Commissioned by kyo amamoto and choir.
I made a face as a tongue lapped over my face and neck.
"Ugh, knock it off!" I groaned, trying and failing to get away from the giant (six feet tall at the shoulder), glittering silver pupper (who looked like a Shiba Inu) who had borne me to the ground the moment I got him out of the magic circle keeping him in. A magic circle Sprite was already working on reverse engineering and finding a counter to—because we didn't want to get jumped by some dickhead using one of these to strip us of our power.
"Woof!"
I sighed in relief as goodest boy finally let me up. Summoning a ball of hot water, I washed the slobber off. "Blech. Seriously bud, you need a breath mint. Now, come on. Let's get you back home. We've already got the others here."
Goodest boy followed me as I led us out of the building where we had rescued him and seven kids from yet another group of smugglers. With the intel we kept gathering every time we hit another group, in addition to Kishirika's demon eyes and Sprite's panopticon surveillance state we kept finding more more as we worked our way across the forest, dropping kids off as we went.
"Rudeus!" Eris bounced up to me and immediately grabbed her hair, pulling it up and adopting her cutest look. My cock twitched in my pants.
"No."
She glared. "You didn't even let me say it!"
I looked around her, to the beastkin kids who Lilia was providing clothes for, even as goodest boy left my side and padded over to the girl with the silver cat ears and tail, who looked kind of vaguely like Ghislaine. A younger, loli Ghislaine maybe. Shifting back to Eris, I raised an eyebrow at her. My future second wife had the decency to blush, but she looked no less excited. I sighed. "If you can persuade one or two of the girls to work for you as a servant, then yes. You can keep them. But don't push. Don't bully. Don't try to force something. Try making friends first, okay?"
"Mm!" Eris bounced up and kissed me on the lips with a happy little smile. "Love you," she giggled, before turning to rush for the beastkin.
I caught her by the back of the shirt and hefted her up. "Fuck sake, Eris. We just rescued them. Have some decorum."
"Nng! But Rudeus~!"
Picking her up, I slung her over my shoulder like a pouty, curvy, redheaded sack of potatoes… which I would have to dick down later to keep her from going after one of those girls. The comparison kind of fell apart.
Like Eris's self-control the moment she saw beastkin.
Walking over to the group as I smacked Eris's ass, I nodded in greeting to them as they eyed me warily. "Sorry about her, kids. Eris has a condition and she can't really control herself around beastkin. If she gets grabby or makes you feel uncomfortable, just grab a stick and whack her on the nose, okay?" I demonstrated, raising my hand and making a flicking swatting motion. "'Bad!' 'Stop!' See? Easy."
Some of the kids laughed and goodest boy barked. The loli Ghislaine looked between the dog and me. "Thank you for saving the sacred beast, mister. He's incredibly important to our tribes."
"No problem. I couldn't just leave a cute, fluffy puppy chained up like that when I saw him. So, I'm Rudeus and this is Eris," I gave Eris's ass a pat before setting her on her feet now that she seemed to have calmed down. "That there is Lilia, my maid. Over there," I gestured towards our resident Superd, currently glaring at the captured men awaiting interrogation, "is Ruijerd. What are your names?"
They introduced themselves but two stood out. Tersena, a cutie patootie dog girl with floppy ears. And Minitona, or just Tona Dedoldia.
Hearing that she shared Ghislaine's name, Eris and I exchanged looks and I asked the question on both our minds. "You wouldn't happen to be related to a Ghislaine Dedoldia, would you?"
"Mm! She's my aunt. Papa said she was mean and had to leave the village a long time ago, before I was born."
That didn't sound like our Ghislaine, but then, people change. "We can call her—"
"Later," I cut Eris off. "Get them settled in first. Lilia, we're going to send you all up to the Roxy. If you and Eris would get the kids settled in with the other beastkin? Show them how to work the showers. Get them fed and tucked away in bed?"
"Of course, master Rudeus," Lilia nodded, a small smile on her lips.
"Alright kids. Be good for Lilia, or I'll sic Eris on you. Get cleaned up, get some food in you, and bed down for the night. We can work out where you all came from tomorrow."
With that, the kids, plus Lilia and Eris and one big doggo, lifted off as Sprite took the initiative and hauled them up to the Roxy—to squeals of fear and/or delight. Meanwhile, I turned and made my way over to Ruijerd. Stopping in front of the prisoners, I looked them over.
"Alright. So, here's the deal. I'm not going to threaten you with torture. Instead, I'm going to just tell you this flat out: I intend to kill every last one of you. But. One of you may, just maybe, be able to earn his freedom. The person who provides me the most useful information gets to live. The rest?"
I turned to Ruijerd and the man nodded, removing his headband. Pants-shitting terror roiled off the men on the ground as they began scrambling to get away. Literally. Several of them soiled themselves.
"I'll give you to my friend here. Ruijerd really hates people who abuse kids. Now! Who wants to go first?"
The next morning, I sat with Roxy, Eris, Elinalise, Kishirika, Aisha, and Lilia in attendance as we had our usual morning call. We had a guest this time, however—in the form of Tona. She had left goodest boy, who I learned was named Leo, with Tersena and the rest of the reunited beastkin kids. Ruijerd was watching over them, along with Tallhand, as the warrior sparred lightly with them—helping them regain their strength after being in captivity and training them against future capture. He really was a softy.
Aisha sat in my lap, with Eris to my left and Roxy to my right, Kishirika, Elinalise, and Tona across from me at the small round table, and Lilia serving us breakfast. Sprite was, of course, always present—though in this case she appeared as a hologram on the table, beside the display waiting for the others to connect.
"Rudeus my boy!"
I rolled my eyes at the enthusiastic greeting from Sauros. "Gramps," I greeted.
He looked around the table, nodding his head and smiling as he spotted Roxy. "It's good to see you there, Ms. Roxy. Eris!"
"Yes grandfather!" Eris shouted and I winced, reaching over and smacking the side of her ass lightly, reminding her to turn the volume down.
"I see you've found an absolutely adorable beastkin girl… he he he~"
"I know, right?! Ue he he he~"
Leaning to the side slightly to see around the hologram, I sent Tona an apologetic look. "Sorry for them. Eris's condition is hereditary. Her whole family has it."
"I… it's fine?" Tona asked hesitantly. "I kind of like the attention. And she, uh," Tona blushed and looked down. "Eris helped me bathe and she knows all the best places to scratch my ears."
Sauros sent his granddaughter a thumbs up and a nod as he grinned. I, on the other hand, sent Eris a flat look. "Eris."
"Eep! Rudeus?!" she asked, recognizing the warning tone in my voice and growing nervous.
"Did you explain the situation to her before you did this?"
Eris looked shifty-eyed, her red eyes looking anywhere but me. "I told her you were my husband…"
"Not yet," I sighed, pulling the girl into a hug. I gestured at the table and Sprite sent Sauros's hologram off to the side, shrinking it—it wouldn't actually change anything on his side, but it would give us more space for the others once they connected. "Tona, I'm going to take you aside and talk to you about this later, okay?"
"O-okay?"
"You're not in trouble or anything."
"Oh," she relaxed.
Roxy shifted beside me, gently elbowing me in the side. "I think it might be better if I spoke to her, along with Sylphie and Eris."
"Don't leave me out," Kishirika grinned.
"Yes, Roxy, don't forget about me~," Elinalise teased.
"I wish I could," my Migurd wife sighed. But she nodded in acceptance regardless.
"Be my guest," I agreed. Turning back to Sauros, I asked, "How far are you from Ars?"
"About a day by horse now. I should get there some time tomorrow."
We talked a bit about his plans, once he got there. He would be speaking with the king, Ariel's father, and informing him of the coming resolution to the teleport disaster. Following that, Sauros would act as our point of contact for the time being to negotiate with the Asuran kingdom regarding the rebuilding of the Fittoa region and Roa, along with the trade agreements we would be establishing later on. He and Ariel had been working closely together, going over everything they knew about the king, court, and other nobles—namely, the information Sprite was gathering from her constant spying in the capitol.
More people began connecting. Sylvia, Sylphie's mother, connected shortly after, holding the squirming three year old Elin. Following her were Sylphie and Ariel, then Ghislaine and Phillip, then Hilda.
"Alright. It's been a week since we did one of these and the situation's changed," I began, before nodding towards Sprite. A hologram of the Roxy and the fleet moving over the forest was added to the others. "We've started making our way home. Things are moving a little slower than we planned, but that's because we've been rooting out a slaving ring. It's actually kind of useful for info on Fittoa survivors—we've already caught a few leads. A few of them were actually captured in these parts and shipped off elsewhere, so we're running those down. I think this may put us a couple of weeks behind projections, but it'll be worth it."
"Roxy… is that you on the front of the ship?" Sylphie asked, innocently.
"Nn," Roxy made a quiet noise of distress as she lit up in a blush and hid her face against my chest.
Eris laughed and nodded. "Oh yeah! It was great! You should have seen her face."
"I recorded it. Do you want me to play it, Eris?" Sprite asked, her tone teasing.
"Nooo~!" Roxy wailed, shaking her head.
That got laughs from everyone as my poor first wife was bullied. I petted her hair and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. "I love you," I murmured against her head.
Roxy whimpered, pulling back just enough to pout up at me, looking sulky and adorable. I turned my attention back to the table as Phillip continued. "We're finished here and heading up to Ars. We should arrive within the week, where we'll be joining you, father."
"Good, good," Sauros nodded.
"Be careful. My father is going to be looking for someone for the kingdom to lay the blame on," Ariel warned. "I recommend going as a group."
Sauros waved her off. "I'll be fine. Besides, I don't want to involve Phillip in my problems. I'll handle that old blowhard."
"It's the Prime Minister you have to worry about," Phillip muttered, earning nods from both Ariel and Sylphie.
"How's Tristina, by the way? We haven't heard from her in a while?" Eris asked.
"She's doing well!" Sylphie beamed. "Though… she's made friends with some troublemakers." At my raised eyebrow, she answered, "Lilia Dedoldia and Pursena Adoldia—"
"Ah!" Tona perked up. "You know my big sister?"
Sylphie blinked, before her red eyes cut over to the beastkin girl. "You look just like her."
Ghislaine, meanwhile, hummed. "So, you're Gyes' brats?"
"Yes!" Tona nodded. "You're my aunt, right?! I want to know you more!"
Ghislaine looked a bit awkward and Roxy pulled away from my chest. Straightening up, she looked across the table to Tona. "We can continue that later. I'm sure Sprite would be happy to let you talk, assuming Ghislaine wants to…?"
"Sure," the woman shrugged. "Wouldn't mind hearing how the village is doing. Or why you're with Rudeus."
"We were kidnapped!"
Ghislaine sat up a bit straighter, her visible golden eye tracking to me. I nodded and she settled down a bit. "I owe you again, Rudeus."
"You can pay me back in the usual way," I sent the muscular woman a leer.
"Oh yes~. I've heard all about your little romp with Rudeus and Eris, Ghislaine. I'll have you know, I've sampled Rudeus myself—"
Ghislaine blinked, a frown crossing her face as she turned back to me. "You're not dead."
"Nope," I confirmed.
Her frown morphed to a look of worry as she turned back to Elinalise. "You didn't manage to wear him out?"
"Quite the contrary! Rudeus gave me the ride of my life! I've never been so thoroughly satisfied by one man before. Oh, certainly, Roxy, Eris, and Kishirika were fun—"
"'Fun,' she says. I'll show her just fun," Kishirika muttered, glaring at the lewd elf as her pride made itself known.
"—but Rudeus really wore me out."
Ghislaine turned and locked eyes with Roxy. Roxy nodded, before turning her gaze to Sylphie and Ariel. "Send help."
"Oh my~" Hilda murmured, hiding her smile behind her hand. "Rudy, have you been treating those girls well?"
"It sounds like he's been treating them very well," Sylvia pointed out dryly.
"Moving on!" I announced loudly. "Fittoa." Everyone perked up at that. "Sprite, pull up the plans for Rebuild."
"Yes, master," she nodded, and a new hologram joined the others. "Per Operation Rebuild, I will begin covering the land with fertile soil, using a topographical map to return the land to its pre-teleporation state, or as close as possible, with a few improvements. I will begin regrowing fields of Bardius plants using samples taken by Master." Sauros and Phillip nodded along, knowing that the lavender-like plants were the region's main source of income—actually a large percentage of the income for the Asura Kingdom as a whole, something close to a quarter. Which should tell you all you need to know about where all that money was going, if not back into the community actually harvesting the plants.
"Following that, I will replant and grow new forests for lumber. Additionally, I will seed the area with crops that were formerly native to the region. While I'm recovering the native environment, I will begin rebuilding the villages, homes, roads, and other structures—working my way inwards, towards Roa. Because of the inefficiencies and structural deficiencies prevalent in many of the old structures, I will instead be replacing the old structures with brick and mortar exterior construction reinforced with steel bars, steel roofing, and wood framework and construction for interiors. I know this will change the way the area looks as far as aesthetics and culture, but—"
Sauros snorted. "My girl, no one is going to complain when you replace their drafty old homes with sturdy construction that's going to last generations. Go right on ahead. If you want though, and if you have the time, you could face the exteriors with wood or stone to make each more unique."
"I agree. Refugees coming home to find their homes not just intact but improved aren't going to complain if they don't look quite the same. And if they do, tell them they can always go back to where they were found," Phillip nodded.
"Very well," Sprite nodded. "Following the reconstruction of homes, I'll begin the minutae of individual enchantments for each village—lights, running hot water, waste disposal, and so on, along with improving the local industries with modernized facilities for processing lumber, grain, metal, and the like. While I'm rebuilding the villages, I will be adding several new villages for our Migurd refugees—"
"And any other race or group who wants it," I spoke up, drawing Sprite's attention. "I've been thinking. We could make the offer to move to any of the adult slaves we're going to be picking up—because at this point, we may as well completely destroy slavery as a trade, kill the slavers, and collect every slave we come across along the way. They're going to need somewhere to live, where they won't have to worry about being recaptured and sold again. Plus, well, the Demon Continent is kind of a shithole. Sorry Kishirika."
"No offense taken," she waved the apology off. "It really is."
"So, we can start offering the remote villages there, living on the ragged edge like the Migurd, a home in Fittoa. We've got the room. If they become a problem—that is, if they start problems with the locals—then we can deal with them. If the locals start problems, we'll deal with them, too. But if the lord of Fittoa were to decree that they were as welcome as any of his other taxpayers, and word it as, say, a grant of land to be repaid over time by taxes…"
"Hmm. Yes," Sauros nodded slowly, stroking his beard. "Yes, I can see it. Ars isn't going to complain about more taxpayers, more soldiers, and more mages. Milis will complain, but…"
"But if they do, Rudy will engage in American diplomacy," Ariel muttered, and I smirked at that, even as the others looked confused. Looking up and taking in the confused looks, Ariel elaborated. "If they complain, ignore them. If they attack, blow the shit out of them, destroy their largest cities, then move in and rebuild their countries better than before and turn them into a vassal state."
"Still sore about that whole Hiroshima thing I see."
"And Nagasaki! You didn't have to do it twice!"
"Yeah, but we got anime out of it, so…"
"And hentai."
"Point."
Beside me, Roxy shivered, recognizing both of those names and having the context to actually understand what we were talking about. "Please don't."
After that, Sprite detailed the rest of her plan—seeding the area with game captured and moved in from other regions (there were going to be a bunch of very confused animals telekinetically flying through the sky at night soon), dropping off initial stockpiles of supplies for each village to be released once the villagers moved in, walling every individual village off, walling the entire area off to keep monsters and unwanted visitors out unless they used the main roads, and so on. The only thing she wouldn't do would be fixing Roa.
That, I was going to do myself.
Sprite finished up her little presentation and I sent her a smile. "So," I looked around at everyone gathered, in person and by hologram. "That's it. What do we say? Go ahead or not?"
"Do it, my boy."
"Get started now, but if I were you, I'd have Sprite start talking to your passengers. Find out where they all lived, and show them the reconstruction efforts. Take their input into consideration. What happened was a tragedy, admittedly, but it has given us a chance to correct all the little mistakes we didn't realize we were dealing with for years. Things like putting the tannery too close to the town, for instance," Phillip supplied.
There were a few more suggestions as the consensus came to a unanimous vote of 'yes.' Turning my attention back to Sprite, I nodded. "Well, you heard them. Go ahead and get started, please."
After that, the meeting wound down as people broke off into smaller groups to chat amongst themselves. My soon-to-be wives and lovers all absconded to another room, dragging Tona with them. I spoke a bit more with Phillip and Sauros before they hung up. Finally, it was just myself, Aisha, and Lilia. Picking Aisha up, I held her in my arms and turned to Lilia. "I'm going out on the deck. It's a nice day out. Cool breeze coming in, lots of sun. I'm going to run Aisha through her paces and see where she stands on magic. Why don't you join us, Lilia? We can spend some time together and catch up while we work."
"I believe I would enjoy that, master."
"Not wearing your uniform, Lilia."
The maid smiled. "Clothes do not make the maid, Master Rudeus. A maid's uniform is the clothes she wears. She could be bare naked or wearing full plate armor and a maid would still be a maid."
"Don't expect me to put on the uniform again," Aisha griped.
"You don't want to wear a cute little maid outfit for your big brother? I could take pictures and use them to embarrass you for years to come—"
"No!" Aisha pouted, shaking her head as she crossed her arms.
Lilia and I laughed at the little redhead and made our way out. We stopped by one of the kitchens on the way, Lilia packing up a picnic basket with a light lunch and drinks for the three of us, along with a blanket.
The wind was nice and cool at this altitude and we could see for miles and miles—the Great Forest a sea of green below and around us, to the horizon. Lilia sat out the blanket and sat down. Not wanting her to bake in the sun, I had Sprite send a few materials and fashion a canvas shade that fluttered in the wind to keep most of the sun off of the older redhead.
Putting Aisha down, I gestured out over the side of the Roxy. "Alright, let's start simple. Show me one each of the 'ball' type spells."
Aisha blinked, before looking up at me skeptically. "That's all?"
My lips twitched into a grin. "You think you can do better?"
"I can cast advanced level spells, big brother!"
"Oh, I see. That's pretty awesome, Aisha. But for now, I want to see the basics. There's a reason for it, I promise. You have to have a strong foundation to build on, after all. Now, give me a water ball, please."
Aisha sighed, but pointed her hand out over the side and conjured a ball of water that flew off and exploded into a shower of droplets. "See?"
"Good summoning speed. Good mana control but it could use a little work. Decent accuracy, but I'll give you that one because of the wind and the fact that we're moving. Good power and spell formation. Next. Wind ball."
And so it went as I spent the next hour or so stepping her through all the basic, elementary level elemental spells, followed by the advanced spells she knew. Then, I had her show me everything else she knew. We sparred a bit too, so I could get an idea how serious she was being in her studies.
Aisha was, quite frankly, terrifying.
Me? I was a reincarnated cheater, so I didn't even count myself.
Roxy was a very technical learner. She was like me in a lot of ways. Only once she sufficiently understood something could she start doing things that Eris took for granted. It took forever to teach her silent casting, but once she had it, she was easily able to grasp how to apply it to all of her spells from then on. That technical knowledge led Roxy to being able to manipulate spells in ways that should have gone against their original intent, or create entirely new spells based on natural sciences—the same way I did.
Eris? I had to beat it into her. Quite literally. But once I got her focused, Eris was a creative girl with her own intuitive learning and experimenting ability. She hated having to sit down and think through anything, even if she could and would do it now. Her forte was in quickly using what she knew instinctively, with no thought and no need to think put into it, aside from working towards a goal. When she made the occasional new spell, she just did it. She was, well… I hate to say it, but she was like a female Paul. Just go like 'hnng!'
Sylphie? She had natural skill, power, and smarts. She trained herself hard and used everything I taught her to her advantage. She was, from what I could see, somewhere between Roxy and Eris. She could learn things the technical route and apply that, or she could go the 'hnng' route, as she demonstrated in a few of her early spars against Eris, coming up with new things on the fly.
Aisha though? She was like Sylphie, only better on the intelligence side. Smarter. Not as powerful, but what she lacked in raw power she made up for in sheer brains. She could use the technical method or the intuitive method, or combine the two. And she was frightfully creative. Even better, she was very, very dedicated to learning and mastering her magic and had an amazing work ethic—but, like me, saw magic as an everyday tool, not just a weapon. So if Lilia asked her to clean, Aisha defaulted to using magic. Cooking? Magic. And so on. She had apparently memorized my list of anti-chores spells and expanded upon it.
I was so proud.
Lunch time rolled around and I called a halt to our practice. We made our way under the shade and ate lunch with Lilia. Then, Lilia gently urged me to lay down, using her thicc thighs as a pillow. I accepted and a moment later was joined by Aisha curling up on me. Lilia laid down herself, a smile on her face as she ran her hands through our hair and we drifted off to nap like that in a pile.
My sword clashed against that of Elinalise. The elf shifted her body just so and my sword began sliding off. I moved with the momentum, rolling out to the side as she attempted a counter. Rolling back to my feet, I came in again, matching her speed and strength.
"You're not as good at this as Paul," she commented lightly.
"I know."
"Mm… no. I mean, okay, yes. You're very good at Water God," she parried a blow aimed at her midsection and riposted, only for me to smack it aside. "I would say Water Saint. Sword God, I would rank you as Advanced. The problem," Elinalise skipped back from a thrust, using her shield to deflect the blade, "is that you are almost entirely lacking in North God techniques."
"Well, that happens when someone refuses to teach you," I grumbled. "Do you think I could beat him with just a sword?"
"Hmm," Elinalise considered for a moment as she launched into a flurry of thrusts with her estoc that I had to either parry or dodge. I wasn't using the Demon Eye of Foresight here, specifically to train my own reflexes—which was also why I wasn't simply overpowering her with my greater touki. She was able to land some glancing slices here and there, forcing me purely into Water God to go on the defensive and wait for a moment to counter. Honestly, she wasn't as good or as strong as Ruijerd, but she was different. I knew Ruijerd's style by now and even if he was better, I could predict him, most of the time—unless he started pulling out shit I had never seen before. Elinalise was an entirely new partner, so I couldn't fall into familiar routines.
"No."
"Explain," I said simply, watching her (admittedly sexy) form for tells as I parried and deflected blows.
Elinalise went in for a shield bash and I stepped into her guard, swinging for her head, only for her to turn her forward momentum into a roll, come up on the other side, and trade places with me. "You outrank him in skill with Water God, for sure. And you could match him with Sword God. Ruijerd has really been working you kids hard. I've seen Eris and she's easily a Sword King to match Ghislaine. But your weakness is always going to be North God, which was specifically made to counter Water God. And if Paul thinks he's going to lose, he'll use it. He has no honor to speak of, so he won't care if other people would consider it cheating."
"There is no such thing as a fair fight," I said, and she nodded. "Do you know North God?"
"Nope! Sorry," she shook her head. "Paul taught me a little of this and that to help me defend against it, but… well, I kind of don't think he actually wanted me to be able to fight him off if he got serious."
"So he intentionally handicapped your training. Sounds fucking familiar." I took a breath, pulling back and lowering my sword. "What would you suggest?"
Elinalise considered me for a moment, resting her hands on her sword as she leaned against it. After a bit, she nodded. "Stop holding back. Stand there and pull on your touki. Guard yourself as well as you can. I'm going to try to pierce you with all my might. Piercing attacks are the strongest, because all that force is focused down into one point. I'm actually stronger than Paul—not better, but stronger. If I can't pierce you, he won't be able to do anything."
I gave it a bit of thought before nodding. It was dumb, and risky, but I knew healing magic and so did Sprite. If something happened, I would be fine. "Not going to aim for my heart or anything?"
"No! Absolutely not," Elinalise shook her head. "Non-lethal and non-crippling even if it pierces. I'm very, very good at putting my sword where I want it. Trust in me, Rudeus."
"Okay. Go for it."
I pulled up my touki, covering my body with it and—
"Rudy, I know you have more."
Taking a breath, I stopped holding back. Fully. The deck under my feet warped slightly as I shifted, even just that little bit of force causing damage. I didn't like doing this. I had so much mana, which translated into an equal amount of touki, that I kind of agreed with Superman if I actually used it fully—the world was made of cardboard. I had been learning to control it, but I didn't trust myself not to hurt Eris or Ruijerd when we sparred, so I never used it against them.
Elinalise nodded, whistling quietly. "That gets me all wet, Rudy. Be sure to take good care of me after this, okay? Your horny slut elf needs attention. I'm a horny rape beast and I need you to subdue me before I start raping my way across the land again—"
"Just come at me, you walking sexual calamity."
"Hehe~"
Elinalise glowed faintly as she pulled up her own touki. Then, she flashed forward… so very slowly. I blinked as I realized I had unconsciously channeled touki to my eyes. And just like that time I was clinging desperately to Eris as we were shot through the sky, the world slowed down.
The estoc hit my chest, just below the left shoulder joint. It froze in place as Elinalise pushed… and nothing happened. After a moment, she let off entirely and backed away. I let go of my touki as well. "Well, just do that and you'll be fine. Let him wail on you. When he sees that he can't do anything, he'll give up."
"Doubtful."
"Why are you so sure that you're going to fight him when you see him again?"
"Because we butt heads. More than that though, he legitimately thinks I'm basically Geese plus the Notos side of the family. The last time we spoke, we almost came to blows because he wouldn't let me see my sisters. There's a reckoning coming, the next time we see each other."
Elinalise sighed, before sheathing her sword and putting her shield on her belt. Walking over, she put her arms around me in a hug. "I've met both of them, Rudy. You're nothing like either of them. Paul's just being stupid. He's a meat-head. Sometimes, you just have to beat the stupid out of them. And keep beating until they accept that they were beaten."
"I've beaten him before. But because I used magic, which is my strength and not his, apparently that's cheating."
"Yeah, that's Paul. You're going to have to beat him in his own field for him to acknowledge it. And even then… he's dense. It's going to take a few beatings back to back."
"It figures." With a sigh, I gave the elf a squeeze that popped her back and drew a pleased sound from her. Then, I picked her up into a princess carry. "Thanks, Elinalise. Now, let's go below deck and I'll reward you for helping out."
"Make sure to satisfy me thoroughly, okay Rudy? It's the only way to be sure—to appease the curse for any length of time."
"And scratch your itch."
"That too!" the lewd elf grinned.
"So, that's your village?"
"Woof!" Best doggo answered, leaning against my side.
"Mhmm!" Tona agreed, around a quiet purr as she leaned into my hands scratching at her ears. "You're really good at this, Rudy."
"Thanks. I studied a bit with your aunt," I admitted. Ghislaine got tense after long study sessions when I was teaching her and Eris and I rewarded her hard work with ear and head scratches from time to time. There had been nothing really sexual in it for me, not really, but… dirty old man brain had wanted to just grab her by the ears and force my cock down her throat at the time. Now knowing beastkin can smell arousal, I was surprised she had kept that to herself when I was paying her attention.
"Ahh~! I'm so jealous!" Eris pouted.
Roxy chuckled. "You have to share, you know."
"I know! But still!"
Sighing at the redhead's antics, I quietly asked, "She isn't pressuring you into anything, is she?"
"Nunuh," Tona shook her head. "Eris is fun! I like when she pets me. Can I come to bed with all of you next time?"
I blinked. "Next time…?"
"Next time you're all having sex. Eris said you might feel weird about it because she thinks I'm too young."
"…And how old are you?"
"Eleven."
I looked down at the girl. Tona looked about as developed now as Eris did at twelve, almost thirteen—about when her tits really started coming in nicely. Unfortunately, early bloomer or not… "I told Sylphie thirteen—"
"That didn't exactly happen with us," Eris pointed out.
"No, it did, actually. We didn't have sex until your thirteenth birthday."
Eris blinked, before frowning. "Was it? I thought it was sooner. Wait, how old am I now?"
I groaned quietly. "I know we spent a lot of time in the Demon Continent and the time sort of blurred together, but for fuck sake. You're turning fifteen this year, Eris."
"Oooh, right!" she nodded. "Get me something nice for my birthday, Rudeus!"
"Of course," I agreed easily.
"It's going to be hard to top the bike," Eris admitted.
Roxy sighed. "I should have lied and said I was fourteen when he asked."
Snorting quietly, I sent my blue haired future wife an amused look. "I like older women just fine, you know. But I did say I would get you something nice…"
"You got me books, Rudy. I couldn't have asked for better, considering what was in them," Roxy reminded with a smile pulling at her lips.
Shifting under my hand, Tona asked, "So?"
"That's a no, sorry," I shook my head. "Wait a couple of years and come back, then we'll see."
"Fine~," the girl pouted. "It looks like they're really panicking down there."
"Yep," I agreed. "Sprite? Could you send a hologram?"
A moment later, we watched as a hologram of us on the deck appeared in the town square. Tona took a deep breath before yelling, "Everyone! We're back! And we brought the Sacred Beast with us!"
"Tona?!" A man who looked like he was related to her yelled, approaching the hologram. "Where are you?"
"On top of the ship, papa. Above you. We'll come down and bring everyone else with us!"
"Just make sure you clear a space in the square," I warned.
The man I now realized was Gyes turned a glare on my hologram, his eyes tracking to where my hand was scratching his daughter's head. I pulled my hand off, only for Tona to reach up, grab it, and pull it back down. Gyes's glare grew in intensity.
I shrugged and went right back to scratching those cute kitty ears.