys wouldn¡¯t know any better, I waved to her. But she didn¡¯t move.

    From a distance, I could see Mana¡¯s ears twitch with recognition, but I was sure Elane should have heard me.

    ¡°Hey, who¡¯s that down there?¡± Brennen said, shielding his eyes from the blue light of the street lamps to see better. ¡°Albin, I thought you said you were able to trick the guards into going somewhere else. I wanted this little get together to be a private affair.¡±

    ¡°I did,¡± the swordsman said, stepping up beside him. He too peered down the alley and I could have sworn I saw his grip tighten around his sword. ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a guard.¡±

    It wasn¡¯t just Albin, all of the men before us suddenly looked cautious of the figure they could barely see. Lilt, too, hadn¡¯t found the strength to stand yet. She just continued staring at Elane.

    Elane in turn did nothing but stare right back until her chin lifted and her attention turned to Brennen and his men.

    Seeing this, an idea popped into my mind. Hopefully Elane doesn¡¯t mind us using her negative reputation. The path to avoiding a fight altogether suddenly didn¡¯t seem so far away.

    ¡°Like Lilt here said,¡± I started. ¡°That¡¯s Lady Elane Bellenfort. And she happens to be my third wife.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± Albin shouted, gripping his sword with both hands. I could hear the hilt clattering against the blade¡¯s steel as he pointed it defensively at Elane.

    Brennen, however, shrugged. His smug smirk hadn¡¯t shifted an inch.

    ¡°You brought a woman as your backup, hmm? No, I suppose there¡¯s two girlies over there. If she¡¯s your wife, shouldn¡¯t you be telling her to run away while you gallantly sacrifice yourself for her sake?¡±

    ¡°B-Boss,¡± Albin started, his voice quaking. ¡°The woman with the huge tits is Elane Bellenfort. She¡¯s The Terror of Amoranth.¡±

    ¡°¡°Terror?¡±¡±

    Brennen and I spoke in unison, but I shook off the disgust I felt in doing so and looked to Elane. Sure, she was holding a weapon I¡¯d watched her use to cut down three men, but she was standing almost perfectly still.

    I knew she had a reputation, but terror? If anyone saw the type of woman she was back at the apothecary, terror would be the absolute last word they¡¯d use to describe her. Next to her, Mana tilted her head at Elane, as if she too thought their reactions silly.

    ¡°What sort of ridiculous name is that?¡± Brennen snorted, unintentionally agreeing with me. ¡°She¡¯s not even wearing armor. If she¡¯s dumb enough to fight for this buffoon, just kill her too.¡±

    ¡°Fuck that!¡± Albin said sharply. ¡°Not even Alphonse himself could pay me enough to fight her. That bitch is insane!¡±

    ¡°Hey!¡± I shouted, firing a low-powered Rock Throw at the man. ¡°I just said she¡¯s my wife. Watch your mouth!¡±

    Though I¡¯d fired it in haste, I was surprised to see the projectile strike home. The small stone bounced off Albin¡¯s forehead, doing no more damage than a pebble thrown by a child before it clattered to the ground. I was expecting a Swordsman of his level to deflect such a deliberately weak and direct attack with ease, but Lilt¡¯s trembling seemed to have infected him as well.

    ¡°Hey, Big Bro,¡± Mana said, appearing beside me to tug at my shirt. ¡°Booby Lady¡¯s heart sounds weird.¡±

    ¡°Weird? What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Like, um¡­ I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s just weird. Not normal.¡±

    Confused and leaving Yua to keep an eye on the thugs, I turned back to Elane. She still hadn¡¯t moved, but she was clenching her axe a little closer to her chest now.

    ¡°I think she¡¯s mad.¡± Mana, ears drooping, circled around me, putting her back to the thugs instead.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Like I said,¡± Albin shouted, a thin stream of blood trickling down from his forehead. ¡°I ain¡¯t fighting her!¡±

    ¡°Boss, you¡¯re not from here, so maybe you don¡¯t get it,¡± the bald thug said, his voice shaking just as much as Albin¡¯s. ¡°But you don¡¯t want to challenge that woman. Ever.¡±

    It was then that I noticed the rest of the thugs were unconsciously stepping back towards the street and away from the alley. Faces pale with fright, they¡¯d clearly lost their will to fight.

    The only one still holding his sword with any level of confidence was Brennen.

    ¡°Again, you pussies, it¡¯s just a woman. Get in there and fight! I¡¯m not paying you just so you can stand around shitting yourselves!¡±

    His smirk giving way to a sneer, Brennen grabbed Albin¡¯s collar and shoved him towards us, but Albin smacked his hand away.

    ¡°No fucking way! You can have your money back. I ain¡¯t fighting her!¡±

    Albin reached under his breastplate and fished out a bag of coin and tossed it at Brenne¡¯s feet.

    ¡°Boss, you haven¡¯t seen her cut loose before. Fighting her would be suicide! If she¡¯s that guy¡¯s wife, then you better give up on him and...¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that crap!¡± Brennen shouted back, kicking the bag of coin back to Albin. ¡°I know what this is about. You lot just got your panties in a bunch because the kid called her a Lady, right? What you want is more coin, isn¡¯t it? Skewering a noble costs more, does it?¡±

    Leaving his sword standing up in the stone floor, Brennen grumbled as he reached for his own purse. He took out a gold piece and flicked it to Brennen. The coin struck the cobblestones with a small metallic clink, but the thugs all flinched as though the sound it made was deafening.

    ¡°There you are. Now go kill her, and the others.¡±

    ¡°What part of no don¡¯t you get?!¡±

    ¡°Guys, guys, guys,¡± I said, trying to draw their attention. ¡°Look, nobody wants to fight, right? Let¡¯s just talk this over so nobody gets hurt.¡±

    If Elane¡¯s heart was acting up, we needed to deescalate. She was pressing her axe to her chest, not like she intended to find comfort in it, but almost like it were a hurdle she were trying to throw herself over. Clenching, grinding her teeth now, she glared, her gaze fixated entirely on the thief beside me.

    If the beating of her heart was enough to make a cat-kin worry, it had to be serious.

    ¡°Alex¡­¡± Yua said, brow drenched in sweat. ¡°Something doesn¡¯t feel right.¡±

    ¡°I know. I¡¯m trying to¡­¡±

    A sudden tug on my hand shifted my line of sight back down to Lilt. Squeezing my fingers with everything she had, the thief sobbed hysterically.

    ¡°I-if she¡¯s your wife, tell her to let me go! Please! I don¡¯t want to be here any¡­!¡±

    ¡°LIIIIIILT!!! DON¡¯T YOU TOUCH MY HUSBAND!!!¡±

    [CAUTION: Slave Elane Bellenfort Has Activated Berserker Rage!!!]

    A wave of overwhelming dread swept past, engulfing us all in a vacuum where no other sound could dare exist.

    Elane¡¯s voice was deep, deafening and entirely unlike her. It was unrecognizable.

    Nobody moved. Not the men, not Yua or Mana. All were transfixed on the origin of that bellow. Finding my own arm shaking a little, I alone pointed my sword towards Elane so the flames writhing along the blade could illuminate her. I shivered at what I saw standing there at the edge of the alley.

    The vibrant, cobalt blue eyes I¡¯d not-so-secretly longed to watch fall into pleasure had faded from existence, leaving behind nothing but an empty white void. The velvety-smooth skin that made it impossible not to gaze upon her without lust had suddenly turned a deep shade of scarlet. Steam bellowed off her, warping the air around her and it was as if the very blood coursing through her veins had started to boil beneath her flesh.

    Gripping her giant battleaxe hard enough for its metal to squeal, she took a single step forward and the world quaked beneath her boot.

    Brow contorted with malignant anger, she looked like she wanted to start a one-woman stampede down the alley, but her movements were unbearably staggered, like just the thought of moving caused her muscles to tear.

    Eye twitching, teeth grinding, she took a second step.

    ¡°LILT, YOU BITCH! YOU DARE TRY TO HAVE MY HUSBAND KILLED!!! AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, I FINALLY FOUND SOMEONE WHO¡­. ARRGGHHHHH!¡±

    Elane stopped, wrenching a hand off her axe to grab at her head.

    ¡°N-no¡­ I d-didn¡¯t do n-noth¡­¡±

    Unable to tear her eyes off Elane, Lilt didn¡¯t seem to notice a wetness spreading from her crotch to dampen the cobblestones.

    Elane took another step and Lilt curled into a ball, the thought of running never even occurring to her.

    ¡°What are you waiting for?¡± Brennen shouted, kicking Albin in the leg. ¡°Get in there and fight! She¡¯s distracted. Now¡¯s your chance!¡±

    Albin was almost too transfixed on Elane¡¯s slow approach to notice the hit.

    ¡°N-no¡­ not this again¡­I¡¯m leaving. I¡¯m getting out of here!¡±

    ¡°Like hell you are!¡±

    Albin tried to turn tail and run, as did several of the others, but Brennen grabbed hold of his collar again.

    ¡°I told you to get in there! Continue acting like a coward, and I¡¯ll make sure you never find work in Amoranth again!¡±

    Elane took another step.

    ¡°N-no¡­¡±

    ¡°Get in there!¡±

    ¡°NO! L-Let go!¡±

    Unable to tear his gaze completely away from Elane, Albin tried to wrench himself free of the man¡¯s hold, but couldn¡¯t seem to muster any strength, even though Elane¡¯s manic glare was fixated only on the cowering Lilt.

    ¡°You weak, worthless little piece of human detritus! Stop being such a chicken and fight! You¡¯re a damned mercenary! Fight!¡±

    ¡°Let go! I have to get out of here!¡±

    ¡°Fight! I¡¯ll pay you double what we agreed!¡±

    ¡°Gods dammit! I said let go!¡±

    In flash, Albin shoved his sword into Brennen¡¯s gut. It looked as though he merely meant to push him back, but the pointed tip easily slid through fabric, skin and muscle alike until its blade slipped out the man¡¯s back, covered in thick viscous blood.

    Yua gasped, giving up her fighting stance to cover her mouth.

    ¡°Wh-what¡­ did you do?¡±

    Too stunned to feel the pain, Brennen gripped the part of the blade jutting out of his stomach. With shaking hands, he tried to pull it out, but all it did was dig into the flesh of his palms. The under-sized armor he wore had been useless.

    Gaping, mouth floundering like a fish out of water, Albin looked horrified by what he¡¯d done. As if it were an act of self-defense, pure reflex. Here was a man that had apparently taken over the slave trade when Alphonse went missing, the same man who¡¯d seemingly decided to foot the bill for these thugs, and now one of them had killed him.

    The look of shock never left Brennen¡¯s eyes as his consciousness slowly faded. Albin tried to blink the sight of his blade skewering the man out of existence¡­ but then Elane took another step.

    ¡°Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!¡±

    Repeating the word as though it were some sort of mantra to calm his nerves, Albin squeezed his eyes shut before ripping his sword out of the corpse in his arms. Brennen fell to the ground, unmoving.

    Albin turned to the five of his men that found the will to stay, or worse, were too scared to move, and screamed at them.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go! We ain¡¯t fighting that lunatic!¡±

    A few of his men managed to crack a weak, wiry smile before fleeing. A couple even dropped their swords, their weight would only slow them down.

    ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± I said. ¡°There¡¯s no way they could be¡­¡±

    There was no way they could be so scared of her. She was a skilled fighter for sure, but their reaction to just the sight of her was unbelievable.

    Refusing what I¡¯d just seen, and knowing something drastically wrong was happening, I opened her status page.

    Her main page said that she was under the effect of that Berserker Rage ability of hers, but it didn¡¯t give any details, so I rushed through the rest of her information in search of something, anything that looked out of place and, on her stats page, I found a set of numbers that were different from what I remembered when I first made her mine. We hadn¡¯t been together long enough for my abilities to make any sort of a difference to her stats, but doing the math, I saw that¡­

    ¡°Oh. Shit¡­¡±

    Both her Strength and Vitality stats had been boosted by an entire fifty-percent!

    ¡°LIIIILT!!!¡± Elane bellowed, the veins in her neck bulging, her voice nearly demonic. ¡°HOW DARE YOU!! MY HUSBAND!! TRIED TO TAKE HIM AWAY!! TRIED TO KILL!! NOW YOU DIE!!¡±

    ¡°No¡­ no¡­ no¡­ no¡­ I didn¡¯t. I didn¡¯t do anything. I just¡­ I just wanted a woman.¡±

    The target of Elane¡¯s hatred was holding her head, rocking back and forth, chanting her innocence like it were the incantation to some sort of barrier spell. Her sense for fight or flight had abandoned her.

    I snapped out of my confusion and called to Elane as she continued her forced-slow approach.

    ¡°Elane, you can stop! Lilt didn¡¯t do anything wrong! And the bad guys are gone already!¡±

    ¡°LIIIIIILT!!¡±

    My words had no effect on her at all. She just continued walking towards us, axe gripped tightly in her hands, her grip bleaching her knuckles white.

    ¡°Shit... Mana, what did you tell her when I sent you after her?¡±

    ¡°N-nothing! I just said that you were talking with a female called Lilt in an alley when a bunch of males carrying weapons showed up. That¡¯s it!¡±

    ¡°LIIIILT!!! YOU WANT TO KILL HIM?!! TAKE HIM AWAY FROM ME?!! YOU?!! NO. NO. NO!!! YOU¡¯LL DIE FOR THAT!! YOU HAVE TO DIE!!!¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t! I didn¡¯t!¡±

    A sickening pit opened up in my stomach. Time seemed to move in accord with her every step, daring not to advance unless she did herself. This became unbidden law to all. To the entire city. The once bustling streets were empty, the guild had shut their doors.

    Even Yua gulped as she raised her fists. Though now they were shaking.

    I stepped between Elane and Lilt.

    ¡°Elane, stop!¡±

    ¡°LIIIIILT!!!¡±

    ¡°Elane, I order you to stop!¡±

    But she didn¡¯t. For a brief second, she clenched her teeth harder, grinding them with enough force to turn a diamond into dust, but she took another step. She ignored my order.

    ¡°Impossible,¡± Yua muttered.

    Elane drew closer and the tip of her axe got caught on the wall, but she continued anyways. Without trying, without showing that it slowed her in anyway, the axe cut through the stone wall, leaving a deep gouge along its face, just from the force of her stepping forward.

    She almost looked to be trying to stop herself from how slow she stepped.

    As her master, my orders should have been absolute. If she was conscious, she should have been forced to obey. She looked like she tried, but anger caused her to break free of the slave spell¡¯s magic. Or was it because I wasn¡¯t specific enough?

    ¡°Stop it already!¡±

    Before I could order a more direct request, Mana dashed through Yua and me to stand before Elane.

    ¡°Mana, get back! What are you doing?!¡±

    I tried to stop her, but telekinesis failed to grab hold of her, like it too was disobeying me. I chased her, but she faced down the berserk Elane anyways. Her ear twitched at the heavy sound of another footstep, but she held shockingly firm.

    Throwing her arms up high in the air, she presented herself.

    ¡°J-Just this once, you can hug me however you want! But you have to stop!¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    I was flabbergasted. Now of all times, she was offering her hugging services, but the way she turned her head and squeezed her eyes shut made her look like she were making some grand gesture of sacrificing herself. And yet, Elane brushed past her. She didn¡¯t attack. Didn¡¯t even yell. Without so much as a glance to the petite girl, it was like she hadn¡¯t even noticed Mana was there.

    Mana peeked when Elane passed her, and when she saw that she remained unmolested, her eyes widened in disbelief. Her tail drooped.

    ¡°LIIIILT!¡±

    ¡°What the hell is going on?¡±

    As ridiculous as the thought of stopping her rampage with a hug sounded, in Elane¡¯s case, it almost made sense. Since we met, Elane had taken advantage of every opening Mana gave her to scoop her up. Hell, Elane seemed to completely forget her anger towards me the moment Mana showed her face. And I essentially had a hand in ruining her life. Mana might as well be her kryptonite.

    Wait¡­ No. This isn¡¯t right.

    I can¡¯t look past the fact that Elane looks like she¡¯s trying to stop herself from moving forward. She thinks Lilt¡¯s trying to kill me and yet she¡¯s ignoring my demands to stop. Her feelings came quick, but they were serious enough to embarrass herself just to ask for a potion whose implications shouldn¡¯t be heard of outside the bedroom.

    If she¡¯s outright ignoring her husband and her master¡¯s orders, ignoring Mana, then¡­

    So, I picked up Bonda¡¯s axe and¡­ and I don¡¯t know. I just kind of blacked out after that. But when I came to, all of the bandits were dead and Bonda¡¯s axe was covered in blood.

    I¡¯d taken that story with a healthy portion of salt, assuming that maybe she just repressed the memories of fighting those bandits, but what if she didn¡¯t? What if she wasn¡¯t even conscious right now? Was her anger the only thing keeping her going? If so, then maybe there was still a way to end this without any bloodshed.

    ¡°Mana, get away from her!¡±

    Shouting, Yua dashed for her friend, who¡¯d sped over in front of Elane again. Yua grabbed Mana by the sleeve and yanked her out of the woman¡¯s warpath, only to end up in the way herself.

    ¡°LIIILT!!¡±

    Despite the interference, Elane¡¯s empty, twitching glare remained locked on Lilt, who¡¯s hysterical sobs only increased in intensity the closer the axe got.

    Yua, a born and bred fighter, stood her ground and put up her fists, but she didn¡¯t know of the changes to Elane¡¯s stats.

    ¡°Yua, stop! She¡¯s way stronger than she used to be!¡±

    ¡°LIIILT!¡±

    Undaunted by Yua¡¯s presence, before she could even ready herself to throw a punch, Elane¡¯s elbow rocketed into Yua¡¯s stomach.

    The movement was so natural, it was almost automatic. It didn¡¯t look like she even tried to hurt her. Like Yua had simply walked into the natural swing of her arm as she continued walking forward, but it threw her across the alley and into the wall opposite us.

    Stunned only briefly, Yua got right back up, but clenched her stomach, eyes wide with disbelief.

    ¡°What¡­? It¡¯s like getting hit by Daddy¡­¡±

    ¡°That Berserker Rage ability of hers has increased her strength by fifty-percent. Neither of us are a match for her.¡±

    ¡°Should we teleport Daddy to¡­¡±

    ¡°No! I¡¯m not about to ask him to fight her.¡±

    He might actually kill her, even if accidentally.

    ¡°Then what about Guild Master Cade? Mana can go ask while we hold her off.¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t need help,¡± I said, sheathing my sword, returning the alley to darkness.

    ¡°But you said she¡¯s stronger now. And I couldn¡¯t even hurt her when she was normal.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not going to try to hurt her.¡±

    I couldn¡¯t be sure if my hypothesis was correct just yet, but if she wasn¡¯t actively aware of her actions, then, in a way, she wasn¡¯t fighting at one-hundred-percent. And that means we have a chance. There was something we could try, but I had to trust Yua to understand that we couldn¡¯t risk discussing a plan wear Elane could hear it.

    Not when Elane was so close to Lilt. When all this was done, I didn¡¯t want her to have to find out she killed an innocent person, all because of a stupid misunderstanding.

    It took Yua a moment, but she must have picked up on my idea, because she let go of her stomach to ready herself again. As did I¡­ by getting out of Elane¡¯s way.

    ¡°LIIILT!!!¡±

    The path to her target now cleared, time flowed again and Elane picked up the pace. There was a certain melancholy behind the pale white of her eyes, the cobalt blue I¡¯d come to love was begging to be noticed as they twitched. I couldn¡¯t help but feel as though that, somewhere deep inside her, she just wanted this to end.

    Elane was still in there.

    ¡°LIIILT!!!¡±

    She raised her axe high above Lilt¡¯s head. Seeing it glint in the moonlight, Lilt couldn¡¯t move. Even her trembling stopped. All she could do was watch as the guillotine raised higher and higher, its sole purpose to split her in half.

    At the same time, I stepped closer and Elane showed no signs of noticing me. So, I jumped in between the axe and Lilt and waited.

    Tall as I was, it was impossible Elane hadn¡¯t noticed me block her mark, but her axe fell anyways.

    Only, I used my rights as her master to instantly stash it away in my item box.

    Hands suddenly empty, she swung at me and missed, striking only at the air between us. Unfortunately, she took the loss of her weapon rather well, as she recovered from her swing and instead raised her fists into the air. Her muscles bulging as lava coursed through her veins, she wasted no time in bringing them down on me.

    I threw up my arms to block and incanted.

    ¡°Iron Fist!¡±

    Her fists slammed down and my arms glowed with a silver light.

    A metallic screech tore into my eardrums, but the pain was quickly overshadowed by my knee¡¯s giving out, the right one crashing hard into the cobblestone, cracking it. I hadn¡¯t even taken the hit directly, I¡¯d only put my all into deflecting it. Still, the pain was explosive. It way more than I expected, but as I thought she might, Elane felt the same pain.

    ¡°GAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!¡±

    Elane writhed in agony as the slave spell rounded all my suffering back onto her. Still red, still seething, she grasped at the invisible hands gripping her throat.

    ¡°Yua, now!¡±

    I threw open a portal in front of Yua that connected to the space behind Lilt. Without need for an explanation, Yua reached through, grabbed Lilt by the arm and pulled her through the portal to safety.

    Now that she was out of the way and now that Elane was distracted, I forced myself to ignore the pain in my knee.

    Propelling myself forward on just the strength of my good leg, I wrapped my arms around Elane¡¯s back. Her skin felt horrifically hot, but I bore with it the same as she had been and whispered in her ear.

    ¡°Elane, I forgive you. Now¡­ Force Sleep!¡±

    My spell cast and her writhing stopped. Her screaming came to a swift end. And the solid muscle I¡¯d been embracing quickly softened as the redness left her skin.

    ¡°Lilt¡­ Don¡¯t kill¡­ him. Please.¡±

    The blue in her eyes returned, just in time for her eyelids to flutter shut and for her body to fall limp in my arms. When forced to bear her weight, I was quickly reminded of the pain in my knee. Carefully, I set her down, making sure she didn¡¯t bump her head. Quietly, her breasts started to rise and fall with the gentle motion of someone in a deep sleep.

    It was almost unbelievable how peaceful she looked now, but I didn¡¯t let myself breathe easily until her status page both said that she was no longer under the effects of Berserker Rage and that she was, in fact, asleep.

    ¡°Phew¡­ Thank the Goddess that worked.¡±

    Guess I was only partially right about her being unconscious. She was unaware enough of her own actions to not only bypass my orders, but because the slave spell hadn¡¯t attacked her sooner, she also hadn¡¯t actually thought to hurt me. It sort of just happened, like some other force was puppeteering her body.

    At the same time, she was also awake enough to actually be knocked out. And thankfully so, if Force Sleep hadn¡¯t worked on her, we would¡¯ve had to watch the slave spell choke her until she fell unconscious.

    I let myself fall on my ass, but when I tried to catch myself, my left arm somehow missed the ground entirely. Realizing it was the arm that took the brunt of Elane¡¯s strike, I took a quick breath to prepare myself and checked on my arm to see what was wrong. And I blinked when I saw that my forearm was bent at a sickeningly uncomfortable angle. Like how a street sign¡¯s pole might look after a car rammed into it.

    Many would likely call me lucky for being able to say I¡¯d never had a broken bone before in my life, but I clearly no longer had that right. Still, I think I somehow knew the damage before I saw it, because I¡¯d kept Iron Fist active. Thanks only to it, I truly felt no pain. In fact, I barely felt a thing.

    Guess Iron Fist actually turns your body into something akin to metal. No wonder why Yua could actually shatter stone when she punched something with it.

    ¡°Alex!¡±

    Speaking of, Yua slid to a stop in front of me and, her breathing haggard, immediately slammed her palm into the center of my chest. A bright green glow emitted from her hand and the pain in my knee slowly began to fade. It did nothing for my arm, though.

    ¡°When did you learn Iron Fist?¡±

    ¡°¡­ When I fought your dad. Haven¡¯t really had a chance to use it, though.¡±

    Gonna have to hold back on the fact that I¡¯d actually learned it when he asked me to prove my strength by him letting me punch him. Even if she knew it¡¯d always be the case, the fact that that punch did literally nothing to him was too embarrassing.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you use it against Tillmann?¡±

    ¡°Uh, because I was poisoned? I couldn¡¯t exactly think straight, you know.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Then how are you already using it on your entire arm when you only just learned it?¡±

    That was a good question. While I knew it could be done, all I did was envision Tama doing the same. He¡¯d used it on several different parts of his body, so I tried to replicate what he did.

    ¡°I¡¯ll explain later,¡± I said. ¡°Are you okay?¡±

    Checking her health bar, I lifted the front of her shirt to check on her stomach. A compliment to her resilience, there was only a bruise there. A large bruise, but nothing a small potion couldn¡¯t fix. So, I took one out for her. She took it, looking to my arm.

    ¡°That¡¯s going to hurt a lot when you release the Iron Fist.¡±

    ¡°I figured. Hopefully Madame Turquesse has a potion to mend broken bones. Mana, you okay?¡±

    ¡°Yea¡­ What happened to Booby Lady?¡±

    Leaning to the side as Yua downed her potion, I found Mana squatting again in a very un-lady-like way beside Elane. She poked the woman¡¯s cheek, but Elane just continued snoozing.

    ¡°I¡¯m not entirely sure. We¡¯ll have to ask her later when she wakes up.¡±

    ¡°What should we do with her?¡± Yua asked.

    ¡°We¡¯ll take her home, obviously. We can¡¯t just leave her here.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t mean Elane.¡±

    Turning, Yua¡¯s ears flicked at the sight of Lilt, who was only now unfurling from the ball she¡¯d left herself in. Her eyes darted around and quickly found Elane. She jumped to her feet, backing herself against the wall. Chest rising rapidly, it almost looked like she was about to pass out right along side her attacker. That is, until she noticed Elane¡¯s eyes were closed.

    ¡°Is¡­ Is she dead?¡±

    ¡°Huh? No. I worked my magic and made her fall asleep. You¡¯re safe now.¡±

    ¡°R-Really?¡±

    Turning over her hands in front of her eyes, she let out a sigh of relief so heavy it nearly lifted her off the ground.

    But then she noticed the dampness in the crotch of her pants and her hands flew to cover it.

    Yua and I shared a look and a smile and I knew we were on the same page.

    ¡°Lilt,¡± I said. ¡°Sorry about all this. What you did wasn¡¯t worth all this¡­ terror. You¡¯ve been punished enough.¡±

    Lilt gulped, her cheeks nowhere near as red as Elane¡¯s had been, but she asked the question that we¡¯d been forced to leave unanswered.

    ¡°Th-Then you won¡¯t report me to the guards?¡±

    ¡°No. By way of apology for my wife¡¯s¡­ recklessness, we¡¯ll pretend all that never happened. Though I do have a request for you.¡±

    Lilt¡¯s mood brightened several shades upon learning she¡¯d survived long enough to clear her clearly guilty name, but she braced herself. However, my request should be easy to complete.

    ¡°Stop stealing panties. I mean, I¡¯m still a bit inept when it comes to women, too, but even I know doing that is no way to get them to like you.¡±

    ¡°Can you do that?¡± Yua added. I couldn¡¯t see her face, but from her tone and the way Lilt jumped, I guessed she was still a little miffed that one of my gifts to her had been stolen.

    ¡°Y-Yes! I, uh, I can¡¯t give them back without explaining how I took them¡­ B-B-But I promise I won¡¯t ever steal panties again! So, uh, thank you! Bye-bye!¡±

    With that, Lilt took off running, no doubt as fast as she could. She was gone before any of us could so much as wave goodbye.

    ¡°¡­ Can¡¯t help but notice how she specified panties when she said she wouldn¡¯t steal anymore.¡±

    I sighed and got to my feet. Iron Fist was slowly draining my stamina, but at a faster rate than my stamina regeneration ability could mitigate. At best, I had six or seven minutes before I¡¯d be drained and in a world of pain.

    ¡°I was really looking forward to using these stamina potions for something else, but¡­¡±

    I popped a vial into my hand and downed it on my way over to Elane and Mana. Looking down at her, watching Mana push her finger deep into Elane¡¯s cheek, I couldn¡¯t help but smirk a bit wryly at the dopey smile that took the sleeping woman¡¯s face.

    ¡°Yua¡­ Sorry to ask, but could you carry her?¡±

    ¡°Sure¡­¡±

    Yua scooped the unconscious woman up off the ground and walked through my portal the moment it appeared. I quietly ushered Mana through it after she collected her bow, but didn¡¯t enter myself.

    Brennen was still laying there dead. Someone from the guild would find him soon enough after they finished drinking, but he clearly meant to kill us. I didn¡¯t want whoever found him to think he was just some victim of a mugging gone wrong.

    So, I made sure nobody was looking and shot a couple Fire Balls at him. Staying only long enough to make sure the flames took, I followed the girls through the portal.

 Volume 2 - Chapter 31

    ¡°Here¡¯s your tea, Master.¡±

    Erika tilted a foreign-looking teapot over the cup she prepared for me and a perfect stream of milky brown liquid poured from the spout. A compliment to her skills, she didn¡¯t spill a single drop.

    ¡°Thank you.¡±

    She quietly poured herself a cup as well before carefully setting the teapot on the dining table. After smoothing out her skirt, she sat across from me, but not before making sure her fluffy tail had plenty of room to move.

    ¡°The thanks belongs to you, Master, for letting me share a drink with you,¡± she said with a polite, but genuine smile. ¡°This is one of the more expensive teas Elane has collected.¡±

    ¡°What, did she not share with you before?¡±

    ¡°Sometimes, but she rarely asked me to make it for her. It¡¯s usually reserved for guests.¡±

    Seeing that she was waiting for me, I went ahead and took a drink first. While it couldn¡¯t compare to the brew the Goddess gave me, it still managed to warm my soul and light up my tastebuds with a delightfully earthy flavor.

    Finally, braving the steam emanating from her own cup, she took a small lady-like sip, only for her tail to give up the act by flicking happily. She, however, was quick to reprimand herself by forcing her tail back under the table.

    I laughed.

    ¡°Erika, I know I¡¯m technically your master, but you don¡¯t need to act so stiff around me. Just relax.¡±

    ¡°O-Okay. Sorry.¡±

    Erika let out a breath, though the only relaxing she let herself enjoy was a slightly slackening of her shoulders. I pretended not to notice and took another sip.

    Considering how she and the other maids thought I was going to drag them to bed the moment I took over as their master, I figured I had some waiting to do before they all lightened up around me.

    Fidgeting in her seat like she didn¡¯t know what to say, she eventually broke the pleasant silence with a small bow.

    ¡°Sorry Silla and Mary aren¡¯t here to greet you. And June.¡±

    ¡°Haha. Come on. I said it¡¯s fine. I¡¯m mainly stopping by because I had to drop off the potions I made at the apothecary.¡±

    By chance, Erika had sent Mary and Silla out to the market to fetch some things for their dinner right before I teleported back to Elane¡¯s mansion. Because of this, and because June was currently upstairs trying to put a Tailor-maid dent in her new bed, Erika and I were all alone.

    After the incident with Elane last night, we¡¯d brought her straight back to our cabin in the middle of nowhere, just in case she woke up still wanting to fight. Unfortunately, she hadn¡¯t woken yet. The Force Sleep spell doesn¡¯t knock you out for a set amount of time, so she was out night while I passed the time working on my potions.

    Yua and Mana had elected to stay back with her while I finished up with Madame Turquesse, but for two very different reasons. Yua planned on keeping an eye on Elane just in case, while Mana took off to go play in the forest behind our house.

    In Mana¡¯s case, I easily conceded to her the right to play around in the trees in her usual nudist fashion. She grew up naked in the forest, but thanks to our place being so secluded, and because her ears were so sensitive, I had no worries about others seeing her. So long as she covered up and came back in the event some unknown person showed up, she was golden.

    Still, Mana had yanked off all her clothes and took off running before my portal even took shape. Could have at least waited a bit. A kiss goodbye would have been nice. Hell, she could have at least set her things in a neat pile so Yua didn¡¯t have to sigh the way she did.

    ¡°U-Um,¡± Erika started carefully, unawares of my second wife¡¯s enthusiastic streaking. ¡°How¡¯s your arm?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Oh, much better,¡± I said, flexing my left bicep to prove it. ¡°The Reverse Bone Break potion mended it faster than I was expecting, but it felt pretty stiff for a few hours.¡±

    ¡°Hehe. Yea, I¡¯ve heard that can happen,¡± she giggled with a delicate knuckle pressed to her lip, then her gaze dropped to her cup. ¡°But¡­ I¡¯m sorry she hurt you.¡±

    ¡°It wasn¡¯t so bad. I was able to keep Iron Fist active long enough to make it to the apothecary.¡±

    Though, I had a real bitch of a time not yelling Yua¡¯s ear off when she snapped my arm back into place. Unfortunately, the potion could mend bones, not set them straight. Still, I could only thank the Goddess for being an option to end that pain within seconds of feeling it.

    ¡°No, I mean that it was still wrong of her. Elane usually doesn¡¯t lose her temper when sober, but when she does¡­!¡±

    Biting back whatever she wanted to say, Erika threw herself out of her seat and kneeled on the floor. Before I could speak a word, she pressed both her palms and forehead to the floorboards in the deepest bow a person could use to prostrate themselves.

    ¡°Please forgive her, Master! I¡¯m sure she didn¡¯t mean it!¡±

    ¡°H-Hang on,¡± I said quickly. ¡°I know. I was able to figure out that she really wasn¡¯t thinking at all. It was an accident that I caused by getting in her way.¡±

    Leaving my seat, I slipped a hand under Erika¡¯s arm and lifted her, forcing her to see that I was calm. She met my gaze and pleaded.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t leave her! I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be a good wife if you give her a chance! After everything she¡¯s gone through¡­ She¡¯ll be good, I promise!¡±

    ¡°Hahaha. Are you really that against her moving back in?¡±

    ¡°Wh-What?¡± Erika squeaked, her cheeks flushing. They turned twice as red when she finally realized I was holding her arm, but it got her to jump back to her feet before she continued. ¡°I¡¯m being serious¡­ M-Master!¡±

    ¡°I know. I know,¡± I said, sitting back down. ¡°But I have to ask, those guys that attacked us called her The Terror of Amoranth. What¡¯s up with that?¡±

    Hearing that name, all the life drained right out of Erika¡¯s tail. Rather than sit, she all but collapsed back into her chair.

    ¡°That name¡­ People started calling her that a few years ago.¡±

    ¡°Do you know why?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Pursing her lips, Erika¡¯s fingers gently encircled her cup as she peered into the steaming tea. As if searching the steam for the strength to answer, she lowered her chin, hiding her eyes behind her bangs.

    ¡°Erika, please. Whether I¡¯m her master, her husband or whatever, I think I deserve to know.¡±

    Not that I¡¯d ever feel sorry for a literal slaver that tried to kill me, but a man was killed last night. Just seeing the changes Berserker Rage made to her stats, I understood the terror facing her could inspire, but to murder your employer just to avoid fighting her?

    I didn¡¯t come here for this, but I needed answers.

    ¡°¡­ Alright.¡±

    Erika¡¯s tale was short, but it didn¡¯t take long to realize why she was so against telling it.

    As the story goes, Elane had been out in the Amoranth market, just doing a bit of shopping because a caravan of foreign merchants happened to set up shop. And while perusing the alcoholic-wares of one of these stalls, the stall¡¯s merchant took an immediate liking to her. He proposed on the spot, only to get immediately rejected. Deciding she didn¡¯t want any more of his lascivious gaze, or any of his stock, Elane left. That merchant, however, wasn¡¯t one to give up so easily.

    Assuming from her half-dressed attired that she was a commoner, he reached out to offer her a life of ease, comfort and promises that she¡¯d become the wife of a soon-to-be incredibly wealthy man. She ignored him and walked on, until he made a grab for her coat. The same coat she¡¯s been wearing since we met. The only thing that covers her chest.

    ¡°Are you saying he accidentally caused her to flash everyone in the market?¡±

    ¡°Oh, no, not at all,¡± Erika said with a quick shake of her head. ¡°If that were all it was, she probably would have just broken one or two of his arms. What happened was much, much worse.¡±

    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t leave me in suspense. What happened?¡±

    ¡°He¡­ Well, he grabbed Elane¡¯s coat pocket. She kept walking, but he refused to let go. So, her pocket was ripped clean off.¡±

    ¡°¡­ And her breasts fell out?¡±

    ¡°N-No,¡± Erika blushed. ¡°That¡¯s it. He ripped her coat. She loves that coat more than anything.¡±

    Of course she does. It¡¯s effectively an easy-to-wear symbol of how she picked herself up out of poverty. It was also a reminder of all the fun she had traveling the world.

    ¡°Okay, but even if I were to assume this was before June came along and could fix it, I don¡¯t see how that¡¯s such a huge problem.¡±

    Erika nodded, taking another sip of her tea to wet her throat. ¡°I don¡¯t think she does either. She sort of just¡­ snapped.¡±

    Not understanding his mistake, or perhaps not noticing Elane¡¯s skin turning red, the merchant continued pleading his case, offering her the biggest and best wedding she could ever dream of, only for her to turn around and punch him so hard in the gut that he vomited blood.

    The merchant was dragged away by his hired hands and eventually healed, but getting a fist-full of revenge wasn¡¯t enough for her. She tried to give chase, only to wind up surrounded by the city guard. They tried to bring her down, this red screaming menace that no longer resembled a noblewoman, but she was too much for them.

    ¡°She beat down guard after guard and they just kept coming. With her bare hands, she left their armors dented and useless and left them crying for reinforcements. Nobody could lay a finger on her.¡±

    ¡°Then how did they manage to stop her?¡±

    ¡°They didn¡¯t,¡± Erika sighed, her gaze far, far away. ¡°Every guard in the merchant¡¯s quarter came to subdue her and she just kept beating them all off. Soon enough, when they realized fighting her was pointless, they tried to talk things out. When this didn¡¯t work, the Adventurers waiting nearby came to help, but she beat them back too. Eventually, she just ran out of stamina and passed out in the middle of the city, surrounded by countless broken bodies.¡±

    Erika fell silent for a long moment before her eyes shot back open.

    ¡°O-Oh! I should mention that nobody died! She didn¡¯t seem to have any control over her actions, but¡­¡±

    ¡°But it looked like she was trying to hold back? It was the same last night.¡±

    Erika nodded emptily.

    This had to be why Tillmann tried to goad her into going berserk. He knew she¡¯d have the strength to overcome him, but at the significant cost of her brainpower.

    ¡°But if she caused that much of a commotion, why wasn¡¯t she punished?¡±

    Thievery and murder had clear consequences, but if she beat down that many of the city¡¯s protectors, how was she at least not imprisoned?

    ¡°She was,¡± Erika said. ¡°But as luck would have it, King DeGarmo himself visited the city the next day. It was supposed to be a routine observation of the dungeons throughout the kingdom, but when he found his welcome party lacking in enthusiasm, he forced an answer out of someone. And because he favors her so highly, he quickly pardoned her, much to the complaint of the city guard.¡±

    ¡°Wow. Sure pays to know royalty.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Actually, the King¡¯s right hand, General Attenburrow, was with him that day. Since Elane was unconscious, he escorted her back to the mansion. He told me what happened, only he looked like he thought it was amusing.

    ¡°Apparently, he fought alongside her once before when she lost control, only that time it was on an actual battlefield. So, all he had to say when he handed her to us was, The guards should count themselves lucky she wasn¡¯t carrying her axe that day.¡±

    That, I thought, and thankfullky she wasn¡¯t as skilled with her fists as Yua is.

    ¡°That¡¯s all I know,¡± she continued. ¡°Elane genuinely didn¡¯t remember any of it when she woke up.¡±

    ¡°So, that¡¯s why everyone in the city is scared of her?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s not everyone. Not really, anyways. Most assumed she was just incredibly drunk at the time and lost control of herself after the merchant harassed her. And since another incident like hasn¡¯t happened in a while, people are just weary of making her mad.¡± She paused, then added. ¡°Although, the men she fought back then do usually run away from her on sight.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­¡±

    That explains Lilt¡¯s earlier warning when recommending Elane as a Cartographer.

    I bet the all the negative attention added cause to Elane¡¯s drinking, too. No wonder it was so easy to convince her to come live with us. She lived in a city filled with men hitting on her or otherwise avoiding her unless they needed her work. Who¡¯d want to live like that if they had another option?

    Understandable, but let¡¯s not overlook the elephant in the room.

    ¡°So, just about anything can set her off? And I assume it¡¯s safe to say this has happened other times?¡±

    Erika lowered her chin, unable to deny it. If she lost control just because of a little tear in her coat that, from what I¡¯ve seen, has been fixed up well enough to not even notice, then she was dangerous.

    The image of her pointing her axe at my neck back in Guerraway floated into mind and I quietly downed the rest of my drink.

    ¡°Thanks for the tea. I believe I¡¯ve heard all I need.¡±

    ¡°W-Wait!¡± Erika pleaded, jumping out of her seat. ¡°She¡¯s not as scary as people think. P-Please, just give her a second chance!¡±

    Seeing this cute maid getting so worked up over her former mistress¡¯s future warmed my heart a bit.

    ¡°I like how you¡¯re able to speak to me casually when it comes to defending Elane.¡±

    Erika¡¯s cheeks heated at this, almost enough to break her pleading gaze.

    ¡°I-I¡­ Master, I¡¯m sorry for¡­¡±

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t reprimanding you. I was being serious.¡± I looked to the time on my HUD and threw open a portal. The sight of its swirling lights seemed to both amaze and worry Erika all at once, so I faced her and added, ¡°And before I forget; one of my abilities allows me to increase your stats little by little. For now, I¡¯ll increase your Luck.¡±

    Out of all the maids, Erika seemed like she might have had it the hardest. From being a slave to her former mistress¡¯s bouts of drunken anger and unwarranted groping, and then to her fellow maids playfully(?) harassing her, I felt she needed the extra help. Her Casanova points were just sitting around gathering dust anyways.

    And as a side note, I was curious to see how another person¡¯s Luck affected those around me. Erika¡¯s was average, same as all the other girls, but it¡¯d be nice to see it help out someone else the way it did me.

    ¡°My Luck?¡± she said, tilting her head.

    ¡°Yea. You don¡¯t need to worry about it, though. Just go ahead and go let June know I did the same for her Endurance. That girl clearly needs more stamina.¡±

    ¡°O-Okay. Then I will let her know right away, but, um, Master?¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    ¡°About Elane¡­¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll talk it over when she wakes up. For now, go ahead and finish your tea. It was really good. Thank you.¡±

    ¡°¡­ You¡¯re welcome, Master.¡±

    An impressively modern-ish mansion basking in the late morning sun was what greeted me on my way back. Gone was our little cabin in the middle of nowhere, replaced by a full, two-storied home in¡­ well, it¡¯s still the middle of nowhere, but now it¡¯s just as big as the place we left behind in Amoranth.

    While Elane slept and in between sets of brewing potions, I¡¯d fully taken to the task of revamping our home. Working Material Creation to the bone allowed me to create a home worthy of being featured on a realty magazine.

    Maybe. I hope so, at least. I kind of just took some ideas and threw together a few more features of large homes I¡¯d seen back on earth into one mishmash of a mansion.

    I even used up a sizeable portion of the materials I bought in Guerraway to make a full set of properly cushioned furniture for the place. And a garage, which was mostly pointless, but it exists now. And¡­ And, I am proud to say, I found that Material Destruction was able to compress wood to the point where it was impeccably smooth. No sander, elbow grease or extra coating needed!

    Yes. This of course meant that we are the proud new owners of a shiny, faux-polished floor! Look in awe at its shine and be amazed by how wonderful it feels against your bare feet! Or, hey, go ahead and wear your boots if you like! With my ability, if you scuff the floor, I could fix it up in seconds! Surely, this is how the Goddess intended for me to use this ability!

    All in all, Yua liked the changes and was quick to compliment my work, but she wasn¡¯t one to complain anyways. We¡¯d spent an entire month sleeping on a literal lump of wood without a word of complaint, after all. Meanwhile, Mana was much more impressed by watching my ability in action than she was by the results.

    Where I¡¯d thought providing anything more substantial than a tent would impress the girls, they were too tired from all the fighting and walking we¡¯d done yesterday for it to really sink in. Then, of course, there was Elane to worry about.

    Along with all the furniture I made was, naturally, a giant bed. Surprised myself, I was happy to find that it turned out to be wonderfully comfortable to lay on, but Elane was the only one able to partake in last night.

    Not that the cat girls had the energy to partake in our usual bedtime routine, but we couldn¡¯t exactly go wild while Elane was unconscious next to us. Wouldn¡¯t be right. Yet, due to their upbringing, I knew neither would say no if I asked, so I had to act as the gatekeeper to my own libido for once. Thanks to this digression, the three of us slept downstairs.

    Yua still forced me awake with a very loving and very prolonged kiss between the legs as she promised she would, but since she started while I was still asleep, I was essentially the victim and was therefore innocent. Right? She was just practicing anyways, right?

    Still, morning routines aside, we¡¯d been all business since we got back last night. So, when I entered the house, I was not at all surprised to see Mana enjoying the comfy new couch in the living room. Laying on her stomach, her head resting on a pillow, she looked ready to fall asleep even though her tail was still energetic enough to swish around. Guess she was already done playing around in the forest for the day.

    Noticing that, true to form, she was entirely unconcerned with how her skirt had flipped up to reveal her panty-clad rump, I quietly reached over the back of the couch and corrected her clothes.

    Finally noticing my presence, Mana ears shot to attention before she did.

    ¡°Big Bro!¡± she exclaimed, jumping up to kneel on the couch. ¡°The animals in the forest here are really cute!¡±

    Smiling a little self-deprecatingly at myself for being disappointed that her greeting didn¡¯t start with Welcome back, what would you like first¡­?,  I got straight to business before her smile could sway me.

    ¡°Glad you had fun, but we¡¯ll have to talk about it later. Where¡¯s Yua?¡±

    ¡°Mm? Big Sis is talking to Booby Lady on the bed.¡±

    ¡°So she¡¯s awake. When did she wake up?¡±

    ¡°It hasn¡¯t been long.¡±

    ¡°And why aren¡¯t you up there with them?¡±

    ¡°Big Sis told me to wait down here, but I don¡¯t know why. I can hear everything they¡¯re saying anyways.¡±

    She shrugged, her ears flicking to the sound of a conversation I could only assume was actually being had.

    Knowing that Yua must have excluded Mana from the conversation because her cuteness would only distract Elane, I plopped a hand on her head and pet her. In return, she smiled toothily, her now eagerly swishing tail serving only to amplify her cuteness.

    Still, the relative silence in the house and the forest behind it meant that Elane was calm again. Nodding to myself, I pushed my hands under Mana¡¯s armpits and lifted her over the couch and into my arms.

    ¡°Let¡¯s join them. I have some questions for Elane too.¡±

    ¡°Okay!¡±

    Skipping the stairs I just remodeled, I opened a portal to the bedroom and carried Mana through. Naturally, Yua heard everything and knew we were coming, so she didn¡¯t flinch at all, but Elane jumped at our appearance. She¡¯d been kneeling on the floor in front of Yua, the sole occupant of the bed, even though there was enough room for at least six people to sleep side-by-side comfortably.

    Where I would have thought Yua bothering to keep up with her unique wake-up call meant she was in a good mood, she instead fixed a stern glare on Elane. Her arms were crossed, but there was a tenseness in her muscles that made me think she might lash out with a punch at any moment.

    Meanwhile, Elane was prostrate on the floor. While the clothes we¡¯d left on her were fine, her long blonde hair was still messy with sleep. They must have gotten straight to the point after she woke up.

    ¡°Everything okay here?¡± I asked, letting Mana down.

    Yua looked to me briefly, then glared at Elane. ¡°¡­ She keeps saying she doesn¡¯t remember what happened last night.¡±

    ¡°Because I don¡¯t!¡± Elane cried, her tone nearly desperate. ¡°Listen to my heart. You know I¡¯m telling the truth!¡±

    ¡°Your eyes were open and you were speaking!¡±

    ¡°But¡­ I don¡¯t¡­¡±

    Unable to deny anything in the face of Yua¡¯s anger, Elane lowered her head. Her shoulders shook as she clenched her hands atop her knees.

    ¡°Yua,¡± I said, sitting beside her. ¡°She doesn¡¯t remember.¡±

    Mana joined us on the bed, but her presence didn¡¯t have the effect I thought it would. Instead of gushing over the cat girl¡¯s cuteness, Elane started to tremble, as though she were suddenly thrust before a panel of judges about to decide her fate.

    ¡°That may be what her heart is saying,¡± Yua said. ¡°But I know what I saw and heard.¡±

    ¡°No, I mean I spoke with Erika. Last night wasn¡¯t the first time this happened to her, right, Elane?¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°According to Erika, she didn¡¯t remember anything back then either. And like I told you; she wasn¡¯t fully conscious in the first place.¡±

    She no doubt heard my orders, but still managed to disobey them. That alone was proof enough that whatever attacked Lilt last night wasn¡¯t Elane. Not entirely, at least.

    ¡°I never remember,¡± Elane said, wiping at her tears. ¡°I remember everything that happens up until the moment I snap. Then it¡¯s like falling into a deep, dreamless sleep. Th-Then I wake up and find¡­ find that I¡¯ve hurt someone. Most of the time, it¡¯s hard just to figure out what I did, because everyone¡¯s too scared to talk to me.¡±

    ¡°¡­ And how many times has this happened?¡± Yua asked, easing her tone slightly. ¡°If both the people of Amoranth and Guerraway are scared of you, then it must have happened multiple times, right?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how many¡­ but yes.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m more concerned with why it happened,¡± I said.

    I was under no illusion that what happened wasn¡¯t for my sake, but to go and lose herself because she thought Lilt was trying to kill us? Had she at least stopped to take in the truth of the situation when she showed up, her going berserk probably never would have happened. Brennen¡¯s men were afraid of fighting Elane, not Berserker Rage Elane, so things would have end up even better for us had she kept a level-head.

    Then again, I sighed, if I¡¯d explained things to her properly before trying to use her name to keep the fight from happening, or if Mana¡¯s explanation had been more detailed, we could have avoided the incident.

    ¡°Erika said the last time it happened in Amoranth was because someone ripped your coat. And this time, it was because you misunderstood Mana. What I want to know is, is it always that easy to Activate Berserker Rage?¡±

    Biting her lip, Elane took hold of the left side of her coat, turning it over to look at the pocket there. As I thought, the stitching that had repaired it was perfect. You¡¯d never know it¡¯d been torn. She nodded, but her expression was unsure.

    ¡°I¡¯m not really sure what causes it to happen. I know it happens when I¡¯m angry, but it doesn¡¯t happen every time I get upset. That much I can swear. I don¡¯t go berserk when the maids mess up my orders or when the bartender messes up my drink, but¡­¡±

    ¡°But you do when someone damages your beloved coat,¡± I said for her. ¡°Or when you think your new husband is in danger.¡±

    She looked up at me, her cobalt eyes wavering behind a layer of tears.

    ¡°I¡­ I thought she was trying to kill you.¡±

    ¡°I know. And I thank you for wanting to protect me, but¡­¡±

    ¡°But she broke your arm,¡± Yua said. ¡°And she tried to kill an innocent girl.¡±

    ¡°Well, innocent of wanting to kill me. Not so innocent in other ways.¡±

    Yua¡¯s emerald glare shifted over to me. I clammed up.

    ¡°Alex, if you hadn¡¯t made her your slave before that happened, you could be dead right now.¡±

    While that wasn¡¯t necessarily true, Elane¡¯s anger had beenfocused entirely on Lilt, I couldn¡¯t say much to deny that. Until she became my slave, my item box had no effect on her, so I couldn¡¯t have stolen her axe. And the slave spell rebounding on her after hurting me did give us the opening I needed to take her down.

    But take both those away and I could have ended up like Arthur.

    ¡°AAAH! I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry!¡±

    Reminded again of the threat she¡¯d posed, Elane bowed repeatedly, practically driving her head through the floorboards as she sobbed. It was almost like she¡¯d taken the place of the cowering Lilt as penance for her actions.

    There was real fear in her eyes before she forced herself to look away, unable to meet my gaze. Yet, at the same time, she kept trying to look.

    ¡°Elane¡­ when you were berserk, you kept screaming about Lilt trying to take me away from you. I believe your exact words were: After all these years, I finally found someone who¡­ Then you cut yourself off. What was all that about?¡±

    She¡¯d been approached by so many men that Erika started to assume that was all any visiting man wanted from her. She rejected them all for any number of reasons, but the way she spoke made it sound like she was the one searching for love.

    Where I thought I¡¯d caught her in some sort of lie that Erika was in on, that she wasn¡¯t actually so popular with the men in the city, she instead squeezed her eyes shut. She clenched her fists hard enough for her knuckles to crack, but she looked to be holding back more tears.

    ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m not the only person in my family that had the Berserker Rage ability. My father did, too.¡±

    ¡°But I thought you were a¡­¡±

    The word orphan refused to drop off my tongue to avoid upsetting her further, but it was too late. Elane nodded as though I¡¯d said it loud and clear.

    ¡°After I first realized I had the ability, I gave into curiosity and did some digging into my family to see where it came from. I never really knew my parents, but after searching, I found some people that did and, after telling them who I was, they told me all they could.¡±

    Elane stopped, maybe to clear her thoughts, but her eyes were vacant and almost pained as she staired at nothing. After a long silence, Mana¡¯s ears flattened as she slipped off the bed to offer her a hug. She and Yua must have heard something in her that I couldn¡¯t, because Yua¡¯s anger had all but completely faded. Elane accepted Mana¡¯s offering this time and continued as she held her.

    ¡°My father was a carpenter and he also likely had the Berserker Rage ability. From what I heard, whenever he was out cutting down trees, he¡¯d sometimes go mad, seemingly at random, but a friend swear it only happened when he accidentally hurt himself. After that, after he turned red, he¡¯d go on a rampage and chop through tree after tree, each in a single explosive blow, like they were the ones who¡¯d hurt him.

    ¡°Supposedly, it never happened at home. Everyone said my mother was a very supporting and loving woman, but it wasn¡¯t so easy at the old family shop father inherited. Fath would occasionally receive criticism for his work and mother would soothe him, but one day, it just wasn¡¯t enough. Some man that hired father to build him a carriage hated his work. In front of the whole shop, he said things that blew right past criticism and sounded like outright slander. They argued and father ultimately kicked him out of the store. Only, it turned out that man was not someone to just take it lying down, so he hired some goons to teach father a lesson.¡±

    ¡°They killed him?¡±

    ¡°They only meant to rough him up, but they took it too far when they hit my mother. Father lost it, picked his woodcutting axe and cut them all down without mercy. Then, even though it looked like the trouble was over, father still didn¡¯t stop. Mother tried to help, tried to calm him, but¡­ according to those that heard her screams, she got in his way.¡±

    ¡°Elane¡­¡±

    She shook her head, denying any sympathies before I could speak them. She wasn¡¯t crying, but she only just managed to press her lips into a thin, hard line to keep her tears at bay.

    ¡°He became a Murderer and the sight of that tag was enough to prove to himself what he did,¡± she continued. ¡°Even though the guards agreed that it was an accident and that he was only defending his family, he couldn¡¯t forgive himself. He stopped eating, stopped taking care of himself and just stopped talking to people. A few days after she was buried, he dropped me off on the orphanage¡¯s doorstep in the middle of the night and took his own life.¡±

    Turning over her palms, Elaen looked at them as though she were the one responsible for it all.

    ¡°I think I was too young to remember any of this, or maybe I just wasn¡¯t there, but ever since I heard all this, I¡¯ve wondered why my mother chose to stay with him, knowing of his affliction.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like she loved him enough to stay,¡± Yua said, but Elane grimaced.

    ¡°Is that why you didn¡¯t tell me what that ability did when I asked about it? You thought I¡¯d change my mind about marrying you? That I¡¯d be too scared of you?¡±

    If the rage she and her father experienced ran so deep that not even your loved ones where safe, then I fully understood why she¡¯d be hesitant to tell me. But at the same time, it¡¯s something she should have told me regardless.

    Looking very much like she didn¡¯t want to; she nodded to my question.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t reject all those men that came to me with promises of marriage. The higher up in society washed their hands of me when they found out about my low birth, but most just ran away when they found out I was the one that went by that stupid name, The Terror of Amoranth. But not you,¡± she said and her cheeks flushed. ¡°You saw me drunk and at my worst and still cared for me. You withstood my threats and still concerned yourself with my worries. And even though you wanted to keep it a secret, you have knowledge of new lands we could rediscover together through your memories. I fell, and I knew you liked me too. I was excited. With our marriage, I could finally find joy in life again. It was almost enough to forget about everything else.¡±

    She lifted her chin and the dreamy gleam in her eyes made my heart skip. The woman before me was nothing like the brave woman that ran into a forest with her axe to save us. Nor was it the woman who sobbed with relief when the maids forgave her. And it certainly wasn¡¯t the red demon that attacked last night.

    She was nothing more than a woman deep in love, but it didn¡¯t last anywhere near long enough.

    ¡°Clearly,¡± she said, brushing her golden hair over her ear in a feeble attempt to feign composure. ¡°I wasn¡¯t meant to have love. If my father couldn¡¯t handle his rage enough to save mother, then I can never be anything but a threat to you.¡±

    Elane stood and, hesitating only long enough to clench her fist, she hung her head and started towards the bedroom door. Yua¡¯s mouth fell, unsure of what to say and Mana tried to reach out for her.

    I, however, stretched out a telekinetic hand and closed the door before she could take a second step.

    Or rather, I meant to close it. What actually happened was that I slammed it hard enough to make Yua and Mana to wince. Elane, too, jumped a little.

    ¡°Sorry. Sorry. I¡¯m still working the kinks out of that ability. Anyway, where do you think you¡¯re going?¡±

    ¡°Back to Amoranth.¡±

    ¡°And you think I¡¯m going to let you go? Just like that?¡±

    ¡°O-Oh, right,¡± she said, brow twisting with frustration. ¡°I suppose I¡¯m your slave now. I-I haven¡¯t been trained, but I can still¡­¡±

    ¡°Yea, enough of that,¡± I said with a dismissive wave. ¡°I get enough of the slave talk from the maids. I don¡¯t need it from my wife too.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?!¡± she shouted. ¡°If you don¡¯t want me as a slave either, then what do you want? You can¡¯t seriously expect me to believe you¡¯ll just let me go with no strings attached. If you¡¯re worried about your secrets leaking, then just order me to keep my mouth shut!¡±

    ¡°Yea, I¡¯m not going to do that. I told you; I don¡¯t treat my slaves like slaves. Besides, I¡¯m half-expecting Madame Turquesse to spill the beans anyway.¡±

    If my Luck meant anything, she¡¯d at least keep quiet as long as I kept buying from her, regardless of being able to make potions myself.

    ¡°Then what do you want from me? I almost killed you last night. I even broke your arm!¡±

    ¡°Yea, you did.¡±

    ¡°Then why?!¡± she yelled, tears spilling down her cheeks. ¡°You heard what I said. I could end up killing you, but you won¡¯t even keep me as a slave and you won¡¯t let me go. Or what, did you want to sell me off? I bet a former noble like me would fetch a pretty high price. You¡¯d never have to worry about coin again.¡±

    ¡°Not doing that either.¡±

    ¡°Th-Then why?!¡± she shouted again, stomping back over to me.

    She made a grab for my collar, but stayed herself before she came within reach. Her skin was still a soft white with just the faintest hint of a tan, possibly a leftover from her time out in the wilds of this world.

    Or, in other words, it wasn¡¯t red, but her eyes widened as though it were the deepest crimson.

    ¡°Um, Booby Lady,¡± Mana chirped from where she sat on the floor. Holding her wrist back, and with her lips contorted in a frustrated pout, Elane turned to her to listen. ¡°Being a wife is the same as being his mate, right?¡±

    ¡°Obviously,¡± Elane crowed back, but all her answer did was make Mana tilt her head in confusion before looking to Yua.

    ¡°Big Sis, are human ears really that bad?¡±

    A heavy sigh escaped Yua¡¯s nostrils, but she nodded nonetheless. The pointed ears of both girls twitched in unison.

    ¡°It would appear so.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Elane asked, but I knew what they were getting at.

    ¡°Booby Lady,¡± Mana huffed, wagging a finger at Elane. ¡°Big Bro still called you his wife when you tried to leave. But you¡¯re not acting like it. You should be a good mate, do as he says and stay.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re one to talk about listening to your mate, Mana,¡± Yua said, shaking her head. ¡°Are you even wearing panties right now?¡±

    ¡°Hehe. Yup, I am! I hate it, though.¡±

    Elane watched them go back and forth for a moment before fixing her gaze on me. It seemed she was so fixated on thinking I¡¯d end our marriage before it even started after learning the truth, that she didn¡¯t actually pay attention to what I said.

    ¡°Th-Then you still¡­¡± she started, hope wavering in her eyes.

    ¡°Do you really think I¡¯m so weak that I¡¯d let someone else¡¯s past affect our future together?¡± I said, jumping off the bed to stand before her. She flinched back, cheeks burning bright.

    ¡°I-I almost killed you.¡±

    ¡°But you didn¡¯t. Besides, not only was I able to think of a way to take you down peacefully once I realized what was going on, but with my abilities and my magic, I can stop any rampage you may go on.¡±

    ¡°B-but¡­ You¡­ I almost¡­¡±

    I took her by the hands and forced her to look at me. She tried to pull away, but her strength had left her completely. It was almost like she used it all up in her attempt to protect me last night.

    ¡°You¡¯re safe with me,¡± I said.

    ¡°I-I¡¯m not worried about me. It¡¯s you who¡­¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re safe with me,¡± I repeated, pulling her to me. From what little force I used, she collapsed into my chest, needing to throw her arms around me to keep from hitting the floor. ¡°If what happened last night happens again, I¡¯ll protect you.¡±

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll protect you by stopping you before you can hurt anyone you care about. That¡¯s what this was all about, right? Keeping the truth from us. Trying to push our relationship to move a little faster by agreeing to come live with us, despite all the trouble doing so would cause you. Then you try to walk out that door, even though nobody asked you to, because you¡¯re scared of me knowing the truth. Am I wrong?¡±

    We told her where we lived before she agreed to come. And we were plenty far enough from civilization that, had things gone her way, we may never have found out the details of her past incidents. It would have been perfect to keep her secrets.

    Tears spilled down her cheeks as she squeezed my shirt.

    ¡°I¡­ I just wanted a little taste of the married life before you found out. I hoped¡­ No, I knew you¡¯d be able to make me happy enough that you¡¯d never need to see that side of me. I wanted it to just die without you ever having to be scared of me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not scared of you, though.¡±

    She squeezed my shirt harder. ¡°But I lied to you.¡±

    ¡°Eh. We all have our secrets. While this is definitely something you should have told me, I¡¯m not going to fault you for keeping it a secret, given the circumstances.¡±

    Besides, Yua was quick to forgive me when she found out about all the secrets I¡¯d been withholding from her. Getting mad now would just be hypocritical. Keeping a secret like thast wouldn¡¯t necessarily make life harder the way my secrets did, but at least we found out the truth of Berserker Rage when we had the opportunity to fight back. Were we not already on guard thanks to Brennen¡¯s thugs, she could have swept right past us and brought her axe down on that poor defenseless thief.

    If anything, we were lucky things went the way they did, because now we know, and now I know how to stop her.

    ¡°Then y-you still¡­¡± Elane started, looking into my eyes, lips quavering, hesitant to finish her thought. ¡°¡­ You still want me as your wife? Even after knowing the truth?¡±

    ¡°Of course. What sort of husband just abandons his wife when he knows he can help her? I never even considered turning you away.¡±

    Before I knew it, I was smiling as I placed a hand on the small of her back and pulled her ever closer, closer until our lips met. Despite the worry, the rage of last night and all the rum, her lips were still nothing but sweet.

    Elane sucked in only a single breath of surprise, even though to me the embrace lasted for hours. When she pulled away to catch her breath, she touched a hand to her lips, her surprise shifting to learn that she was smiling.

    ¡°I can¡¯t give you the wedding you were probably looking forward to,¡± I said, squeezing her hand. ¡°But I can do my best to make you happy.¡±

    ¡°Oh, Alex, I¡­¡±

    ¡°Can you two hold on a second? We aren¡¯t done here.¡±

    Sucked right out of our own little world by the sharpness in Yua¡¯s tone, both our cheeks heated as we turned to her. Still sat on the bed and still with her arms crossed, she met us with an emerald glare that I wasn¡¯t sure I¡¯d done anything to earn.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? I thought you said you were fine with Elane being my wife.¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s not that. You can¡¯t just forgive her after what she did. She broke your arm and almost killed you.¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯m forgiving her. The pain was¡­ troublesome, but it was something I was bound to experience eventually.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Yua sighed. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s up to you to forgive her for what she did to you, but what about me? She hurt me too and I think she needs to be punished.¡±

    Yua rubbed the spot on her stomach Elane had hit during her rampage and Elane tensed. She¡¯d already been filled in on everything that happened, but I don¡¯t recall her apologies ever being directed to Yua.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I hurt you!¡± Elane said, bowing sharply. ¡°I swear, I didn¡¯t mean to!¡±

    ¡°Yua, I don¡¯t want to make this an issue of you against her, but I told you I don¡¯t punish my slaves. We can just talk this out and¡­¡±

    ¡°N-No, Alex, I think she¡¯s right. I hurt you both and I kept a dangerous secret from you all. Someone could have died. I should be punished.¡±

    Elane hung her head, ready to accept any verdict thrown at her without letting me have a say.

    I didn¡¯t know what to do. Yua was right to say we were both injured, but at the same time, I don¡¯t want to start a relationship with Elane by hurting her back for something she couldn¡¯t even control. As far as I¡¯m concerned, the slave spell already did that last night.

    ¡°I don¡¯t mean for you to punish her as a slave,¡± Yua said. ¡°I know you don¡¯t like hurting people, Alex. But it stands that she hurt you, her mate and me, her mate¡¯s mate. Mana was lucky to make it out unharmed, but she easily could have gone through the same or worse.¡±

    We looked to Mana, who only tilted her head back at us, clearly confused as to why she was being brought up, but I knew. Mana wouldn¡¯t have been able to take the same hit Yua had and still get back up. If Elane hadn¡¯t just ignored her, things would have ended up so much worse.

    Elane herself must have noticed this because she began to sweat. However, she firmed up and prepared for the worst.

    ¡°If you¡¯ll forgive me, and if you let me be his wife, I¡¯m prepared to accept any punishment you suggest.¡±

    ¡°W-Wait, hold on a sec¡­¡±

    Fearing for the worse, my imagination running wild with possibilities that all stemmed from the fact that her tribe love to fight, I worried that a blanket acceptance would be too risky. Elane, though, just put up a hand to silence me. Sweat dripped from her brow, but her cobalt gaze was unwavering. She¡¯d already fully decided to accept her fate.

    Seeing this, Yua continued with a surprisingly even tone.

    ¡°Since Alex has already forgiven you, then that leaves me to decide. So, I¡¯ll have you punished the way my people punish those that hurt their mates.¡±

    Whatever she meant by this caused Mana¡¯s eyes to shoot wide open briefly with concern, but then a small nod of acceptance cooled her. Hopefully that meant it¡¯s not as bad as I was thinking.

    ¡°W-Wait, didn¡¯t you headbutt Alex? You hurt him too.¡±

    ¡°¡­ That was because he deserved and needed it to set him straight. This particular custom of ours isn¡¯t without its exceptions. If it weren¡¯t, you¡¯d never be able to spar with your mate, obviously. What I¡¯m talking about now is more along the lines of lashing out at your mate in anger or just seriously hurting them on accident.¡±

    ¡°R-Right¡­ Then I-I¡¯ll do it,¡± Elane said. ¡°Whatever it is. But I¡¯m not all that familiar with that side of your peoples¡¯ customs, so¡­¡±

    Her ears flicking at Elane¡¯s acceptance, Yua¡¯s lips slowly curled into a grin that could only be described as playfully malicious. It was enough to make Elane quake in her boots and enough to double my worries all over again.

    ¡°Then allow me to explain,¡± Yua said. ¡°Your punishment shall be the Forgiveness Embrace. Refuse, and I¡¯ll deny you as his wife.¡±

    Elane and I looked to each other, neither knowing what the hell she meant. For better or worse, it was proof enough that I still had more of her people¡¯s customs to learn, but Mana took it a whole different way.

    ¡°Big Sis can be so mean sometimes,¡± she said, her ears falling flat.

    ¡°Hmph!¡±

    Yua¡¯s malicious grin turned into an almost child-like pout, but the casual swishing of her tail was proof enough that she wasn¡¯t actually offended by Mana¡¯s comment or our bewildered stares.

    ¡°Yua, I¡¯m still knew to your ways, too. Could you explain a little more?¡±

    ¡°Gladly. The punishment for hurting your mate is to prove your undying love to them in a way that only mates can.¡±

    ¡°Meaning¡­?¡±

    ¡°Meaning that you, Elane, will mate with Alex until he¡¯s so satisfied that he can¡¯t make his penis hard anymore.¡±

    At this, Yua recrossed her arms under her breasts, looking very much like a judge handing down the death penalty to a criminal that had been caught dead-to-rights. Mana followed up by taking a long step away from Yua.

    Elane, however¡­

    Oh, Elane.

    The entirety of my new wife¡¯s face had turned so red that I almost could have thought the mere suggestion had caused her to go berserk all over again. That is, until I noticed her trembling smile and the earthquake that seemed localized entirely on her shoulders.

    Noticing my gaze, Elane clenched her teeth and stood up straight. Thrusting her palms onto her hands and, with a clearly fake sense of confidence in her smile, she loudly proclaimed, ¡°I-I-I-Is that it? No problem! We¡¯re husband and wife now, so a little fucking is nothing. Besides, ha¡­ What? I just have to make him cum two or three times and we¡¯re done? Easy. Hahahaha!¡±

    Trembling as she was, I couldn¡¯t help but notice how her mountainous breasts jiggled beneath her coat as she laughed. Whether or not she was laughing to amp herself up or simply out of embarrassment was something I couldn¡¯t guess.

    I, however, pinched the space between my eyes to bear with the heat rising in my cheeks.

    ¡°Yua, isn¡¯t that a bit much?¡± I said, then whispered so only she could hear me. ¡°Her status page says she¡¯s a virgin.¡±

    However, Yua only huffed.

    ¡°Normally, there are three requirements to fulfil a Forgiveness Embrace properly. First, you would have to explain to everyone how you hurt your mate and why. The second is that you must handle all of your mate¡¯s lust while every single member of the village watches you. This is to prove to everyone your willingness to resubmit yourself to your mate. The third and final requirement is simply the act of mating until your mate can no longer go on. However, since I know Alex doesn¡¯t want other males to see us naked, I¡¯ll allow you to skip the part about the village watching. And since it¡¯s only us three here, you¡¯ve already explained the reason.¡±

    So, it¡¯s both a form of humiliation and repentance?

    ¡°Then if I do this, you¡¯ll forgive me? You¡¯ll accept me as his wife?¡±

    ¡°Without question.¡±

    ¡°Th-Th-Then no problem,¡± Elane said, her voice shaking.

    ¡°Elane, hold on a second.¡± I took her by the hand again and she flinched, but didn¡¯t pull back. ¡°There¡¯s something about me that you aren¡¯t understanding.¡±

    ¡°I-If you mean that you¡¯re more lustful than most men, I already figured that out by how I¡¯m your third wife instead of your first.¡±

    ¡°Not¡­ that,¡± I paused for a breath then met her gaze, forcing my own to be stern and honest. ¡°Elane, one of my traits causes my stamina to regenerate much faster than normal. This includes during sex. If anything, sex only makes it recover faster.¡±

    I knew my stamina recovered much faster than the normal person¡¯s after comparing it to Yua¡¯s when we fought in the dungeon. While she was a little malnourished from her time in the slave house, she was still in much better shape than me after living her life as a warrior and constantly training. But even setting that aside, it felt like my stamina recovered even faster still when it came to sex.

    It was like my enjoyment of the act affected the recovery as well. Sort of like how Yua could just keep fighting and fighting without end back in the village. Combine that with how I never seem to run out of semen, then what Yua was asking for was for us to teach Elane a lesson in what true exhaustion felt like.

    ¡°Wh-What are you saying?¡± Elane chirped, unable to hide that she was starting to catch on.

    ¡°What I¡¯m saying is that, during our first night together, Yua and I had sex seven times before we stopped. And we only stopped because she couldn¡¯t handle any more.¡±

    ¡°S-S-Seven times?! I¡¯ve never heard of a man lasting that long.¡±

    There was nothing to do but nod.

    That night, Yua had downed a healthy portion of our stamina potions just to keep up with me and, bless her, she was happy to do it. And after years of being alone, wishing I had someone like her, I was happy to accept her love and kindness and allow myself to indulge in her body to my heart¡¯s, my monster¡¯s content.

    That is, until she collapsed in my arms, now a heaving mess. Barely able to breathe, she¡¯d tried to climb on top of me for another round once my repeated fondling of her had hardened me again, but she couldn¡¯t even manage that much. So, we called it quits for the night.

    ¡­ only to then start up again when we woke up the next day.

    Essentially, my libido could be nearly relentless if I didn¡¯t willingly put a cap on it.

    ¡°R-Really?¡± Elane said, rubbing her thighs together. ¡°Y-you know, I was actually hoping our first time would be a bit more romantic and not so¡­ tiring.¡±

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Yua said sharply. ¡°It¡¯s the Embrace, or I¡¯ll ask Alex to teleport you back to Amoranth.¡±

    Trembling, thighs rubbing and knees knocking together, Elane looked to me, her eyes full of a flushed worry. Seeing her like this almost made last night seem like a dream involving an entirely different person.

    Still holding her hand, I rubbed the backs of her knuckles with my thumb to reassure her.

    ¡°It can still be romantic. It¡¯ll just be a¡­ prolonged romance.¡±

    ¡°Speaking of which,¡± Yua started, turning back to me. ¡°You have to follow the rules too, Alex. If I catch you calling it quits early, then¡­¡±

    ¡°I get it. You don¡¯t have to keep threatening us.¡±

    ¡°Hmph.¡±

    Yua was the closest to knowing my sexual limits. Not only could she listen to my heart to test for lies, but she¡¯d definitely know from experience if I stopped before I actually needed to.

    Not to mention, knowing her, she¡¯d have no problem in provoking me with her tongue just to see if I could get it up again. And there was no way I could withstand that form of interrogation.

    I looked to the clock in my HUD. It still wasn¡¯t even noon yet and there was still plenty of daylight left for us.

    ¡°Well, Elane, it looks like the details of our first time have been decided for us.¡±

    ¡°Y-yea¡­ But, um, maybe I should wash first?¡±

    ¡°No need,¡± Yua said. ¡°Alex, use your magic to clean her. As your mates, Mana and I won¡¯t be letting you two out of our sights. Not at least until you start, so we know you won¡¯t back out.¡±

    ¡°So mean,¡± Mana said. She looked to us with a great deal of sympathy in her eyes. ¡°Hardly anyone ever needs to do the Forgiveness Embrace, but I¡¯ve seen it done a few times. All you have to do is mate like normal. Don¡¯t worry about the other stuff.¡±

    ¡°R-Right. Then, um, Husband?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Body Wash.¡±

    I pointed a finger and hit her with my cleaning magic. I followed it up with a cast of Clothing Wash, just in hopes that it¡¯d make her feel a little better. Only, she didn¡¯t seem to notice. The moment her skin and hair were perfectly cleaned, washed of all the grime of yesterday¡¯s fighting and of her sweat, Elane squat down to untie the boots we¡¯d apparently forgotten to take off her last night.

    When she finished unlacing the first and pulled it off, she happened to catch me looking. Her cheeks were still noticeably red, but she continued with her other boot.

    ¡°I have nothing to be ashamed of,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯re my husband. So, while this is moving a little faster than I thought, there¡¯s no need to prolong this by hesitating.¡±

    At this, Elane stood back up and kicked off her other boot before tugging off her socks. Then her hands drifted up to the buttons straining with all their might to keep her coat wrapped firmly around her breasts. Taking a moment to steel herself, she slipped a finger under the first button and popped it off with a flick.

    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    That one, small movement caused her coat to release so much of its overbearing pressure on her chest that it almost looked like her breasts grew to be a full cup-size bigger. It¡¯d been holding her so tightly. Her mounds bounced from the sudden drop, but she let out a relieved sigh. Without acknowledging it, she slipped her finger under the next button.

    I watched, my attention locked on how her breasts bounced each time one of her buttons came undone, until the last one popped off a little too hard, detached from her coat and rolled onto the floor. It was like the poor thing had succeeded in holding her mass at bay right up until it was seconds away from being relieved of duty, but it just wasn¡¯t strong enough to hold her breasts back all by its lonesome.

    Still, it was a worthy sacrifice that I was all too willing to ignore when the sides of her coat parted and her mountainous breasts bounced into view, her tips only just barely hidden behind her lapel.

    Elane, however, flushed a bit more at the loss of the button. Unlike the damage that had once been done to the coat¡¯s pocket, there was no anger in how she watched it roll under the bed, only embarrassment. Surely, this very situation had happened to her multiple times.

    Pressing her lips together, her brow furrowing, Elane pulled her coat off with as much ease as I would have expected out of either Yua or Mana. And without anything beneath it but her smooth white flesh, there was nothing blocking her chest from sight anymore.

    Be it from the slight chill pouring in from the window, or maybe it was just a show that she was as interested as I was, it didn¡¯t matter. Fact was that her light pink nipples were rock hard.

    I was dumfounded. Not by her growing nudity, but by how quickly she was able to accept Yua¡¯s demands. Leave it to a former Adventurer to adapt to a situation quickly.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Noticing where my gaze lingered, Elane didn¡¯t cover up, but she did pout rather cutely at me. Slipping her coat off her arms, she turned and set it down on one of the dressers I¡¯d made for the girls¡¯ things. Then, instead of turning back, she just continued to pout at me from over her shoulder as she pushed her hips out towards me. Her thumbs slipped beneath the waistband of her pants and she started to slowly pull them down.

    It was as if she merely wanted me to focus my lust on her ass, rather than her chest, but she¡¯d apparently had enough of her little strip show. With an impatient click of her tongue, she yanked her pants straight down her legs like she was ripping off a band-aid.

    Forced to suddenly bear the brunt of her bare ass, I had no choice but to take in the sight of the thin black thong splitting her cheeks right down the middle. Where her coat had done its absolute best to contain her modesty, this little triangle of fabric was lazy in comparison to how little it covered.

    Elane tossed her pants onto her coat without a hint of the shame that I would have expected. Likewise, she then pushed the thong that had stolen my attention straight down her thighs and stepped out of it. Tossing it aside with the rest of her things, she finally turned to me.

    At first, my eyes were drawn to the small bushel of golden hair nestled between her thighs, but then I was forced to take in the entirety of her naked beauty.

    Her impressively narrow waistline was almost thin enough to wrap my arms around her twice over, but this fact only made her breasts appear more explosive. It was the same down south. Her hips, while not quite as large as her chest, were sculpted to perfection.

    Plump everywhere that mattered, but without an ounce of fat that wasn¡¯t inherently feminine, every inch of her looked soft to the touch. Here, bathed in the afternoon glow peeking in through the window, was a picture-perfect example of a curvatious woman.

    The entire male population of both Amoranth and Guerraway had lusted after her, this bombshell of a woman, at some point. But starting today, she was all mine. Just knowing this filled me with so much pride and confidence that I nearly exploded on the spot.

    It wasn¡¯t until this moment that I realized my item box could have saved her the trouble by undressing her instantly. Elane, however, didn¡¯t seem to mind as she strode across the room without waiting for me to verbalize any of my thoughts. She was suddenly a woman on a mission.

    Now fully naked, she stopped in front of Yua who, without missing a beat, vacated her spot. Standing before what would soon become our marriage bed, she stared at the empty sheets for a good while before turning back to us, her eyes glistening with nerves as she lowered herself onto the mattress.

    She looked up to me, discretely bit her lip and held out a hand.

    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there ogling me. I can¡¯t do this Embrace thing by myself.¡±

    ¡°Sorry. I was¡­ You¡¯re gorgeous.¡±

    Looking down at her own naked body, Elane did not seem all that embarrassed. Instead, she snorted a bit, a little laugh at my expense for how her curves caused my brain to malfunction. She¡¯d been the one trembling a moment ago, but once her clothes came off, I was the one on defense.

    ¡°Stop with the flattery and get over here. You promised to make this romantic, right?

    With a seductive smile that might as well have been a punch to the face, Elane slowly parted her legs. And I could do nothing but stare as the golden hairs framing her crotch failed to hide the narrow slit waiting for me.

    I knew she had an easy time with foul, perverted language, but she was already in her element.

    ¡°Go ahead, my love. Ravish me¡­ Haha! I¡¯ve always wanted to say that.¡±

    Entranced and forgetting about my item box yet again, I ripped my shirt off over my head and tossed it over my shoulder. Standing before her, her luscious lips still curved up into a devastating smile, I put my hands on her knees. Her smile widened.

    But then her expression turned into a look of confusion. At the same time, a rush of air passed behind my back and Mana appeared on my right side. I was quick to catch on, noticing that the change in Elane¡¯s expression had been because of the mischievous grin on Mana¡¯s lips.

    ¡°Hehehe. Booby Lady is acting tough, but Big Sis and I can hear your heart.¡±

    ¡°Wh-What are you talking about?¡± Elane asked, turning to Yua, who shrugged knowingly.

    Puffing up her small chest with an inexplicable pride, Mana nodded. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I get it. Being bled hurts.¡±

    ¡°Is that what this is about? I think I can handle my husband¡¯s cock just fine.¡±

    Mana rapidly shook her head, practically whipping my side with her long black hair.

    ¡°No. I mean it really, really hurts. Big Bro¡¯s manhood is really big, you know? It¡¯s definitely going to hurt.~¡±

    Noticing again the delighted inflection in Mana¡¯s voice, I couldn¡¯t help but feel as though she wanted Elane to go through the same pain she had the other night, like it were some sort of payback for all the hugging she¡¯d put up with so far.

    Cheeks reddening, Elane¡¯s cobalt eyes drifted down to my crotch, where they lingered. Weathering her gaze with an only somewhat embarrassed ease thanks to my time in the village, I wondered if what was about to happen counted as punishing my slave with pain.

    Unawares of my thoughts, Elane cracked a clearly forced smile. Apparently, Mana wasn¡¯t wrong about her attempts at seduction being an act.

    ¡°I-It doesn¡¯t matter how big it is,¡± she said. ¡°He¡¯s my husband. Like a good, proper wife, I can handle anything he throws my way.¡±

    ¡°Hehe. Nope! I mean it. His manhood¡¯s really, really, really big. Here, let me show you.¡±

    ¡°M-Mana, you don¡¯t need to¡­¡±

    Despite my half-hearted attempt to stop her, Mana already had my belt undone before she finished the second really. Speeding through the motions, Mana quickly unbuttoned my pants and pulled them down only just far enough for her to shove her hand into my underwear.

    Her left hand grabbed hold of the base of my cock and lifted it, pulling it out of its threaded, cotton home and, at the same time with her right, tugged the front of my underwear down just until there was nothing left to hide me. Clearly, she only meant to show me off, not help me undress.

    Elane¡¯s eyes widened when my cock flopped into view. Twitching rather than blinking, her jaw practically broke through her collar bone when it dropped. Then Mana shook it at her.

    Shamed as I was, even with this bombshell of a woman spreading herself for me, and with this adorably cute cat girl¡¯s hand warmly holding my shaft, I hadn¡¯t hardened yet. I was that in awe of Elane¡¯s true beauty.

    However, her eyes widened further when she saw how Mana¡¯s fingers couldn¡¯t fully wrap around my girth. Her breasts shifted with a single breath and I could swear I could hear the single last atom of oxygen escape her lungs.

    She stared at it, at me. There was no longing in her cobalt gaze. No lusting expectations. No exuberant passion. And thankfully, no regrets. There was simply shock.

    Her luscious lips stickily parted, now dry from her heavy breathing. Staring straight at my cock, words slowly formed on her tongue and she let them fall into the air without a thought showing in her expression.

    ¡°G-Gods¡­ My asshole¡¯s going to die.¡±

    Mana tilted her head at this, but didn¡¯t release me. I, however, was jerked back to reality.

    ¡°Elane, I¡¯ve been meaning to ask, but¡­ what¡¯s this obsession you have with your ass?¡±

    From the day we met, though drunk at the time, she offered her sexual services in return for bringing her proof of new lands to discover. Only, she specified her ass and nothing more. And every time since then when she spoke of my clear feelings for her, she¡¯d mention how I supposedly wanted to take her back there. It was as if she were trying to implant some sort of poorly thought-out subliminal message.

    Elane gulped, tentatively touching her finger tips together, but before she could explain, Yua sped over to fill up the space to my left. Curiosity making her forget herself, she posed a question.

    ¡°I wanted to ask about that too. What does fuck my ass mean?¡±

    ¡°O-Oh, it¡¯s, um¡­ It¡¯s when a man shoves his cock into your asshole instead of your pussy.¡±

    ¡°¡°Eh?!¡±¡± the cat girls exclaimed in unison.

    ¡°You can do that?¡± Yua asked. ¡°What¡¯s it do?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s it¡­? G-Gods, Alex, haven¡¯t you taught them anything?¡±

    ¡°Not enough, apparently¡­¡±

    I barely managed to ask for a blowjob the other day. What they were talking about now was leagues above that where most people were concerned.

    ¡°Hrm, it¡¯s, um,¡± Elane started, only finding the subject embarrassing now that she had to explain it. ¡°It¡¯s like a man massaging the inside of your ass while you massage his cock. It¡¯s definitely something that would make both feel good.¡±

    ¡°Oooh,¡± Yua said, touching a knuckle to her chin.

    While she looked over her shoulder at her own posterior, and while Mana continued to look confusedly at the blonde, I repeated my question.

    ¡°Elane, why the obsession? Have you had anal before?¡±

    Her status page did say she was a virgin, but if things like blowjobs and backdoor play didn¡¯t actually count as sex in this world, for whatever reason, then¡­

    ¡°N-No!¡± she shouted, almost pleading. ¡°I¡¯m totally pure! I swear it!¡±

    Taken aback by her vehement denial, it took me a second to remember that a woman¡¯s purity was much more cherished in this time period. She must have been worried I¡¯d give up on her if she so much as let me think she¡¯d had a man before.

    ¡°Then could you explain? I honestly can¡¯t tell if I¡¯m more curious or concerned at this point.¡±

    ¡°I-I-I¡­¡± she started, then gulped again. ¡°I told you the orphanage I was raised in was also a church, right?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°W-well, you see, it¡¯s the church of Saint Lilica. And the Saint¡¯s teachings demand a vow of absolute purity from maidens until the day they are married. No man other than our husband is allowed to touch our pussy. Adhering to these teachings is supposed to bestow upon us the Saint¡¯s gift of prolonged beauty.¡±

    I nodded, vaguely concerned with why Mana was still aiming my cock at Elane, but I didn¡¯t address it.

    ¡°Okay, but I don¡¯t see how that relates to what I asked.¡±

    ¡°R-Right. Well, I actually took those teachings to the next level and refused to even touch myself, except when cleaning my body. Only, y-you see, during my travels, the men in my party would occasionally bring prostitutes back to the inns we shared or to their tents where they¡¯d have their way with them. I-I¡¯m only human. And a woman has her needs, so one night I asked one of the prostitutes how to deal with said needs without breaking my vows. She mentioned all the things a woman can do with her ass and¡­ well¡­¡±

    Elane paused, her cheeks glowing red at her own story. It was like she was completely removed from the fact that she was still completely naked in front of me.

    ¡°So, I, um¡­ I¡¯ve been exclusively masturbating with my ass ever since that night¡­ And, um¡­ it feels really good, so¡­ W-Wait,¡± she stopped, eyes suddenly flying open with concern. ¡°Y-You¡¯re not against anal, are you?¡±

    ¡°Not at all. If anything, I¡¯d say I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡±

    ¡°Oh, thank the gods¡­¡±

    A look of profound relief washed over her as she fell back into the mattress. Her mountainous breasts continued to jiggle well after she landed, as if to tempt me into ending the conversation.

    Meeting her relief with a smile of my own, I removed the last of my clothing with my item box. My right hand wrapped around Mana, lightly squeezing her little breast the same way she was my cock. My left wrapped around Yua to squeeze her as well, but deep in thought as she was as she contemplated her ass, she didn¡¯t seem to notice.

    I gave each of them a kiss on the cheek and carefully move Mana¡¯s hand away from my crotch. Stimulated by the three beauties surrounding me, I was rock hard and ready to go.

    Letting the two cat girls go, I climbed onto the bed. When Elane noticed the shifting of the blankets, she lifted herself onto her elbows to look at me. She bit her lip when she saw how hard I was. I moved between her legs and pressed my hands to her knees again, parting them further.

    ¡°Elane, if we aren¡¯t technically married, is this okay?¡±

    Gulping, she managed to pull her gaze away from my cock to look me in the eye before working her lips into a smile.

    ¡°Y-Yes. We may not be able to have a normal wedding, but it¡¯s more the thought that counts. As long as we swear ourselves to each other, nothing else matters.¡±

    ¡°Then let¡¯s do this right. Tell me what to do.¡±

    Taking a breath, Elane quickly explained the specific way we needed to go about this and I was happy to hear it was delightfully easy. Apparently, her religion, The Way of Light, was primarily a commoner¡¯s religion, so big fancy weddings were a rarity. All we needed to do was join hands in front of some witnesses and swear ourselves to the other.

    Yua and Mana counted as witnesses, so all I needed to do was lace the fingers of both my hands with Elane¡¯s and recite the marriage oath she recited to me.

    ¡°Elane, I swear to be your husband and to take you as my wife until the day we die. And upon meeting together in heaven, I will repeat this vow so that our souls will be together for all eternity. Until then, I swear to defend your name and honor as my woman.¡±

    ¡°A-And you¡¯ll fuck my ass?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Yes.¡±

    That was decidedly not a normal part of the vows. Maybe saying no would have actually been a deal breaker?

    ¡°Then, Alex, I swear to be your wife and to take you as my husband until the day we die. Should you perish before me, I swear no man shall disgrace my body until we meet together again in heaven. And I shall repeat this vow so that our souls will be together for all eternity¡­ Now kiss me to seal the vow.¡±

    Still holding her hands, I pulled her up off the bed and pressed my lips to hers. Her sweetness was overflowing, her kiss nothing less than passionate. Despite our mutual state of undress, there was not a hint of eroticism in our embrace.

    When we parted, Elane smiled sweetly up at me, looking about as intoxicated as she had the day we¡¯d gotten drunk together, but then she started looking confusedly over her body.

    ¡°Something wrong?¡±

    ¡°N-No, it¡¯s just¡­ Were I not a slave, Saint Lilica¡¯s blessing would have appeared as a warm light around us.¡±

    ¡°Sorry it had to be this way.¡±

    I let go of her hand to cup her cheek, reaching in for another kiss. Our lips melted together for only a second before we parted.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± she said, shifting her hips. At some point during our kiss, my cock had inched closer towards the promised land. ¡°But I do have one more question before we get started.¡±

    ¡°Ask away.¡±

    ¡°Okay, then, um¡­ How many continents did your old world have?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Huh?¡±

    ¡°I-I¡¯m dying to know.¡±

    From her tone, I expected a nervous smile to adorn her lips, but all I found was her wavering eyes, genuinely longing for the answer as strongly as a sex-addict being denied the right to touch their wife for an enitre month.

    More importantly, her breasts were heaving and her pussy was drenched. So, I answered.

    ¡°¡­ There are seven continents.¡±

    ¡°Nggh!¡± she gasped, her thighs pressing hard against mine. ¡°Th-That¡¯s so hot! P-Please, one more. Whisper their names in my ear.¡±

    Blinking, I leaned in closer. Just when her stiffened nipples pressed into my chest and I was close enough to kiss her earlobe, I brought my voice down low and, one by one, whispered their names as though they were sweet nothings meant only for her and¡­

    ¡°Ahhhhhhn!¡±

    Jerking her upper half, her weighty breasts nearly knocking me back onto my knees, Elane moaned loudly with nothing but pleasure coating her trembling lips. Before I even realized what had happened, I felt the sheets between us grow damp.

    ¡°Elane,¡± Yua said, her ears standing tall. ¡°Did you orgasm already? He didn¡¯t even touch you yet.¡±

    ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­ Haa¡­ H-How could I not when he said something so unbearably sexy?!¡±

    Yua tilted her head at this, but said no more. Mana, though, ear twitching, went the extra mile when she flipped her skirt and shoved her hand down the front of her panties. Not even a second later, she pulled her hand back out and brought it up to her face. Naturally, her fingers were as dry as could be.

    I turned back to Elane, who had been watching what Mana was doing with rapt attention.

    ¡°Elane¡­ Can I take this as a sign that you¡¯re ready?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes.¡±

    With one last kiss to kick things off, I brought myself closer to her. She shuddered when my rod grazed her inner thigh, but she welcomed me with open arms, and with her eyes longing for an even greater taste of what she¡¯d just had.

    Her breasts were enormous, miraculous in how even the pull of gravity did little to change their erotic shape. The pink tips at their centers veered off in two different directions, pulling my attention this way and that due to their weight and gravity scheming together to pull them apart. But in doing so, once her cleavage opened up like a parting sea, I was spellbound by the long scar running between them, down from the top of her left breast down to her navel.

    It was a pink thing, a few shades darker than her nipples and all the more noticeable for it. I could only imagine the pain she must have gone through to earn it. Or the embarrassment she endured in knowing how the sole mark on her body stood out so much against her smooth, soft skin in such a noticeable place.

    I reached for it, for her breasts. I¡¯d already been fighting against their pull, her immense size and the softness said size promised me was deafening, but that was not why I found my hands groping the air instead of her. It was that scar.

    My first, second and third thoughts were to caress her mounds while running a finger along its length, or to maybe bury myself in her cleavage to give that mark a kiss, just to show her I didn¡¯t mind it. But I could not do this. The way she carried herself in her day to day said it didn¡¯t bother her. Besides, my hands were needed elsewhere.

    ¡°A-Alex¡­!¡±

    Selfish as I was, I pressed my palms against just the sides of her breasts before sliding them down to her waist. There I dug further, slipping my open palms down under her to grasp at another softness.

    I cupped and squeezed her ass with all the vigor I wanted to put into fondling her chest and this earned me a delighted, heated gasp. It was as if, after all her comments on my personal tastes, she thought I wouldn¡¯t put any focus here at all.

    ¡°Ngh¡­ What are you¡­ I-I thought for sure you¡¯d go for my tits first.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I laughed, letting my fingertips slip deeper into the crevice made of cheeks and softness. ¡°Isn¡¯t this what you wanted?¡±

    ¡°Nggh!¡±

    The fondling only increased the more she moaned. As I molded her cheeks to my every whim, my fingertips repeatedly and purposefully grazed both her pussy and anus. One was untouched by man, while the other was well trained, and yet, both were sensitive to the touch.

    Elane grit her teeth, hips writhing as my caressing only grew more intimate.

    However, there was no need to prolong the foreplay. She¡¯d already gotten off once, and since Yua and Mana were too tired to fool around last night, I was feeling pretty pent up.

    I pulled her closer still and let go of her ass, already leaving her breathless. Her cheeks burning with passion, she bit her lip as she focused on my eyes. There was no need to wait for permission. She was my wife and I her husband. We both knew our first night together would end this way. The only thing wrong with this scenario was that it wasn¡¯t night. Or so I thought.

    Jumping up onto the bed, Mana speedily crawled over to us and once again wrapped her little fingers around my shaft. Grinning, she didn¡¯t stop me. No, instead, she pushed the tip of my cock against Elane¡¯s labia, making her shiver on the sheets. Then without missing a beat, Mana pushed me between Elane¡¯s lips and carried me a little lower until¡­

    ¡°Ah-Ahnnn!¡±

    Still soaked from her first orgasm, Elane¡¯s pussy accepted me almost greedily. I slipped in with such ease that I barely had time to feel her heat before the entirety of my lower head was inside her.

    Elane gripped the sheets as I split her and Mana let go, proudly deciding her part in this was done despite neither of us asking for help. Then, with a wicked grin, she nodded to me, urging me to continue. And to my surprise, Elane agreed.

    ¡°H-Husband¡­ come to me.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    I said nothing. Her warmth was already driving me nuts, and I needed more.

    My palms slapped themselves against her hips and with the desire to make this woman mine for all eternity driving me, I thrust my hips and drove myself as far into her pussy as she could handle.

    In one thrust, I broke past the thin layer of her maidenhood and stopped only when I reached her womb.

    ¡°Ahhn!¡±

    Elane grit her teeth, pressed her eyes shut and clenched her teeth the moment I pushed inside her¡­ but then she relaxed. A little too easily, she relaxed. Blinking repeatedly, Elane lifted herself onto her elbows with ease and looked towards our connection.

    She¡¯d taken me to the hilt, I felt myself clear her hymen and my tip was kissing her womb. I could tell in how she looked at it that my cock had split her pussy wider than she likely ever thought possible. And yet, she didn¡¯t utter a single gasp of pain.

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Visibly and audibly confused, Mana crawled further up the bed and pressed her thumbs on either side of Elane¡¯s pussy and spread her lips. All she got from it was the sight of my cock tearing into her and of the trickle of red dripping down onto the mattress.

    Elane tightened at her touch, but didn¡¯t fight the cat girl in the least. All she did was press her hands over her mouth to suppress another moan, like she was worried about scaring the girl off.

    ¡°But why¡­¡± Mana started, peering at our connection with her own ass up in the air. ¡°Booby Lady, why aren¡¯t you hurting? It hurt a lot when Big Bro bled me!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ I don¡¯t kn-know¡­¡±

    Gritting my teeth, I answered for the both of them.

    ¡°Mana, sometimes it just doesn¡¯t hurt for the woman. She got lucky.¡±

    ¡°Eh?! No fair! It was supposed to hurt! She should¡­ mmph!¡±

    Sensing a tantrum, Yua rushed behind the three of us, wrapped a hand around Mana¡¯s mouth and yanked her off the bed. With a smile, she held Mana as she squirmed, her emerald eyes telling us to continue.

    ¡°Come on, Mana. Let¡¯s leave them be for a while.¡±

    ¡°I thought you said¡­¡± I started, then paused when Elane¡¯s pussy bit down on me. ¡°¡­ you said you had to watch?¡±

    Yua shot me a wry smile and said, ¡°I¡¯ll be able to hear you. That¡¯s enough for me. Besides, knowing you, this will take a while. There¡¯s no need to wait around when we can be doing something more productive.¡±

    ¡°L-Like what?¡± I grunted, finding it simultaneously difficult to stay still so Elane could acclimate to my size, but also because I didn¡¯t want to spurn the attention of the wonderful woman that allowed this to happen.

    Again, Yua smirked, but instead of answering me, she looked down to the squirming cat girl in her arms.

    ¡°Come along, Mana. While we wait, I¡¯ll shave your pussy for you.¡±

    ¡°Mmph! Shave my what?¡±

    ¡°Your special place, obviously.¡±

    ¡°¡­!¡±

    Mana¡¯s eyes widened, turned to me, but she didn¡¯t wait for my approval before dropping low out of Yua¡¯s grasp and bolting for the door. The three of us watched her go. Only Yua sighed.

    ¡°Alex,¡± she said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll catch her. For now, remember the rules of the Forgiveness Embrace. Don¡¯t let me catch you stopping until you and you alone can¡¯t continue.¡±

    With that, she turned and headed for the door, only for her ears to perk up and turn back.

    ¡°Oh, and drink plenty of water. Just stamina potions aren¡¯t going to be enough for her. And, Elane?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yea?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll shave your pussy tomorrow. Alex says he likes them better that way.¡±

    ¡°O-Okay?¡±

    Finally, and this time without stopping, Yua turned on her heel and left the room. Though, she did make a pointed effort to leave the door open, likely so she could hear us better.

    Elane and I looked to each other.

    ¡°Sorry about them. They¡¯re both pretty¡­ energetic in their own ways.¡±

    ¡°N-No, it¡¯s fine. The idea of a girl like her shaving my pussy sounds kind of¡­ W-Well, anyways, I¡¯m actually a little glad we could be alone for this.¡±

    ¡°Haha. Well, I did promise to make this romantic, didn¡¯t I?¡±

    ¡°Yea, but, um. You know what would make this really romantic?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Let me guess. You want to switch to anal?¡±

    ¡°P-P-Please!¡± she nearly shouted, clasping her hands together in prayer. ¡°You¡¯ve already made me yours, but I¡¯d really, really, really like my first time to be with my ass!¡±

    ¡°Elane?¡±

    ¡°Y-yes, my husband, my light, my love?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Turn around and get on your knees.¡±

    ¡°¡­!!!¡±

    She was a slave to me, but I was a slave to making my wives both happy and to making sure they enjoyed our time in bed as much as I did. If this is how she wanted it, then I was more than happy to oblige her.

    Dipping my chin with a soft smile playing at my lips, I pulled my hips back. Elane¡¯s back arched, jutting her massive breasts into the air. Silently clenching my teeth to deal with my own pleasure being delayed while, at the same time, feeling the slick warmth of her pussy biting down on me made removing myself all the harder. But I managed.

    My cock still wet with pussy juice, the heated air around us felt almost unbearably cool. And yet, Elane was unaffected. No, maybe she was even more enticed as she struggled to lift herself off the mattress to turn herself over. I gave her a hand and grabbed her by the hips, setting her on her knees.

    Face to face with the proof of her stolen maidenhood dripping down her thigh, I couldn¡¯t help but focus on the twitching hole that longed for me, but that had not yet had a taste.

    Trembling as though worried over whether liked what I saw, Elane¡¯s fingers dug into her ass cheeks and she spread herself for me. Taking my cue, I slipped my middle and ring fingers into her pussy and worked feverishly to stir her up. Fighting against her tightness, I quickly found my target and put every ounce of my focus into attacking it.

    ¡°Ah! Ahn! Ahn! H-Husband! What are you¡­ AH!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any lubricant. If I go in like this, you might actually feel that pain Mana was expecting.¡±

    ¡°Y-You mean you¡¯re going to use my pussy juice to¡­ to¡­. Ahn!¡±

    Ignoring her confusion over what I felt was a good idea, I mercilessly attacked her g-spot as though I¡¯d done so a thousand times before. And soon enough, Elane¡¯s hips started to jerk under the pressure of this unfamiliar form of pleasure. I had to wrap an arm around her hips and hold her down while my fingers worked the same sort of magic that often left Yua breathless.

    The orgasm that quickly followed had her pushing her feet behind me, but with the bed sheets so smooth, her feet could gain no traction. She was forced to shiver and shake in my arm as her vaginal walls squeezed my fingers for all they were worth.

    Once my digits were good and wet, and once Elane had a chance to feel what the denial of her own hand had made her miss out on all these years, I extracted them from her pussy and she dropped her face into one of the many pillows on the bed.

    Her ass still up in the air, she turned her cheek on the pillow and, trying to catch her breath, said, ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­ How are you so good at that? I¡­ I thought men were supposed to be shit with their fingers.¡±

    ¡°Practice,¡± I said proudly. ¡°That, and my perfect memory allows me to memorize your weak spots.¡±

    ¡°Gods¡­¡±

    Simultaneously resigned to her fate once her cobalt eyes locked on the fingers I wriggled at her, and instinctually shaking her hips back and forth at me, Elane bit her lip and waited. Already having fully put herself at my mercy, she had no idea that the hand that assaulted her is attached to the arm she broke.

    Still, not wanting to prolong her want to really start this relationship how she wanted, I pressed the same fingers against her anus and¡­

    ¡°Ahhhhn!¡±

    They slipped right in. Deep. As in, up to the second knuckle deep. Her pussy put up a better defense than back here, and she wasn¡¯t exactly fighting me in the first place.

    ¡°Elane,¡± I whispered over her shoulder, slowly stirring my fingers inside to loosen her further. ¡°How often do you masturbate back here?¡±

    ¡°Oh, oh, Gods¡­ Fuck¡­ Ahn!... I-I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Elane¡­¡±

    Lowering my tone to feign annoyance at her obvious lie, I added my index finger to the mix. That too had no problems slipping inside. Her asshole was still plenty tight around my fingers, but it was like she¡¯d trained herself for this very moment.

    ¡°Ahhhhn!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not nice to lie to your new husband.¡±

    ¡°H-Hus-Husband¡­ Ngggh!... O-Okay¡­ I-I do it almost every day!¡±

    I blinked at this, my fingers momentarily stopping their search, much to her dismay. Elane looked over her shoulder at me, her eyes begging to know why I stopped.

    ¡°I-is that too much?¡± she asked, her voice heated, but cautious.

    ¡°Not at all. Honestly, I¡¯m just surprised. Neither Yua nor Mana knew masturbation was even a thing. Then you¡­¡±

    I stopped, and started moving my fingers again. Elane squeezed ever tighter, but not even her strength could stop me from searching out each and every weakness she had. Not that it was hard. No matter where I touched, where I slid my fingers, where I pressed and curled them against her inner wall, she still moaned loudly into her pillow.

    That is, until she popped back up for air and¡­

    ¡°St-Stop teasing me! I-I want your cock. Don¡¯t make me cum from your fingers again!¡±

    Delighted as I was to hear that she was enjoying herself, I obeyed my wife¡¯s demands and pulled my fingers back out of her. Thanks to her own past efforts training herself, she was already ready.

    ¡°Sorry, I wasn¡¯t teasing,¡± I told her, gently caressing her ass cheeks to sooth her a bit. ¡°But you saw how big I am. I didn¡¯t want to hurt you by putting it in before you were ready.¡±

    ¡°L-Liar,¡± she pouted, shaking her hips at me. ¡°It¡¯s not nice to lie to your new wife.¡±

    ¡°Haha. You got me. I was having a bit of fun all my own. And, you know, this particular kind of fun is new to me, too.¡±

    ¡°You mean you and Yua haven¡¯t¡­¡±

    ¡°Nope.¡±

    At this, her lips screwed up into an awkwardly wry smile. Then she shook her hips at me again.

    ¡°Hoho? Guess this means I actually get to steal one of your firsts.¡±

    ¡°And I¡¯ll be taking all of yours tonight.¡±

    ¡°Mmmn¡­ Greedy, aren¡¯t we?¡±

    ¡°Does that bother you?¡±

    ¡°Not at all. So long as you stop teasing me already.¡±

    Shaking her hips yet again, she forced my eyes back onto the thoroughly prepped part of her that was demanding my attention. I stood on my knees and moved between her legs.

    Just this was enough to make Elane¡¯s breath quicken again, making her forget the seductive bravery she was using to put on a show for me. Perhaps, now that my monster was within knocking distance of her backdoor, she was having second thoughts about jumping to this step of our relationship so soon?

    I could almost laugh at the thought. Just pressing my tip against her cheek made her entire body give a great jerk, nearly finishing that orgasm she denied herself a moment ago. But when I slid myself a little more and circled my tip around and around her anus¡­

    ¡°Husband, please! I know this is suppose to be a punishment, but¡­!¡±

    I wasn¡¯t prolonging the tease like she thought, I was merely testing to see if she could handle my size. She realized this rather quick when I applied a little pressure and pressed forward, pushing past her dignity to force just the head inside. As I thought I might, I slipped in easily.

    Elane¡¯s complaints ceased. As did her moans. Her plump thighs jiggled uncontrollably as her legs weakened. I had to hold her by the hips to keep her up on her knees, but doing so allowed me to push myself a little deeper.

    ¡°¡­!¡±

    Slowly, unbearably slowly for her sake, I forced my cock to drill in deeper and deeper. Thanks to all the years I spent spending too much time on the internet, I knew it¡¯d be all too easy to hurt her back here if I wasn¡¯t careful. She may want this, but it was only her first time. So, I was careful.

    And yet, as her asshole swallowed me to the root, Elane made not a peep. Short, shallow breaths entered her nostrils, but they never seemed to leave. My hips pressed firmly against her cheeks, leaving hardly any gap between the two of us. The pressure her ass was putting on my cock was even more intense than her pussy thanks to her self-training, but I couldn¡¯t help but feel that was because the entirety of her strength was focused there now.

    ¡°A-Ah¡­¡±

    Finally, her voice appeared like a flickering candle in the wind, just to tease the world. She graced my ears with her lovely voice once more and all it sounded like was a low, quiet gasping that couldn¡¯t even be called a word. Hell, it was barely even a sound.

    Her body crumbled. She fell face-first back into her pillow, her breasts squishing against the mattress in a ruinous attempt to hide them from me. And there, she went still.

    I pulled my hips back, withdrawing my cock, and at the same time, Elane jerked her head back towards me, arching her spine until she lifted her breasts back off the bed again. It was as though an invisible string attached itself between her brain and my cock and I was her puppeteer commanding her to move.

    Her anus stopped me before I could pull out all the way. It grabbed hold of me with all the desperation that had colored her voice moments ago, but now she herself was silent. Nothing but her lungs¡¯ inhalations seemed capable of making noise.

    ¡°Elane,¡± I said, shifting my knees into a sturdier stance. ¡°I love you.¡±

    Now knowing she could handle me at my best, I plunged back inside of her in one quick thrust that alone nearly knocked her into the headboard and she¡­.

    ¡°AAHHHHHHHHHHHN!¡±

    The floodgates were open and the house shook with her voice. And in that moment, my hips started moving all on their own.

    ¡°Ah! Ah! Ah!... Fuck¡­! Fuck¡­! F-Fu-uh- ahn¡­! Oh, fuck! Oh, gods! Oh fuck! A-A-Ahaaa.¡±

    The pleasure, the pressure, the heat, all of it made me clench my jaw shut, just so my grunts couldn¡¯t overpower the lovely sound of hers. Her plump cheeks rippled with each thrust I drilled into her ass. As our hips clapped, I watched as that tiny, forbidden hole sucked me in and spat me back out, only to stretch and beg me to come back inside.

    ¡°AHHN!¡±

    Another solid thrust deep inside her and she buckled, falling back onto the mattress. Leaning over her back, I scooped up both of her breasts and finally let myself squeeze to my heart¡¯s content.

    However, while her stiff nipples contrasted with her abundant softness to an intoxicating degree, I would not forget her wants. So, still clinging to her mounds, I lifted us both back up and continued pistoning my hips.

    ¡°Fuck, fuck, fuck¡­! I can¡¯t! Fuck! Oh, Godsssss!¡±

    ¡°Keep it up,¡± I said, losing myself in her softness. ¡°And Yua¡¯s gonna come running thinking you¡¯re about to die.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care! I don¡¯t! Just keep fucking meeeee! Ahhhhh!¡±

    Despite her words, Elane¡¯s feet kept trying to grab hold of something to push herself away from me. It was almost like her body had realized the pleasure she was experiencing was too much and tried to flee from it to save her mind from shattering, but my groping hands kept her in place.

    Still she moved. Still she squirmed. And then her foot grazed my thigh and our combined sweat caused her to slip and made my cock slip out of her.

    ¡°A-Ah¡­ No¡­ Not yet. Please. More. More.¡±

    The unbearably true disappointment in the gaze she turned to me was soul shattering. She hadn¡¯t noticed at all that it was entirely her fault, but I quickly moved her hips back into place and crammed myself back inside her, just to make sure her smile could return. This time, she easily took me to the hilt with a scream.

    ¡°Ahhaaaaha!¡±

    Then, to make sure it didn¡¯t happen again, I relinquished her breasts and grabbed hold of her wrists. Arching her back as my cock drilled out more screams of delight, she still subconsciously tried to escape the pleasure, so I moved my hold to her upper arms and locked her hands under my armpits.

    If I couldn¡¯t hold her tits, I damn well was going to watch them bounce as I fucked her senseless.

    There was an ever-increasing wet spot on the bedsheets and I had no idea if Elane had been climaxing repeatedly or if having her ass pounded had simply made her pussy that wet.

    Either way, I was close, and not even my experienced self could last forever. If this was her punishment, then surely she wouldn¡¯t mind if I were to bring us to that long awaited climax.

    The intoxicating pleasure of her inner walls desperately clamping down on me was mind-melting. I could feel the pleasure building to a powerful finish. My hips had a mind of their own, much like hers. They pushed against mine and there was nothing either of us could do to stop the other.

    ¡°How¡¯s this?¡± I said, my cock repeatedly punching her inner walls. ¡°You like it here?¡±

    She didn¡¯t answer.

    Keeping my hips moving, I craned my neck a little to the side and forced myself to ignore the raucous bouncing of her tits to focus on her face.

    Her expression was a mess of stupefied eroticism. Her eyes had gone crooked, her mouth hung agape, her tongue freely flicked drool here and there as I thrust away. And yet, the most enticing of it all was the rapturous smile tugging at her luscious lips.

    Seeing this, seeing how this complete bombshell of a woman had submitted so entirely to me, forced me to my limit.

    Pulling back on her arms, arching both of our backs, I thrust deep inside, pushing my hips forcefully against her cheeks just to go a little deeper and, imagining the head of my cock pressing against a womb I knew didn¡¯t exist, the dams holding me back burst.

    ¡°What¡¯s.. Wha-at?¡± Elane gasped, light returning to her cobalt eyes, unable to move her body, she turned only her chin to look, not at me, but at her ass. ¡°S-So much. There¡¯s so much. G-gods¡­ It keeps coming! You¡¯re filling my ass with cum!¡±

    Delighted by the vulgarity that simply didn¡¯t exist between my other wives, I pulled back my hips and thrust back inside her. She toppled onto the bed, and I fell right on top of her. My cock pulsated, releasing yet more white-hot lust and Elane simply gaped. Her asshole squeezed me tighter and tighter in short bursts as the wet spot on the bed increased.

    ¡°H-How¡­-ho

    Hrk!¡± she gasped. ¡°How are you still cumming? Wh-What is this?!¡±

    ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­ I don¡¯t just have near limitless stamina in bed. It¡¯s going to be like this every time I cum. Trust me. Yua and I already proved it.¡±

    ¡°B-but how? Your balls don¡¯t look all that much bigger than an-nyone else¡¯s!¡±

    ¡°Hmm? Is my wife admitting to ogling other men¡¯s packages?¡± I said, pulling out to thrust right back in. Though, at this point my orgasm had subsided. I was merely stirring up the pool of semen my cock was stoppering in her ass.

    ¡°Ngggh! N-no! It¡¯s just, when you spend most of your time camping with other men, you see things¡­ Th-There were other women there, too.¡±

    ¡°Good. Can¡¯t have my wife thinking about other men while we¡¯re in bed.¡±

    ¡°As¡­ As if I could possibly think about any other cock! I already felt so full when all you did was put it in, but now¡­Nggh!¡±

    Lifting myself off her, I spread her cheeks apart, eliciting another sweet, pleasured gasp. Her asshole was wrapped so tight around my shaft that not a single drop of semen slipped past our connection.

    ¡°Then let me help with that.¡±

    ¡°No, no, no, no! Wait! Ahhhn!!¡±

    Slowly sliding my cock out of her, the dam burst all over again, but this time, the flood poured out of her ass to coat the sheets in my color. She pressed a hand to her hole, as if to stop the seemingly endless flow, but

    her anus twitched and clenched all on its own, forcing it out.

    Somewhere within my mind, I knew another cast of the Body Wash spell would not only relieve her of the sweat coating her flesh, but it¡¯d completely disappear the half of the flood that had yet to spill out of her.

    And yet, I was too mesmerized by the sight of my cum dripping down from her anus to paint her pussy in white.

    ¡°F-Fuck¡­¡± she gasped. ¡°Thank the gods¡­ we bought that potion. If it¡¯s your cock, I¡¯d already be pregnant.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not how it works, but I thank you for the compliment. Speaking of which¡­¡± Smiling a little wryly in thanks for this gift the Goddess gave me, I pressed the pad of my thumb against her clitoris and the sudden jerk her hips gave nearly lifted her off the bed. ¡°I think it¡¯s about time we finish what we started here.¡±

    The lingering red of her maidenhood had already been washed away by both pussy juice and semen, but when I touched her there, her arm flew back to stop me.

    ¡°W-Wait!¡± she cried, pushing a hand against my chest.

    Her expression showing that it took her a good deal of effort, Elane rolled onto her back, her ass landing straight into the pool of semen staining the sheets. Her mountainous breasts rose and fell in rapid succession as her hands slowly spread her knees.

    Presenting herself, Elane pleaded with her eyes before her words.

    ¡°Fu-Fuck my ass again first. Please, Husband. Please.¡±

    Her hands slid down from her knees, straight past her pussy and dug into the soft flesh of her ass cheeks. There she spread herself, showing off the hole still weeping with my own lust.

    ¡°¡­. Do you need a stamina potion?¡±

    ¡°Just get over here and fuck me.¡±

    Smiling wryly, I grabbed her thighs and dove right back in.

    ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­ H-Husband¡­ Please¡­ My pussy can¡¯t take anymore!¡±

    ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­ Liar. You just want it in the ass again.¡±

    ¡°But¡­ Hnngh¡­ It¡¯s all the way inside me¡­ It feels like my stomach is about to burst from all the semennnn¡­Ahhhhn!¡±

    I continued to thrust, my inhibitions now almost completely lost to my sex drive. We¡¯d spent a few hours indulging in each other¡¯s desires. The only times we bothered to stop ourselves was so Elane could down a stamina potion and she did so like it were a shot of her favorite rum. That, or we¡¯d occasionally stop to resupply our fluids with fresh water made via the Water Ball spell.

    Either way, after we¡¯d wet our whistles, whoever happened to finish first shoved the other back down on the bed. It was all we could do to give ourselves away to the throws of pleasure the moment we were ready. This was a punishment, after all.

    I inserted myself, fucked her, came, pulled out and started all over again while barely paying any mind to which hole I picked. Elane obviously had her preferences, but she could only handle so much back there before she genuinely looked like she might pass out.

    I had lost track of how many times I¡¯d filled her up. My Memorization trait kept a mental note of it, but seeing her tits coated in semen as she gasped for air had the effect of me not giving a shit.

    The bed was already coated in the love her body rejected and couldn¡¯t hold onto, but neither of us cared. All there was in the world was sex, our love and each other. So, despite her complaints, Elane leaned forward, driving my cock against her womb, all to give me a quick kiss on the lips before falling back onto the bed as I burst yet again. She screamed and I heard the forest birds take flight.

    Were it not for the stamina potions, she would have collapsed from exhaustion an hour ago, but I was free to keep going and going until¡­

    ¡°Alex! Inside! Do it inside this time! Ahhhn!¡±

    My thighs twitched and I thrust forward to give her my love. As I forced her womb to take in yet more of my white-hot lust, she erotically rubbed at her clitoris to draw out her own orgasm.

    Breathing just as heavily as her, I let myself slip out of her pussy and watched the flood of semen spill out onto the mattress. Normally, the sheer volume of my releases meant I had to pull out after each orgasm, but this time I¡¯d been forced to hold myself inside her for two rounds after she¡¯d locked her ankles around my back. So, once I removed myself, there was no stopping the flow, or her twitching body.

    I let myself enjoy the sight of her twitching, sopping pussy for only a second or two before I fell backwards onto my hands. Noticing how hard Elane was breathing, I tossed her another stamina potion and she drank it as greedily as ever.

    Watching her stamina bar refill itself, I took a peek at my own and confirmed that I was still good to go. Naturally, despite the rules of this punishment, Elane and I had to take breaks to replenish our fluids, but all that did was give my stamina more time to regenerate.

    And yet, watching her body become more and more coated with our combined lust, only for my magic to wash any evidence of it away in an instant, allowing me to get started on messing her up all over again, had the easy effect of keeping me as hard as a diamond.

    Likewise, showing off how effective a high Vigor stat could be, Elane¡¯s body showed no signs of slowing down. It was only her stamina that couldn¡¯t keep up now that she¡¯d gained plenty of experience.

    So, when she lazily tossed her empty bottle through the air to me and I instinctually let it slip straight into my item box, I was once again mesmerized by the sight of her heaving mounds. In my past life on Earth, I truly never really cared for breasts as large as hers, but now that I¡¯ve spent the better part of my day fondling them, it was all I could do to reach out for them once again and¡­

    ¡°Big Bro?¡±

    ¡­ But then a voice stopped me.

    Too lost in my own lust to jump from surprise, I turned to find Mana standing by the edge of the bed. Her cheeks were burning, her tail was stiff as a board and her little hands were gripping the bedsheets. Her nostrils flared a bit as she sniffed the air, and I realized that hours of nearly-non-stop sex surely must have left an erotic scent in the same room the four of us were supposed to sleep in later.

    ¡°Mana¡­ Did you need something?¡±

    ¡°Mmm¡­¡± she mumbled, running her hand over the face of her panties. Belatedly, I realized she wasn¡¯t wearing her skirt, just her top and her underwear. ¡°Why do you want my special place to be so smooth?¡±

    Blinking, unsure if my actions were caused by my upper brain or the one that was still rock-hard waiting for another go at Elane, I rolled onto my stomach and reached for Mana instead.

    My index finger hooked under the waistband to her panties and tugged them down until her everything was entirely visible to me. And as I thought, her cute little pussy was perfectly smooth. A testament to Yua¡¯s skill with a razor, there wasn¡¯t a hair in sight.

    ¡°Big Bro?¡± she said, entirely unconcerned with where I was looking. ¡°Won¡¯t you think I¡¯m just a kid if I¡¯m like this¡­? Because I¡¯m¡­¡± she paused, looking around me at Elane before leaning into to whisper in my ear. ¡°Because I¡¯m not big?¡±

    ¡°Not at all,¡± I said, disappearing her panties into my item box. ¡°You¡¯re my cute mate no matter what. Being like this only makes you cuter to me.¡±

    Her ears jumped when she was freed from the restraints of her underwear, but it helped a small smile to appear on her lips. However, said smile then turned into a gasp of worry when I lifted her off the floor by her hips the way her people were want to do.

    Sitting myself back up, I lowered her onto my lap. Though now face-to-face with the heaving Elane and the copious amount of semen spilling out of both her holes, Mana didn¡¯t so much as bat an eye when she looked up to me.

    ¡°Big Bro,¡± she started, fidgeting on my lap. ¡°This is Booby Lady¡¯s punishment. If Big Sis finds out I¡¯m¡­!¡±

    I silenced her first with a kiss, but as our tongues intertwined, I moved my middle and fingers up her thighs and let them slip inside her freshly-shaven pussy.

    Delirious as I was with lust, I knew better than to try and start something with her when Elane was supposed to be being punished for hurting us. However, my mind was not so lost to miss the finer details. The fingers I held her with were merely seeking the truth.

    ¡°Mana, if Yua had a problem with you coming up here, she would have stopped you.¡±

    ¡°Eep!¡±

    ¡°And more importantly, your special place is wet.¡±

    She made it seem like she came up here to complain, but the moment I saw her panties, I knew they were drenched. And when I made them disappear, it only made her arousal all the more apparent.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me why you¡¯re really here?¡±

    ¡°U-Uhmm¡­¡± Mana bit her lip, but reached between my legs to take hold of my cock. ¡°It¡¯s just, um, I¡¯ve been listening to you both mating for a long time now, and¡­ Big Sis said I can come help Booby Lady by mating with you.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡±

    Though Yua hadn¡¯t set foot in the bedroom since she left, hearing how relentless I¡¯d been with Elane must have earned the blonde a few sympathy points. Surely we¡¯d already past her people¡¯s expectations for the Forgiveness Embrace, but I wasn¡¯t slowing down.

    That or Elane simply earned a bit of respect for putting up with me for so long. Having Mana tag in would help speed this along.

    However¡­

    ¡°B-But,¡± Mana started, her fingers tightening around my shaft. ¡°The Forgiveness Embrace is supposed to be with just you and Booby Lady.¡±

    ¡°And yet, you came up here anyways.¡±

    Pointing the finger of my free hand at her chest, I disappeared her top into my item box, leaving her just as naked as we were. Her eyes shot open, as though surprised by her own nudity for the first time in her life.

    ¡°But Big Bro, it¡¯s a custom. It¡¯s supposed to just be you two.¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re so worried about the rules, why did you sound like you were against it at the start?¡±

    ¡°Because I thought your big manhood was going to hurt her,¡± Mana said, casting her big blue eyes on Elane. She tilted her head, her gaze clearly resting on Elane¡¯s still gaping pussy.  Then, cheeks burning, she pouted. ¡°But she clearly didn¡¯t hurt at all.¡±

    With a short laugh, I nodded and hugged her to my chest. Guess she just wanted Elane to seek penance through the pain of losing her maidenhood, but likewise assumed I¡¯d give her a health potion before we really kicked things off. Only, it was a simple fact that Elane didn¡¯t need such help.

    I pushed my fingers a little deeper to draw her attention back to me and her ears shot up to tickle my chin.

    ¡°Mana, it may be your custom, but it was Yua that made us do this. If she¡¯s giving you the okay to help out, then it¡¯s fine with me.¡±

    Yua was clearly laxer when it came to their customs, at least when we weren¡¯t in the village, and thankfully so. I couldn¡¯t say so for certain, but if we were still in the village, I think Yua would have been much stricter with the rules. Meaning we¡¯d actually have an audience. So, tweaking the rules a little to let Mana in is no problem.

    Besides, Mana¡¯s my second wife, but I¡¯ve only gotten to embrace her once. Compared to Yua and now Elane, that lack of experience didn¡¯t seem right.

    ¡°Th-Then will you promise not to tell Daddy I let you cheat the rules?¡±

    ¡°Mana,¡± I said, lifting her chin into a kiss. ¡°What we do here has nothing to do with him. I wouldn¡¯t tell him even if you didn¡¯t ask.¡±

    ¡°O-Okay then. Big Bro, will you mate with me? I tried that masturbate thing Big Sis showed me, but it didn¡¯t help.¡±

    Huh? Yua showed her how to¡­

    Shaking my head ¨C it was already filled with enough dirty thoughts -  I let my fingers slip out of her and hefted her into my arms again. Picking myself back up to stand on my knees, I carefully set Mana down, not on the mattress, but on top of Elane.

    The moment the cat girl¡¯s head landed softly on the twin great pillows that were Elane¡¯s breasts, the blonde¡¯s arms jumped, as if she were a venus fly trap, and her hands locked themselves on Mana, pinning her into another hug.

    Only, the seemingly blind grab had Elane¡¯s hands sinking into the soft, perky mounds on Mana¡¯s chest. Mana, resting her head on Elane¡¯s breasts, didn¡¯t react much at all to this.

    ¡°Hoho? Kitty, when did you get here?¡±

    ¡°Eh? I¡¯ve been here for a while. And stop squeezing my boobies so hard. It hurts.¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± Elane hummed, but didn¡¯t let go. ¡°Then why are you here?¡±

    ¡°My special place got wet, so my mate has to take care of me. Right, Big Bro?¡±

    ¡°Exactly,¡± I said, crawling in between their legs. ¡°Elane, you can take a break for a minute.¡±

    On a conditioned reflex trained by their people¡¯s teachings, Mana lifted her own knees into the air and spread her lower lips for me the moment I closed the gap. Thankfully, the extreme pain she bore with last time hadn¡¯t scared her off in the least.

    Elane, however¡­

    ¡°Wait, you¡¯re actually going to skewer this little cutey with that fat cock? Isn¡¯t that abuse? Maybe I should soften you up first.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Elane, if you want it in the ass again, you can wait until after Mana¡¯s turn.¡±

    ¡°Tch¡­ Fine then. I¡¯ll just help myself.¡±

    Moving her hands from simply grasping at Mana¡¯s tiny breasts, Elane cupped them properly and began to fondle, her fingers dipping in and out of the supple flesh I always seemed to long for even in sleep. And when she noticed me looking, she switched to tweaking the sakura pink tips at their centers with a devilish grin.

    Mana, however, didn¡¯t seem at all bothered by this. Her attention was focused entirely on my throbbing cock. So, I laid my length along her slit.

    ¡°Are you ready, Mana?¡±

    ¡°Hmm?¡± she hummed, lust coloring her cheeks, but confusion arching her brow. ¡°We¡¯re mates. You don¡¯t ever need to worry about me being ready. Just take me whenever you want. And I¡¯ll do the same to you.¡±

    ¡°Right, then here we go!¡±

    Slipping my shaft down along her already drenched slit, the head of my cock naturally fell into her and my mind was once more lost to pleasure. All the endless stimulation had me extra sensitive down there.

    Mana pressed her lips into a thin line, but the only resistance I felt came from how tight she was. Thankfully again, by the time my tip kissed her womb, there was not even a hint of pain on her face.

    Though that is not to say it still wasn¡¯t a struggle. She was still so small and my cock filled her enough to say I looked stuck art a glance. And worse, the sight of mana¡¯s stuffed pussy resting atop Elane¡¯s freshly creampied holes only served to harden me even more.

    ¡°B-Big Bro¡­ Don¡¯t worry¡­ I¡¯m your mate. I can handle it. Please, just make me feel good.¡±

    ¡°I will. I promise.¡±

    Leaning over the both of them, feeling Elane¡¯s hands grope her against my chest, I planted a kiss on Mana¡¯s lips. When I pulled back, I found Elane smirking at me. She puckered her lips into what she surely meant as an air kiss, but I leaned in and planted one on her as well before standing back up on my knees.

    My hips started to move all on their own, instantly switching into searching out the same weak spots I¡¯d found in Mana the other day. And when I found them, and when her voice began to slip and the beautifully cute moans she was forced to repress back then greeted all of us, I fell into a natural rhythm.

    ¡°Mnn¡­ Ahn¡­ Mnn¡­Ahn!¡±

    With the last of the braincells I had at my disposal after all the rest died from constant pleasure overload, I was able to do nothing but focus on the movements of my hips, the sight of my cock plunging into her and of her pussy trying to pull me back in each time I pulled out.

    I had no more brainpower to spare to put any stock in how Elane continued to fondle Mana¡¯s tiny breasts. I merely felt the slightest twinge of jealousy, as that meant I couldn¡¯t do the same. Nor could I return the favor by groping Elane, as Mana¡¯s head was using the blonde¡¯s tits as a pillow.

    All that was left were my hips and the narrow pussy I focused myself on pleasuring.

    ¡°Ah-ahn! Big Bro! W-wait! I like that, but wait! I don¡¯t want it to stop yet!¡±

    Still moving, still thrusting, I leaned in for another kiss to momentarily silence her moans.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If you¡¯re going to help us, I¡¯m not going to kick you out after just one time. Go ahead and let yourself feel good. Think of this as my thanks for letting Elane be my mate.¡±

    Scooping her up by the backs of her knees, I lifted her legs until she could rest her ankles on my shoulders. This allowed me to move a little closer.

    ¡°Mmnnn!... B-but I want to feel your white stuff in me again!¡±

    ¡°Then hang in there. I¡¯ll keep going no matter what, but it¡¯ll just be harder for you if you finish first.¡±

    ¡°Nngggh! But my special place is¡­ My special place¡­. AHHHN!¡±

    Squeezing her eyes shut, Mana opened her mouth wide, wide enough to scream out all the pleasure she repressed during our first time. Her voice was always so cute, candy for the ears, but hearing her lose herself to her lust so easily made my own sensitivity all the more prevalent.

    Mana squirted, her lust splashing against my abdomen, but keeping my promise, I kept thrusting through her orgasm. Unable to refute how much it turned me on to hear her scream out in pleasure as Elane held her down, I was quick to burst.

    ¡°Ahhhn! B-Big Bro! Your white stuff feels even better this time! It¡¯s so warm!¡±

    Sweat dripped from my brow as I held her ankles over my shoulders. Enjoying the sensation of filling this girl full of my semen, I didn¡¯t so much as consider pulling out until I¡¯d finished.

    I blinked, but the sight of semen dripping out of her and onto Elane was too real, too hot to deny. I¡¯d only just cum, but I was already hard again. And Elane was getting just a little too cheeky with how she groped my wife.

    Grabbing hold of my erection, I dipped my tip between the blonde¡¯s lower lips and thrust back into her pussy.

    ¡°Ahhn! D-Don¡¯t just jam it in without warning! You put it in the wrong hole!¡±

    ¡°I did no such thing.¡± Jumping immediately into thrusting, I pushed her hands away from Mana¡¯s tiny bustline and took over fondling for her.

    With nowhere else for her hands to go, save maybe to clench the bedsheets, she instead wrapped her arms around Mana¡¯s waist as I thrust away.

    ¡°B-Big Bro! Wait! If you squeeze my boobies like she was, I¡¯ll¡­. Ahhhn!¡±

    Time is a fickle thing when you don¡¯t pay attention to it. Lost in the throws of pleasure, in the joy of watching my wives reach the point to where not even screaming their lungs out could properly convey the feelings I was thrusting upon them, a few more hours had passed.

    Even though the Sun was only just starting its decent over the horizon, the pile of empty stamina bottles in my item box kept on growing. Only, I myself had not had a single drop of any of them. Not that it mattered. We¡¯d gone through so many that my next trip to the apothecary was no doubt going to have that tiny witch smirking as she asks ¡°Really? You need more already?¡±

    Shaking the needless thoughts out of my mind, I leaned back on the bed and wiped the sweat from my brow as I watched my girls.

    Both Elane and Mana were sprawled out on the bed in front of me, both looking as shameless as possible with how slovenly they left their legs splayed open. Cum dripped from both their pussies, but Elane¡¯s ass had born the brunt of my assault, as per her request. The sight was enough to harden me, but so was the comparison I¡¯d naturally made between the two.

    On her back, chest heaving with a heavily labored breath, Elane¡¯s massive tits remained impossible to miss, though they now bore the added flare of copious jiggling as she drew in her stunted breaths.

    Mana, likewise was breathing roughly, though her tiny breasts weren¡¯t so bouncy. Instead, where they shined, quite literally, was in the semen painting them white. Elane had, as usual, hugged her a little too much and accidentally forced me to pull out right as I climaxed, forcing me to shower Mana¡¯s mounds with my lust.

    Both of my new wives were really in a state. My sympathetic human brain wanted to give them a rest, to just let them sleep for the night, but the beast inside refused to let my cock soften at the sight of them.

    That and I was still sure I¡¯d be thrown right into the dog house where Yua was concerned if I quit now. She was supremely lenient in allowing us to break pretty much every rule of this punishment, but we¡¯d be in deep trouble if we didn¡¯t at least fulfil that last condition of continuing until I couldn¡¯t get it up anymore.

    That being said, I wasn¡¯t a monster. I had a monster, but I wasn¡¯t one. So, I was letting them rest up a little. And it was during this break that they started talking.

    ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­ Kitty¡­ Are you still alive?¡±

    ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­ Yea.¡±

    ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­ I think we should team up.¡±

    ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­ What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­ We should jump on his cock at the same time. He¡¯ll just keep dominating us if we go one at a time, but together we can win.¡±

    ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­ Okay. What do I do?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Have you ever given him a blowjob before?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s when you put his cock in your mouth.¡±

    ¡°Ooh¡­ Like when Big Sis eats him¡­ No, I haven¡¯t. Have you?¡±

    ¡°Several times now. I think I¡¯ve gotten pretty good at it. Come here, I¡¯ll show you.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Kay.¡±

    Languidly, Mana pushed herself onto her elbows, only to fall right back down. Elane, seeing she needed help, scooped her up into what was probably the most erotic princess carry ever seen by human eyes. Walking on her knees, she brought the cat girl over to me, where I helped her to drink a stamina potion.

    Instantly revitalized, Mana rolled out of Elane¡¯s arms and, landing beside me, she, with all the might stored in her petite body, tried to push me onto the bed. Smiling at the cute sounds of effort she was making as she rammed herself against me like a linebacker, I prolonged my decent onto the mattress. That is, until Elane put a hand on my shoulder and forced me down.

    Utterly defenseless, I waited with baited breath as the girls took up a position on either side of my hips, each one gazing at the flag pole their mere presence kept standing tall. Elane licked her lips as she took hold of it, while Mana worriedly waited for her instruction.

    ¡°Okay. Kitty, just do what I do, but on that side.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Kay.¡±

    ¡°Husband, you hold still.¡±

    Not waiting for me to respond, Elane pushed her free hand down on my chest, immobilizing me with the gentlest of forces. At the same time, she lowered herself, her breasts sandwiching my thigh. I¡¯d let her off the hook a few times by letting her do this for me so her hips had a chance to recover from thew fatigue, so she showed no hesitation in pressing her slick tongue against my shaft. A tingle of delight ripped up my spine.

    Tilting her head, Mana watched Elane drag her tongue up my shaft as I shivered. There was a curiousness in the way she watched the blonde¡¯s tongue, but the restlessness in how she shifted and re-shifted her hips couldn¡¯t go unnoticed. She¡¯d seen Yua do it a few times now, but she¡¯d never had that chance to try it out herself.

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Pressing her lips together, she made up her mind. She did not share in Elane¡¯s curvatious physique, so when she brought her face closer, her sakura-pink nipples did nothing but graze my thigh.

    Her face only inches away, she stopped herself and looked to Elane again for instruction, but all the blonde was doing was dragging her tongue up and down along my shaft like I were a cock-flavored ice cream cone. Mana gulped and when Elane noticed her move a little closer, she slipped her hand up my shaft. With it still wet from our last round, her fingers moved easily, but her tongue stopped moving, only just noticing something.

    ¡°Kitty, wait. His cock is still covered in my pussy juice. Alex, use your magic to¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Mana mumbled, tiredly pressing her small tongue against my shaft and pulling back. She licked her lips, just testing the waters. ¡°He¡¯s my mate. If Big Sis can do it, then I should be able to, too.¡±

    Without another word, Mana pressed her hands onto my thigh to hold herself steady and licked away. Elane gasped at the sight of the girl¡¯s small tongue lapping up the proof that we¡¯d just had sex, but the continued sensitivity they¡¯d been forcing on me caused my arms to weaken further against this new pressure.

    I fell back, pulling every pillow I could towards me and stuffed them under my back to prop myself up. It was Mana¡¯s first time and my first time with two girls at once. I wasn¡¯t about to miss it.

    ¡°Gods, Kitty,¡± Elane said, letting go of my shaft to press her palm to her blushing cheek. ¡°I had no idea you could be so sexy.¡±

    Lick. Lick. Lick.

    ¡°Shut up,¡± Mana said, flicking her tongue against my head. Her ears flicked and she did it again, noticing my heart¡¯s reaction to how it felt. ¡°Just tell me what to do next.¡±

    ¡°Right. Right! Just do as I do!¡±

    Coming in low and fast, Elane¡¯s heated breath wafted against my shaft. Her eyes linked with Mana¡¯s for only as long as it took my heart to skip a beat, before she pressed her tongue to me again.

    Her ears flicking and her tail swishing, Mana did as she was instructed. When Elane dragged her tongue up, Mana did the same. When she stopped to tickle my tip with just the tip of her tongue, Mana did the same. When she brought her tongue down to my hilt, pressing her chin into my groin, Mana did exactly the same.

    I could feel Elane¡¯s pulse quicken where her breasts pressed against me as she continued. No matter what she did, Mana was quick to mirror her. And with my mind swimming in the pleasure they were forcing upon me, it was all I could do to praise both the Goddess and my Luck stat for all three of my wives showing no aversion to doing this sort of thing for me.

    ¡°Hehehe¡­¡±

    Giggling, her lips pulled into a lascivious smile, Elane brought her tongue down again to lick around the base. Mana, her eyes a little bleary, followed suit. Then, slowly, Elane dragged her tongue up the entire length of my shaft, pinning my chest down when my body began to rise on its own. And Mana followed her example.

    Higher and higher the blonde¡¯s tongue went and the cat girl was quick to follow. Higher and higher their tongues moved in unison, making my eyes flutter open and shut from the sensitive pleasure. And higher still they rose, their movements mirroring each other perfectly until, just when the tips of their tongues were about to touch over my urethra¡­ the bedroom door opened.

    Cheeks bright red, Elane whipped her face towards the door, eyes wide like a deer caught in the headlights as Yua walked in. Mana though, her vision still bleary, continued moving her tongue. She lapped at my tip for a second or two, before her limited experience took over and she started back down.

    Elane turned back to us, noticed Mana¡¯s progress, and in a pout, locked her lips around my head, trapping it in her mouth. Her displeased mumbles only serving to vibrate her lips against my cock as her tongue tormented me.

    Ignoring all of this, Yua smiled at the sight as she carried a large wooden platter over to the bed. My brain stuck in between emergency reboots, I caught a delicious scent in the air that brought some of my senses back to me.

    Giggling to herself once my eyes finally found hers, Yua set down her platter, showing that it was packed to the brim with piping hot food.

    ¡°Dinner¡¯s ready,¡± she said. ¡°Since you three were still busy, I thought we could just eat here.¡±

    That¡¯s right. I was so lost in the endless rapture that I¡¯d forgotten. Yua came in here around an hour ago to request some of the food and dishware we¡¯d bought in the city. I¡¯d given her everything she requested as I repeatedly drove my cock into Mana¡¯s pussy without a second thought. I¡¯d even made her that very platter so she could carry it all back downstairs.

    How time flies.

    ¡°I made you three a big meal packed with plenty of protein, since¡­ Well, I thought you¡¯d need it.¡±

    My chin jerking from Elane¡¯s continued assault on my tip, I watched as Yua piled a salad mixed with oddly-colored vegetables whose flavor I still had not tasted onto a plate. Beside it was a healthily-portioned side of seasoned, pan-fried beef. I had trouble recognizing it for what it was due to where we were, but the steam pouring off it was very real.

    As if noticing the scent of my thoughts, rather than the meat behind her, Mana¡¯s ears perked up. Lifting her lips away from me, a bridge of saliva connecting her chin to my cock, she turned and found something that made her eyes light up once more.

    ¡°Meat! Can I have¡­¡±

    Stopping herself short, she turned back to Elane and my cock, then to me. Her brow twisted with indecision. Her face quickly snapping between the two, her expression only clouding more with worry, I touched a hand to her thigh.

    ¡°Mana, go¡­¡± I paused, clenching my toes. Elane¡¯s tongue found a weak spot. ¡°G-Go ahead and eat.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯re my mate. And you want me to¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine. G-Go ahead. Really.¡±

    I wasn¡¯t going to last much longer anyways.

    ¡°But¡­¡±

    Still worried over her need to complete her duties as my mate, Mana squeezed my hand with both of hers. But then Yua pushed a plate packed with food in front of her and a droplet of drool dripped down her chin.

    I watched her inhale the cloud of steam wafting off the meat like she were some cartoon character about to be lifted off her feet by its scent, only for her to then snatch the plate out of Yua¡¯s hands.

    ¡°Thank you, Big Sis!¡±

    Spinning her ass towards me, Mana plopped down on the bed and barely wasted a second to spear her fork through the beef and bringing it to her mouth. Smiling wryly, I went ahead and cast the Body Wash spell on her as she chewed on her first mouthful. Instantly, all the proof of our debauchery blinked away, only to be replaced by a bit of fat dripping onto Mana¡¯s tiny breast.

    ¡°So tasty!!!¡±

    Just that one bite of Yua¡¯s cooking had been several times more revitalizing than all the stamina potions in the world.

    Everything she brought, from the foods I knew to the ones I didn¡¯t, all looked so mouthwatering, but that only made me feel guilty.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Yua.¡±

    ¡°Hmm? What for?¡±

    Without even looking to the woman still servicing my cock, Yua continued putting more food onto my plate with a glowing smile.

    ¡°¡­ I¡¯ve been dying to taste your food since you told me you knew how to cook, but I never expected my first time trying your cooking to be like this.¡±

    Yua was the only one of the four of us still wearing clothes. What¡¯s more, Mana had been covered nearly head-to-toe in semen when she¡¯d walked in and Elane was still working her tongue on my cock.

    What a sight we must have been, but Yua only smiled and laughed as though none of it mattered.

    Due to how tired we all were after the fighting, the potion making and the several near-death experiences last night, I had Yua put off cooking and we all shared one of the pre-made meals we bought. Then, since Elane was still unconscious this morning, it didn¡¯t feel right to leave her out, so we put it off again. And now we¡¯re eating like this?

    This debauched scenery being set loose in the presence of her wonderful cooking was practically sacrilegious.

    ¡°Hehe. It¡¯s fine,¡± she laughed, handing me a plate. ¡°I¡¯m just glad I get to use one of the skills I learned in the slave house to make you happy!¡±

    While I was tempted to pull this wonderful woman across the bed in a way that would knock aside the rest of the food, just so I could plant a good long kiss on her wonderful lips, the lips of the blonde woman between my legs caused me to jerk and grit my teeth.

    ¡°E-Elane¡­!¡±

    Pressing my hand against the back of her head, against her golden hair, I slowly pushed her down further and further. She didn¡¯t resist in the least, if anything, she smiled right up until my size took away the ability from her. Soon enough, my cock slid down her throat and I was forced to press my eyes shut to prevent them from rolling back as her lower lip reached my sack.

    ¡°Eh?!¡± Yua gasped, eyes wide as she watched us.

    ¡°S-Sorry. We were talking, but¡­¡±

    ¡°Not that,¡± Yua said quickly. ¡°How is she able to take your entire penis into her mouth? I tried the best I could, but¡­¡±

    What¡¯s this? Is that a hint of jealousy I detect in her voice? Not from seeing Elane service me while Yua offered up her first homemade meal, but because Elane was the first to be able to deepthroat me?

    ¡°Mmph¡­ I¡¯m just relaxing my throat,¡­ Mmph,¡± Elane said before digging right back in.

    In an attempt to give her hips a break, Elane had taken the initiative to work me over with just her tongue, and she did so again each and every time she needed a break up until Mana joined the fun. So, technically speaking, she had more experience at this than Yua did.

    Still, with as many times as she¡¯s done this for me today, I had to wonder if she was too full to eat. She didn¡¯t even acknowledge that Yua brought food. She just continued trying to suck my sanity out of my body through my cock.

    ¡°Relax my throat¡­¡± Yua repeated, a curious flick to her tail. ¡°I thought I was, but¡­ Hmm.¡±

    Curiosity lighting up her emerald gaze as she watched Elane move, Yua eventually nodded to herself, packed a plate for Elane and set it beside her on the bed. She then divvied herself up a plate, stood on the bed and walked around us to sit on my free side.

    Setting hers on her lap, Yua switched between feeding me my dinner since my hands somehow filled themselves with both her and Mana¡¯s breasts, then taking small bites out of her own and, finally, watching Elane¡¯s hard work slowly force another orgasm out of me. Meanwhile, Mana greedily wolfed her food down and scrambled for seconds.

    Thankfully, Yua had no problem letting Elane stop for a while to eat. Like this, we shared our first meal as a family.

    And I am ecstatically happy to say that her cooking was the best I¡¯d ever tasted.

    ¡°Ahh! Ahhh! Ahhhhhh!... Husband, I can¡¯t. I can¡¯t! I¡¯m cumming! Ahhhh!¡±

    Elane clenched her teeth in a completely failed attempt to hide her passionate screams of indulgence. Her cobalt eyes rolling back, she collapsed on top of me as her orgasm made her convulse and as mine once more packed her asshole full of semen.

    Making use of the position to fondle her ass, I tried to focus on the time, but found my own HUD practically unreadable. It¡¯d been a while since we cleaned up dinner and the sky was dark, but that was about all I could say.

    ¡°Husband¡­ Husband¡­¡± Elane gasped, her breathing heavily labored. ¡°I can¡¯t anymore. I can¡¯t. I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t. My asshole is seriously going to break.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± I said, shifting my hands from her ass to wrap them around her sweat-drenched back. Her entire body was radiating heat. ¡°Surely, this has to be enough.¡±

    Patting her golden hair as she nuzzled her cheek into my chest, I looked to our left. Laying sprawled out in a very un-lady-like fashion with her arms up over her head and her legs splayed wide open, Mana snoozed away. Not long after dinner, she¡¯d tapped out and passed out the moment her head hit the pillow. And somehow, true to form for her, she slept straight through Elane¡¯s moaning like her ears were well and truly turned off for the night.

    Maybe we should have just stopped after we ate. Stopping for dinner did nothing but cause my stamina bar to max out again. Assuming they haven¡¯t already, the girls might end up seeing my regen trait as a source of evil soon if I don¡¯t control myself.

    ¡°We¡¯ve been at it almost all day. I¡¯ll ask Yua to¡­¡±

    ¡°No need,¡± claimed a voice I belatedly realized belong to the woman standing at the foot of the bed. Neither of us noticed her enter the room. ¡°Elane, you¡¯ve done more than enough to earn your forgiveness,¡± Yua said with a happy smile that burned bright under the moon. ¡°Welcome to the family.¡±

    ¡°Yaaay¡­ Finally, I¡¯m a married woman¡­¡±

    The heartbeat I felt through her breasts slowly steadied, relieved to hear the good news. Happy for her, and for us, I rubbed her back.

    Relieved myself, I noticed Yua lean in towards us, specifically to the connection our bodies maintained even after our mutual orgasm faded.

    ¡°Hmm,¡± she mused, touching a knuckle to her chin. ¡°So, a penis really can go in your butt¡­ Does it hurt?¡±

    ¡°Godsssss¡­. It feels¡­ So. Fucking. Amazing.¡±

    ¡°Hmm. I see. Well, then I¡¯m happy for you.¡±

    With those as her final words, Elane¡¯s eyes slowly fluttered shut and she fell under a deep veil of sleep. Had her lips not remained curled into a slight smile as her breathing steadied, I would have thought her body had given out entirely, but the only hit to her status was her nearly empty stamina bar.

    She was done with consciousness for the night. Not that I was going to ask her to, but she wasn¡¯t going to be waking anytime soon by my guess. She was simply that tired and, despite my stamina bar¡¯s contradictory automatic refilling, I was too.

    One thing I was forced to learn from all this, aside from memorizing all Elane¡¯s and Mana¡¯s weak points and the wonderful sounds of their moans, was that stamina potions seem less effective through repeated use. They never completely filled their stamina bars, but eventually, taking just one wasn¡¯t enough to perk them up enough to keep going. For the last couple of hours, they had to double up.

    Further testing would be required to prove this theory, but I was optimistic.

    ¡°Even I¡¯m shocked you lasted this long,¡± Yua said, smiling down at the snoozing Mana. ¡°Maybe I should have helped, too.¡±

    ¡°Haha. I¡¯m starting to think there¡¯s more to sex with you girls than just stamina.¡±

    Without a hint of apprehension in her expression, Yua carefully took hold of Elane¡¯s hips and moved her for me. My cock slipped out of Elane with a sensitive shudder and Yua slowly moved her off of me and onto the mattress beside Mana.

    Rolled onto her back, her massive breasts left to bathe in the moonlight pouring in through the window, I, for some inexplicable reason remembered a promise I¡¯d made earlier.

    Forcing myself back up into a sitting position, I pointed a finger at her.

    ¡°¡­ Material Creation.¡±

    Right before our eyes, a pair of pink, floral cups slowly took shape on Elane¡¯s once bare breasts as though several sets of invisible hands were together stitching them together. Thanks to all my extensive fondling, I didn¡¯t need to know her exact sizes, I merely went off of memory as the thickened, cotton-padded fabric took shape and her nipples and the bite marks I¡¯d left on them faded from sight.

    Tying it all off with the straps that wrapped around her shoulders and her back, I dropped my finger to prop myself up on my hands.

    Yua tilted her head curiously.

    ¡°What¡¯s that thing?¡±

    ¡°Something from my old world. That bra I kept telling her to wear¡­ I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯s not supposed to wear it when she sleeps, but it should help with her back problems¡­ You want one too?¡±

    ¡°Hmm? I¡¯d be happy to accept any gift from my mate and husband, but I don¡¯t need one.¡±

    ¡°You sure? Your boobs are pretty big, too, you know?¡±

    ¡°Hehehe. Thanks, but my back is fine.¡±

    Laughing, Yua crawled onto the bed and then onto me. Facing me as she sat on my lap, Yua showed no never mind in how my cock was still covered in the combined juices of the other two as she took it into both of her hands.

    Being polite, I discreetly cast Body Wash on the both of us, then the other two, before answering her call.

    ¡°Sorry, Yua, but I think I¡¯m about tapped out. Think you can wait until tomorrow?... Or maybe the day after that?¡±

    She giggled again, but shook her head. Tightening her hold on my cock just a little, she continued.

    ¡°Alex, I want us to get stronger. Both of us. I couldn¡¯t protect you against Tillmann. And I was barely able to do anything against Elane and Daddy. All of them just knocked me around like I was a child.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t really deny that, but¡­ I don¡¯t think you should be counting your father in that line up. He¡¯s just on a whole other level.¡±

    As I spoke, I let my hand sneak its way up her skirt. Tugging aside her panties, I slipped my middle and ring fingers into her pussy and answered her back honestly.

    ¡°But you¡¯re right. I was thinking the same thing.¡±

    I¡¯d made so many mistakes since coming here. Many of which nearly resulted in our deaths. Many of which could have been avoided if I¡¯d been stronger or if I used my magic better.

    ¡°Although, I think I need to focus on getting my head straight.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°I hesitated. In the forest. I shouldn¡¯t let my past morals affect how I fight, but at the same time, I worry about letting go. Like I said, my old life never put me in the sort of situation where taking a life was the only option. I didn¡¯t know how to handle myself and you ended up getting hurt because of it.¡±

    Smiling softly, Yua leaned in and kissed my lips.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I love about you. You really care,¡± she said and kissed me again. ¡°But as long as you learn that, sometimes, you just can¡¯t show mercy, everything will be fine.¡±

    ¡°Maybe¡­ But I feel like things are a little more complicated than that.¡±

    Smiling wryly at me, Yua leaned in for another kiss when her eyes shot open and her ears perked up. Guess she noticed my fingers searching out her g-spot.

    With a smirk, she raised a brow at me.

    ¡°I thought you said you were all tapped out? Why is your penis getting hard again?¡±

    I said nothing and disappeared the entirety of her clothing into my item box, rendering her completely nude. Still, her smirk remained.

    ¡°After all that, you still have energy?¡±

    ¡°You may be content in giving the floor to Elane and Mana, but don¡¯t you forget you¡¯re my first wife.¡±

    ¡°Hehehe. Then why don¡¯t you remind me, Master?~¡±

    Lifting her hips, her hands already on my swollen cock, she guided me between her labia and lowered herself once more without needing to look. I slipped inside and was overcome with her warmth. She tossed her head back, breathing out a gasp of air that sounded just a tiny bit relieved.

    Wrapping her arms around the back of my neck, Yua pressed her lips to mine and pushed us both onto the mattress. As she moved her hips for the both of us, I gave myself to her fully for one last run before we fell asleep in each other¡¯s arms.

    [Sex Master Class Has Reached Level 10]

    [New Ability Unlocked: Instant Orgasm]

    I wouldn¡¯t come to notice my lack of foresight until we woke up the next day. While I had been routinely cleaning the girls and myself with magic, I¡¯d completely forgotten to do the same to the bed.

    ¨C Volume 2 End ¨C

 Volume 3 - Chapter 1

    ¡°Come on, Alex. Move those hips!¡±

    Elane¡¯s cobalt blue eyes bore into me, a fiery challenge that made my blood pulse with excitement.

    ¡°Come on! I can¡¯t even feel that!¡±

    Her long, golden hair was tied back into a pony tail that bounced and bobbed just as much as her massive breasts did with each thrust, each jab and every swing. The simple black sports bra she wore nearly, and repeatedly, failed to contain her as she moved. A failure on my part for not making the fabric tight enough.

    Our bodies collided again, rupturing the air between us with more heat and passion than the overbearing sun above us could ever hope to emulate.

    ¡°Harder! Are you even trying?!¡±

    We collided again, my muscles straining from the effort. We¡¯d been going at it all morning and she showed no signs of slowing down. I, however, was starting to feel like I was going to need a stamina potion soon.

    How¡¯d she get so good at this so quickly? It¡¯s almost infuriating.

    ¡°Come on! Harder! Don¡¯t hold back and pound me!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m¡­ trying,¡± I gasped, wiping the sweat from my brow.

    For all she complained, I had her sweating buckets. Sunlight played across every inch of her body, showcasing the danger of her ample curves as they were suddenly impossible not to notice. Breasts heaving as she tried to catch her breath, she crooked a slender index finger under her bra¡¯s collar and tugged it hard, showing off even more of her cleavage in an attempt to cool herself.

    It was a daring provocation, considering how we were still in the throes of thrusting our bodies against one another, but the moment she unhooked her finger, I realized my mistake. Not only did the fabric of the bra not pull back into its original shape ¨C shoddy craftsmanship ¨C but she came at me again the moment she caught me looking.

    Tired as she was, she never took her eyes off me. No, she grinned. She knew she had the upper hand. She knew I was reaching my limit.

    Face hot, I countered her and held nothing back as I pushed my hips in and¡­

    ¡°No¡­ Like this,¡± she said, clicking her tongue. ¡°Do it like this.¡±

    Her sweaty hands slid along the hardened shaft she held and guided me into a new motion, coming at me once more. I grit my teeth, trying to ignore the sweetness of her breath as it clouded my mind, but I failed. As did her bra. Her left nipple slipped out to say hello as I pushed back, thrusting how she directed.

    ¡°Geez, Husband,¡± she taunted, her voice a siren¡¯s whisper that sent shivers down my spine. ¡°Are you even paying attention? I said like this!¡±

    I grunted. She grunted. The air between us was nothing but grunts and repeated collisions of failed passion.

    Drenched in sweat, our bodies collided again and again without end until one powerful push from Elane knocked my sword away from her. The disappointment was clear on the face of this bombshell of a woman, but I was seriously giving her my all.

    Her words stung, but I responded with a smoldering intensity, only for my sword to be knocked away from her before reaching its target yet again. She was giving me any number of chances to please her, but I couldn¡¯t keep up.

    I hated to see the disappointment scarring my wife¡¯s beauty, but I no longer stood a chance against her. Though I had dominated her just last night, here in this field, she was queen.

    Panting, gasping for breath, I said, ¡°Maybe¡­ Maybe if we took a break, I¡¯d¡­¡±

    ¡°Oh no. You aren¡¯t going to leave me waiting like this. Rah!¡±

    I gripped the shaft of my sword with both hands and prepared to defend myself, but she was on me before I could muster a proper block.

    Elane¡¯s battle axe crashed against my blade, sending crackling sparks into the grass at our feet. That one blow sent a rocketing force of dozens of percussive blasts rippling through my muscles to slam into my heart, nearly stopping it.

    I gasped, barely able to breathe as I stepped back. But as usual, Elane was relentless.

    My sword was knocked away from the heavy-handed blow, this time harder. This time throwing me off balance. Siezing the opportunity she made for herself, Elane slammed the handle of her axe into my nose, knocking me hard onto my ass. The sword fell from my hands.

    Pain flared in my face as my vision swam. The bright green grass I landed in slowly began to morph, taking on the shape of the burning sun up above. Then their positions switched and blurred together for a second or two before a figure shaded me, allowing my mind to refocus itself.

    Her lovely lips curled into a defiant smirk, Elane squat beside me, thumping the steel training axe I made for her on her shoulder as though it were as light as a feather. Though the tight black yoga pants she wore stretched themselves to their limits to contain her thickly-jiggling thighs, I couldn¡¯t keep my eyes on them as I looked up at her.

    ¡°So¡­¡± I said, checking my nose for blood. ¡°How¡¯d I do?¡±

    She shrugged. ¡°You¡¯ve gotten better, but not by much.¡±

    ¡°Shit¡­¡±

    It¡¯d been three months since Elane became my wife, and it¡¯s been three months since we¡¯ve started training together like this. And in all that time, that was the only compliment I ever heard from her. That wouldn¡¯t have been so bad had she just been my wife, but she¡¯d taken it upon herself to become my fighting instructor. At least, she was when it came to wielding weapons.

    Hand-to-hand combat training came from another teacher entirely.

    As Elane was now technically my slave, she shouldn¡¯t have had the ability, let alone the right, to hurt me thanks to the Slavery Spell¡¯s magic, but after my first wife Yua taught me the error of my ways via headbutt a while back, I came up with a grand idea that earned me an entire day¡¯s worth of my lovely cat girl¡¯s bedtime passion.

    To put it simply, slave or not, I could fight with the girls seriously so long as I gave them permission to hurt me. I¡¯d already given them the right to ¡°punish¡± me if and when I actually deserved it, but the fact that they were able to follow through with it without the Slavery Spell rebounding the pain back onto them meant we had a way to train our skills against one another without worry.

    The weapons we wielded were blunt, but they were as heavy as real blades, so injuries did frequently happen ¨C usually at my expense.

    Well, if we¡¯re being honest, almost entirely at my expense. I did manage to break one of Elane¡¯s fingernails once, but considering how I was aiming for her shoulder and not her hand, it wasn¡¯t really something to brag about.

    Regardless, thanks to a certain chestnut-haired beauty, we had a way to heal injuries whenever they were inflicted upon us (upon me).

    ¡°Yua,¡± Elane, smirking, called over her shoulder to said girl. ¡°Could you fix his nose?¡±.

    ¡°One-hundred thirty-six¡­ one-hundred thirty-seven¡­ one¡­ Hmm?¡±

    Said cat girl¡¯s ears flicked where she sat on the ground not too far from us. With her hands tucked away behind her head and knees pointing to the sky, Yua was embroiled in a good-old sweaty round of endless sit-ups.

    Seeing her there, an honest-to-Goddess smile on her face as she relentlessly added more definition to her abs, I couldn¡¯t help myself but to notice the slight shifting of her breasts as she continued moving.

    Unlike Elane, Yua claimed she didn¡¯t need the extra chest support, so all she wore up top was the same baggy t-shirt she usually wore when training.

    Thankfully, according to the girls, summer in this world wasn¡¯t too harsh, but it was still approaching. The temperature in Vierre was rising and it was no different out here in the middle of nowhere.

    So, the normally white fabric of her shirt was growing increasingly more transparent from all the sweating she was forcing upon herself. Whenever she lifted her torso and crunched her abs, a couple flashes of pink tips entered my field of view.

    Thankfully, though, she moved too fast to see anything distracting. Well, anything save for the pair of tight bike shorts that always seemed to show off her every intimate curve no matter how she moved.

    Though my track record with the girls may suggest otherwise, neither woman¡¯s outfit was made to satisfy my tastes. This was just how they preferred dressing when exercising. I simply made the clothes. I am innocent, I swear.

    And speaking of innocence, or lack thereof¡­

    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± I said, pulling Elane¡¯s bra back up to hide her nipple. ¡°I don¡¯t need any healing. Yet¡­ You can keep going, Yua.¡±

    ¡°Kay.~¡±

    Briefly looking down to her chest as though she hadn¡¯t realized her exposure, Elane smirked at me again, this time a little maliciously.

    ¡°If you¡¯re fine, get up and get moving. You know the rules.¡±

    ¡°Fine, fine.¡±

    I sighed, but accepted the hand she offered. Pulling myself back up onto my knees, I let myself fall face first into the grass and stopped a second to catch my breath. I then pushed against the soil and lifted myself into the push-up position. Then I sighed again.

    Back when Elane agreed to train me, this was one of her few rules. It was one of the same rules her old instructor-friend forced her to undergo when she was starting out as well. Simply put: whenever she lands a hit on me, I have to do a worrying number of pushups to make up for it. And that¡¯s before we started the next round.

    After three months of this, though, I was used to it. So, when I dipped into my two-hundredth pushup for the day, I was not at all surprised to feel the soft weight of a woman¡¯s ass on my upper back.

    Sticking her axe into the ground, Elane crossed her legs before leaning a hand on the small of my back and letting out a heavy breath as I lifted the both of us. While she may have looked like she was enjoying herself, and she was, she only started doing this because regular pushups weren¡¯t challenging enough for me anymore.

    Torturous as it was bearing both our weights, she at least helped out by keeping count. Unfortunately, building muscle in this world was just as slow, if not slower, than it was on Earth. So, I hadn¡¯t made all that much progress.

    My arms did at least look a little thicker, though.

    ¡°Come on, Husband,¡± Elane cooed, prodding my head with a finger. ¡°Keep up the pace. Or, what, would you prefer me to sit on you after I take these off?¡±

    At that intriguing comment, I heard the soft sound of a waistband stretching and slapping against even softer flesh. Knowing what this ass-lover was thinking, I laughed and did another push-up.

    ¡°No thanks. If you take your pants off, I won¡¯t be able to do anymore push-ups.¡±

    ¡°What?~ My, my, whatever do you mean?~¡±

    Elane giggled and I imagined her cheeks flushed a bit, but her feigned ignorance went completely over Yua¡¯s innocent head.

    ¡°One-hundred and fifty¡­ One-hundred and fifty-one¡­ He¡¯s saying if you sit on him like that, his penis will get hard and it¡¯ll get in the way.¡±

    ¡°Hoho, is that so? My ass will make you hard?¡±

    Feeling her grinning at me, I paused and dropped my head. As if her words were on the target, I heard the sudden thwack of an arrow striking wood.

    ¡°Big Bro, if Booby-Lady takes her clothes off, can I too?¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t,¡± Yua said, finishing up her sit-ups with a pleased sigh. ¡°You know Alex¡¯s rules about being naked outside. Besides, you¡¯ll make his penis hard, too.¡±

    ¡°Ehhh? But if Booby-Lady can be naked, why can¡¯t I?¡±

    ¡°She was just joking, Mana.¡±

    ¡°Hmph!¡±

    Oh, so Yua did get the joke? I apologized to her by forcing another push-up, despite the fact that my muscles felt like they were on fire and how my own sweat was blinding me.

    Shaking her head, Yua looked up to the top of the large tower standing in front of us. Atop its roughly ten-foot wall made of stone and wood was none other than Mana, my second wife, who was poking her head over the side to aim a cute pout down at us.

    While the tower was made to give off the same vibes as a watchtower, it was merely meant to provide her some elevation for her shooting practice. Since Mana needed to train her archery for combat rather than hunting, I used my Material Creation ability to make her an obstacle course that was down range of numerous wooden targets she could shoot at freely. The tower was a part of this.

    The thing was, we already knew her marksmanship to be well above average. Her skill with a bow saved our lives a few months back, but she really needed to work on moving and shooting at the same time. In a fight, she wasn¡¯t going to always be able to just stand there and fire off arrows as she liked, hence the monstrous structure before us.

    Attached to the tower, I built several small buildings, walls, fences, bridges, ladders, over-hanging bars and all sorts of things meant to simulate the sorts of cover and obstacles she could expect to face in a human city.

    She¡¯d gotten so good at zipping over and around these obstacles to fire her bow, that I was starting to feel like I wasn¡¯t trying hard enough myself. Though most weren¡¯t perfect shots, the targets were all filled with arrows.

    Thanks to the girls leveling a little during the guild missions we¡¯d been taking every week, I was able to boost Mana¡¯s Strength stat a little to make it easier to handle her bow, so she rarely missed these days. And, if the six archery-themed porcupines she was shooting at down the way were anything to go by, she was going to run out of practice ammo soon. Meaning our workout for the day was drawing to a close.

    ¡°¡­!¡±

    I dipped into another forced-push-up as sweat poured from my face. The ¨C ahem ¨C not at all impactful weight on my back had my arms wobbling from the strain it took to keep myself from crashing into the grass.

    ¡°How many was that?¡± I asked.

    ¡°Hmm? I don¡¯t know,¡± Elane chortled.

    ¡°What? You were supposed to be keeping count.¡±

    At the risk of collapsing, I looked over my shoulder only to find Elane shrugging, her ponytail waving listlessly in the breeze. The smile crooking her lips was nothing more than an act of war.

    ¡°I see how it is. You were just going to have me keep going and going.¡±

    ¡°No idea what you¡¯re talking about.~¡±

    I shook my head, letting my position hide my smile, and quickly dropped just my hips to the ground. Elane lost her balance and, just as she started to slip, I bucked her up into the air. Turning beneath her as she fell, I let her land on me and wrapped my arms around her, pinning her to my chest.

    She wriggled about, laughing as she tried to escape, but I held firm, even as the stray strands of her ponytail tickled my nose.

    ¡°Wah! Hey! Let go, you¡¯re all sweaty!¡±

    ¡°And who do you think made me like this?¡±

    ¡°¡­ Is it my ass?¡±

    ¡°Okay, I think you¡¯ve hit your quota for butt jokes today.¡±

    ¡°Hoho? Don¡¯t deny it,¡± she said, grinding her hips into my crotch. The move was super effective.

    ¡°You little¡­ If you¡¯re going to be like that, then our next match is going to be my axe against yours.¡±

    ¡°Hahaha! You¡¯re going to punish little ol¡¯ me by handicapping yourself? Fine, you¡¯re on!¡±

    Elane gave up her struggling to laugh, only slightly at my expense. I hoped. It was painfully obvious to all that I was even less experienced with an axe than I was a sword.

    Since I had the combat classes of Swordsman and Axe Warrior, I made sure to train both to broaden my capabilities. I even had Mana teach me a bit of archery so my ranged options weren¡¯t exhausted if and when I ran out of magic-juice.

    My other combat classes were starting to feel a bit left out, but since Elane only ever used axes, the only way she could teach me would be for me to fight her with other weapons of my choice. Likewise, while Yua had some experience with weapons herself, she mainly focused on how to fight against them, not with them. So, I was more or less on my own there.

    And speaking of Yua¡­

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± she said, crossing her arms under her soft bosom as she stood over our heads. ¡°Alex already promised to fight me next.¡±

    Yua¡¯s face was nothing more than that of a beautifully serene woman. Sweaty, but serene. However, neither of us could mistake the sharp snap of her tail as she spoke. She wasn¡¯t going to take no for an answer here and we both knew why.

    ¡°Alright, Alright,¡± Elane said, brushing my arms off her to stand. She patted the dirt off herself and turned to help me up. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll head for the bath first.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Yua said, her smile twice as bright and now accentuated by a playful flick of her tail.

    Again, we both knew that trying for another match after I fought Yua would be pointless ¨C for a couple of reasons. These same reasons were why Yua usually sparred with me last.

    Hauled back to my feet by Elane, I gave her a quick kiss before she turned to head back inside. She took maybe one, maybe two steps towards the door to our mansion in the middle of nowhere and, as I watched her bubbly butt jiggle as she walked, I felt she needed a bit of payback for the grinding earlier.

    Cupping my hand to match her shape perfectly, I leaned in and smacked her ass. Unfortunately, I was not able to enjoy her soft bottom for more than a split second as the sudden jump her shoulders gave carried her another step away. She stopped, turned her cobalt blue eyes back to me and smirked.

    Smirking right back, I turned back to Yua.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s¡­!¡±

    Before I could finish, a palm slammed into my backside with all the force of an exploding star, launching me straight into Yua¡¯s waiting arms.

    Or, in other words, a certain blonde wife of mine smacked my ass back and I pretended to collapse into Yua¡¯s arms as she shook her head.

    Looking back, finding Elane wriggling the fingers of her right hand at me with a smirk, I let a look of phony shock play on my face.

    ¡°How dare you,¡± I said, rubbing the stinging cheek. ¡°I sit on that, you know?¡±

    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±

    Elane flung her hand back, waving off my stupidity as she left for the mansion. I¡¯d prepared the bath ahead of time with my magic, so the water should be just about warm enough to soothe all those bruises I didn¡¯t ¨C couldn¡¯t ¨C give her.

    I shook my head and took Yua¡¯s hand. As promised, we put some distance between us and Mana¡¯s tower and, now with a good ten feet separating us, faced each other.

    ¡°You sure you don¡¯t want me to heal you first?¡±

    ¡°Nah. I can handle this.¡±

    ¡°Mmn¡­ Okay, but don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you.¡±

    She bowed to me, a custom of her people when preparing to spar, and I returned the gesture. And when she came back up, she raised her fists in front of her, parted and bent her knees slightly, and suddenly, this soft woman was as solid as a mountain. I tossed my sword into my item box and did the same. Axe and sword training were done for the day, now was the time to hone my fists.

    Yua¡¯s eyes narrowed, becoming as sharp as a pair of emerald daggers as she sized me up. I had no doubt she was planning out the fight before it even started.

    It was always strange facing off against her. Before we¡¯d start, there would always be nothing but love in her eyes, but from the moment she bowed, there was nothing in front of me but a warrior intent on fighting as though her life depended on it. There was nothing left of my loving wife.

    Well, except, maybe for the excited tail swishing about on her backside.

    We waited. There was no set signal for us to begin. No gong or starting pistol, it usually just came down to who moved first. Sometimes there¡¯d be a twitch, a feint of muscle movement to goad the other into attacking. Sometimes it was as simple as the impatient chirp of a bird cutting through the silence. Until then, until something set us off, we waited.

    I took a moment to ready myself for pain, both received and given, and wondered if she ever did the same.

    Yua¡¯s ears flicked, but she herself remained rigid. The flick had come from the sound of Mana swooping down off her tower to land on the top of another building, only for her bowstring to let out a strangled cry as she pulled it taut.

    I drew in a breath and slowly let it out through my nose.

    *Twang*

    The arrow loosed and a second later¡­

    *Thok!*

    The steel tip collided with the target downrange, and Yua rushed me.

    ¡°Raaah!¡±

    Her feet blurred and she was on me in a second, launching a fist straight into where my cheek had been moments ago. I ducked, dashed a step to the side and, without mercy for she would show me none, I sent a straight right back at her.

    She moved her head to the side to avoid the attack, knocking the back of her forearm into mine to throw my punch even further off course and, as I planned, she followed through with a heavy punch to my gut. When her strike sank into my stomach, she immediately twisted her fist into a proper follow up that brought out even more pain.

    I crumpled forwards, lurching, and let out a small dry heave only once. Then out of her view, I smiled.

    With our similar Strength stats as a reference, and now my experience, I knew I could tank her punch. I remained rooted, digging in my feet, and locked my hands around her dainty, powerful wrist. I held onto her and, dare I say, my smile broadened a bit when she clucked her tongue. She probably thought I¡¯d dodge.

    Before I could follow through, though, the smile faded entirely when she grabbed hold of my shoulder with her free hand and jumped over the leg I stretched to pivot her into a body slam. Her slender body snaked around my midsection as she kicked out the back of my knee and threw me over her shoulder.

    I flew a short distance, landing on my feet, but momentum carried me further, forcing me to roll onto my stomach before I skidded to a stop.

    ¡°Raah!¡±

    Another punch, this time aimed where the back of my head had been until I jumped away. Momentum carried her fist forward, barreling straight into the soil and grass, leaving a hefty dent in it with an even heftier boom. Had the ground not been so soft and full of life, she might have shattered it like glass.

    Unphased by her missed strike, Yua jumped back up into her stance. A fierce smile spread across her lips.

    Without waiting for me to collect myself, she dashed. Once again, her fist came flying straight for my head. She was so much like her father that it almost bothered me.

    I ducked, then blocked the follow-up knee she tried to send into my chin. One hand pushed her knee down, while I blocked the next jab with my forearm. As I nearly lost my balance beneath the full weight of her force, Yua cut loose with a flurry of quick punches. It was all I could do to block and force myself to ignore the pain re-igniting the fire in my forearms.

    Until¡­

    I noticed it. The flurry came at me in simple form. A right hook, then a left, then another right. Then another left, followed by yet another left before she started over. Somewhere along the line of her onslaught, and thinking she had the advantage with me on the defense, Yua¡¯d fallen into a pattern.

    Waiting, enduring, I bore the pain until the next right came at me and I ducked. Her punch flew over my head, leaving her wrist easy to grab. She tried to pull back her fist, but I yanked her towards me and sent a punch of my own into her stomach. I made sure to twist my fist the moment I made contact, just like she taught me.

    She lurched, gritting her teeth, but seeing as her right hand had been taken prisoner, she jumped, twisting her body in midair to launch a kick I had no choice but to tank with my shoulder.

    Her shin slammed into me, forcing me to let go. It almost felt like she¡¯d dislocated my shoulder, an experience I¡¯d had with her a few times now. But, clenching my teeth to better bear the pain, I forced my mind to work a mile a minute for my next move.

    With Yua still mid fall after her kick, her feet were nowhere near the ground. Pushing off the ground, I threw myself under her. Grabbing her ankle with one hand and pushing it higher into the air, I shot up, letting the shoulder she just kicked carry her even higher.

    She tumbled backwards, arms reaching for something to catch herself on. But before she could find purchase, I slipped both my hands around her slender waist and grabbed her.

    She realized my intention from this hold immediately, but nothing could stop me from using a little of my Earthly-knowledge and powerslamming her onto the ground.

    ¡°¡­!¡±

    Her eyes flew open upon impact and her lungs were forced to expel all the oxygen they held. She clenched her teeth, still ready to fight back, but I was already on the move again.

    Grabbing both her ankles, I wrenched them free from her control and pushed them up and over her head. Forcing her body to bend in a way that would have made most people cry out in agony, I made the tips of her toes touch the grass above and by her ears. Limber as she was, I knew this wouldn¡¯t hurt her too much, but it sure as hell stopped her from resisting.

    Ever the fighter, she struggled, but from this position she couldn¡¯t do anything more.

    Feeling confident, I lowered my hold to the backs her knees so I could rest my chin on her crotch, which was now upturned and facing the sun as we panted in unison.

    ¡°Well, well, well,¡± I said. ¡°Looks like I finally beat you.¡±

    Day after day, fight after fight, I¡¯d lost every time we faced one another. Her years of training and her genuine love for the fight had me beat, sure, but I had something she didn¡¯t: perfect memory.

    Thanks to the trait gifted to me by the Goddess, I was able to memorize every move Yua made in a fight and easily make it my own. Her every hit backed by her speed and ferocity meant I¡¯d been handed many a bruise in our time together, but I was catching on quickly.

    ¡­ Or so I would have thought.

    ¡°Hmm? Is that what you think?¡±

    ¡°Obviously,¡± I said, widening her legs for her. ¡°You can¡¯t move like this, right?¡±

    ¡°Maybe,¡± she giggled, her cheeks reddening, possibly from the strain. I could feel her muscles fighting me even now. ¡°But you¡¯re forgetting one thing.¡±

    ¡°And what¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Easy¡­ My pussy is wet.¡±

    ¡°Oh?¡±

    A smirk played at my lips. I lifted my chin so I could see her better and, sure enough, the shorts she wore were tight enough to see a very defining crease right where my chin had been. And the already black fabric there was noticeably darker, almost shining with its dampness.

    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    One reason why Elane left so Yua could have her turn was because Yua really loves fighting me. Not fighting monsters, not fighting the other members of her tribe, not fighting Elane or Mana, just me. Our fights were simply different to her. And proof of this was now staring me in the face.

    ¡°Looks like I¡¯m going to get my reward early, then.¡±

    I let go of her knees, and slid my hands down her thighs, and over her rounded bottom until my thumbs pressed against the squishy softness of her labia. With the slightest of tugs, I spread that alluring crease in her shorts.

    ¡­ And then a fist slammed into my face.

    The world flipped upside down. In her position, she couldn¡¯t have put her full strength into the blow, but it had me falling flat on my back. Grabbing at my nose, I failed to stop her from straddling me. The fierce look in her eyes said she was still raring for battle.

    She pulled back her right elbow, aiming a punch that I blocked the second she loosed it. She then threw another. And another. I blocked them all with my forearms, but then she surprised me by sending another one into my gut. It was the same spot I let her hit earlier.

    Feeling her fist grind itself into my abs, I grit my teeth, trying to keep last night¡¯s dinner from showering us both, and reflexively moved to cover myself there as well. Only, I realized the same moment that this was a mistake.

    Now it was her turn to grin and, unlike me, Yua wasn¡¯t the type to gloat. She pulled back and leaned her entire torso into punching my unguarded nose. Still trying not to wretch, I had no time to block.

    Her fist collided, forcing more stars to appear above us despite the early morning hour, and my head slammed back into the grass. Thankfully, she didn¡¯t knock me out, but the searing pain and the familiar smell of iron trickling down my chin told a not-so-epic tale of my loss.

    Yua raised her fist for another strike, but stopped herself the moment she saw the blood.

    ¡°Hehe. What¡¯s this about winning? I know you remember the rules, Alex. The fight isn¡¯t over until one of us bleeds or is knocked out.¡±

    ¡°Tch, cheater,¡± I said, my voice muffled as I held my nose. ¡°Distracting me with your body is cheating.¡±

    ¡°Nope,¡± she shook her head. ¡°Anything goes in a fight.¡±

    Yua smiled again, this time a little wryly. Thankfully, the fierce Yua was gone and, in her place, was the same loving woman who was always quick to heal whatever injury she inflicted.

    She lifted the front of my shirt and slipped her hands under and onto my chest before incanting her ability.

    ¡°Healing Punch.¡±

    A warm green light emitted from under my shirt and, slowly but surely, the pain in my nose started to fade. Thankfully, she didn¡¯t break it this time. Having her reset my nose before the healing always hurt worse than the actual punch that broke it.

    When enough of the pain faded and I no longer felt the need to hold my face, I let my arms fall to my sides to catch my breath.

    ¡°You fight too defensively, you know? You need to go on the attack more often, instead of just reacting to me.¡±

    ¡°So you noticed what I was doing?¡±

    ¡°Pfft. Obviously,¡± she said, and she flicked my forehead. ¡°I¡¯m more experienced at this. You can¡¯t expect to spend a whole fight reacting to a master Monk and expect it to work out.¡±

    ¡°¡­ Are you calling yourself a master?¡±

    Again, I¡¯d earned myself another wry smile and another forehead flick. But her tail swished playfully.

    ¡°I¡¯m serious. You need to get used to the feeling of hitting me. You still flinch whenever you do.¡±

    ¡°Haha. Well, sparring or not, the idea of getting better at hitting my wife is¡­¡±

    Before I could finish, she leaned forward, letting her breasts press themselves flat into my chest, all so she could plant a kiss on me. Her peachy lips danced with mine for only a moment or two before she pulled back. Unlike mine, her breathing was already steady.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think of me as your wife when we spar, or you¡¯ll never win. Just think of me as a bad guy. Or a monster.¡±

    ¡°You say that like you want me to win.¡±

    ¡°Because I do,¡± she giggled. ¡°If you get better than me, then I can improve myself by fighting you. It¡¯s easier to increase your skill as a fighter when your opponent is clearly superior.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± I laughed, pretending to be offended. ¡°I see how it is. This is all so you can have more fun fighting. But¡­ I suppose you¡¯re right. You won¡¯t be getting any better fighting a weakling all the time.¡±

    Yua raised a brow at this, smirking. She turned up her palm and offered it to me. I took it and we stood together. Not wasting my chance, I threw an arm around her slender waist and pulled her in for another kiss, but she dodged it as though we were still fighting.

    ¡°I¡¯m serious,¡± she said. ¡°But I also want you to get better for your own sake.¡±

    ¡°I am getting better, I think. I landed, what, two or three punches this time? That sounds like improvement to me.¡±

    She exhaled sharply through her nose, but with her smiling, it was hard to say what she was really thinking. Although, the way she suddenly wouldn¡¯t look me in the eye did suggest there was something more to her smile.

    ¡°What?¡±

    ¡°N-Nothing. It¡¯s just¡­¡±

    ¡°Come on, give it to me straight, doc. What¡¯s my problem?¡±

    Truth be told, I knew I wasn¡¯t getting much better. Landing a few blows on her, the best fighter I¡¯ve ever seen (excluding her father) sounded like I¡¯d progressed by leaps and bounds, but we¡¯d been training like this for three months now. I¡¯ve memorized her moves and can perform most of them in a fight, limited as I was to my male biology. I even had her help me stretch and limber up my body, just so I could do so. And two or three hits was still all I was able to accomplish.

    In the grand scheme of things, that sounded rather pitiful.

    ¡°Um,¡± she started, taking a few sheepish glances at me. ¡°You don¡¯t really seem into it. Fighting, I mean.¡±

    ¡°Well, like I said, I don¡¯t particularly enjoy the idea of hitting you. Or Elane for that matter.¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­¡±

    She turned away from our embrace and, the moment her ears fell flat against her hair, I pulled her right back in. Resting my chin on her head and holding her now with both arms, I spoke the honest truth right beside her pointed, furry ears.

    ¡°I don¡¯t hate fighting you. I just don¡¯t like hurting you. Where I¡¯m from, men protect their wives.¡±

    I materialized a small health potion from my item box, but she pushed it away.

    ¡°And where I¡¯m from,¡± she said, turning to face me in our embrace. ¡°The strong protect the weak, regardless of which of us is stronger.¡± Yua pressed me with another kiss before adding, ¡°And you¡¯re never going to be the stronger one if you keep holding back against me.¡±

    ¡°Holding back? But I¡¯m not.¡±

    Yua and Elane aside, holding back did nearly get me killed in the past. Nearly got her and Mana killed, too. She helped me realize my error back then. That was part of why we¡¯ve been training so hard, but for all the sparring we¡¯ve been doing, I never held back. This wasn¡¯t just because I needed to learn, but because I knew she¡¯d be upset if I took it easy on her.

    Or, what, was I actually so bad at this that she thinks I¡¯m holding back?

    ¡°Maybe not,¡± she said. ¡°But there¡¯s something¡­ off about you when you fight.¡±

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s¡­¡±

    ¡°Hey, Big Bro!¡± Mana called, waving to us from the top of her tower. ¡°I¡¯m out of arrows. Can I stop now?¡±

    Yua and I looked at each other and laughed. Like she needed permission to take a break.

    ¡°Sure. Come on down. We¡¯re about done too, right?¡±

    ¡°Yup.¡±

    We could talk about Yua¡¯s misgivings later. Now we all needed a moment to relax.

    Circling around to the tower, I looked up, intent only on helping Mana down in case she actually managed to tire herself running about. Only, when she stepped onto the ladder I grafted into the side of the tower and her skirt fluttered, I spotted something any male would be remiss to notice.

    Unlike Elane and Yua, Mana refused to wear any kind of pants or shorts, claiming they were too constricting. So, when I caught a glimpse up her skirt and got an eyeful of a cute little pink slit instead of fabric, I shook my head.

    Once she noticed I was waiting for her, Mana released the ladder and fell into my waiting arms to force a princess carry. I took the liberty of disappearing her bow and quiver into my item box for both our sakes. I then looked her dead in the eye.

    Mana, though, only smiled up at me. There was a playful twitch to her ear, but her tail betrayed a hint of worry in how it moved.

    ¡°Mana¡­ Why aren¡¯t you wearing panties?¡±

    ¡°Because panties are stupid and feel gross.¡±

    Not even going to try denying it, eh? I don¡¯t know if I should praise her honesty or sigh.

    ¡°Mana, how many times do I have to¡­¡±

    As per usual when we caught her running around in varying states of undress, Yua began to lecture her about the rules I laid out for her in the past regarding her formerly nudist ways, but I went ahead and stopped her.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, I guess. We¡¯re about to take a bath anyways.¡±

    ¡°¡­ If you say so.¡±

    With a sigh that easily could have been mistaken as a grunt of annoyance, Yua gave up easily and started towards the mansion door Elane left open for us.

    Yua was always a stickler for what few rules I actually asked the girls to follow, and Mana loved to seize every opportunity to break this one. Normally, she was only allowed to indulge in her nudist upbringing when in bed, in the bath, when visiting her home village and when playing in the forest behind our home, but she was quick to find ways and times to undress without us noticing. Usually, this just meant she went commando for a few hours before we noticed.

    She clearly wasn¡¯t in any of those sorts of situations, but she was close enough to us for it not to matter. Besides, we¡¯ve been training for hours and I only just noticed. And it¡¯s not like any prying male eyes are around to see anyways.

    Sensing that I¡¯d given in, Mana beamed up at me and threw her arms around my neck. The moment a happy swish took to her tail, I knew there was no point in complaining. As penance, she could go collect her arrows by herself later.

    After Elane and Mana became my brides, I took it upon myself to upgrade our little cabin in the middle of nowhere into the mansion we shared today. And one of many revisions was the cozy little underground bathroom I¡¯d made for us.

    Now just as resplendent as the rest of the place, according to me and my limited architectural knowledge, the bathroom was now fit for a king. Using Material Creation to its limits, I compressed and styled the wood walls until they gave off a shine that easily could have been mistaken as a fine polish.

    Likewise, the tiled floor was made of real stone sourced from the mountain resting beside our home. I¡¯d been attempting to mine and search the mountain for ore and gems, but found only rock, so I put it to good use wherever I could. But a good portion of what I gathered went straight into the bath itself.

    Made of pure stone and polished to a mirror shine, the bathtub stretched across the entire room. Now large enough for ten people to easily fit inside, not only did just filling it act as a good source of training for my magic, but Elane had plenty of room to stretch herself out.

    Leaning against the tub¡¯s backwall, with her pony tail undone and resting her head on a folded towel, Elane lazed about in the steaming bath. Her mountainous breasts floated atop the water, wet and shining in their dampness, leaving her the epitome of nonchalance. With her eyes closed, she didn¡¯t seem to notice our arrival until I stepped inside and kicked off my boots.

    Whereas Mana and Yua were brought up living in what was essentially a nudist colony, I¡¯d once thought that Elane would have had trouble adapting to life with us after living the stuffy life of a noblewoman for so long, but she didn¡¯t so much as bat an eye once we started to undress.

    On the contrary, actually, her eyes opened a little further.

    ¡°Big Bro,¡± Mana called. ¡°Could you make me fly again?¡±

    Smiling back to the creature born of unbridled cuteness in my arms, I pointed a finger at her and with just a touch of telekinesis, Mana was floating through the air.

    Without a word, but with great ease, a pair of invisible hands lifted Mana up out of my arms and floated her high enough into the air for her to touch the ceiling. Naturally, this allowed gravity to tug at her skirt, showing off more of her mischief, but I was in complete control as she began circling the room.

    After a great many failures with just trying to use my Lesser Telekinesis ability, I put more effort into training it along with everything else. Now, after many test flights with non-Mana-shaped objects, I could easily assist Mana in her want to swim through the air as she flailed her arms cutely.

    This doubled as not only more training for me, but, I hoped, it might help her to someday get over her fear of heights.

    Also, she just enjoyed the sensation of being floated all over the place.

    But training for the day was done, so I adjusted her trajectory and had her fly over to Yua, who waited with a wry smile. Once the smaller girl flew overhead, Yua reached up and quietly unbuttoned Mana¡¯s skirt. The fabric slipped off with ease, leaving her bottom bare. Then, after folding the skirt and setting it on the table, Yua helped to pull off Mana¡¯s shirt.

    Now fully and completely ready for her bath, Mana flew through the air and, slowly, I lowered her into the bath beside Elane. Her tail flicked when her toes touched the heated waters, but she was more than used to bathing this way by now. She sank deeper into the waters and almost instantly, a look of profound relief nearly caused her to wilt on the spot. Her big blue eyes closed and, all at once, she was at peace with the world.

    If left to her own devices, she would have slunk to rest on one of the bath¡¯s side walls to laze the day away, but she was not alone.

    ¡°What are you doing way over there, Kitty?¡± Elane said, cheeks flushed pink in the steam. ¡°Come over here.¡±

    ¡°Eh? Wah!¡±

    Her rapture put on hold, Mana squirmed aimlessly as Elane reached into the water and lifted the petite girl up into her arms with so much ease, you¡¯d think she was lifting a bar of soap.

    ¡°Hey! Put me down!¡±

    ¡°As you wish!¡±

    Elane plopped Mana back down into the water, making sure she landed safely between her own legs, against her will, kind of. There, now returned to the heat of the water, Mana wilted all over again, causing her head to fall back into the blonde¡¯s massive bosom.

    However, the bath had already done its job in washing away Elane¡¯s fatigue, so she did not miss this new opportunity.

    Smiling rather cutely herself, Elane slipped her hands up under Mana¡¯s shoulders and completely cupped the girl¡¯s tiny breasts in her palms. When Mana didn¡¯t refute her and remained placid as she enjoyed the heat, Elane started to knead and grope the little buds.

    Meanwhile, the only part of Mana that showed she was even aware of what was happening to her was the occasional flick of her ear.

    The two had grown rather close in the last few months as they spent more and more time together. And, no doubt, this was primarily due to Elane constantly trying to hug her, squealing about this cat girl¡¯s cuteness.

    Although, this sort of ¡°hugging¡± only came into play after Mana joined us in bed during my first night with Elane. The blonde groped her that night just as much as I did, and Mana¡¯s lack of complaints only fueled the action to repeat itself.

    So, even putting aside the cat-kin¡¯s strange disregard towards the concept of someone touching her chest, this had quickly become the norm for these two. It was no longer a strange sight for either Yua or I to walk into a room, only to find them like this.

    Elane¡¯s cheeks slowly reddened in the steamy water as she groped and kneaded the cat girl¡¯s tiny mounds. Meanwhile, Mana just accepted her fate with a cozy smile and leaned back, using the comparably more explosive mounds behind her as a pillow.

    Shaking her head at the two, Yua smiled as she lifted her shirt up over her head, revealing her own wonderful pair before nearly spoiling the moment when her ears shot to attention. She let out a small sigh as she bent over to collect the bra Elane left on the bathroom floor.

    It was a brief movement that took her less than a second, but in that second, when her shapely backside was pointed my way, I remembered my role here and undressed myself instantly by removing my clothes with my item box.

    Now with myself fully bared and ready for a soak, I made my way to the bath. Elane smirked at the sight of me, her cobalt eyes showing no remorse when they briefly flit down to my monster. Nor did I shy away from letting her look as I lifted a leg over the obnoxiously high wall of the bath to join her.

    The bath was indeed still very warm, but by the time I lowered myself into the mostly still waters, my bruises and pains were already gone. So, instead, I was greeted not by relaxation, but by the embrace of another. I threw an arm around Elane¡¯s shoulders, making sure to get back at her for stealing my Mana by cupping her own mountainous breast myself she drew a sharp breath through her nose and, very suddenly, it was like she was the sole reason why the water continued to steam. She was so hot.

    The smirk never removed itself from her luscious lips, but she did lean in to kiss me. Then, braving Elane¡¯s hold on her breasts, Mana lifted herself just enough to give me a kiss as well before falling right back into place.

    And it was there that I got so lost in the softness of this odd three-way groping session that I missed the sight of Yua undressing.

    Having already neatly folded her things, Yua started towards us. All she did was walk across the room, but the gentle, heavy swaying curves of her hips gave off the air of a saunter that wouldn¡¯t have looked out of place on a model strutting down a runway as dozens of cameras snapped photos of her beauty at every angle imaginable.

    But it was the steamy look in her emerald eyes that made it difficult to place what sorts of risqu¨¦ clothing she was supposed to be sporting for this little one-woman fashion show.

    Or, perhaps, she was already wearing it: her birthday suit.

    I was in the lap of luxury.

    By the time I noticed the rapid rise and fall of her stiffened nipples, Yua was already lifting a leg into the water. Only, she did not sit with the rest of us just yet. No, she stood before us, before me, her legs parted as if intending for me to look. And, helpless as I was as a man before her beauty, I did. And what I saw there, nestled between her plump thighs was proof of the second reason why Elane chose not to get in the way of our fight.

    The bathwater only ran up to Yua¡¯s knees, but she was absolutely drenched. She was a ravenous beast just barely contained within patience.

    Yua really, really loves fighting with me. And she¡¯s been waiting for this moment since the first punch.

    ¡°¡­!¡±

    Unable to bear her mounting arousal anymore, Yua squatted in front of me to reach a hand into the water. Her fingers quickly and carefully wrapped themselves around my monster which, thanks in part to Elane and Mana, was already rock-hard and waiting for her.

    Biting her lip, Yua lowered herself further into the water without ever registering its heat. It took her only a second to guide me to her. My lower head slipped between her labia and, the moment she was ready, she slammed her hips down, burying me to the root inside her.

    ¡°Nng¡­ Ahn!¡±

    As she bore with the sensation of something so thick penetrating her, and as the water around us sloshed about, giving reason to why the bath¡¯s walls were so tall, I too bore the sensation of an even greater heat.

    Without letting go of Elane, I set my free hand on Yua¡¯s hip to help hold her up as her head fell back in ecstasy. Her pussy tightened, experiencing the tiniest of orgasms in her heightened, poist-fight sensitivity.

    She was still for only a moment or two, but when the orgasm faded and our eyes met again, she started to move for the both of us.

    As she gyrated her hips, spinning my cock around inside her however she pleased, I surrendered control of my own pleasure to her. As a proper mate should.

    I dared a look between us, peering through the turbulent waves she made to spy on our connection, but my line of sight was quickly blotted out when she leaned into me, pressing her breasts into my chest.

    By now, we were masters of each other¡¯s bodies. So, while she was the one seeking pleasure, it took her little effort to make sure I enjoyed it too. Not that she needed to try.

    The water muffled the sounds of our movements, but did nothing to stop her sultry moans from wreaking havoc on my ear as she pressed her chin to my shoulder.

    ¡°Oh, Alex¡­ Mmnn.~¡±

    I clenched my jaw, refusing to let my pleasure explode before her. The mere idea that this woman actively seeks me out for this, instead of the other way around as it usually was, had my heart and my desire to make her proud burning.

    Beside us, unbothered by Yua¡¯s soft moans, Elane finally released Mana¡¯s breasts, but only to reach behind her for a bar of soap. Her own skin was as flawless as ever, save for the scar running between her breasts, so I knew at once that the soap wasn¡¯t for her.

    Likewise, despite noticing her chance to escape, Mana still did nothing but lift herself out of the water to sit on Elane¡¯s thigh. The blonde did so love to spoil my little cat girl by helping her wash and Mana had been perfectly tenderized into compliance by now.

    I let go of Elane so she could lather up and moved my now free hand to Yua¡¯s breast to give her a soft squeeze before reaching into the water to caress a part of her I knew she¡¯d enjoy more. Yua met me half way by quickening the rise and fall of her hips.

    ¡°Booby-Lady, why do you always wash my boobies first?¡±

    ¡°This is just how humans wash,¡± Elane said, lying through her teeth as she pressed her soapy hands back onto my girl. ¡°How did your training go, Kitty?¡±

    ¡°It was¡­ ng¡­ fine. But it¡¯s hard to aim when you¡¯re being all noisy with Big Bro.¡±

    ¡°Hoho? Well, that¡¯s something you¡¯re going to have to get used to.¡±

    ¡°Mm¡­¡±

    Pulling my attention away from Yua for only a second, I watched as Elane began to scrub Mana¡¯s back while Mana herself enjoyed the massage. At least she was taking her cleanliness seriously.

    ¡°Alex. Alex¡­ Oh! Oh, oh, oh¡­! Nggh!¡±

    As if offended by my wondering eyes, Yua¡¯s pussy tightened around me again as she drew out another orgasm for herself. I moved my hands off her softness and held them around her back. She hugged me back, around the neck, bearing her own pleasure. Her tail smacked the surface of the water.

    She heaved a few sweet, heavy breaths into my ear before cupping my cheeks in hand. Our eyes met and not a second later, she stole another kiss.

    Ever the generous lover, Yua continued to move her trembling hips, tracing the perfect arc that brought a mind-numbing pleasure to every inch of my shaft. The bathwater swayed and splashed against her mounds as they bobbed on its surface.

    Soon enough, the pleasure turned to a wonderful torture the longer we kept at it. Bathtime was the only time she needed me to control myself.

    ¡°Go¡­ ahead,¡± she said, still breathless. ¡°You don¡¯t have to hold back anymore. I can feel your penis throbbing.¡±

    Her sultry words cut right through my reason like a diamond-tipped blade and I reached my limits.

    I burst inside her, filling her womb with my color. Yua twitched, gasping with every little involuntary thrust my hips gave as they sought more of her pleasure. The inevitable explosion I¡¯d been prolonging came and, without realizing I¡¯d been holding her above the water, we both sank to the bottom of the tub.

    With every spurt my prolonged orgasm forced upon me, her pussy only tightened. Be it because we were in the bath and she didn¡¯t want to dirty the water, or because she was simply greedy, it didn¡¯t matter. She wouldn¡¯t let me pull out.

    When our orgasms faded, Yua collapsed into my arms one last time, her heated breath nearly out-steaming the bath. And there she clung to me, as if for dear life, and slowly, the waters slowly grew calmer.

    After our morning sparring matches, and her subsequent rewards for winning, she was usually extra affectionate. Usually.

    ¡°Alex¡­,¡± she said, still breathing heavily as she pulled back to meet my gaze. ¡°We need to talk about your training.¡±

    Now that she¡¯d cum, she was back to business as usual. Thankfully, she didn¡¯t have my sexual stamina, or we¡¯d never leave the bath.

    ¡°I take it he lost again?¡± Elane said, her soapy hands creeping lower and lower on Mana¡¯s back.

    ¡°Unfortunately,¡± I sighed, snatching the bar of soap from Elane to start soaping up Yua. ¡°I feel like I have the basics of fighting down, but I¡¯m not getting any better at the actual fighting part.¡±

    It was true. We fought, we practiced, we trained, I learned every move Yua could think to teach me and learned what limited weapon techniques Elane and Mana could share. I learned it all and I learned it quick, and yet, I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯m fighting any better now than I was two months ago.

    My Memorization trait brought me this far, much faster than should have been possible, but it¡¯s almost like my body can¡¯t keep up.

    ¡°That¡¯s what I mean,¡± Yua said, taking the soap I handed to her. With my hands all lathered, I started washing her shoulders before slipping lower to her breasts, then to her arms. She returned the favor by washing my chest as she spoke. ¡°You really are pulling your punches, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    My hands froze in their washing for only a second, but that might as well have been confirmation.

    ¡°I thought so. I understand you not wanting to hurt us, but¡­¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the problem,¡± Elane said.

    We looked to her in unison and, just as she pulled her hands back up from under the water, Mana slid off her lap to lean against me, breathing softly as she wrapped her arms around mine. Elane puckered her lips into a pout, but continued.

    ¡°Something I noticed in our training is that, I don¡¯t think your heart is really into it when you fight.¡±

    ¡°My heart?¡±

    ¡°Yup,¡± she said, stretching her arms over her head. ¡°You say your old world, Earth, is a mostly peaceful place, right? Well, I think living there made you soft.¡±

    ¡°Well, yea. I already knew that.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s why you always pull your punches and avoid obvious openings where you could really hurt us.¡±

    ¡°But that¡¯s not¡­¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Yua started, touching a soapy knuckle to her chin. ¡°I think she¡¯s right. You learned how to fight faster than anyone I¡¯ve ever met, but it¡¯s almost like you don¡¯t know how to use what you learned.¡±

    ¡°Um, are you forgetting how I almost won our fight just now?¡±

    Yua inclined her head, ears flicking as her lips curled into a smile. The raised brow she hit me with almost made her look like she was dealing with a child that unknowingly said something ridiculous.

    ¡°Alex, I¡¯ll admit you got me good, but there were plenty of ways to break out of that hold. Remember, the fight was to the knockout or first blood and from that position, you couldn¡¯t hit me without shifting your grip. And if you tried, escaping would have been too easy.¡±

    ¡°Wait¡­ so you just let me pin you and gloat like an idiot?¡±

    ¡°Sorry.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    Man¡­ I really thought I had her this time, but thinking back to how I decided to pin her, she was right. I could never end a match like that when fighting by her people¡¯s rules.

    ¡°Dammit¡­!¡±

    Exasperated with myself, I leaned back against the tub and immediately cringed with sensitivity, as did Yua. Usually, one round of sex wasn¡¯t enough for her after our matches, but the conversation she decided we needed to have distracted us from the fact that my monster was still buried to the hilt in her pussy.

    Unconcerned, Mana lifted my arm and slipped beneath it to force me to hold her.

    ¡°Big Bro is better with magic, though.¡±

    ¡°Th-Thanks, Mana,¡± I said, gritting my teeth as Yua clenched me.

    ¡°Maybe,¡± Elane said, rubbing the back of her neck. ¡°If he used magic in our matches, even I¡¯d have a hard time fighting him.¡±

    ¡°B-But that¡¯s not the point,¡± Yua said, biting her lip. It was clear from the jerking movements of her tail that she was trying her best not to move her hips until the sensitivity abated. ¡°In hand-to-hand combat, he holds back too much. It¡¯s almost like¡­ Are you afraid of your own strength?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I¡¯m not sure, anyways. I mean, I¡¯ve heard you break someone¡¯s skull with a punch. And I watched Elane cut someone in half like they were paper. But¡­¡±

    But my Strength stat was on par with Yua¡¯s, meaning I could likely do the same. Obviously, I had to hold back to a certain extent when sparring with the girls, but I also had no idea how much power to use against a real opponent. Or when to use it, for that matter.

    Naturally, I didn¡¯t spend these last few months sitting on my hands, I¡¯ve been testing several of my body¡¯s limits. Namely how heavy I can lift, how far I can throw, how fast I can run and so on. Add to that the various ways in which I could aid the girls in a fight with my body, such as Mana shooting her bow from atop my shoulders, then I can say I¡¯ve been working myself pretty hard.

    But it¡¯s not like I have a test dummy I can go all out on.

    ¡°Then that¡¯s what we need to do,¡± Elane said, thumping her fist into her palm. ¡°I think we need to pop your cherry!¡±

    ¡°Sorry, hate to break it to you, but Yua kind of already took care of that for me.¡±

    ¡°Eh? I did?¡± she said, tail flicking with curiosity. I nodded proudly, if not a little full of myself, but Elane was quick to shut me down.

    ¡°No, I mean you need to push yourself even harder. You need to understand how it feels to actually cut someone down, Alex. We take guild missions all the time, but the most you¡¯ve ever killed are wild animals and weak monsters¡­ I think it¡¯s about time you step up and hunt some bandits.¡±

    I closed my eyes and let a sigh slip through my nostrils.

    We¡¯ve averaged at least one to two guild missions per week, but the vast majority of them were the ¡°go here and collect this¡± sort of missions. The most danger we¡¯ve faced was the pack of goblins we faced a few weeks back. And wild goblins are even weaker than their dungeon counter parts, so it wasn¡¯t much of a fight.

    Speaking of¡­

    ¡°If killing¡¯s what you think I need to do, why don¡¯t we just head back into the dungeon?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not!¡± Yua said, her tone almost daring me to refute her. ¡°Now that I know you¡¯re not from this world, and now that I¡¯ve fought you, I won¡¯t be letting you go into the dungeons again, yet. You definitely aren¡¯t ready.¡±

    ¡°Come on, Yua. We handled ourselves in there just fine back when we first met.¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°Nope. Back then, I didn¡¯t know you weren¡¯t really an experienced Adventurer. It¡¯s too dangerous in there. The lower the floors are, the harder they gets. And if you aren¡¯t prepared to give it your all, then you aren¡¯t ready.¡±

    ¡°But you went in there by yourself when you weren¡¯t even an adult yet. As part of your people¡¯s rite of passage as warriors. For the Expeditionary Force, right?¡±

    ¡°And did I ever tell you how it¡¯s decided one of us is allowed to challenge a dungeon?¡±

    ¡°No? It¡¯s never come up, I guess.¡±

    Cycling through my memories, the most I could remember was that Mana didn¡¯t fit the bill, but Yua did. As far as I knew, there was some sort of strength or skill requirement.

    ¡°It¡¯s simple,¡± she said, crossing her arms. ¡°We fight each other. Those that want to challenge the dungeon. Then we fight some more. Then we keep fighting.¡±

    ¡°¡­ And that¡¯s different from your normal everyday how?¡±

    ¡°Alex, the test isn¡¯t a normal sparring match. We fight until our opponent can¡¯t get back up, then we keep fighting them. It doesn¡¯t matter how tired we get or how long the match lasts. We continue until the chief, until Daddy, decides one of us is too weak and he intervenes to stop the match. Usually, it only stops once we show we¡¯re ready to kill our opponent.¡±

    So, their forced to keep fighting until one of them literally almost dies? I don¡¯t know if knowing Yua went through that shocks me more than the fact that I keep under estimating her people.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t almost killing one of your own to prove a point a little much?¡±

    ¡°Like I said, the chief intervenes before it can go too far. The point is to test whether or not we have what it takes to do what we have to, to survive. I told you before, this world is a dangerous place.¡±

    ¡°But Mana¡­¡±

    ¡­ has already shown she can kill when she needs to, is what I wanted to say, but the girl in question reached between my unison with Yua to wrap her fingers around my monster.

    Naturally, this was not her way of saying she wanted to take Yua¡¯s spot, but it was her people¡¯s way of showing she truly meant what she was about to say.

    ¡°Big Bro, I never tried. I knew I wasn¡¯t strong enough.¡±

    ¡°¡­ And because you were lazy,¡± Yua added.

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

    Her touch was as short lived as her point. Pouting, Mana let go of my monster to pinch Yua¡¯s cheeks. It was a form of rebuke only she could get away with, and Yua accepted her not-punishment with a sigh.

    ¡°It sounds like you girls are trying to get me to go out and kill someone.¡±

    Brow furrowed, Elane crossed her arms in a big ¡°X,¡± but the effect was diminished a little with her melons bouncing freely above the waterline.

    ¡°You¡¯re the one that wants to be an Adventurer. And a proper Adventurer has to be able to kill if they are ever to advance their rank.¡±

    ¡°Unleff you don¡¯f wanf to be an Affvenfurer anymore,¡± Yua added, her words distorted by the unending pinches. ¡°If not, then I don¡¯t mind if you¡­¡±

    ¡°No, no. It¡¯s not just about what I want to do, an Adventurer is what I need to be. I have three wives to keep happy and fed,¡± I paused, laying a hand on Mana¡¯s shoulder. ¡°And one of them happens to have a bottomless pit in her stomach.¡±

    Mana¡¯s anger with Yua was already barely a thing, but the moment I said this, she let go of Yua, placed her hands on her lap, unintentionally squishing her tiny breasts together with her elbows as she smiled up at me. Her big blue eyes locked with mine and, dammit, if she wasn¡¯t adorable enough to say I didn¡¯t mind the increasing food bill.

    Jokes aside, being an Adventurer really was our best bet at keeping this family going. The money was almost good enough as is, but with my Dimensional Step spell allowing us to travel much faster than the normal Adventurer, we could take as many quests as we needed.

    Becoming a Merchant was definitely a possibility, but it also felt like it¡¯d be too much of a gamble since I¡¯d have to invest our hard-earned coin into any ventures we plan when we had no guarantee things would work out.

    And that¡¯s not even mentioning how the first thing I thought to sell was bras, since they didn¡¯t exist in this world until I made one. I¡¯d made several for Elane by now, but it took around four straight days of me helping her to put them on before she could confidently do it herself.

    I could easily imagine a bunch of women running down my shop, complaining about their bras and their breasts and their discomforts and I don¡¯t think my little heart can take it.

    ¡°I need to raise my rank in the guild,¡± I said. ¡°The coin we¡¯re making now isn¡¯t bad, but at this rate, the guild isn¡¯t going to take long to figure out we¡¯re traveling with magic. I¡¯d rather avoid that if possible.¡±

    ¡°Then you have to start taking harder quests,¡± Elane said, standing to face us. Human though she was, she was just as shameless as my cat girls when it came to standing before me butt naked. Slamming one hand on her hip, she pointed at me. ¡°We¡¯re starting today. Let¡¯s head to the guild!¡±

    With that said and decided for us, Elane stepped out of the bath and started toweling herself down. Mana was quick to join her, but only shook the water from her hair in an attempt to skip the towel herself. Until Elane noticed and threw one at her face, that is.

    A small sigh escaped my nostrils. I really didn¡¯t like what she was suggesting, but at the same time, I knew she was right. Bandits, by nature in this world, were guaranteed to be murderers. So, Adventurers were often tasked with handing down society¡¯s justice and were rewarded with coin.

    It¡¯s not that I had a problem with the thought of someone deserving of death dying, it was the fact that I had to become an executioner of sorts, just to feed my family.

    Then again¡­ The rewards for the higher-ranked missions would be enough to keep us going without the need to take weekly missions.

    Then again, again, this whole thing about rank is only an issue because I refuse to risk becoming a lazy bastard again by mooching off of Elane¡¯s coin. Or am I just being a stubborn idiot?

    ¡°Alex¡­¡±

    Yua leaned into me, interrupting my thoughts with her warmth. With her breasts squishing against my chest, and with her smooth breathing soothing my soul, I thought she was going to offer up a few quiet words of encouragement just for me¡­ but then she started moving her hips.

    Her breathing quickly became ragged as the water began to splash about and her already stuffed womb showed no signs of wanting to slow down.

    ¡°Oh, Alex¡­¡± she gasped, biting her lip. ¡°I love it when you¡­!¡±

    ¡°Oh, no. I don¡¯t think so, missy!¡± Elane said, then her hands flew up under Yua¡¯s armpits, grabbed hold of her breasts and lifted her clear off me and out of the water. A torrent of semen spilled out of her pussy, but all she cared about was being forced to stop.

    ¡°L-Let go! We¡¯ll only take a minute!¡±

    ¡°Uh-huh. Bandit hunting quests don¡¯t usually last long on the quest board. It¡¯s still early. We need to get to Amoranth quickly if we want to find one.¡±

    ¡°Elane, if that¡¯s the case, we may already be too late,¡± I said, pleading Yua¡¯s, and my, case. ¡°And that¡¯s only if any were even available today.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t care!¡± she said, maneuvering the squirming Yua to forcefully clamp her legs shut. ¡°I¡¯m not letting you put this off. You two can fuck after we accept a quest. Until then, this pussy is off limits.¡±

    In our time together Yua and Elane had had their share of sparring matches as well. What we found through this was that Yua was a much more skilled fighter, but as of right now, she couldn¡¯t compare to Elane when it came to brute strength.

    So, with Elane already pressing and holding Yua¡¯s legs shut, it didn¡¯t take long before she gave up, knowing she couldn¡¯t win.

    Nearly in tears, and with a small white puddle slowly forming on the bathroom floor beneath her, Yua met my eyes and, with a pout, nodded. Having made her point, Elane quietly set her down and returned to her towel.

    Yua¡¯s eyes remained locked on mine for a short while, but not for long. After repeatedly flicking her emerald eyes between mine, and then my monster as it continued to stand tall in the water, she gulped. And it was as if she was preparing for death.

    ¡°A-Alex, c-could you¡­?¡±

    ¡°Right now? Are you sure?¡±

    She nodded. Weakly, but she nodded. ¡°Yes. I won¡¯t be able to focus on anything if I can¡¯t calm down.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Lifting myself from the water, I nearly had to stop myself from pouncing on her when her gaze once more locked onto my monster and she clenched her fists. She did love to fight me and I did love to be wanted by her.

    However, fighting both our desires, I sat myself on the bathroom floor and leaned against the tub, before gesturing for Yua to sit on my lap. She gulped again, but did as I commanded. Placing herself carefully, sitting on my thigh as one does for their mate in her village, I felt her gulp a third time.

    Taking care not to touch her in a way that would set her off again, I wrapped an arm around her waist and held her firmly. I was going to have to restrain her, in more ways than one.

    I aimed a finger at Yua¡¯s chest and held it there.

    Seeing this, Mana¡¯s ears shot to attention before she pressed them down with her hands and scurried out of the room. Naturally, she didn¡¯t bother to dress again before streaking through the house. Smirking, both at us and at the fleeing Mana, Elane scooped up their clothes and followed her.

    Both girls knew what was about to happen, as it had been done to them before.

    ¡°Are you ready Yua?¡±

    ¡°Y-Yes.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­ Instant Orgasm!¡±

    Yua had been bracing herself by squeezing her eyes shut, but the moment the incantation fell from my lips, time slowed to a near halt. In the span of a single second, her emerald eyes shot open, her pupils dilated, growing wide as saucers, her entire body began to quiver and her mouth fell open, at first into a wordless scream, but then¡­.

    ¡°AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHN!¡±

    Yua was always a bit of a screamer, but when this ability hit, it hit with the force of a megaton blast that came in the form of an instantaneous orgasm.

    Her hips rocked and her feet kicked at nothing as she convulsed, and it took all I had to keep her from falling off my lap. A stream of heated lust shot from her, nearly reaching the other side of the room as she squirted.

    The Instant Orgasm ability was a gift from my Sex Master class that I earned after Elane became my wife in both mind and body. And it did exactly what it said, giving whoever I aimed it at an explosive orgasm without the need for any build up. I literally didn¡¯t even need to lay a finger on them.

    Though our nightly, and daily, activities caused my Sex Master class to reach level 13 through our repeated, repeated efforts, I rarely used this ability. Not because its power made me jealous, no, but because we all actually preferred the buildup.

    And so, as Yua¡¯s breasts heaved, her dangerously heavy breathing suddenly almost concerning, it was as though all she did was masturbate.

    ¡°Ha¡­ Ha¡­ Ha¡­ I think¡­ I think I¡¯m ready to go now.¡±

    ¡°Good... For you, at least.¡±

    Still breathing heavily, Yua¡¯s ear flicked and, without my prompting her to, she turned her gaze towards my monster as it continued to stand, now empowered by her rapturous screams.

    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll take care of that for you¡­ Master.¡±

    Weakly, very weakly, Yua pushed herself off my lap and turned to kneel before me. Sensing her intentions, I raised myself back onto the edge of the bath. She parted my knees for me and scooted closer. And then, in one motion that was so smooth it almost beggared belief, Yua took my throbbing cock in hand, parted her peachy lips, widened them further, and swallowed me to the hilt without a hint of effort on her part.

    With one of her dainty hands still wrapped around my shaft, and with the other bracing herself on my thigh, I prepared myself by gripping the edge of the tub. Though her tongue brought me enough pleasure to make my eyes roll, we didn¡¯t have time to do this the usual way.

    So, I pointed a finger at myself and¡­

    ¡°¡­ Instant Orgasm.¡±

    Though we both rendered the bath we¡¯d taken pointless, the mess was nothing a bit of magic couldn¡¯t clean. After a quick breather, and once we were both able to stand again, we joined the other two.