Rupegia 48 Extermination

While everyone else looks impressed, Ciel's face just looks blank. "Wolfy, give me [Sense Soul]," she asks softly.

I obey and she spends a long time staring at Aoi. So long, that even Aoi gets uncomfortable.

"What the f.u.c.k," she finally says. "I had some idea that this was happening, but still... The skill system is the blessing from the G.o.d of Creation, so how did this happen?"

"She converted...?" Roxanne asks tentatively.

"She isn't listed in my 'Followers,'" I say.

"Then she better start praying," Alissa says.

"I will, be good, G.o.ds!" Aoi says.

"Okay, so, in the battle against the Monster King, wouldn't such a thing tip the balance in our favor?" I ask.

"Yes, that's great!" Ciel exclaims, "With a way of turning monsters in our favor we can control them the way the Monster King does! Imagine if we converted a Leader-type!"

"But if we break the balance, won't the G.o.d of Destruction come back to try and take control?"

We all go silent, the implication is too heavy.

Ciel starts to say what we don't want to hear, "If you are here, sent by a 'G.o.d,' and Aoi is part of your Thread of Fate, then... a war of the G.o.ds could be coming."

"We all knew something would happen," Lina says.

"Yeah, but it was very vague, and now that things are getting more real, the fear is starting to rise," I say.

"Together!" Aoi exclaims.

"Gih."

Heh, fine.

"Alright, enough pep-talk. There's no more room for hesitation and complaints, we can only look forward and fight-on," I say.

"Gih, gah gih!" Gify puffs his chest and nods with determination.

Alissa grabs our hands, and claws, and pulls us all together, "United, day and night," she starts and looks around, urging us to continue.

"In pain and pleasure," Hana adds.

"Success or failure," Roxanne continues.

"Life or death," Ciel goes on with a wide smile.

"Wherever we may be," Lina shyly contributes.

"We will, never aban-don, each other!" Aoi chirps.

I chuckle. "All for one, one for all," I complete.

We squeeze each others' hands and return to normal.

"That was incredibly corny," Ciel says and we chuckle lightly.

"Those are our vows to each other," Alissa says.

"Right, whenever we have to act on our own, remember our vows," I say.

Lina, Hana, and Aoi nod with determination while the others smile softly.

The little golems watch us with curiosity.

"Vows are, rules?" Ted asks.

"Somewhat. They are personal rules that we follow, but not literally. We follow the 'spirit' of the vow, the essence of it," Ciel answers.

"What is a, 'spirit' of, a vow?" Suzy asks.

"If I ask you to make my life 'better' and I get sad one day when someone dies, do you think that you failed the task I gave you?" I ask.

"Sadness is, part of, life," Ted says.

"Exactly. You need to understand the nuances and a.s.sumptions that come from a phrase like 'I want to live a happy life,' instead of taking it literally."

"How do we, learn that?" Suzy asks.

"It is called 'common sense,' it's something children learn by observing their parents all their lives," Ciel says.

"And some don't even fully learn it," Lina says and sends a quick glance to Roxanne.

Roxanne blinks blankly for a few moments, then it dawns on her. "Oi-!" She starts.

"We will teach you whenever we can," I interrupt. "You can always ask us questions when you feel confused about something."

The two golems nod in sync.

Then we do a little "bonding" before going to sleep. The golems were watching so intently that we decided to store them in Ciel's [Item Box].

­

Today is the 10th.

Hana wakes me up and recruits Aoi's help. Hana is learning how to do it in a gentler way so that I don't feel like I'm in the jaws of a monster when I wake up. That and Aoi's stimulating kiss are as good as coffee to help me wake up quickly.

But I really do miss coffee.

­

My [Summoning Magic] increased by 4 (now 18+22) and my [Blessing Magic] by 1 (now 8+22).

­

We calmly eat our breakfast with tea. We only leave our tent when everyone else is finishing gathering their belongings.

"Morning!" Klein comes to us and gives us a chipper greeting.

I see that neither Anton nor Laertes are nearby.

"Morning," I say and take her hand, then I kiss it the elven way while pushing my soul slightly out of my lips.

Klein breathes in and smiles shyly, "How high is your 'Charisma,' Wolf?" She asks.

"Not particularly high, you must have a crush on me or something," and I give her a wide smile.

She eyes us all warily, "You are all wolves trying to eat me up, aren't-chyall?"

Ciel and Lina look a little embarra.s.sed; Aoi doesn't think she's being referred to so she just ignores it; and the rest simply nod and smile.

"Gih."

Klein smiles at his compliment.

"You are just really cute," Alissa says in a sultry tone.

"Predators," Klein laughs and walks away.

­

Nito hands us our horses and as we mount, Osaria comes to give us a greeting and talk to Roxanne. She stands a little closer than what Roxanne is comfortable with. The curvy milf wears an eye-catching white bikini and I catch Ciel staring at her a.s.s with mixed feelings.

When we are all mounted and walking again, Hana approaches Roxanne, "When are you going to reject her?" Hana asks.

"Uh... well..." Roxanne's posture shrinks, she looks conflicted and guilty.

Hana pouts and looks at Roxanne with a little disappointment, "You are too indecisive; it was the same thing with Wolfy," she says and turns away.

Roxanne doesn't answer but her horns go soft in dejection.

Lina approaches Roxanne and pats her head like a mother would to console her child. "There, there," she tries to appease Roxanne.

Roxanne's horns regain their stiffness and she warily eyes Lina. "I feel like you're mocking me," Roxanne says.

Lina gives her an impish smile and smacks the rump of her horse, then she quickly canters away from Roxanne. For a moment, Roxanne's tail threateningly points at Lina.

Ciel makes sure the carriage is out of earshot and asks, "Why don't you reject her?"

"Well... I really do find her hot, it's just that the idea of having s.e.x with her makes me feel 'dirty,'" Roxanne answers.

"Then reject her."

"But I find her really hot," she smiles wryly.

Ciel rolls her eyes, "s.l.u.t."

"We all played with Klein, we are all beyond saving," she smirks at Ciel.

"You always speak like we are doing something bad," Alissa interjects, a little miffed. "It's like you secretly dislike what we are doing but don't really want to speak out."

Roxanne's mouth hangs open, speechless, and Ciel looks away, feeling awkward.

"I enjoy the verbal abuse, I thought that's what she was doing," Hana says, frowning in confusion.

"Maybe a little of both?" Alissa shrugs.

"Embrace degeneracy," I say.

"I thought we already did?" Lina questions shyly and Hana shrugs.

"Gih."

"Even you?" Ciel looks at Gify questioningly.

We laugh softly and the conversation dies down, then Aoi perks up her head and innocently asks, "Am I a, degenerate?"

"I don't think so," I say and rub the thick skin beneath her scales. "Did you enjoy when Alissa's finger entered you?"

I feel her shrug through the [Bind], "Yes."

"If Aoi has, s.e.x with, other women, she could be, considered, hedonistic," Suzy says.

"That would just be a s.e.xual preference," Roxanne says.

"Not for a, monster," Ted says.

"Right, I believe the monsters were created for a single purpose. It wouldn't make sense for them to be h.o.m.os.e.xual since they can't have children that way," I say and Ted nods.

When it's something technical they seem to do OK in understanding my knowledge.

"But Aoi is intelligent, she can choose to have s.e.x just for pleasure," Hana says.

"Hm..." Aoi murmurs and I feel our connection "wiggle" as she thinks deeply.

"Is there a difference between what you feel about Wolf and any of us?" Ciel asks.

"I want Wolfy, inside me, and I really like, the others," she answers.

"Well, we are almost there," Hana says and shrugs.

I lift an eyebrow at Hana. "Do you want to have s.e.x with her?" I ask.

"Ei, 'Dragon f.u.c.ker' is an awesome t.i.tle," and she gives me a fearsome smile.

I chuckle and shake my head.

­

Now that the caravan is moving properly, I go towards the commoners and give them [Swift Foot] again. They show us lots of appreciation and even Rande seems pleased.

For us, I cast [Wind Armor], [Sharp Blades], [Swift Foot], [Rainbow Shield], [Rainbow Crystal], and [Warrior's Respite].

I use [Redirect Mana] to recharge my MP and notice that the mana coming from the High Forest feels very "odd." It is quite "pure," but it also has an uncomfortable aftertaste.

­

With a fast march, we quickly approach the gigantic trees of the High Forest. The road splits, and one way turns east, towards the forest, while the other continues north, towards Glorampina. The traffic suddenly drops to zero; n.o.body is entering or leaving the forest.

Klein and Laertes climb on top of the carriage; up there they unfold thick, wooden chest-high walls that they will use as protection. Then, they pull out some comfy mattresses and lay down, though they still look very alert.

Anton walks along beside the carriage with his poleaxe in hand and awkwardly glances towards Aoi. He's wearing a light blue dragon scale armor that looks very similar to Aoi's scales.

"You look like you want to say something," I guide my horse closer to Anton and speak.

"Is she... okay with my armor?" He asks with a deeper frown than normal.

"My armor is also made of dragon scales, she doesn't care," I say.

"Good, good. Well, I don't think I could stomach seeing someone wear wereape skin as armor."

"Monsters are too different from us, many simply wouldn't even care."

­

The lights slowly dim as we enter the forest; only faint streaks of light get past the thick canopy of trees. Everyone casts [Spirit Lights] and the road becomes as clear as day due to the number of light sources. The air becomes more damp, causing Lina to show a little displeasure. The tang of moss grows strong, and once in a while I smell a faint citrus or flowery scent.

The gra.s.s becomes very thin, narrow, and delicate, almost hair-like. The earth turns soft and almost mushy, a few heavy steps on it are enough to dirty your feet with mud. A few elven children decide to drop down to the road and step out onto the gra.s.s. I notice that they don't get dirty, and some of them barely leave a mark on the gra.s.s thanks to the softness of their steps.

My Hollys spread out and we quickly find monsters lurking about. Walking dead animals and monsters reanimated by Corpse Stealers are the most common find. The small slime-like monster behaves more like a hive-mind: it's always either searching for more corpses, or attacking any nearby threats.

Not a very dangerous monster, except when they manage to gather into a large group, and there's one such group nearby.

"We have to deal with them," I say.

"Me, Lina, and Ciel will stay on the ground, you all stay on the horses in case we need to run," Hana says and we nod.

"I can, breathe fire!" Aoi chirps.

"Stay on Lina's shoulders," I say.

"Yay!" She glides towards Lina and crawls up onto her shoulder.

"You'd better not eat anything rotting or the Corpse Stealer itself, they will give you a tummy-ache," Lina says and strokes the scales under Aoi's chin.

"O-kaay!"

We warn Rande of the danger nearby.

"If you can't deal with them, aren't you going to attract them to us?" He asks while frowning.

"The 'feelers' are too close, it's a gamble whether they find us or not," I say.

He nods bitterly, "I'll trust you, we will set up near that tree and raise a few [Earth Wall]s."

­

We gallop north through the forest for a few minutes before we find the horde. Through Holly, I know that there's a hill nearby that we can use to our advantage. I dismiss all but one Holly and summon two earth, two nature, and two fire elementals. The earth elementals will create walls to funnel the Corpses into a narrow area between two huge trees. The nature elementals will slow down the monsters with their vines. The fire elementals are obvious, fire does more damage to slow-moving enemies than any other element.

Hana, Ciel, Lina, and Aoi will stay in the front, at the entrance of the funnel that the two earth elementals are creating. Behind them, the nature elementals will spread their vines, and behind the vine-yard are the rest of us with the horses and the two fire elementals. Through [Animal Tongue], I can keep the horses calm and make them follow me.

The "feeler" Corpse Stealers find us, and immediately the horde changes direction towards us. The "feelers" are Corpse Stealers that have faster and younger corpses, they stay in the outskirts of the horde and warn them of any incoming threat.

After a minute, we hear the growling from multiple types of monsters and animals. The Corpse Stealers move slowly to conserve their energy, but when a target is found, they burst forth with plenty of speed at the expense of the possessed corpse's integrity.

Once a critical ma.s.s of Corpses notice us, they all break into a sprint at the same time. Before we can even see them, we can hear the mixture of footsteps rushing towards us.

Alissa starts firing arrows, aiming for the chest, where the Corpse Stealer hides.

"We need flaming arrows," I say.

"Too late for that," Alissa answers and fires another.

"[Lava Jet]!" Roxanne casts the level 30 [Fire Magic] spell. Out of the tip of her staff, red-hot lava shoots off like a jet of water. It flies over the heads of the girls and creates streak after streak of blisteringly bright walking hazards.

The first line of Corpses walk over the lava without any concern, not even making a cry of pain when their feet melt and pieces of skin and flesh are left behind. They eventually start to tumble and get stuck in the lava as more parts of their bodies melt away and fall off.

Easy targets for the elementals to burn.

Two more [Lava Jets], and the entire side of the hill is lit up by Roxanne's spell. I even start to feel the heat coming off the molten rock.

The first few monsters crash against the girls and are easily dispatched.

The monsters that fell onto the lava form a bridge for the ones behind them, so the next wave has less of a problem moving past the lava hazards.

"[Firestorm]!"

Roxanne launches the spell in the middle of the new front line and the monsters behind it crash into each other, trying to stop. A pile of monsters forms as they desperately crawl away to escape the fire at any cost, a prime target for us.

"[Firestorm]!"

The new pile bursts into flame and only charred corpses are left after the spell ends. The smell of burnt meat fills our noses and makes me feel hungry, but also a little disgusted.

More monsters reach the girls.

"Become stronger! Become faster!" I command in [G.o.dly Language].

They easily butcher the monsters while slowly walking backward.

I create a vine javelin with [Vine Weapon] and give myself 4 points in [Throw]. Whenever a particularly large monster appears, I throw a javelin at them. When I manage to hit their core they don't die, but they do become much slower.

Hana's and Lina's [Double Strike] are enough to kill most monsters in one attack. Lina crushes their chests with the first strike and the second comes to finish off the monster, while Hana can nearly bisect the monsters with her two strikes.

Ciel plays conservatively with her mana to save some for healing injuries.

Hana breathes out fire in a wide area and holds the monsters in place for a moment.

"[Firestorm]!"

And then they burn to death.

"You are now level 24."

Our carnage is silent, giving it an eerie feeling. This is because the monsters don't scream, they only use growls in a few specific situations.

The monsters start to get entangled in the vines, making them easier targets for the girls. Some even try to crash against the earth elementals, with little result; or they crawl up them, allowing the elementals to skewer the monsters with fast-growing spikes.

"Retreat!" I yell. Ciel, Lina, and Aoi break off from the line and return to the horses. Hana summons her wings and uses [Wind Shield] to hold the monsters off.

"Hana!" I call her once we are all mounted again, and with a last cleave, she flies towards us and lands on her horse. The animal neighs in protest. "I'm sorry, but you are strong enough to deal with it, right?" I talk to it with [Animal Tongue].

The horse scoffs and we all gallop north to try to lose the horde. The elementals will commit suicide when they get overwhelmed, and I think the fire ones will make quite a nice explosion.

­

We follow along the contour of the hill and then gallop back to the caravan. Rande had raised a wall and created a funnel very similar to ours. He and Anton wait at the front with most of the average soldiers.

Anton's poleaxe is dirtied with green slime. Pieces of the body of a Giant Centipede are being dragged away by the elven commoners.

"How was it? How many are still alive?" Rande asks once we stop our horses in front of him.

"Around fifty can still move," I say as I dismount. Nito guides the horses away towards the back.

"That's not a lot," Anton says, his permanent frown temporarily on hold.

"We are pretty good at butchering large numbers of small monsters," Hana says with a fearsome smile.

"I wouldn't call Corpse Stealers 'small,' but ok."

We reform the line with Hana in the middle, Rande and Anton flanking her, and the rest of us spread around the other men. While we wait, the girls and I use [Redirect Mana] to recharge. Aoi seems to be trying to copy us.

"Are you managing to redirect mana?" I ask Aoi through our connection.

"I think so, I only know something is happening, hehe!"

"Be careful, you don't have the System to protect you from hurting yourself."

"Not yet," and she mimics the sound of a kiss being blown.

I give her a playful tug on our connection and return to recharging my mana.

After I'm done, I summon the same elementals as last time, but this time I keep the nature elementals in front of us to slow the charge.

A few minutes later, the Corpses start trickling in, too spread out for area spells. But they are much less threatening now that there isn't a mob of them marching towards us.

Alissa, Hana, and Laertes manage to shoot at least one arrow at each of the Corpses before they can even reach our front line. Then the vines slow them down further, and now even the most inexperienced of the mages can manage to hit their marks.

I cut down the arm of a dead Gatun and a soldier pierces it in the chest. The monster retreats to try to save itself and I cast a [Wind Blade] directly at it. The spell opens its chest and I see a black goo twitch within it.

Another spear hits it right in the black goo and the dead Gatun goes limp. The black goo pools under its body and a rancid smell escapes from it.

Soon, the battle ends without another monster attacking me again.

Ciel goes to treat the few bruises and cuts among the average soldiers while I walk towards Rande. I see a man discreetly cut his own palm and then show it to Ciel so she can heal him.

"We will return to the site of the first battle and collect our Proofs of Extermination," I say.

"Sure, the Lord of Ostodos will reward you well for dealing with a horde. How many were there, anyway? I didn't imagine so few were coming after us," he creases his eyebrows in doubt.

"No idea, our area spells are really powerful," I say and smile smugly.

[Rainbow Crystal] is helping us a lot.

­

I gather the girls and we gallop back to the first site.

"So... you want us to gather the Proofs?" Roxanne asks, her tail completely stiff in wariness.

I summon 9 average goblins. Their small and dexterous hands are perfect for this task.

"Nah, I just used it as an excuse. Let's just wait and watch," I say.

The goblins work tirelessly and even the two little golems try to help with [Telekinesis]. The Corpse Stealers have small bones they use to help sustain their possessed corpse, so they are used as the Proof. You can use the black, rancid goo as Proof, but who in their right mind would?

­

We sit down on a root as thick as a car and watch the goblins work. We spread out a large, thick blanket that's perfect for our picnic.

"Aside from the view of the ground, this is a really beautiful place," Ciel comments.

The most common color is obviously green, then dark brown from the bark of the trees, then gold and silver from the moss and other plants growing on the bark of those trees. The trees in the High Forest absorb all the nutrients from the ground, so most plants that thrive here are parasitic and grow on the bark of the gigantic trees or they try to rise above the canopies for some delicious sunlight.

I practice my [Grow] and try to flatten the root we're on. Without [Conjuring Magic] to replenish the nutrients, the bark will become weakened if I overdo it.

If an elf saw what I'm doing they would give me a slap in the face.

Alissa pulls out a tray with steaming hot tea while Ciel guides the smell of burnt meat away from us. Aoi looks a little dejected at all the burnt meat that she won't be able to eat.

­

The goblins bring the bones and line them up on the ground, then Ciel and I repeatedly cast [Clean] on them to remove the smell. The bones are black and porous, they can even bend a considerable amount. They're shaped into vertical rib cages that protects the Corpse Stealer better from slashing attacks.

The goblins tie the bones together with strings so that the parts from two different Corpse Stealers won't mix, then they all tie the bones together so I can store them in my "Item Box." If we didn't do that, then the monster appraiser would have to summon the spirit of every single bone to discern one from another. Lords don't like to be scammed when paying for the monster bounties, and the ones in the High Forest are even more stingy.

­

We return to the caravan and Alissa smiles smugly. "The commoners are happy to see us back, the elven ones sound a little relieved, too," she says.

I search for the elven elder and our eyes meet, he gives me a respectful nod and I return it.

No matter the place, they still respect power.

­

Soon after I spread my Hollys, we have to leave again as an Uspidor is approaching. A blobby monster that has 12 tentacles it uses to walk, with one extra protruding upwards that it uses as a mouth and as a way to spit acid. They are normally slightly bigger than a giraffe.

"Hana, use the axe," I say and pull it out for her.

"Well... prepare the bath for me, then," she says with a wry smile.

"Ohoh? You didn't seem to care about a little blood during your butchering of that Dragonoid some time ago," Roxanne says.

"You guys are a bad influence on me, staying clean just feels too good," she shrugs.

"'Bad influence,'" Roxanne turns away and snorts.

"Wolfy, give me [Mounted Archery]," Alissa asks.

"Oh, right, good idea," I say and put her six points into the skill.

­

We approach the location of the monster and look up. High above, too far for our [Spirit Lights] to reach, we can see the figure of something large moving between the trees when it pa.s.ses near a hole in the thick canopy.

Alissa draws her warbow to its maximum pull and I feel a hint of mana come from the enchantment, then she releases the arrow and we hear a faint screech. Through Holly, I can see that Alissa hit her mark perfectly.

The monster stops moving and turns to intently observe us. It has six eyes spread around the blob of meat that is its main body and three of these eyes are locked onto us.

"Start moving, it's going to spit acid," I order and they obey. "Become Faster!" I yell in [G.o.dly Language] and even the horses gain speed.

We spread out and the monster struggles to choose a target.

"I'll make meat rolls out of your tentacles!" Hana taunts and the Uspidor targets her.

She's just stating facts, though; Uspidor tentacles are a delicacy.

A liquid splashes near Hana and we hear the traditional sizzling of something melting away. We hide behind the trees while Hana plays around with the monster.

Through another Holly, I can see that there's a group of five Feral Goblins approaching the caravan. Like a Gatun, these goblins have large, curved claws that they use to climb trees.

"Ciel, Lina! Go back to the caravan! There are five Feral Goblins coming from the south!" I yell.

While still under the effect of my [G.o.dly Language], their horses gallop away at incredible speeds and soon they disappear behind the trees.

Another minute pa.s.ses with Alissa firing a few perfect arrows at the Uspidor. Then she finally hits an eye at a record distance for her and the monster becomes enraged.

"KIIIEEEH!" It shrieks as it drops to the ground. It crashes like a water balloon and its whole body shakes with the waves its internal fluids created from the impact. Its color is green and black as if it were wearing camouflage paint, and its skin is smooth and slippery.

Hana jumps off of her horse and summons her wings. She darts towards the Uspidor and dodges between the tentacles while leaving a long gash on its body. Blood gushes out like a fountain as the enchantment takes effect and the monster becomes even more enraged.

With [Animal Tongue], I call back the horse and keep it safe behind a tree.

As the monster's focus changes to Hana, its "back" (the monster doesn't really have a front or back to it) is turned to us and its tentacles grow dull in their movements. Alissa takes the opportunity and fires an arrow. It pa.s.ses through the tentacles unimpeded and buries itself in another eye.

I summon a Kite Dragon and yell, "Become faster!" in [G.o.dly Language].

"UROOO!" The flat dragon responds and bolts in a zigzag pattern towards the monster.

"[Water Blade]!" Roxanne releases a particularly long blade from the tip of her staff.

Suddenly surrounded on four sides, the monster struggles to decide on a course of action. It abruptly drops to the ground and surrounds itself with its thick tentacles.

Alissa's bodkin arrow buries itself deep into a tentacle; Roxanne's spell nearly severs another; the Kite Dragon cuts down a tentacle with its sharp side-flippers; and Hana buries her axe into the monster. I cast a [Lightning Bolt] on the Uspidor to make sure that Hana can safely pull out her axe.

The axe is pulled free and a thick gush of red blood erupts out of the wound, painting a large patch of moss red. Hana strikes again and uses her wings to fly away before it can counter-attack. The new wound is a shallow cut but it's still enough to create another temporary fountain of blood for a few seconds.

Roxanne fires several [Water Blades] in quick succession and the monster's mouth turns towards her.

"[Water Wall]!" She casts just as a squirt of acid flies out. It hits the magic water and gets diluted without affecting anything. Her horse barely flinches from all the magic flying around it, its training is perfect.

Hana appears from "behind" and severs the mouth of the monster with a perfect chop of her axe.

"KIIIIIIIIIIII!" Its screech makes my ears hurt. So much blood flows out of the wound that the monster visibly deflates and starts to wobble around due to the blood loss. The Kite Dragon strikes again and opens another large wound, it was so deep that its guts start to spill out.

We just wait for it to bleed out while hiding in safety behind the trees. I try to avoid looking at it because just the sight of it was making me feel sick.

Meanwhile, Ciel and Lina make short work of the goblins. A [Windstorm] is enough to even the numbers and then the girls finish them easily from horseback due to the length of their weapons.

Alissa guides her horse towards me. "It's dead," she says, once she's close enough.

"Right, now we just need to collect the disgusting corpse," I say and Alissa smiles wryly.

"Let me eat a tentacle!" Aoi says inside my mind.

"Okay. Just one, though."

Then we leave Hana standing naked in the open while we give her clothes a quick [Clean].

­

We gallop back and wait for the caravan a good distance ahead so that both we and the horses can rest for a bit.

"It's barely midday and we've already killed quite a lot," Alissa says.

"Yeah, the Lord isn't doing a proper culling," Hana says.

"Through the Hollys, I can see that there's even more, it's just that our anti-monster crystals are enough for most of them," I say.

As we wait, I notice that there are a few glowing plants appearing on the trunks of the trees. There's also a firefly-like large insect that seems to be flying between them. These plants are symbiotic with the trees and other plants. They give off light that's absorbed just like how plants would normally absorb sunlight, then they all help break down the bark of the tree and also serve as a home for other insects. They are somewhat like corals.

­

The caravan reaches us and we stop for lunch. Krista cooks a thick Giant Centipede soup. It has a faint minty flavor with a bit of a of chicken-like aftertaste.

Why am I suddenly thinking of Ciel's feet?

"You collected all the bones from the Corpse Stealers?" Anton asks us.

"I used [Summoning Magic] for that," I answer.

"Diamond dragon scales, that is too handy," he snorts and resumes eating.

"I could teach you a spell, if you wish," I say and smile innocently.

He stops eating and a.n.a.lyzes me with his eyes. "You are not getting yourself any favors," he answers flatly.

Klein groans softly and keeps her eyes on her food.

A soft voice caresses my ears, "How many Corpse Stealers did you kill?" Osaria asks.

"One hundred and thirty-seven."

The table turns to us in surprise and we show a mix of proud and embarra.s.sed smiles. I select one set of the bones in my "Item Box" and touch the ground with my finger. With a *poof*, the large pile of black bones all tied together appears.

A long sigh escapes Laertes while the others go quiet.

"Did you even need our help?" Rande asks.

"Couldn't finish them all in one go," Hana says and gives Rande a fearsome smile.

"Are you paying them a fortune or something?" Krista asks Rande, incredulous.

Rande laughs oddly with a stupid smile on his face, "You didn't even see them stop a Grim Giant in its tracks basically by themselves."

Anton grunts a chuckle. "Well, I thought you were exaggerating a little," he says.

Klein pouts and playfully punches the log that is Anton's right arm, though, it might have hurt her more than him.

"To be honest, our strength is a little difficult to gauge. [Summoning Magic] is that useful," Alissa says.

Osaria smiles seductively at me and I get a little uncomfortable. She is too "stimulating."

­

We continue our trip and our peace lasts a short while before another Giant Centipede approaches. We only send Hana and Roxanne, and they [Explode] the head of the monster. Like last time, she stores it in her [Item Box] and we will transfer it later.

A small group of eight Woody Skritters approaches us and get used as target practice by Klein and Laertes. They have so little value that it's not even worth it to collect the Proofs of Extermination for them. However, we do burn their bodies so that there are no remains for Corpse Stealers to possess.

­

As we near Ostodos, the number of glowing plants explodes and the night nearly turns into day amidst their brightness. The bark disappears beneath the carnival of colors. Then the multi-colored lights all turn purple when the sun sets.

We then see the first patrol, a group of golden elves riding Gatuns, the long-armed panther-like feline. They wear cloaks with wooden armor underneath, they're yellow and glossy. Most of them wield bows while the rest use spears and one or two look like mages. They look at us with weary eyes and only give a curt nod to the other elves before moving on.

They climb a tree and disappear. I notice that the Gatuns leave marks in the bark and plants that appear to heal completely after only a few seconds.

The patrol gives the commoners new vigor and they walk faster. After a half-hour, we finally reach the huge ramp that is the entrance to Ostodos. It turns into a spiral around a pillar-like tree and disappears inside a huge ceiling made of bark. This is the underside of Ostodos, a shield to protect them from monsters, their equivalent of a "wall."

Thick bark covers the underside of most of the town. Only a few spots are open and that's where the monsters can invade through if they have no means of breaking the bark.

Below the city is a small lake where rainwater gathers and slowly trickles away into a river. That river eventually joins others and grows larger until it leaves the northwestern corner of the High Forest, pouring out into the sea.

Around the lake are the farms, though only a few are actually on the ground level. A single tree in the middle of the lake brings water upwards and it is then distributed among multiple levels of farms.

"Wow," Ciel lets out in wonder.

"I see a few camouflaged elves in wait behind windows," Alissa says.

"Really? I didn't notice anything," Hana says.

"They are known for being good at hiding," Lina says.

After a long and tiring climb for the commoners, we finally pa.s.s through the ceiling. We go through a long killing-corridor filled with murder holes before we finally reach the gate.

The guards wait for us anxiously. When we finally reach them, they crowd around us and hurriedly talk to the elven commoners. They also look a little weary, though their equipment is still in top shape.

I put on 10 points into [Ingua Language].

"You brought magic tools?"

"How did you survive?!"

"I told you not to try to come!"

"A HORDE?!"

Rande approach us. "We will leave after tomorrow, same time," he says and immediately leaves.

As we dismount and approach a guard for customs, we start to get glances from the commoners and other guards. Klein escapes her parents and joins us so we wait for her inspection before we finally cross the large wooden gate together and enter the city proper.

The whole city is divided into two levels. The lower level is where the commoners live and where the military buildings are located; they receive weak sunlight and supplement it with crystal lamps, so it has a rather gloomy atmosphere. The upper level is above the canopy and receives sunlight, so we would rather go there.

The streets are composed of grey wood. They look almost Earth-like with two lanes for the wagons like an Earth road and two other lanes for pedestrians on the sides. Where the traffic line should be is actually an empty spot where you can see the lower bark "shield wall." In that empty spot, there's an enchantment that prevents people from falling and it pushes you back onto the road. It's quite popular with children, though it's too late right now for them to be out playing.

Moonlight shines down through the same holes in the middle of the street on the level above us and we see people sitting along the border of the hole. They dangle their feet above us and drink while talking happily.

The buildings are simple in their shape, huddled together, and are all boxes made of differently colored wood. The amount of decorations on them, like glowing plants and statues grown out of the buildings, is the way they display their wealth.

This floor does not have a very inviting atmosphere. The streets are nearly empty and inns desperately announce their vacancies.

"Do you know of a good inn on the upper floor?" I ask Klein.

She smiles innocently and nods, "Follow me, then!"

­

We enter a thin tree trunk nearby and climb the stairs carved inside. We exit onto the second floor and have a very clear view of the night sky. We feel a soft, chilly breeze blow through with the faint smells of plants, perfume, and dinner coming from nearby businesses.

The streets are busier on this level but most of the people here are drunks, so it's not as pleasant as it could be. The buildings are more spa.r.s.e but are taller and share room with the canopies of the trees.

"I could live here; it's so beautiful," Ciel comments.

Lina looks at her with her eyebrows knit in worry.

"What of your [Stonebody]? Can you still feel the mana?" I ask.

"Yes, but... I feel a little uncomfortable," Lina answers.

"It will pa.s.s, even I felt uncomfortable with heights when I was young," Klein says.

"But I'm a dwarf and you're a wereape."

"Pfft!" Klein flicks her hand at her, "Don't let your race get in the way of enjoying yourself!"

"Okay..."

Ciel pats Lina's head and she brightens up a bit. We each grab one of Lina's hands and swing them back and forth like you would with a child. We look like the oddest father-mother-daughter combination ever.

­

Klein stops in front of a three-story-high blue inn, The Red Leaf Inn; it's a blue cylinder with red leaves as the roof.

"The name is quite original," Roxanne comments flatly.

"At least it's in Andraste, the other upper-cla.s.s inns aren't as fond of imperials as this one," Klein says.

The interior is quite comfy. It's got that weird plant-like fluffy carpet just like in the Tree of Mana. The walls and ceiling are light blue and quite easy on the eyes.

A plump golden elf woman waits behind the counter looking a little bored. The elven "curse" is so strong that I still find her quite attractive. She suddenly jumps when she notices us and smiles widely at Klein.

"Miss Klein! It's good to see you well!" The woman exclaims. She walks out of the balcony and scurries towards Klein.

"Flor!" She opens her arms wide and receives the plump woman in a tight hug.

They spend a few heartwarming moments trying to crush one another, and then break the hug.

"So, Rande decided to make the trip," Flor comments.

Klein nods and looks to us. "We found a very strong escort to keep us all safe. They are the fellowship Helios," she says.

Flor a.n.a.lyzes us all quickly and smiles warmly. "I can easily see you are all special," she says, then we share polite greetings.

"So, you are staying for the night?" Flor asks.

I nod and Klein answers for her parents.

"I would like to reserve a bath for six people plus my dragon," I say.

"Make it seven," Klein interrupts. She smiles innocently but her face cramps and she blushes slightly at her answer. Flor raises an eyebrow at her and looks at her oddly. "And don't tell Dad," Klein adds.

Flor raises her eyebrows in surprise and silently goes back behind the balcony to write in the ledger.

­

We casually start our routine and undress, though our eyes linger for a while on Klein, making her even more embarra.s.sed.

"May I wash you?" Alissa offers with a wicked smile on her face.

"N-no need, hehe," Klein laughs nervously.

"I insist," she says softly.

Klein swallows her saliva and nods.

We quickly wash so we can watch Alissa molest, I mean, tenderly wash Klein. Her soft hand glides along Klein's body and always find a way to brush along an erogenous zone. We haven't even started yet and Klein is moaning as if she's getting fingered. Even Aoi stares at Klein, mesmerized.

Klein's soft monkey tail surprises Alissa for a second by brushing against her p.u.s.s.y's lips. Klein smiles mischievously and Alissa's switch gets flipped. Her fingers dive inside Klein's p.u.s.s.y and she makes the cute monkey o.r.g.a.s.m almost instantly.

Not wanting to steal all the fun, Alissa releases Klein and we all enter the bath together. Then, the couples start their bonding: Ciel with Lina, and Hana with Roxanne; Aoi floats about with Gify on her head but stares at us intently. As Klein enters the bath, I slide in behind her, making her sit on my lap and feel my erection resting on her a.s.s.

I turn her head towards me and shove my tongue inside her mouth. Her sweet little tongue is that of a little s.l.u.t's like Lina: shy at first but quickly turning greedy in search of more stimulation.

I cup one of her perky b.r.e.a.s.t.s with one hand and search for her p.u.s.s.y with the other only to find Alissa's fingers already inside it. So, I move on to her a.s.s instead and cast [Clean]. She immediately becomes greedier and tries to swallow my tongue.

She suddenly straddles me and my d.i.c.k gets dangerously close to penetrating her. Disappointingly, she angles it down so it only rubs along her lips instead. She rubs herself on my head and shaft while Alissa works wonders with her tongue, rubbing it on my head while also licking Klein's p.u.s.s.y and a.s.s.

I push my soul out of my d.i.c.k and she suddenly stops, her whole body convulses and she o.r.g.a.s.ms again. Her p.u.s.s.y stops on top of my head and I grab her waist, forcing it down and spreading her lips. My head almost fully enters before I stop.

Klein looks at me wide-eyed in fear and I smile s.a.d.i.s.tically.

"The next time you come to us I will take your virginity whether you've talked to your father or not. I don't like indecisive people," I warn her.

Roxanne looks away from us and goes back to being used by Hana.

Klein nods glumly and shyly removes the head from inside her. She starts rubbing herself again and I force my tongue inside her mouth. Soon we are back to a pa.s.sionate kiss and I shoot it inside Alissa's mouth.

After that, I grab Hana by the throat and force her to bend over. I grab her perfect, round a.s.s and penetrate her p.u.s.s.y forcefully, she grunts in pain and pleasure. Klein m.a.s.t.u.r.b.a.t.es with her eyes glued on us. Roxanne helps me out underwater and Hana seems to enjoy this so much that she quickly grows weak in the legs and o.r.g.a.s.ms.

"Pervert, depraved, s.l.u.t!" I yell to Hana and she smiles fearsomely to Klein.

What would the mages who invented [Water Breathing] think if they knew we use it so we can give oral to each other while underwater? Knowing this world, they invented the spell just for this reason and then adapted it for everyday use.

I pound Hana's p.u.s.s.y raw with all my strength and anger. I c.u.m inside her with a particularly thick load and push her off of me like a used condom.

Hana straightens herself as she gets up and approaches Klein. "You belong to me, now, so follow my orders," Hana growls to her threateningly, who nods nervously. Hana spreads her legs and shows Klein my c.u.m inside her p.u.s.s.y, "Clean me."

Klein obeys like the good little s.l.u.t she's quickly becoming.

­

We leave the bath while Klein stays inside to not arouse suspicion with her family. Once we pa.s.s Flor, she looks at us blankly then makes a visible effort to not laugh. Once she regains control over herself she suddenly pretends that there's work to be done in the ledger.

We sit down for dinner and are quickly served pasta with roasted duck. There's a purple sauce on the pasta so I eagerly taste it.

I drop my fork in surprise and anger, "Motherf.u.c.king pompous elves! This is tomato sauce!"

­

I cover my mouth with my hand and blush in embarra.s.sment. A few of the elven patrons heard my shout and send me some glares. An imperial drunk chuckles loudly and cheers me on, earning some glares of his own from even more elves.

The girls look at me oddly and Alissa asks, "To-mayto?" She tilts her head cutely, "Isn't that one of the vegetables you asked me to find?"

"Yes! I can't believe the d.a.m.n elves have been hogging this fruit for themselves all this time!" I hiss under my breath.

Hana slurps a few noodles and hums while savoring the taste. The other girls and Gify copy her, and our table goes silent while they all savor the sauce.

"Gih!" Gify loves it.

The opinion of a Black Hole about the tastiness of things isn't reliable.

"Tasty," Aoi says in a calm tone.

Now, if Aoi likes it, then it must actually be tasty.

"It's okay," Lina comments.

"I think there's some of that Basil you like," Alissa says.

"Oh, yes, they use a lot of this sauce. They like to put it on everything," Roxanne says.

Hana goes silent and eats faster.

"You said it's fruit? So isn't this juice instead of sauce?" Ciel asks.

I shrug, I have no idea what the difference is between them.

"Excuse me," I call the attention of an androgynous waiter, "What's the name of the vegetable this sauce comes from?"

They smile kindly and speak, "This is tomafinger, it's a staple in our cuisine."

T-tomwhat? I heard something else being spoken but the system translated it to that monstrosity.

The waiter leaves and I shake my head.

I refuse to say that name. For me, this is not-tomato.

"So, let's buy a ton of this fruit while we're here," I say.

"We have to be careful, though. If we buy a lot, then they might think that we are trying to export it and the elves will investigate," Lina says.

It would be awkward trying to explain what we did with a ton of not-tomatoes if they inspect my nearly empty [Item Box].

"I feel annoyed at being so close to something I love so much and not being able to enjoy it due to elven elitism," I say.

"Well, they sold tomafingers to the chimeras, so they aren't that bad," Lina shrugs.

Everyone is hogging the good stuff all to themselves. Who's hogging rice and coffee? Will I have to explore every single place in the world to find them?

Gih.

You would like that, wouldn't you?

I feel Gify grin inside my head.

A world-spanning quest for rice and coffee. How far would a man go to acquire his comfort food?

Gih!

­

Anton, Rande, and their respective families enter the dining area. Klein sends me an exaggerated wink and then Osaria copies her. I bite my lip to hold back my chuckle.

Rande sits on a table beside ours and strikes up a conversation with Hana about their fight with the Corpse Stealer horde.

"I'll retire to our room," I say to the girls and hold down Alissa's shoulder when she motions get up too. "You can stay. My 'Sanity' is good enough now that it's way less stressful to stay far from your blessing," I whisper in her ear.

She puckers her lips in thought and worry.

"Enjoy yourself," I say and leave. Lina quickly gets up and follows me.

"I don't really want to talk to them," she says, awkwardly.

Hana sits at Rande's table and drags Roxanne with her to sit beside Osaria.

­

I switch the room's bed out for ours and add some extra beds so everyone can sleep in the same room.

Lina cuddles up with me and pulls out one of Alissa's books to read. Her cute little a.s.s finds its usual spot: with my shaft buried between her a.s.s cheeks.

I take the opportunity to brush her hair. It's a very cathartic experience and I feel my consciousness drifting away. After I'm done, I pull out the elven skin oil and smile at her suggestively.

She completely undresses for me and I [Ma.s.sage] her delicate skin while she tries not to moan. I don't even touch an erogenous zone, yet she quickly leaves a large wet spot on my crotch. Then I cup her little mounds and play with her nipples. Now she lets out her voice and moans freely, her concentration completely broken.

While I play with Lina, I concentrate on the conversation downstairs through the [Bind]. Alissa's hearing is good enough that I can hear what everyone is saying.

I notice that Rande is decreasing his flirting, but Hana's "Charisma" is still high enough for them to be very friendly towards each other. Osaria is striking up a proper conversation with Roxanne, and through Aoi's eyes, I can see that they aren't touching each other too much.

Alissa and Ciel talk with Klein, her family, and Laertes. They are talking about Sommerland and the possible birthplace of Ciel. Gify is being petted by Klein while Anton and Krista look at her with a hint of envy.

The wet sounds of Lina's juices grow louder. She eventually gets frustrated enough that she takes out my erection and aims it inside herself. I grab her thin waist and push her down. She is so tight that I see her p.u.s.s.y's lips holding onto my shaft and refusing to let go.

I give Alissa a small hint of what I'm doing to Lina and her heart tightens so much that I almost c.u.m. She grits her teeth in frustration but doesn't give anyone a hint of what she's feeling.

Aoi suddenly comes off of Hana's shoulders and scurries towards our room. She grows large and opens the door by herself.

"What is it, Aoi?" I ask.

"I want, to play, too!" She answers and climbs up onto the bed. She grows to her larger form and pushes me down, then she shoves her tongue inside my mouth.

I share my senses with Aoi and just as I'm starting to o.r.g.a.s.m I share my senses with Alissa, too. She fakes a coughing fit to mask her o.r.g.a.s.m and casts a [Clean] inside her panties.

"Wolfy~! That was dirty!" She complains inside my head.

"That's what you deserve, wh.o.r.e," I force her a.s.s cheeks to clench and her p.u.s.s.y tingles again.

"Punish me more!"

"No."

And I leave her like that.

Lina cleans herself and we calm down.

"Give me, some!" Aoi asks and Lina feeds her some of my c.u.m. "It's bitter!" She complains and frowns at Lina.

She shrugs and says, "It's not the taste but the... well, the dirtiness of drinking something that came out of his p.e.n.i.s."

"Dirty?" Aoi tilts her head, copying Alissa.

"It's something personal, something that only lovers can share," I say.

Aoi's connection hums as she thinks deeply and taps one claw on her lip. "Seconds, please!" She asks.

­

A slightly drunk Ciel comes back to bed and tries to kill me in my sleep by suffocation. A fitting death if any, but far too early for me.

­

Today is the 11th.

Lina wakes me up with an adorable smile. Aoi sneaks beside her and steals a part of her bounty in a surprise attack. Instead of being mad, Lina looks almost disappointed that it ended.

­

Lina leveled up to 24, she learned [Throw] with 2 points.

­

We have a simple breakfast: soft biscuits, tea, fruits, and... Gatun milk.

"Sweeter than a cow's," I say with a shrug.

After we finish our meal, we laze around for a few minutes.

"I want to take a walk through the city," Alissa says.

Ciel and Hana nod in agreement.

"I'm feeling lazy, I'll just spend some time in a tea shop or something," I say.

"Take, me," Aoi asks.

Roxanne and Lina look at each other. "Let's play some Civil War...?" Lina asks tentatively.

Roxanne's eyes turn sharp and she smiles evilly. "Bring it on."

­

I discreetly summon three Shads and three Hollys. We should be relatively safe in this town if we don't go down any dark alleys. The elven authorities certainly wouldn't take kindly to imperials starting trouble here.

Roxanne gives me the Giant Centipede she killed and I head to the hunter's guild to get our rewards. I ask for directions a few times and quickly find it since the town is small enough that it's hard to get lost.

I go down the stairs to the lower level and enter a gloomy street. There's not much sunlight, so luminous plants are used as a subst.i.tute.

The guild looks much simpler than Rabanara's, and only the black bones of Corpse Stealers decorate the outer walls. As I cross through the double doors, I immediately smell the perfume of scented logs being burned and see quite the cozy atmosphere inside. The furniture is upholstered and covered in Uspidor skin, making it look quite comfortable to sit on. There are a few other Proofs of Extermination embedded in the interior walls, but they look more like museum displays rather than trophies from successful hunts. Having a fireplace in a building made entirely out of wood gives me some anxiety, but I can see a gem above it that somehow must be controlling the fire. The scented logs have a faint flowery smell to them that reminds me of chamomile.

The few hunters are mostly dignified elves with poise in their posture. Some of them are showing off glossy wooden armor but most wear elegant padded leather armor. The elves look at me with doubt while the few imperial hunters send more sympathetic gazes.

The way I walk with my sword at my waist and the presence of Aoi curled around my neck would give pause to anyone who might underestimate me. Though, that won't stop stupid people from doing stupid things.

I see a sign above a door in both Andraste and Ingua that says "Dismantling Room," so I enter through there. Two elves are playing cards inside. They've decorated their puffy beards with flowers, giving them an odd mix of girlishness and manliness.

The bigger one of the duo notices me and motions to the empty metal tables. "Feel free to pull out your monsters," he says.

Let's just show off a little to build some reputation.

I pull out the Kappatti, Marsh Goblins, Wood Goblins, Uspidor, Giant Centipede, and the pile of Corpse Stealer bones.

The bigger one lets his mouth hang open and the smaller one turns around to understand what stunned his co-worker. They both look so alike that I'm not sure if they are brothers or it's just the elven "curse."

"Young Mishter, you, uh, belong tchu a mersh'nary comp'ny?" The bigger one asks me nervously. His Andraste is a little odd, he has a thick European Portuguese accent and p.r.o.nounces the vowels openly, like in Ingua.

"Wolf Ryder, leader of the fellowship Helios," I say and extend my hand for a handshake.

He looks at me and leans over to kiss it but thinks better and just gives me a handshake.

I certainly do not want a bearded man kissing my hand.

"I am Oldo and thish ish my brother, Boldo," he motions to the smaller man.

Boldo starts to hurriedly count the number of Corpse Stealers and I feel some mana escape his hand. He is merely checking whether or not all bones belong together, something simple for a Spirit mage.

Oldo goes towards the Uspidor and Giant Centipede.

"You ush'd [Bleed] on thish one, but how did you kill thish other one?" Oldo asks.

"Secret of my fellowship," I answer and Oldo grunts in understanding.

"Your fellowship killed all these Corpse Stealers by yourselves?" Boldo asks, his accent is much fainter than his brother's.

"We did, indeed."
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"I could recommend you to the Lord's Knight Company. A fellowship like yours you would be paid handsomely," he immediately adds.

I raise a hand in a plea for him to stop. "We are currently working as a temporary escort for a caravan and we prefer to remain unbound," I say.

Boldo sighs and nods to me. "A shame, but the offer will stand if you ever change your mind," he says, then returns to examining the Corpse Stealers.

"I want the tentacles from the Uspidor, if you can remove them for me," I ask Oldo.

"Yay! They are delicious raw, with Alissa's cooking they will taste even better!" Aoi cheers in my head.

We get 30 gold coins for the Corpses, 3 for the Uspidor, and 1 more for the other monsters.

­

On the way to the hunter's guild, I saw a stair with the sign "Observation Point" above it, so I return there to investigate.

We go down a long stair down past the lower level of the town. After a set of thick bark doors, we come out into an inverted observation dome where the floor is made of thick gla.s.s and plenty of benches are available for us to lay down on. There's a single bored guard at the entrance to the dome and a few elves on the benches.

I lay down on a bench and keep my face at the edge so I can comfortably look down. The elves send me a few restrained glances but mostly ignore us.

"I guess this is kind of like a date," I say to Aoi.

"Date? A day...?" She tilts her head and rubs against my cheek.

"That got translated oddly, I guess dating is not a thing here."

"Time-ing?"

"On Earth, we have a casual relationship level called 'dating,' kind of like lovers but the word 'love' has heavier connotations there than it does here."

"I love you, we are not date-ing!" She scoffs.

"Well, okay, but the thing we are doing is kind of a 'date': two people in love spending time together just by themselves."

"Then isn't every day a 'date'?"

"Well, we are mostly working or training, so it has to be like, away from home and we have to be doing something fun."

"But training is fun! And so is killing monsters, they are delicious!"

I smile at her cheerful mindset. "Different standards."

"Hm."

From the observatory, we have a view of the lake below. It's quite calming and beautiful. The not-fireflies make for a truly magical sight straight out of a fantasy story. Not that I'm not in one, considering all that's happened to me.

Sometime later, an elven priest comes in and lights incense in the middle of the dome. Slowly, a faint herby smell fills the room.

I pull out two teacups Alissa prepared for us and some snacks, meaty ones for Aoi. She cutely drinks from the cup like a cat and nibbles on the slices of meat on the tray.

"You are supposed to be omnivorous," I tell her.

"But meat tastes goood!"

"Eating veggies will give you nutrients and help you grow big and strong."

"Muuuh," she groans in annoyance.

­

When the time for lunch nears, Alissa talks to me in my head, "Wolfy, we found a nice restaurant, let's eat here."

"Sure." I take out the lithograph out of my pocket and feed it some mana. I write on the crystal screen with my finger and the black ink congregates at the places that I touched it. In a few seconds the message is formed: "Ro, Li, come meet us."

We barely enter the restaurant and Aoi is already salivating in hunger. The smell of barbecue and scented logs is so strong that even I'm getting excited. We join the girl's table and wait for Roxanne and Lina to come. Meanwhile, they discreetly transfer to me all the things they bought. Tons of Tonsel, the not-lemon; bag upon bag of not-tomato; a.s.sorted fruits and veggies; more scented candles; scented logs for barbecuing; cheap skin-care products; and a few pieces of interesting-looking underwear.

"Everything is so cheap right now," Ciel whispers excitedly.

"And they all seemed eager to sell to us," Alissa adds.

"Gih."

"Pff, they weren't looking at you, at least not the men," Hana says.

Gify clicks his beak at Hana.

"Elves don't usually have large b.r.e.a.s.t.s," Alissa comments and glances at Ciel's modest cleavage.

The two missing girls soon arrive with Roxanne holding Lina's hand. Roxanne looks like Lina's older sister, they are adorable together.

"Awn... have you two been getting along?" Hana asks with mockery on her tone.

"Oh yes, her little tongue has been licking my lips all this time," Roxanne says with an evil smile.

Ciel and Lina both glare at her with annoyance.

"The score was 5-4 in favor of Lina," I say and Roxanne bites her tongue.

­

We order our meal and huge steaks are served to each of us. They have orc ribs with barbecue sauce and it tastes just like back on Earth. My mind melts with the flavors and I get one step closer to feeling at home.

I let a sigh escape from my lips and Alissa looks at me oddly. "Were those ribs that good?" She asks.

"No, not really. It's just that I've missed this quite a lot, it feels very nostalgic for me," I answer.

"Food is something that gives us comfort. We get so used to the taste of certain foods that we feel empty if we don't have them once in a while," Ciel says.

"So, food is like poppy?" Roxanne asks with a raised eyebrow.

"More like s.e.x," Ciel answers with a wry smile. Hana and Roxanne let out an "ooh" in sync.

­

After lunch, we find a dead-end street and play around with the [Float] enchantment. You can throw yourself as hard as you want into the hole and the enchantment will always push you back to safety. It feels just like [Telekinesis], it changes your gravity until you gently fall back onto the road, which means it can be a little disorientating if you spin too much.

I lightly spar with the girls but keep my instant-magic hidden. I haven't met any suspicious people here yet, but Katasko can just buy information from the elves if they need to.

A few shy elven children appear at the corner of the street and watch us curiously. Ciel and Alissa turn to them like moths to a flame and their smiles mesmerize most of the children but creep out a few.

An elven boy (I think) comes to Hana and pulls out his own wooden shortsword, "Missh, can you teach ush to fight?" He asks.

"Oh?" Hana looks down and smiles warmly, "Of course, but don't you have your own teacher for that?"

"Yes, but he shaid to spar with ash many people ash I can."

Hana laughs and the kid winces, "Good advice, let's play a little, then."

I sit down near the curb and watch them spar. Lina ends up being dragged into it since her height makes her a good sparring partner for the boy, much to her annoyance.

As time pa.s.ses, the number of girly looking elven children sitting beside me increases so much that I start to become uncomfortable.

"Why are they all so close?" I ask Alissa through our connection.

"Well, you are quite cute for a human, your scars give you a little charm, and your height makes it easier for them to relate to you," Alissa answers, barely containing a chuckle.

G.o.ds, please, I'm not a pedo!

The kids play tag and at first, they manage to outwit Alissa by playing around with the [Float] enchantment. Once she manages to copy their tricks, the evil orange fox comes out and the kids have to learn strict teamwork just to bring her down.

"You seem to be enjoying playing with children more than even Ciel," I say to Alissa.

This gives her pause and she ends up being stabbed in the back. The children cheer in victory, but it's cut short so that they can start the next round.

"I guess..." I feel Alissa shrug.

­

We return to the inn with the sunset and fool around in the bath again. Roxanne fulfills her promise and steals Lina from Ciel so she can have her fun. To console Ciel, I give all of my attention to my chocolate G.o.ddess and ma.s.sage her insides quite thoroughly.

Dinner is more pasta, now with Bolognese sauce. I discreetly add some shredded cheese and not-olive oil to it. It tastes so perfect that I could even see myself having a meal back at home while being surrounded by my family. All five of us around a table with a large pot of pasta, roasted chicken, and some cheap sweet wine. I can even remember the Sunday TV programs that would be on at that time.

This time I don't sigh, but I do get a little emotional, so only Aoi and Alissa notice my feelings through our connection.

­

Anton's attempts to keep us separate from Klein aren't really that bad considering she's getting extra attention from her family. She looks very happy when she comes back to the inn and immediately sits at our table.

The girls share information about what they bought in town. Just like us, they got a lot of skin-care products and even Anton got a few for himself.

"I mean, they really do work. Being bald may look easier than having to take care of your hair, but my skin can easily get dry and wrinkly," Anton defends himself.

"There might be only a single race in the entire realm that thinks that skin-care is a simple business," Ciel says and sends a discrete glance to Hana.

"Well, it is simple," Hana says with a shrug and smiles wryly when every woman at the table sends her a glare.

­

We go to sleep early since we'll be waking up tomorrow before sunrise.

­

Intermission 13

­

I enter my room and breathe in deeply to calm my nerves.

What am I doing? How am I even going to start this conversation?

"Hey, Dad, I want to lose my virginity. No, not Laertes, obviously. Yes, I want to have s.e.x with the cute perverted boy who has his own harem."

Or maybe I should go with: "Hey, Dad, I want to have s.e.x with whoever I want. Obviously, I will join that boy and his harem and have orgies everyday with all of them. Yeah, totally normal."

This is so ridiculous. I just want to have some fun...!

I sigh and lean against the door.

If only he wasn't so ambitious, he would be quite the catch.

I think I should keep in touch with Hana. They should be grooming Hermann to become a knight...

I groan and slap my cheeks.

Whatever, I'll improvise.

I leave my room and knock on the door of the room beside mine.

"Come in," Mom says.

Dad is delicately brushing Mom's hair with a brush far too small for his huge hand. His "Dexterity" is amazing.

"What is it, Klein? You look nervous," Mom says, her intuition is as sharp as ever.

"Well, I just want to talk about something," I answer and force an innocent smile.

Dad immediately stops brushing and his eyes lock with mine. Mom motions for me to sit and I awkwardly make myself comfortable on the corner of their bed.

I breathe in to muster all my courage and ask, "Dad, when are you going to find a husband for me?"

Mom calmly turns to him and I see his face twitch.

"I haven't found any good enough," he answers flatly.

"Dad, I'm twenty already."

His permanent frown grows deeper, "Still young, only trophy hunters would care so much about your age."

"But I want a husband! I want someone to love!" I protest and my tail twists on itself.

"I already said I haven't found anyone good enough!" He glowers at me. His normal voice is loud enough that increasing the volume just a little is enough to be considered a yell.

"Then I want the right to choose my own!" I pout and glower back.

"My love..." Mom says softly and her small hand cups his large cheek. He quickly calms and looks at her worriedly. "What kind of husband are you searching for her?"

"A good one," he answers flatly.

"And what would be good enough? A Lord? Is that why it's taking so long? You want a Lord for me," I say with a sneer.

Mom turns to me and her angry eyes force me to shut my mouth.

Dad shows a bit of annoyance on his face, then he breathes in and speaks, "Someone who would respect you, who wouldn't treat you like a trophy. Someone who's not collecting wives or husbands and truly wants to respect the exchange of vows that a marriage is supposed to be about."

"If you say it like that, then Laertes would be perfect, would he not?" I ask and send him a glare. Dad keeps silent and I see him grit his teeth in anger. "But Laertes is not rich is he? That's why he's not 'good enough.' You want a rich man with power and enough heart to truly love only me. Dad, that someone only exists in dreams."

"Do you want to wait for someone perfect and live the rest of your life happily, or do you want someone now and have a mediocre marriage?" He asks between gritted teeth. He's using a lot of "Willpower" to not yell and wake up the entire inn.

"I want to choose for myself," I say confidently.

"You want to f.u.c.k that perverted boy."

"So, what?!" I hiss at him.

"You two, stop it," Mom says with finality on her tone. "Anton... you haven't been putting much effort in finding her a husband, have you?" Mom's cold tone makes Dad tense up.

"I saw them all and deemed them unworthy," Dad nervously says, using big words to sound confident.

"You barely talked to the n.o.bility. You can't judge someone's personality that way," Mom says and then turns forward, her cold eyes now a.s.sault me. "You just want to drown in s.e.x. You know they are having orgies every day."

"Well... yes, I want to have s.e.x!"

G.o.ds! I never thought I would have to admit such a thing to my parents!

"You know how men like him are, you are just going to be a trophy for him," she says, flatly.

"I don't care, I just want to have some fun with them."

Both of them raise their eyebrows in surprise and I cringe.

"Even with the women...?" Mom asks, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Yes...?" I answer, a little unsure of myself.

"Should I, uh, start searching for wives, too?" Dad asks.

"No, I still prefer men."

"Okay, then."

"So, that's it! I'm sleeping with Wolfy-... Wolf w-whether you like it or not!" I announce.

"You are going to regret this," Dad says in a disapproving tone.

"Husband, you have only yourself to blame," Mom says and slaps his cheek lightly.

Dad grumbles and looks away. "Since you are so naive, let me tell you to not accept marrying him if he proposes to you. He's the perfect example of a 'collector,'" he adds.

"I won't, I don't want to marry him."

"That makes it worse."

Mom groans. "You both are making stupid decisions, but nothing is perfect, except for my cooking, so you both need to learn your lessons."

Dad protests, "She's just letting herself be sed-..."

I start to speak at the same time, "He's just too scared to find m-..."

"Not another word!" Mom interrupts and we both go silent. "You both need to learn your lessons the hard way."

­

­

Hall of Fame of Patrons

The patrons who support Rupegia shall have their names sung by the bards for they deserve the glory and honor. Their names are:

Oracle Maximillian Hübner.

Lord Andrew Meyers.

Lord Hope.

Lord Samuel Lim.

Lord Cody Weigel.

Lord Bill.

Lord Novgarod.

n.o.ble Salty Panda.