Novel I Own a Brothel in Another World

Saileri · Apr 16, 2024 at 12:10 AM

Yo!
Saileri here! Another story I wanted to share! A bit spicier, but please, read the details as it may not be what you think it is! It's a lore-focused series and it doesn't portray "brothel services" in detail. The story doesn't involve any cheating, stealing and other NTR-type aspects! The story is also posted on ScribbleHub. Advanced chapters can be found on Patreon.

Synopsis:
Alastair Carter is a 27-year-old marketing and management teacher like many others around the world. Well... maybe besides the fact that he teaches some of that world's prodigies, but it's just a small detail. Even though he loves fantasy novels, he has never expected getting sucked into a fantasy world himself. I mean, who does?

Follow Alastair and find out how he will deal with this predicament. Will he be nominated as a hero? Will he save the world in crisis or focus on looking for a way back to Earth? Or perhaps, will he settle down and live peacefully? This is the beginning of a great tale...

Release Schedule:
Sunday, but depending on my time, once more in the week is possible.

Genres:
Adult, Adventure, Fantasy, Harem, Isekai, LitRPG, Mature, Romance, Slice of Life, Smut

Content Warnings:
Sexual Content, Strong Language

Tags:

Alternate World, Beastkin, Business Management, Caring Protagonist, Clever Protagonist, Demi-Humans, Discrimination, Fantasy Creatures, Fantasy World, Game Elements, Handsome Male Lead, Management, Master-Servant Relationship, Monster Girls, Multiple POV, Multiple Transported Individuals, Prostitutes, R-18, Slave Harem, Summoned Hero, Time Skip, Transported into Another World, Weak to Strong

What to expect:

Some light management, a status system in the background, some slavery, wholesome lewding centered around the MC, a slice of life story with some adventuring and lots of lovely monster girls.

What NOT to expect:

Depictions of rape, mindbreak or abusive mind control, heavy sexual abuse, NTR and other heavy stuff.
The title is not a "bait", but please don't expect fully devoted "hot" chapters every other release. It all depends on the flow of the story (which is still a Slice of Life) and might come to a moment where stuff may happen often, but not all the time.

R-18 Chapter Title Marking Explanation:

Chapter Ero-meter:
❤ - A bit of explicit content
❤❤ - Around half a chapter of lewds
❤❤❤ - WAIT?! IT'S ALL F***ING LEWDS?!

Additional details for people worried about NTR of potential waifus or love interests:

The story is harem in its core considering the main theme of harems, which is feelings of love. You could split girls in this series into three categories.

First, the MC lovers - along the way of the story some characters will develop or announce their feelings towards the MC and may end up in a romantical relationship. Even if they somehow help with the brothel, it would most likely be not connected with any sex-related thing. They can be totally not linked with the establishment, like say for example his students. Purely hypothetically, one of them could end up with the MC and not join the brothel.

Second, women who will have literally nothing to do with sex - be it servants, cooks, maids, guards or any other positions that are required in a working environment. They might be characters somehow saved by the MC and ending up helping him with the establishment, without any sexual services, and also they do not have to end up having sex with him either but could be a chance where some fall for him.

Third, girls that the MC will either employ as prostitutes or they agree to work as ones after being saved by him and I dunno, offered shelter or something, and with time they kinda want to help out of gratitude or something. The latter part will most likely undergo "training" with the MC teaching what he knows about lewd things. Saying that, prostitution will not be described. Only acts containing MC and potential girls.

So well, some of them will have sex both with MC and the clients, with only the MC one being visibly described, but they most likely won't enter a purely romantic relationship with him. Let's say that there will be "true harem members" which is girls being only with the MC and "others".

I tried speaking theoretically as much as possible to avoid spoilers. One more thing, the brothel won't be some kind of lousy establishment, it kinda is a spoiler, but it will be high-end one with access granted only after MC makes sure the clients won't be bad.

And I'll also add a response I sent to someone who asked a similar question.

Most of the girls that will end up working with their bodies will most likely enter relationships that usually base on mutual pleasure (eg. some races might just be horny af), fun, gratitude, subservience (some races might just like being under someone), and I guess many other kinds of feelings that don't exactly revolve around pure mutual love relationship like girlfriend/boyfriend, husband/wife, groom/bride, etc.

And as for how many, that's really hard to pinpoint. I can't say that once I'll introduce a girl like that, then again the lover one, then the working one, and give a pattern like this or something, because this all depends on the flow of the story and I'm mostly focusing on how it feels and not just to throw more girls faster to the pot of lewds.

For example, there might be also cases where more than one girl of a certain race (let's pick Elves here) arrive at the brothel, let's say 3. One of them might end up falling for MC while others may actually agree on working later into the story since they don't really feel attached to the MC, but enjoy the physical contact with him and don't mind helping with work if he'll still embrace them. The first one will naturally stay only with MC as she decided, for whatever reasons. In a situation like this, most of the screentime will be given to the first one naturally, with the others appearing rarely when it comes to sex. Maybe some big elf orgy or something lol.

As stated everywhere I can, I'm heavily against NTR, cheating and such stuff, so I'm doing my best to avoid creating any feeling that could be associated with any of the bad stuff, leaving only the good vibes in the series. Sharing is quite a sensitive subject, but well, my whole story is a fucking sensitive subject with the whole brothel and all, and they might be some characters that don't view sex as something sacred and just like to enjoy the physical pleasure without much bonding. But even those characters won't be just sex crazy maniacs that don't care about other people's feelings and jumping on every dick around them while their previous partners get devastated when they get to know about this. They'll have morals. Like, informing someone about their way of life before engaging with them in any act or asking if they are fine with that or backing off if they are not.

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1- Daily Life of a Teacher
Chapter 2 - The Past
Chapter 3 - The Beginning
Chapter 4 - Goddess's Chosen
Chapter 5 - The Abyssals and System Details
Chapter 6 - The First Training
Chapter 7 - Your Class Is…
Chapter 8 - The Decision
Chapter 9 - A New Home
Chapter 10 - Barrels Full of Life
Chapter 11 - The Crystallization of Beauty
Chapter 12 - First Partners
Chapter 13 - A Slime Is Fine Too ❤❤❤
Chapter 14 - Two Girls One Pimp ❤
Chapter 15 - Touring the Dormitories
Chapter 16 - Artisanal Bloodline
Chapter 17 - A Jog Through the Market
Chapter 18 - The Second Helping ❤❤❤
Chapter 19 - A Shopping Trip and the Great Cleaning
Chapter 20 - The Soul Relic
Chapter 21 - Through the Eyes of Another: The Hero’s First Battle
Chapter 22 - Through the Eyes of Another: The Hero’s First Dungeon
Chapter 23 - A Busy Week
Chapter 24 - Personal Training Room ❤
Chapter 25 - New (Old) Resolution
Chapter 26 - A Slave Can Be Happy Too ❤❤
Chapter 27 – Luckiest Man Alive ❤
Chapter 28 – A Wolf Amongst the Sheep
Chapter 29 – Pimp, Hero or a Saviour?
Chapter 30 – The Escape
Chapter 31 – The Tale of the Dark Elf Princess
Chapter 32 – The Operation’s Aftermath
Chapter 33 – A Thorough Examination
Chapter 34 – Hardships of a King
Chapter 35 – The Queen’s Secret
Chapter 36 – Love Is in the Air ❤❤
Chapter 37 – The Morning After
Chapter 38 – Marking Up
Chapter 39 – Public Execution
Chapter 40 – A Pleasant Bath With Friends
Chapter 41 – A Forge Full of Passion ❤❤❤
Chapter 42 – It’s Time
Chapter 43 – Through the Eyes of Another: The Samurai’s Sleepless Night
Chapter 44 – Through the Eyes of Another: The Samurai’s First Transformation
Chapter 45 – The First Night
Chapter 46 – A Fragrant Pursuit
Chapter 47 – Two Hundred Years of Abstinence ❤❤
Chapter 48 – Destined for Greatness
Chapter 49 – Like the Good, Old Times ❤
Chapter 50 – Master of Art
Chapter 51 – New Arrivals
Chapter 52 – Like a Real Harpy ❤❤❤
Chapter 53 – A True Masterpiece
Chapter 54 – Two’s Company, Three’s a Crowd, and Six’s an… ❤❤
Chapter 55 – Never Underestimate Humans
Chapter 56 – The Abilities of Love
Chapter 57 – Testing the New Body
Chapter 58 – Punishment Time ❤❤❤
Chapter 59 – More Maids and Upgrades ❤
Chapter 60 – The Queen’s New Throne
Chapter 61 - The Masked Man
Chapter 62 – Exploring New Paths ❤❤❤
Chapter 63 – The Great Change
Chapter 64 – Through the Eyes of Another: The Bard’s Highway to Hell
Chapter 65 – Through the Eyes of Another: The Bard Discovers a New Land
Chapter 66 – Keep That Dog on a Leash
Chapter 67 – A Surprise to Be Sure, but a Welcome One ❤
Chapter 68 – Lust of the Tigress ❤❤❤
Chapter 69 – The Weakness of All Succubi
Chapter 70 – The Ephemeral Aegis
Chapter 71 – Kinda Sus
Chapter 72 – The True Demon of Lust ❤❤
Chapter 73 – The Allmother’s Tale ❤
Chapter 74 – Return of the Pimp
Chapter 75 – The Hidden Arrangements
Chapter 76 – Looks Like Trouble
Chapter 77 – Between a Teacher and a Student ❤❤
Chapter 78 – The Creation Myth
Chapter 79 – Introductions and Reunion
Chapter 80 – The First Flag ❤
Chapter 81 – A Two-Faced Prince in a White Tiger Mask
Chapter 82 – A Journey Through the Sewers
Chapter 83 – Operation Degoblination
Chapter 84 – The Duels ❤
Chapter 85 – New Leadership ❤❤
Chapter 86 – The Way of the Alpha
Chapter 87 – Wolf vs Fox ❤❤❤
Chapter 88 – A Very Serious Bet
Chapter 89 – Through the Eyes of Another: The Dancer Craves a Blade ❤
Chapter 90 – A Royal Ride ❤❤
Chapter 91 – A Fateful Meeting
Chapter 92 – The Woes of an Alchemist
Chapter 93 – The Clumsy Maid ❤
Chapter 94 – A Moral Dilemma
Chapter 95 – Reconciliation
Chapter 96 – Like a Mother
Chapter 97 – A Peculiar Quarrel
Chapter 98 – Descent into Lewdness ❤❤❤
Chapter 99 – Proper Hospitality
Chapter 100 – Danse Macabre
Chapter 101 – An Elf and a Dragonewt Walk Into a Tent ❤❤❤
Chapter 102 – Timbeeeeeeeeeeeer! ❤❤
Chapter 103 – Chillin’ in the Desert
Chapter 104 – Secrets of the Sands
Chapter 105 – Home Makeover
Chapter 106 – The Art of Deception
Chapter 107 – Jackpot ❤❤
Chapter 108 – The Hunt
Chapter 109 – The Forest Is Feeling
Chapter 110 – Unlimited Thread Works
Chapter 111 – First Interaction and a Suprise
Chapter 112 – All Wood Elves Love… ❤❤❤
Chapter 113 – An Unexpected Development
Chapter 114 – Through the Eyes of Another: The Princess’ Quest for the Truth
Chapter 115 – Through the Eyes of Another: The Princess’ Journey Through Her Brother’s Past
Chapter 116 – So Much to Take Care Of
Chapter 117 – A Bumpy Ride ❤
Chapter 118 – A Very Much Needed Visit ❤
Chapter 119 – The More, the Merrier ❤❤❤
Chapter 120 – Branching Out Even More
Chapter 121 – Like a Fish in the Water ❤
Chapter 122 – An Union of Ice and Fire ❤❤❤
Chapter 123 – All the Newcomers
Chapter 124 – A Promise ❤❤❤
Chapter 125 – The Echo
Chapter 126 – An Unexpected Visitor and the New Resident
Chapter 127 – Chief Executive ❤
Chapter 128 – Workout ❤❤
Chapter 129 – On a Stealing Spree
Chapter 130 – Securing a Tailor
Chapter 131 – The Beginning of the End
Chapter 132 – Behind the Curtains ❤
Chapter 133 – Gathering Intel ❤
Chapter 134 – Restructurisation
Chapter 135 – New Association, New Rules
Chapter 136 – Slow Improvement ❤❤
Chapter 137 – Count Me In ❤
Chapter 138 – Family Secrets ❤❤❤
Chapter 139 – Business Be Booming
Chapter 140 – Through the Eyes of Another: The Tactician’s Typical Day
Chapter 141 – Through the Eyes of Another: The Tactician Leads the Defence Operation
Chapter 142 – Brainstorming the New Journey
Chapter 143 – Allied Rivalry ❤❤❤
Chapter 144 – Gearing Up
Chapter 145 – Changes Are on the Horizon
Chapter 146 – Cave’s Closed ❤
Chapter 147 – Sisters Above All
Chapter 148 – The True Terror of the Siren Seas ❤❤❤
Chapter 149 – An Enjoyable Voyage
Chapter 150 – The Power of Voice ❤
Chapter 151 – Uninvited Guests
Chapter 152 – Not So Jawsome Way to Go
Chapter 153 – A Beguiling Show ❤❤❤
Chapter 154 – Settling Down in the Depths
Chapter 155 – This Means War
Chapter 156 – Hot Cop, Cold Cop
Chapter 157 – Whirpool of Death
Chapter 158 – Evacuation
Chapter 159 – When in Doubt, Lure Out ❤
Chapter 160 – Creativeness Is the Key to Pleasure ❤❤❤
Chapter 161 – Slime Supremacy
Chapter 162 – Giant Surprise
Chapter 163 – A Trip Down the Memory Lane
Chapter 164 – Quick Swap
Chapter 165 – Mission Impossible
Chapter 166 – In the Belly of the Beast
Chapter 167 – Long Overdue Family Meeting
Chapter 168 – Twice the Fun
Chapter 169 – The Primordial Throne ❤❤
Chapter 170 – Slow Transition
Chapter 171 – Through the Eyes of Another: The Priestess and Her Holy Legion
Chapter 172 – Through the Eyes of Another: The Priestess and a Completely Unexpected Workplace Accident
Chapter 173 – The First Endurance Exam ❤
Chapter 174 – The Second Endurance Exam ❤❤❤
Chapter 175 – The Importance of Discipline
Chapter 177 – Entangled ❤❤❤
Chapter 178 – A New Force is Born
Chapter 179 – The Dawn of a New Faith
Chapter 180 – Time to Expand
Chapter 181 – The Real Woes of a Job Interview
Chapter 182 – Lots of Reassurance
Chapter 183 – Clothes Maketh Woman
Chapter 184 – First Client Second Time
Chapter 185 – Customer First
Chapter 186 – Just a Sip
Chapter 187 – Dressing Up ❤❤
Chapter 188 – Love Bite
Chapter 189 – Passion of a Maestro
Chapter 190 – The Hopes and Fears of Parenthood
Chapter 191 – The First Sermon ❤
Chapter 192 – The First Flicker of Life ❤
Chapter 193 – A New Quest Together
Chapter 194 – A King’s Abode
Chapter 195 – New Bonds
Chapter 196 – Halfway There ❤
Chapter 197 – A Wild Chase
Chapter 198 – Quick Infiltration
Chapter 199 – Meet Your Betters
Chapter 200 – Not So Hidden Feelings ❤
Chapter 201 – Besties at Work ❤❤❤
Chapter 202 – Where Loyalties Lie
Chapter 203 – The Makers of Kings
Chapter 204 – Fake It Until You Take It
Chapter 205 – A Prickle of Delight ❤❤
Chapter 206 – To Punish or to Not to Punish ❤❤❤
Chapter 207 – Through the Eyes of Another: The Magician Returns
Chapter 208 – Through the Eyes of Another: The Magician Discovers the Vile Den
Chapter 209 – The Greatest Escape Artist
Chapter 210 – A Bloody Mess
Chapter 211 – Giddy Up
Chapter 212 – Saddle Down ❤❤❤

Saileri · Mar 7, 2021

Chapter 1 – Daily Life of a Teacher

"... thus, if you want to have a much easier time managing your company's products, it's advised you conduct proper research and join the corresponding clusters into Strategic Business Units, SBUs for short. As I've mentioned before there are no perfect ways to categorize the units or a decade-old script to follow. We usually use letters to divide them. You have to properly analyze your organization. Everyone following? Anything to clear up?"

With that question, I finish drawing simple lines with arrows, around some squares with text, on the blackboard. Or rather on the e-board, since I’ve been using a pen-like device on the newest model of an interactive school board.

Technology definitely is the best. No chalk on your clothes, no dry fingers from hours of holding one and no irritated nose. Sometimes I pity those teachers and professors in old schools and universities. Not having to deal with shiploads of paperwork and educational utensils is bliss.

My eyes fall on the usual sight of five people sitting in what looks like a very modern classroom. Each of them basically having a full-size office desk, equipped to the brim with useful resources. On top of that, they own tablets or laptops, depending on the personal preference of the student.

The classroom itself isn’t anything special. It’s more like a tiny office area with some shelves and drawers. Well, maybe besides the top of the top 80” 8K display mounted on the back wall. On the side, a row of windows with automatic shutters. If some random person from the street were to be invited inside, they’d definitely proclaim it’s some kind of classroom for the elites.

And that is exactly right. My name is Alastair Carter, a British blood full-fledged elite teacher for the most prodigious youngsters from all around the world. 27 and single right now, by the way.

This classroom is part of the highest-ranking private school building, or rather instead of school, I’d use the term tutoring. I work for an organization called 'Future is in our hands', which basically is a gathering of people with the best knowledge and experience in various fields.

Anyway, to not blabber about pointless details, let’s just say I’m one of the pro teachers, in my case of marketing and management and each one of us is tutoring a small group of some of the best kids, but not only, in the world. Kind of like homeroom teachers, but we are paid astronomically better since obviously parents of the kids are stuffed.

Even though I’m British, we are all currently in Sweden, where most of our organization’s establishments are located. And obviously, the kids are from a wide range of nationalities themselves.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, my classroom counts up to five individuals. Three girls and two boys.

First from the left is a girl from the USA. Her name is Natalie Reevus. She’s the daughter of one of the most well-known Hollywood actors. Like you would suspect, she’s already slowly following in her father’s footsteps and with her captivating beauty and acting talent, it’s nothing unusual. Her waist-long straight blond hair is covering her shoulders and back. With a face, you’d exactly expect from a teenage actress or model. As for the eyes, they perfectly fit with everything, being crystal blue. Ideal depiction of blonde beauty, with a slim figure and slowly developing womanly charms. She’s still only 16 years old, yet already over 169cm in height. She will definitely be one of those tall world-class beauties in the future.

Currently sitting in some expensive, custom order sneakers, high-quality tight jeans, a grey t-shirt with one of the most overused quotes “You are breathtaking!” and a black leather jacket. Even though she wears a kind of uninterested expression, I can clearly see she’s taking notes on her tablet. Lucky me. Frederic got himself a typical temper-tantrum actress in his class.

Next. To her right. A boy. Or I should say, a man. He’s 26, a year younger than me. Born and raised in Germany, son of some big guy in the IT software industry. They just suddenly popped out of nowhere one day with their revolutionary engineering process and claimed their place at the top.

At first glance, you can already guess a lot about that person. Military freak. Yes, as you’d suspect, he’s wearing full camo pants and jacket, a light brown t-shirt and heavy boots. As for the guy himself, again no surprises, short black hair, kind of a tough-looking face, brown eyes and a pair of rimless glasses. And obviously well built. He definitely keeps his training schedule perfected. Oh, the name. It’s Paul Fischer. A calm and motivated guy. He’s not particularly fond of my field of expertise, but due to his army grade discipline, he never stirs up any trouble.

Close to the window, the last person in the front row, a girl from what you’d call an exotic country. Brazil to be exact. I don’t want to give in to the usual stereotypes, but that’s pretty hard in this case. She’s a picture-perfect hot Brazilian girl with a bombastic figure. Shoulder long red, bountiful wavy hair and green eyes. Light brown skin with a lot of freckles on the face, which is decorated with an enthusiastic smile all the time. Chest so large, her breasts are almost spilling out of the tank top she wears and… for god’s sake… she doesn’t wear a bra again…

「Okay, calm your mind Alastair, you are not gonna get caught ogling your student, eyes up!」

Well, besides that little detail, she wears black material bell-bottoms. She’s 20 and supposedly a daughter of a guy controlling most of the real estate market in Brazil. Her name is Marcia Santos. She has a pretty straightforward and open personality. You can say that the socializing part of the group is her territory. For the most part, she tries to pay attention.

Then, we are hitting the back row with the last two students. To the left, we have Asakura Shino, a 17-year-old petite Japanese girl with quite long black hair, tied up into a ponytail and two cute wisps, hanging on the sides of her face, clipped in their middle with metal pins. Currently frantically trying her best to pretend that her charming purplish eyes did not meet with mine when I glanced at her. At which she is failing fabulously, stealing a peek up from behind her laptop every other second, to check if I’m still looking at her.

She is quite a shy girl and you can tell even without her reacting like this.

「Is she blushing? I better not catch you reading that stuff which should not be named in the likes of a classroom…」

Usually wearing her signature black hoodie without any details and black pants. A typical girl you can find anywhere in Japan, somehow she doesn’t seem to fit into this whole celebrity like atmosphere. But that’s just an illusion. Supposedly, she’s a member of one of these emperor bloodline families back at her place. Her parents are some big shots, like her whole lineage. If I’m not mistaken, they are upholding the traditions everyone respects. So, basically, she’s like the beautiful princess from the novels and anime. Additionally, she’s quite skilled with her hands. I’ve seen some of her art she’s posting online. Top tier content I must say. Definitely going the artist path.

The final person in the back row is yet another boy. And the sole problem of my class. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to break the rule of having at least one delinquent in your group.

Short, blond hair on the sides of his head and spiky, pulled up top with dark, dyed tips. Pretty handsome, matured and manly face as for a 19-year-old. Worthy of being called the next Tim Voyage somewhere in the future.

Wearing ripped jeans with some chains at the side and a black sweatshirt with a yellow 'Metallurgy' logo. He has a pretty firm figure. Not as chiselled as Paul, but still fit enough to win girls over, parading without the top covered. His father is a big figure on the streaming platform T-watch.tv and his mother is a singer. I guess it’s one of those cases where a child without enough attention from the parents becomes an attention-seeking delinquent. His name is Kamil Lewandowski. Like that famous football player.

But enough of the compliments. Sitting in his chair like the whole world is his property, he is completely oblivious to what is happening around him. I’ve seen this gaze out of the window many times already.

Looking straight at this punk I pick up a rubber eraser lying on my desk. And while tossing it up and down in my hand I call to him.

“Kamil.”

No reaction. He’s still deep in his thoughts. Everyone starts looking his way, already experienced enough to figure out what’s going to happen.

Without much care, like it’s a daily thing for me, I throw the eraser, with perfectly calculated force, straight at his forehead, hitting the target without a millimetre of error.

“Kurwa!”

He shouts startled and glares my way rubbing his forehead.

“Language.”

“Twoja stara to dziwka.”

“Look now. I get it, we're all geniuses here, but not everyone has to know every language in the world. That’s why we speak English in this class. So, care to translate for others?”

I already know what he meant. If it’s not obvious enough, he’s Polish. And that’s actually one of the languages I picked up in the past. Looking at it now, I know all of my students' national languages besides Marcia’s, which is Portuguese. How and why? Well, I always had a knack for languages and loved learning them. I finished my uni with German, Japanese, French and a bit of Chinese already. Picked up Polish solely for the memes and out of boredom.

Anyway, we don’t keep that usual, tense atmosphere in my class. I like to be on the same level with my students, thus they all know swearing is not something I abhor. We even throw casual insults at each other from time to time, with a joking undertone and a grain of salt obviously. As an elite teacher, basically a private tutor, I have free reins over my class, with just some typical, content-based guidelines.

Kamil, knowing I’m not going to let it go, complies with my request. A rogue smirk appearing on his face.

“Your mother is a whore.”

Paul snickers and the girls chuckle at that remark. Well, all of them besides Shino. She keeps quiet, with a slightly annoyed expression, she stares at him.

“Correct.”

Everyone falls silent, shocked.

“I’d give you her number with a discount, but I don’t think you can handle her blowjobs.”

Within all this silence a muffled giggle can be heard. Everyone turns around to locate the source, which to their surprise is Shino, trying to hide her mouth within the hoodie sleeves.

Now, now… I know what you think. And no. I’m not one of those transcendent monks of the self-burn order. My mother is literally a whore. A prostitute. Shocking, isn’t it? Thus, I’m immune to this kind of insults. Why is everyone silent and shocked while Shino is giggling? Well, she’s the only one who knew of that little fact beforehand.

Kamil clicks his tongue in defeat. Score for me.

“Now then. With that out of the window, here’s an exercise for you. Your company is manufacturing pressure tanks, compressor units, safety gauges and spare parts for these. You are providing the services of transportation, technical consultation and additionally, you recently picked up a hotel with a restaurant. I’m not going to list the clients you usually supply, because that would take too long, so let’s just say you have local and foreign clients interested in your products. Please, suggest your idea of creating Strategic Business Units appropriate to your situation.”

And with that, a minute in silence passes. Then another. And one more. Kamil’s eyes wander all over the e-board, trying to figure out the correct answer. But it doesn’t look like I’ll hear even a try at it.

Shino raises her hand.

“Carter-sensei! May I answer this question? There’s no need to waste any more time of your lesson,” she speaks up quietly, earning herself a glare from a certain guy.

Now then, some may wonder why she is using foreign words coming from Japanese while we all are speaking English here, and so did I in the past, but it's not due to her being that kind of obsessed otaku which is usually found around. She has a strong sense of respect and it's all thanks to the very royal environment she had grown up in.

As she once explained to me quite shyly, she believes the English language doesn't do justice in showing respect to others and thus she still inserts these formal additions into most of her speech, unless it's improper to do so. Everyone quickly got used to that and it became something normal in our small classroom.

Anyway, let's turn the spotlight on her.

“Naturally. Remember, there are no wrong answers here. There may be inefficient ones, but still, we are here to learn.”

“Okay. So… First I’d create an SBU A for the production of spare parts for all of our products. Next would be SBU B, C and D responsible for manufacturing the main products. Hmm… I’d throw transportation services into two SBUs, E and F, one for local and the other for foreign operations. As for technical consulting, one SBU is fine, I think, so that would be SBU G. And finally, since hotel and restaurant services are immobile, a single SBU H, for local usage is enough. Would… would that be fine sensei?”

Following through her whole suggestion, I can’t stop myself from feeling more and more proud of the fact that she managed to create a pretty much perfect answer. Obviously within the provided information, which was very vague. BUT. That doesn’t matter. Trying not to look like a villain with a beaming smile over his world-ending creation, I reply.

“Beautiful! That was a great example of how you can create SBUs in the given scenario.”

Shino not-so-stealthily pumps her fist behind her laptop and smiles back at me.

「Seriously, she can be such a cutie sometimes.」

“Ummm… Is it okay to lump all of the services into one SBU, as the one to be fully responsible for them, maybe besides the hotel? I don’t think it is necessary to split them for foreign clients. And instead of creating an SBU for the spare parts of all products, have the SBUs which hold that exact product to focus on its spare parts too?”

Natalie chimes in tapping on her tablet. I come closer to her desk so that I can take a look at what she is pointing. With a quick glance, I can see that she sketched an alternate plan, just as she described.

“Yes, it looks quite good. By that, I don’t mean it’s worse than Asakura-san’s. The description I provided obviously lacks some more detailed information, thus in the given state both of your answers are correct. Good job Natalie.”

I stroll back to my desk, feeling proud since 2 of my students tackled the problem out of their own volition and even provided satisfactory solutions.

“So yeah, just remember there are no perfect ways to utilize SBUs and it all depends on the amount of data you gather in the research beforehand.”

I sit in my chair in a perpendicular position to them, so that I can see both the students and the board. I wave my hand.

“With that accent, let’s finish this class. There’s no point in me keeping the monologue up while you are clearly starting to get bored. We are pretty much caught up with the schedule, so it’s fine to end a little bit early. I hope to see all of you tomorrow!”

Everyone starts stuffing their bags, backpacks, or other containers with whatever items they brought in, which is actually not that much since, besides tablets and laptops, lots of stuff is at their everyday use inside the desks.

Naturally, the troublemaker darts off to the entrance first, followed by Marcia and Paul. Meanwhile, I slowly turn off all the devices around. After I finish, only Natalie and Shino are still standing by my desk.

“Some questions? Or perhaps you have something to discuss with me?”

“Thank you for today, sensei. As usual, your lectures are very easy to follow. There’s no way they are boring.”

“Yeah, that.”

Shino bows lightly in front of me and Natalie chimes in. The usual polite, Japanese bow you see everywhere.

「Ah… My job is really the best… Who has never dreamt of being on a receiving end of such courtesy from Japanese cutie… I’m really blessed. Now, if only she had one of those iconic uniforms with a short skirt, black stockings and…

Okay, stop. No fantasizing about real people. You have plenty of material for that at home. You have to protecc the loli not lewd her. Well, she’s not really a loli with like 160cm in height and a decent chest… Again! Fuck! Cute girls are just too strong! Clear thoughts…」

“There’s no need for that Asakura-san. You know I consider us all equal and friends. I’m glad to hear that I’m doing a fine job. Now, don’t waste your precious time on this old geezer and go have some fun.”

I stand up and give them a nice smile.

“Mou~. But you are only 27 years old, sensei. You are basically in your prime.”

Unexpectedly Shino tries to make her best pouting face. Why tries? Because that’s not something that comes to her naturally and I’m pretty much aware of the fact that she knows I was a deep weeb in my teens. Still smiling, I pat her head and ruffle her hair a bit. She’s a nice height for that. Oh, I’m 177 cm by the way. Not the highest tree in the park, but that never bothered me.

“Sensei!”

She steps away visibly blushing.

「Oh? Now that I see her expression, maybe she can naturally pout ?」

“Sorry, you are just too cute. And besides, that’s still a decade more than you. Go now, you both should spend your time amongst friends, not with some cringy old man. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Shino, slightly discontent with the whole situation, leaves. Natalie chuckles a bit and follows her shortly.

「Now, time to finally go home… My emporium, my den, my mancave is waiting for me… Ah! Today’s the day when the next chapter of The Fourth Pillar arrives! It ended at quite a spicy moment! Onwards!」

Hello!

Let's start our journey, shall we? Just heads up, it starts slowly. It will take some time to establish the setting.

So here we are! Please be gentle! But all the feedback is appreciated. First, I'd gladly hear what you think about the length of the chapter. I wrote a few ones and they always end up around 3-4k words usually, so this might be my standard, but it's not a rule. I write as much as it feels right to cover. Hopefully, to your amusement, that includes the lewd ones too ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Release schedule? Definitely once a week, but that depends on how much time I have to write. Twice or even thrice a week is possible. Expect one, get three, great deal, don't ya think?

Saileri · Feb 5, 2021

Chapter 2 – The Past

After finishing getting all my stuff done, I take one last glance over the classroom. Everything seems fine and in proper order. Someone will come to check it before closing anyway, but I don’t like leaving unnecessary work for janitors.

I leave and lock the door with my ID card. Looking to the left and right I spot a few people roaming around the corridors. Some are waiting for their classes, some may be just leaving like my guys. There’s no exact schedule for classes. It’s another perk of being a teacher here. You can freely manage the time as long as you cover the material you are obliged to. That’s why there won’t be any problems with me ending earlier.

「Well then, let’s hit a bathroom on the way. Nature is calling.」

As per usual I take the stairs. I might be a gamer/bookworm/weeb/etc., but that does not mean I’m a lazy ass fatso or just lazy bum. As they say it nowadays, fit is lit, and I agree. It’s not like there are tens of floors here.

Well, I do care about my body and how I look, even though I don’t visit public spaces where I could show off my abs often. I might not be the hottest piece in the neighbourhood, but I do keep myself slim and fit with a bit of muscle here and there. I always had a thing for well-built bodies, and my father is at fault for this as he is a soldier, always in the perfect shape. Or rather he was…

「You just had to go MIA on me old man, huh…」

With a slightly sour mood, I enter the bathroom on the lobby floor and head straight to the urinal, lost in thought. Every time I remember him I somehow start thinking about my whole life. Well, it wasn’t the worst, but on the other hand, it definitely wasn’t normal.

As I’ve mentioned before, my mother was, and actually still is, a prostitute. That was her chosen career path as far as I know. No one forced her into that business, she just believed that’s easy money and didn’t find anything wrong with selling her body. And don’t misunderstand me, I have nothing against it too. As long as it’s out of volition, no one has the right to judge others. I mean, it’s a job like any other. And if she likes it, that’s just hitting two birds with one stone.

Anyway, she was working in a pretty decent establishment. The girls were treated fine, it wasn’t some cheap-ass brothel barely on the legal path. My father, as a soldier usually does, was accumulating a lot of stress and bad vibes, and visiting that place was his type of escape from it. Nothing clears your head better than a big ol’ nut in the hut.

They met a few times, under obvious conditions, and always had a pretty good time. He started requesting her at his every visit, she was kinda his type, at least anatomically speaking. So after some time, he started developing a feeling for her. And fortunately for him, so did she. At least that’s what she told him…

He proposed and she agreed. He bought a small villa, they went on a honeymoon, things were looking great and lovely, a couple of lovebirds found their other halves in a kinda unusual spot, but why judge. She left the company on good terms and moved in with my father, living a life in luxury. Naturally, duty calls, and he was home less time than he was not.

Fortunately for me, he was there when I was born, because yes, they of course decided to have a child, or rather my father just didn’t want to let in the thought he would not be having a son, somehow convincing mother.

For the first 3 years, we were your usual happy family. Since he was a sniper in some kind of elite covert ops, and from what I know one of the best, he luckily avoided having to leave for an operation for so long. But that couldn’t go on forever.

Just next morning after he left for his first mission after their marriage, she changed a full 180. Around father, she has always been flirty, cutesy, lovey-dovey and caring. But when left alone with just me, she was a literal bitch. At first, she at least tried to pay attention to me, but with time she just couldn’t keep up the act. I was treated as a pushover, without a glint of any respect or motherly care. Feed with something, a bath once in a while, left over in a corner for the rest of the time, while she was gone or just enjoying herself with all the modern commodities. And obviously, I was getting hit for anything done wrong. Under her 'intense' care I learned how to properly use the bathroom, eat, bathe and somehow do something with myself in my spare time.

It kinda went like that until I was seven. Of course, during the time before, father was back a few times, but always just for a week or less. He was really busy. Mother was in her wifey mode obviously, sending me glares constantly to not slip up about anything. When father visited, it was the only good time I had. He often told me many stories about himself and explained a lot about firearms and so, although it took some years until I was old enough to learn a thing or two from him.

So, when I was seven, she got even worse. She started getting drunk or taking drugs often, which led to me being beaten to the bone. She started disappearing for days. On some she locked me in my room tied to a chair, gagged and with headphones connected to the PC, playing some kind of death metal usually. Even with those, I was able to hear all the fucking around the house. She basically started ordering male prostitutes for orgies.

I had to start being self-sufficient. Shopping and stuff like that. And obviously, since she barely knew anything about cooking, ordering food too. Fortunately, there was that PC in my room, so I was able to do most stuff online. And naturally, it also functioned as my escape. I picked up anime pretty early, around being eight. Helped me survive.

Time went by, she was a bitch, father was a good and loving guy. Around being nine I slowly started to realize she is just using him. He told me about how they met a lot of times, obviously sugarcoating some details, but with the help of the internet I kinda figured out most of the things. It was obvious she was in it purely for money and never even considered his feelings. And I was just some random trash standing in the way of her fun.

When I was ten, she finally got fed up with acting. When father was away, she started scheming for a perfect divorce. She managed to create a fake 'cheating' scenario, gathered tons of fake evidence, along with some young girl who was supposedly the one my father had an affair with, prepared lots of other 'evidence' how she was just a brokenhearted and loving housewife, etc. I have no idea how she was able to bribe all the people from the school who were in the court process to testify how I am one of the worst child delinquents they ever had.

In school I was this typical introverted kid with a gloomy look, always spending time alone and ignoring others. My PC and the Internet were all I needed. I wasn’t ignoring the classes or anything. Learning was another thing I really liked.

But anyway, with all the preparation and backing she obviously won. She not only got all the stuff that was theirs as a couple but also extorted more money from him and kicked me out of her life. Fortunately whoever was helping her was not stupid enough to throw a ten-year-old kid into the streets, so they contacted my father’s parents and they took me in.

I was eleven when my father got back from his mission. I thought he would be furious when his parents explained everything to him, but he was devastated instead. It seemed like he really loved her. At least he didn’t go into denial and tried making himself believe it was all my fault. The thing he loved most after her, was thankfully me. I was consoling him for days, telling him she was a total cunt not worthy of him and always was using him for money. It looked comedic as fuck, an eleven-year-old boy trying to console a military vet, but well, they always are getting weaker psychologically with time.

Somehow we managed to get through his depression. That bitch went back to working in the brothel after all that. Her overindulgence quickly drained all the money she extorted, and naturally, she had no way to uphold the villa.

But, back to when I was eleven. Things were fine after that. The grandparents were a really nice couple. I finally started living a normal life. Oh, and they lived in Ireland, while my previous locum was in Great Britain, so there was no problem with school.

Months flew by, dad visited when he could, he started teaching me more seriously about military stuff, even started training me a bit in the use of a knife and hand to hand combat. At least at the level where even a 12 or 13-year-old kid could follow. But well, it’s not like I was your normal kid. Overall, happy times.

Then, one day when I was 15 and chilling in grandparents house watching anime, a bell to the door rang. I went to answer it and was met with a police officer. Granny showed up behind me soon after. He handed us a letter and informed that my father went MIA during his latest operation. I was crying locked in my room for at least 3 days.

After that, nothing much really happened. I swore to my now MIA dad, that I will strive to be the best possible grandson for his parents and that I will do my best to live my life properly. I thought about getting into the military just like him, but somewhere along the way, I decided against that. I was too deep into gaming/books/movies and other stuff to let go of it. Additionally, I swore to get revenge on that whore in his stead, but fortunately, with time I realized that would be totally pointless to waste my time and efforts on that. She better be praying to whatever god she believes in that I don't accidentally meet her somewhere.

You might think that because of her I started treating all other women like shit, but fortunately, as a kid, I only saw her as a purely evil creature, not a woman or a girl. Or I just inherited this kind of gentleness towards girls from my father.

Enough of this sorrowful shit, back to the present day. After relieving myself I limp to the faucet to wash my hands. What greets me in the mirror is a familiar appearance. Mine obviously. A firm man dressed in a cross-patterned blueish shirt and a simple beige jacket looks me straight into the eyes, and I look into his, and they are of a grey colour. On his head also grey, medium-long straight bountiful hair, with a bit longer backside. He combs his forelock slightly up and to the right with his hand, so that it doesn’t dangle in the middle.

With that done I exit the bathroom and head for the entrance. On my way to the parking lot, I catch a glimpse of a black limousine leaving its premises, accompanied by a few armoured SUVs.

「Natalie leaves stacked as usual. Wonder why so late. Maybe she talked with Shino or others for some time.」

Sloppily, I arrive at my parking spot. And there she is. The only girl that will never betray my feelings and is always willing to cheer me up. My beloved pearl white Toyota Supra Mark 4 with a slim, custom body kit.

I comfortably set myself in the driver seat and head home listening to my compilations of the best Nightcore tracks. Nothing relaxes your mind better than a wonderful cruise home in your all-time favourite ride. Well, maybe besides the aforementioned good ol' nut.

An hour later I reach my destination, which is a medium-sized, cosy wooden house, surrounded by a neatly trimmed garden. I park on my driveway and head to the door. As I enter, lights turn on automatically. Most of the devices and systems are connected to my phone and can detect it from a distance.

I move to my bedroom and change into something more comfortable. Some random t-shirt, sweatpants and a black hoodie. The bedroom isn’t anything great. A double-sized bed in the middle with a lot of wardrobes and cabinets around the walls. Everything wooden and in various medieval and renaissance patterns.

After grabbing something to snack on from a very modern kitchen, I head to the most important room in the house. My mancave. I push open heavy, iron double doors and enter a spacious room, dimly lit in purple shades. Just to the left of the entrance is my war machine. Best possible desktop PC with 6 monitors mounted on the wall.

Alongside northern and southern walls, countless shelves and pedestals are arranged in different patterns. Inside them tons of mangas, novels, books, movies and obviously figurines, gadgets, collector’s editions and plenty of other stuff. Accompanied by neatly arranged neon lights, they give out epic vibes.

On the wall opposite to the entrance and the PC, a wide 100” display is mounted, surrounded by huge audio columns and with a comfortable sofa in front of it. Every possible space on the walls is covered with posters from anime, movies and games.

I boot up my PC and start checking the usual stuff, like mailboxes, notifications from social media and communicators. I open up Harmony, a text-voice communicator which is the most popular currently, and I’m welcomed with a text message from no one other than Asakura Shino.

>ZekkenIsBestGirl: Sensei! I finished that anime you recommended to me last time! It was great, I really loved it o(≧▽≦)o. I was so happy when the maid actually ended up with the butler. For a moment it felt like he really was going to kill her as his master ordered ｡･ﾟﾟ*(>д<)*ﾟﾟ･｡. But it was just a ruse! They got me so hard! OH. Nishneg Impact 2 comes out next week! What server are you going to play on? We could start a guild together! You promised me we will do it someday in some game! No going back on your word now or I’ll skip your classes ( `ε´ ). Just kidding! I’d never do that. Anyway, we almost arrived, so I have to leave for today’s training soon. Send me more recommendations! Jaa ne~.

「Goodness gracious… How can somebody so shy in person, that she can’t even look you in the eyes, be such an overwhelming chatter. It’s like she’s a different person online. I’ll send her some titles later. First, I have to read my favourite novel!」

I leave the recommendations for later and instantly open the website where the aforementioned novel is posted. Not being able to contain my excitement I dig in expecting a lot of wholesome lewding.

I spend the rest of the day reading other works and discussing stuff on the forums. Before going to bed, I double-check my preparations for tomorrow’s lesson.

During the night I’m assaulted by countless weird nightmares, where no matter in what situation, I always end up falling into a scary, pure white, bottomless pit, totally out of nowhere.

Damn, that wasn't supposed to be this sad, sorry! But next time we are finally starting the real thing! Please be patient with me, the lewding will commence after the prologue is done ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Also, I'm not gonna spam author's notes every chapter. I'm just letting you know things will roll out slowly before the main premise takes over. I like some story and logic in my stuff.

Also also, I promise the cringy references will end when we get to the fantasy world. Were you able to spot all of them this time? There were 4 ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

See ya at the next one!

Also also also, here's MC's hairstyle. Just imagine it grey. BOOP

Saileri · Feb 5, 2021

Chapter 3 – The Beginning

I wake up quite early. Due to the constant nightmares, I feel like shit. Seems like I barely slept tonight. This weird, white light gives me an ominous and bad feeling, even though I know those were just nightmares. Nothing unusual in the long term. Might be related to something from my past. Even though I try to justify them with that, I can’t shake off all the uneasiness surrounding me.

With a grumpy face, I force myself out of the bed, while yawning widely. I pick up my phone from a cupboard near the bed to check the time. It’s 6:30, at least 2 hours before my first alarm sets off.

「Looks like it’s gonna be a great day…」

I sluggishly move to the kitchen to prepare something for breakfast and to brew a coffee. You gotta keep the healthy diet going. After finishing preparing and eating, I do the dishes and stroll to my PC room.

I boot my baby up and start the usual morning routine of checking the news and social media. Doesn’t look like much happened last night. Although, I see that there was a full moon yesterday.

「I’ve always had hard nights during the full moon. I really should check the phases more often.」

I spend most of my free time checking game releases lists for the current month and then browsing through some art channels I tend to follow. Marvelling over beautiful artwork of cute anime beastgirls is a sure way to help fix the mood.

「Oh. Looks like Shino finished another project. Let’s see… Nice! A wolfkin priestess! Wait… doesn’t she look kinda like her but with animal ears and tail? Goddammit… now I can’t unsee it…」

I open the comment section, and as per usual, I leave my words of admiration as an anonymous fan.

“Your art is top tier as usual! The outfit looks great on her and I love how it accentuates the perfectly shaped body. You never fail to amaze me with your pose designs Miko-sensei! I bet some cosplayer will pick it up someday like with your previous samurai art!”

With that, I also hit the highest priced paid option to distinguish my comment, because why fucking not if I can. You gotta show your support to the artist. Even if that artist is most likely a hundred times richer than you.

After a few hours of a good time, I prepare to leave for the class. Turning off all the stuff, I get to my car and drive to the school building without an issue. Arriving earlier than usual, I still have half an hour left before I have to prepare the classroom. I randomly stumble on my colleague, Mr Frederic, and we begin chatting about our recent experiences with students.

When the time comes, I proceed to my usual classroom and start prepping everything around. This weird feeling from the morning still keeps bothering me, but it’s not like I can do anything about it.

Paul arrives in the classroom first. Similar to me, he likes to show up shortly before the designated time, in case of unforeseen circumstances. Slowly, everyone starts to gather, and in twenty minutes, we start today’s topic.

Few hours pass and we are moving at a decent pace. Guess I’m worrying my ass over nothing. It’s not like some random cataclysm is going to suddenly happen.

While checking some of my notes I hear Kamil’s bewildered voice.

“What the fuck is this?! They installed neons on our floor now?”

Confused, I stand up and question him.

“What are you talking about? There were no changes overnight, and I definitely didn’t notice anything when I came here.”

I step down from the platform where my desk is located and move to the back row. When my gaze falls on the floor under his desk, I see some weird, geometrical patterns shining with white light, arranged in what seems like part of a path.

“What the...”

I involuntarily let out a gasp. Everyone gets up and rushes to our position to check the scene. Marcia is first to comment on the weird phenomenon.

“Cool. Can we switch colours? Having disco lights would be lit!”

“The fuck are you talking about? What next? Make it shine like a fucking rainbow? Miss me with that gay shit!”

“Oh, come on Kamil, I’m just saying that with some smoke and this, we could have our own small dancefloor!”

While they bicker amongst each other, I can’t stop staring at the light and getting flashbacks from the previous night.

“Ummmm… sensei? I know it might sound weird, but… isn’t this thing… growing?”

Shino’s quiet voice brings me back from my stupor. I lean over Kamil’s desk to see where she is pointing at. The patterns that were supposedly located under the boy’s desk, continue even in front of it, and I can swear there were none when I was walking up here. Right now, those eerie symbols have already reached the length of a quarter of a circle and are increasing while we look at them. Suddenly, an image of a circle that I’ve seen countless times in many works of fiction flashes through my mind.

「No, no, no, no... There’s no way this is....」

“Asakura-san is right. Look. It’s even speeding up. It looks like… half a circle now? Teacher, is this some kind of a test or puzzle?”

Paul joins the conversation. With a hand on his chin, he assumes a pose as if deeply thinking about something or trying to figure out some hints. Meanwhile, my uneasiness grows to insane levels. My whole body starts sweating profusely.

「I’m not taking any chances! I don’t fucking care if it’s real or some shitty prank!」

Without any warning, I jump over Kamil’s desk and land between the two rows. Immediately, I turn to the gathered students and start shouting. I can only imagine the panic in my eyes.

“EVERYONE OUT! NOW!”

They all look at me startled and confused. For a split second, I lock my gaze with Shino’s and seeing my emotional face her eyes widen. She glances at the patterns, which are almost reaching ¾ of a circle, then back to me, then again at the symbols, and finally returns to me, with realization written all over her face.

“NO TIME! JUST FUCKING RUN!”

There’s no more time to waste. I grab the hand of the closest person to me, which is Natalie, and frantically start running with her in tow. I take a quick glance back. Knocking down all the things along her way and stumbling, Shino tries to dash to the door. Paul, with all his fanaticism with the military's way of not questioning the superiors, starts rolling over the desks and almost catches up with us. The other two stand together, looking at each other totally bewildered.

「Fuck! At least I’ll save thre—」

*THUMP*

“Ugh?!”

Unexpectedly, I hit an invisible wall and bounce back, falling into Natalie, who powerfully bumps into my back. While falling, I notice similar symbols in the air, at the height where my head supposedly was. Shino worriedly stutters over to us to help Natalie stand up. Paul also reaches the invisible wall and is now knocking his fists at it, which results in quick flashes of white light at the points of impact.

I roll over and focus my sight on the other end of the classroom. The markings reach a full circle and blinding, white gleam fills the whole place. I cover my eyes with my left hand and pray in my heart for this to be some weird-ass prank or better, one of the nightmares.

╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣

After an unrecognizable amount of time in blindingly white space, I start feeling my weight again. The light slowly subsides and I find myself on the knees in a bridge position, facing the ground. With my vision still hazy and not accustomed to the room we are in, I try to peek around myself to check if others are here too.

And fortunately, I’m able to spot everyone to my right. Paul is slowly rising up to his knees from lying flat on the ground on his stomach. Just behind him Natalie and Shino are sitting close to each other and still covering their eyes from the disappearing whiteness. At the very back of the whole group, Kamil lies on his back with Marcia on top of him. Both groaning loudly from the discomfort.

「Good. At least everyone seems fine. Now, what the hell was that and where the fuck are we?」

With the safety of others confirmed, I bring myself up to a sitting position and glance at the surroundings. Firstly, we are located in a quite spacious hall built out of white and greyish minerals, with rows of pillars on both our sides. And that’s not the only thing surrounding us from left and right. Standing approximately two or three meters further from the centre are two rows of soldiers, or rather knights, looking intently our way.

They wear a combination of grey padded leather pants and dark blue chest armours, reinforced with silvery chainmail or plates of metal, and they all don longswords. Now that I noticed, we are sitting on a long carpet of the same blue colour with silvery flower patterns. I follow it with my eyes and end up locking gazes with a young man if I had to guess somewhere mid-twenties or thirties, dressed in pompous robes of the same style as everything around, and a slim silver crown on top of his shoulder-length blond hair, sitting on what most likely is a throne.

At his sides are two other people. On his right, a woman clad in less eye-catching, purplish robes, with a long metallic staff in her right hand. She appears to also be on the younger side, although wearing rectangular glasses and having her hazelnut hair combed to the back of the head ending in a bun, raises a slight aura of maturity around her.

On his left, to my surprise, another young lad. With very long white hair and robes of the same colour, giving priestly vibes. He also holds a staff, but his is much more detailed and decorated with various gems.

「Well, this doesn’t look like a staged prank to me. It feels kinda surreal, but all the evidence points out that we got—」

“Greetings Otherworlders!”

The man in the middle stands up and announces in a sound and confident tone. He glances at each of us for a moment, seemingly judging our reactions to his words. Everyone is still too dazed and confused with the unexpected change to fully grasp their meaning. Well, perhaps everyone but me.

「Great. I hate being right in situations like these. What’s next. Is he gonna tell us we are some godsend heroes to vanquish a rogue Demon Lord terrorizing the human race?」

“My name is Rossberg Ruminas and I’m the current king of the human kingdom Evalitia. I’m aware of the fact that you still might be experiencing the aftereffects of your transmigration, but I would be really pleased to know if you can understand the words I am speaking to you.”

I get all that he is saying and looking at others, I guess they do too. I look over all of their faces to figure out what they are thinking. Kamil and Marcia still seem to be catching up on what is happening. Paul is nervously eyeing the knights around us with an uneasy and confused face. Natalie and Shino have huddled closer together and while the first one frantically looks around, the second keeps staring curiously at the King.

He turns to the man on his left and speaks again.

“Is it possible that something didn’t go right? Did they not receive the blessing?”

“I have no idea, Your Majesty.”

「This will lead to nowhere and their patience is most likely not endless. Well then. I just really hope he’s not the one from all those revenge stories. Let’s try it the polite way.」

Without any sudden movements, I rise to my feet. Confirming that the trio in front of us has noticed it, I slowly walk in front of Paul, so that everyone is behind me. Taking the last glance over my shoulder, I then steel my resolve and kneel on my right knee, slightly bowing my head and begin to speak.

“Your Majesty. I humbly request permission to speak as the representative of the group behind me.”

“Oho? That’s unexpected. Rise. What is your name and why do you wish to do so?”

“My name is Alastair Carter and that’s for a few reasons, Your Majesty. Firstly, the people behind me are my students and I am their mentor, thus naturally I’m obliged to protect their wellbeing and interests. Secondly, I’m not sure about this place, but considering our homeworld laws, at least two of them are still not fully considered adults and it’s my responsibility to represent them in any interaction with governmental bodies, such as this kingdom. And finally, it seems that I’m the one most familiar with the situation we are in right now.”

“Interesting. I assume there are no language issues then and the system works correctly. I’ll acknowledge you as the representative for now. You seem pretty knowledgeable about the royal etiquette.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. I’ve studied various handy manuscripts. Then, I’d like to confirm our situation. Am I right to assume that we are no longer on Earth, but in another realm, and the weird, glowing symbols were part of something akin to a summoning spell cast by either one of your aides?”

“You are quite a perceptive one, and yes, this is no longer the world you’ve called Earth, but one called Naharren. Although you are right about the summoning, we are not exactly the ones who called you here.”

“What do you mean?”

“You see, while the Archpriest on my left has functioned as a medium and a pillar upholding the connection between the worlds, the summoning came from the Goddess watching over our realm herself. We received a revelation about valiant heroes coming to our aid, alongside instructions on how and when to prepare ourselves for it. Our world is facing a crisis right now and this was the only way she could have lent us a hand after she intervened a bit too much in the past…”

「And now we are adding an almighty goddess who can’t overstep her boundaries to the basket... Perfect...」

I take a deep breath and quickly check on the others. While we were talking they must have stood up, because they are now gathered behind me. It’s time to get to the most important part.

“Since you were able to summon us from another world, I guess you also have prepared a way for us to get back, am I right?”

The King and his attendants look at each other and do not answer for a few moments. The aforementioned priest joins the conversation.

“We believe that after everything is resolved, we’ll somehow receive anothe—”

My brows twitch at his words and I reply in an almost shouting tone, making all the knights jump nervously.

“YOU BELIEVE? So what you are saying is that you’ve forcefully kidnapped random people from another realm, with some of them basically being kids, to fight in what I assume is some kind of war, YOUR WAR, without even securing a way back for them?”

I slam my forehead with a loud sigh escaping my mouth. I decide to ignore this conversation, for better or worse and turn around to face my students. Rubbing my temples I begin speaking.

“I deem all of you smart enough to have already realized what we have gotten ourselves into, just from this previous conversation. Even though not everyone has been an avid reader of any kind of fantasy stories. Anything to clear up?”

I glance at each one of them. Everyone shakes their heads. Even Kamil follows suit, although he’s certainly getting a more lively look in his eyes.

“Great. I might have spoken on your behalf, but what do you think about all this?”

To my surprise, it is Natalie who answers first.

“Well… It’s not like we have any other alternatives besides at least listening to the whole thing now.”

“Natalie-san is right, there’s not much to do. And besides, at least sensei is here, so everything will be fine somehow,” Shino chimes in.

“I don’t know if I should feel happy or worried that you place so much trust in me. I’m just one guy in the end.”

Paul and Marcia just shrug. There’s not much more to add here.

“And besides! Didn’t you hear what they said? We are basically heroes! Hey! Are we super powerful or get some dope abilities?”

Kamil excitedly joins and then leans over me, throwing his question towards the King. Fortunately, it seems like he’s one of those who don’t really mind. Or he just places us pretty high and is forgiving a lot.

“Naturally. It would be pointless if people summoned were to be weak. You all have been chosen by the goddess and your potential reaches unimaginable heights. Although… you won’t be able to manifest all this power right at this moment. But! Let’s not waste any more time here! We shall speak in a more comfortable environment, more suited for friendly conversations. Follow Cornelia, my court magician, to the prepared room and refresh yourselves a bit. I will join you in a moment and begin the explanation.”

He then gestures to the woman who was standing on his right and watching the whole show quietly. She bows lightly, nods her head towards us, and starts slowly heading into one of the corridors, leading out of what I assume is an audience or throne room. I check if everyone is on board and we enter the corridor behind her. Feeling less pressured they start discussing this whole ordeal amongst themselves, in their usual groups. Paul with Kamil and Marcia, while Natalie with Shino. Those are not set in stone since Paul pretty much interacted with anyone who spoke first in the past, but other duos got close together pretty quickly in the class.

I catch up to the woman and can’t help but notice a fragrant tinge of lavender in the air around. It further adds to her charm. I don’t know why, but I feel like this smell matches her perfectly, alongside the flower itself. Although I don’t recall what exactly was the symbolism behind it, just that it definitely fits. Now I wonder if they have the same flowers here, with the same meaning. It wouldn’t be unexpected if they are named differently due to cultural differences, right?

After a few minutes of walking, we reach a chamber with decorated double doors. We are led inside and find a beautifully furnished, spacious room with an open balcony on the opposite side to the entrance. There is lots of furniture you’d expect to find in a medieval fantasy world. In the middle, a low table is placed and filled with various snacks and drinks, mostly fruits and pastries. Around it, there are two large sofas and one beautifully crafted chair, undoubtedly belonging to the King. Sounds of gasping and amazement accompany us as we move further inside.

“This small treat was prepared for you, so don’t worry about anything and pick whatever you like. You might feel like you haven’t eaten in ages after you arrived here.”

As expected, her soft and calm voice feels reassuring. They instantly sit down and start stuffing themselves with food. I just pick an apple and move to the balcony.

「Let’s see this Naharren and the human kingdom. I have a feeling we’ll be staying here for a while.」

Saileri · Feb 6, 2021

Chapter 4 – Goddess’s Chosen

I arrive at the masterfully carved stone balustrade. My gaze sweeps all over the surrounding scenery. The castle’s balcony is positioned a few stories higher than the usual wooden and stone buildings, creating a perfect depiction of a medieval fantasy city. I have been expecting a great sight, but laying your own eyes on a real, full of life, medieval capital is just something unspeakable.

“Beautiful…” I mutter under my breath admiring the breathtaking scenery. I take a bite of my apple while looking around.

To my left, and to what I assume is also west, a shining golden beach and a sea or an ocean are located. This capital must be a coastal city. There are a dozen piers and a few smaller docks constructed there, but a lot of the glittering beach is a free and open space, perfect for some relaxation time.

Moving my eyes more to the middle and right, I can barely spot the external walls of the town. There are a lot of buildings, and even my otherworldly self can easily differentiate between the existing districts. Close to the castle must be a noble one, since all the houses and stores have a lot fancier finishings than the ones far further. The north side resembles a mercantile area with most of the constructions visibly proclaiming they are business ones. I can also spot a huge market with a lot of colourful stands.

To the east and more inland, there are plenty of chimneys with some of them spewing smoke of various shades, definitely representing an industrial or artisanal district. Lots of large warehouses, forges and workshops of many kinds. Unfortunately, I can’t see what is behind the castle right now, but I guess there would be more housing areas since, in front of me, they are mostly squeezed around those districts mentioned before. The whole city is designed in a circle fashion, with rings of living quarters separating bigger districts. The whole scenery is something you’d usually see in those big CGI movies, and here I am, admiring this beautiful sight.

I gaze carefully at the sun’s position. If this planet or world is orbiting at a similar speed and distance from its… double suns… it should be a few hours after noon. While I’m working my brain over the differences in time between our worlds, the court magician Cornelia appears at my side and also takes a peek outside.

“How long is an hour here?” Turning my head to her, I ask directly without any kind of warning. She looks at me slightly surprised, but answers nonetheless.

“That’s an interesting topic for your first ever question about our world. An hour consists of 60 minutes. I believe your next question would be about them. One minute is 60 seconds and also, 24 hours make a day.” She then extends her palm and proceeds to form a small hourglass out of ice. She places it on the railing and continues. “And one minute is exactly how long it takes for this hourglass to get filled.”

We stare at it in total silence. After 60 seconds I confirm that there won’t be any issues related to time differences. Remembering something, I check my pocket. It’s still there. My smartphone. I pull it out and try unlocking it. Still works, with most of the battery power and obviously no signal. I quickly turn on the most efficient saving mode. I don’t think I will be able to charge it here, so let’s make the best use of it as long as I can. Then I exactly do so. I open the camera app and take a panoramic shot of the city. I look at it satisfied and turn the phone off completely.

“What was that tool? Did you do something with it when it made that weird sound?”

Obviously, my spectator has noticed it. Now, how should I explain this? I could just say ‘magic’ and be done, but that would be kind of a lie.

“Hmmmm… Do you have something like illusion magic here?”

“Yes, we naturally do,” she speaks in a calm tone.

“Then, are you able to create an illusionary picture of a view you have seen somewhere in the past?”

“If it’s supposed to be a flat picture like a painting, then even novice illusionists are able to pull that off.”

“Well then. This tool has many functions, but what I just did was basically creating a flat illusion of the scenery in front of us and then storing it inside its… records or memory, if you can imagine it having something like that. Now, as long as it’s supplied with energy, I can recall the picture at any time to look at it. And no, it wasn’t magic, it’s a mechanical tool. Saying all that, it will run out of juice in a week or two and become useless, so I decided to make good use of it while I can.”

She has been nodding during my short explanation, so I guess she did manage to follow through.

The sound of a door being opened makes us turn around. The King enters alongside the priest we have seen in the throne room. He looks at me and then at the others.

“Now then. I believe this is a better place to explain everything and answer all the questions you most likely have been wanting to ask.”

While speaking, he moves to the fancy chair and sits down. The priest stands slightly behind him, at his right side. Since he sits facing me, I decide to stay at the balcony. The breeze is just so enjoyable and refreshing.

“You said before that we won’t be able to use our powers right now. Why? When can we then? What do we have to do to unlock them?”

Kamil eagerly barrages the King with questions about our supposed powers. I’d rather hear about our situation first, but it doesn’t look like I’ll be playing the representative role that much longer.

The King chuckles with a smug smile on his face. “I knew you would ask about this first. Well then. Let’s begin from the start. The inhabitants of this world have been blessed with the power to quantify their strengths and weaknesses, which also helps them develop the proper talents for them. Since you were not born in this world, you do not possess it… yet. You have been marked and pulled in by the goddess to our realm and the inkling of this power has been implanted into you. And since you are all people with great potential, we believe you will be able to use it to the fullest, towering over the common denizens.”

He then gestures over to the man standing behind him, which lowers his head.

“With the help of our Archpriest Nerphym here, we will be able to awaken this inkling.”

Kamil starts visibly fidgeting in excitement. I’m amazed he can stay this calm in front of ‘fun things’, but I guess even he knows it would be bad to fuck up in this situation.

The King continues. “Shall we proceed then?” He sees Kamil is already standing up. “Just let the Archpriest circulate his mana around your body.”

Kamil approaches Nerphym and stands in front of him with expectant eyes. All others are also glancing over them curiously. Who wouldn’t be curious about magic? The priest grabs his left hand and places his own over it. He closes his eyes to concentrate. A few seconds later, they are both surrounded by a golden-white aura, which starts concentrating at Kamil’s palm. After the other man steps back, the aura subsides, leaving a glowing mark on top of the boy’s palm. I can’t really see its details from this far.

“Cool!” Kamil happily announces while investigating his new, glowing tattoo. “Hey, Shino! Aren’t I now like that idiot with red hair from one of the cartoons you spoke about with Natalie? I forgot its name... Maybe I can summon spirits like him too!” He laughs while spinning in circles with his hand up in the air.

“The series is called Destiny and you are the idiot. It’s one of the biggest anime franchises around the world with many novels, comics, animated movies and games. Knowing you, even if it was possible, you would end up summoning an old farmer from the Edo period at best.” She throws a jab back at him while rolling her eyes. Natalie and Marcia chuckle at her remark. The latter one stands up next.

“My turn now! Can’t be late to the party!”

She then undergoes the same procedure, and so does everyone. After being done they sit again in their previous spots and keep gloatingly stroking their palms in awe. The priest starts walking to me even before I could react, so I meet him in the middle. But, I don’t immediately put up my hand. I glance over others' symbols and a thought rushes through my mind.

「This thing is pretty oblivious. Wouldn’t it be bad to walk around with a flashlight attached to your palm? And even if it wasn’t glowing, a weird symbol on your hand will definitely attract some attention. We know nothing about this world yet.」

The priest noticing my visible hesitation speaks. “Is there any problem?”

“Does it have to be located on the top of your palm? I’m not going to lie, having a glowing mark in such a visible spot is just like telling everyone ‘Hey! I’m different!’. I don’t see those on any of you, so I guess it’s not something every inhabitant of this world possesses.”

The priest looks at me and then at the King, who faintly smiles.

“You are intriguing me with every single word you speak. While others quietly awakened their blessings, you first thought about possible implications. You are quite clever.”

“I disagree, Your Majesty. It was just a simple matter of connecting facts. If I was truly clever, I would have realized this even before the first person underwent the procedure.”

“I see. A humble one at that. Well, I can reassure you that this symbol, which is called the ‘Hero Sigil’, should be able to become hidden with just a will of the owner.”

And with that, I notice how Shino’s and Paul’s sigils stop glowing and after a moment fade out, leaving no trace of it behind.

「Guess I was worried for nothing.」

I give my hand to the priest and he starts channelling something through it. I can feel a warm, pulsing sensation circulate through my body and then gather in my hand. It’s refreshing. Like I have just been washed from all the accumulated fatigue and stress. The ‘awakening’ ends. I look at the top of my hand and now I can see it in the full detail. The sigil looks kinda like an oversized axe with dual, long blades, reaching almost to the bottom of its handle, which ends in a diamond-shaped protrusion. The head of the ‘axe’ is caved in, roundly. In this space, a double circle is placed in the center.

「Kamil was right. It does look similar to the master’s order from Destiny.」

I try to imagine it not being there and it slowly fades out. It then appears again when I think about it showing up. Handy.

“So… what now?” This time Marcia asks a question since Kamil is too lost in admiring his own hand.

“You have now established a proper connection with our world and the Goddess. Try invoking the most basic ability, which is Status,” the King answers.

Everyone murmurs or says it loudly and again the gasps of amazement and shock fills the room.

「So now we get a system out of an RPG? Let’s see if it works with just a thought - Status. Good, at least we don’t have to use verbal commands.」

A flat, semi-transparent, navy blue window appears in front of my face, with a list of options positioned like in a menu of some game. It includes entries like Full Summary, Information, Stats or Skills. I try focusing on the very first option and the contents change.

I read through it carefully. Most things seem pretty obvious just from their naming sense. I’m only wondering about this whole ‘Assimilating…’ thing and the Linguist skill. While I’m pondering over the stats, Paul asks a question.

“What does High Human as a race mean?” He points his finger somewhere in the air, but no one can see his screen.

「Wait. High Human?」I quickly glance back to the top of my window. 「The hell? Mine says just Human. Please, don’t tell me something went and got fucked up during the whole process... 」

“Ah, that’s the name of the human race from ancient times. Looks like the Goddess chose really promising individuals,” he explains with a smile.

“I see.” He gives a quiet answer and goes back to analyzing his window.

“What about the Linguist skill? It’s the only one I currently have. It says it’s Lv. 3” Marcia takes her turn.

“Since you’ve been transferred from another world, you naturally possess this skill. It lets you speak, read and write the Common language, which is the main one in our realm. The higher its level, the higher your talent with languages lies. You can see more details when you focus on the skill.” This time it’s the priest who answers.

“What’s the highest it can get? Mine is at level 7.” Shino finally joins in.

“Oh! That’s great! You must be pretty talented then! I’m not sure about the maximum level, but the highest I’ve ever seen was around 13 I think? People who know only one language tend to stay at level 2, and that’s the most common.”

「Then mine would be at least 15 or 20. Doesn’t that seem kinda high? 」

I try to focus on the skill as the archpriest instructed and an additional, small rectangle pops out.

「Woah! Doesn’t this seem totally OP? Ten times faster learning speed, perfect memory, and even an ability to guess the meaning of unknown words? The hell is my class then, a Heavenly Scribe? I’m starting to get worried here...」

I make a loud sigh and walk backwards until I hit the railing of the balcony. I take a few deep breaths of fresh air. Then, an idea pops into my mind.

「Since we have been subconsciously speaking this Common language all the time, then can we just switch to the other ones naturally?」

I ponder for a moment and decide to do a little test. Trying to focus my mind on Japanese, I speak loud enough for everyone to hear me clearly.

“I’ve eaten better apples in the worst slums I can remember,” I say while spinning the already eaten apple.

Shino looks at me quite shocked, while other students seem to be confused, recognizing the language they sometimes heard in class. She then stares at the King awaiting his reaction, but he just gazes back at her confused even more, why she is doing so and then looks my way.

“I apologize for that. It was just a little experiment.” I try to speak in Common again and then switch mid-sentence into English. “Looks like we can still communicate properly in the languages we learned back on Earth, and they are not automatically translated into Common for others.” My students look between each other, Shino, Paul, and Natalie nodding knowingly. The other trio seems to also have caught up on the fact that I’ve been speaking languages not known to their world.

“So what about the power and abilities? All I can see here is ‘Assimilating’ and just some numbers. Weren’t we supposed to unlock this after the awakening?” Kamil joins slightly unhappy that he can’t immediately check out his moves.

The King’s face is taken over by an uncomfortable expression.

“Well... I never actually said that everything will be unlocked after you forge your connection with this world. I mentioned that you won’t be able to manifest all of your powers at this very moment, and… it will take some time for your bodies to adjust after the transmigration. During that time you can still better yourselves with training and other ways, but your inborn classes will be revealed at the end of that period. We can guess their main area of expertise with a look at your stats distribution.”

“How long then? A day?”

“Exactly one year...”

“WHAT?!”

Kamil, Marcia and even Paul shout unanimously. I cover my face with my hands and sigh, AGAIN, audibly.

「For fuck’s sake… A year?! This is getting hilarious with every minute...」

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN BY ONE YEAR YOU BLONDE FUCKTARD?!” Kamil stands up again and shouts agitated. “WHY THE FUCK DOES YOUR HEROES HAVE TO WAIT ONE YEAR TO DO SHIT?!”

“I’m with him.”

“Same here.”

Paul and Marcia join and send the King angry glares. The archpriest tightens his grip on the staff and I can see, even feel, the aura around Cornelia, who is still by my side at the balcony slowly gathering. I place a hand on her shoulder and shake my head when we make eye contact. They are not stupid enough to attack a King in their outrage.

“Calm down. Your shouting won’t shorten that period. I get you. We are all quite angry here, but sit down, and for your own safety, try to not look like you are going to jump at him at any moment.” I wait until they sit down and then move my attention to the King and continue. “Explanation please?”

“As I’ve mentioned before, your reformed bodies are not yet ready for all the power. Inhabitants of this world discover their first class around the age of 6 and the one they are most suited for, around the age of 16. It’s not a rule though. In your case, this process takes only one year, thanks to the Goddess’s blessing,” he answers while eyeing the students closest to him.

“And what are we supposed to do during this time? Wait patiently until everything unlocks itself?” I continue.

“No, of course not. We are going to extend our utmost support to you. Even without your special classes, you can still acquire and develop new talents, alongside regaining those you have already achieved in your homeworld. During your training you can try yourselves with every weapon, magic and piece of equipment we can provide, thus earning a chance to guess your class specialization before it’s revealed. Isn’t that better than instantly sending someone not accustomed to our world away on their first day?”

He tries his best to present the ‘training arc’ in a positive light, cracking a nervous smile from time to time and wandering with his gaze over every single person in the room. I check Kamil and Marcia. They have slightly cooled down, but dissatisfaction is still visible on their faces.

“I’m not going to lie, living one year in the dark does seem really annoying… But before that, does the time pass at the same pace in our worlds? As in 1 year here is 1 year there?”

“Yes. Naturally.”

Even though everyone must have at least thought about this issue at some point, a clear confirmation causes us to get slightly dejected. When we will finish this training, one year would have already passed back on Earth. Who knows what will happen to their families in that time.

“Well then, everyone. We can’t do anything about this anyway, so why not leave this for later so we can think about it calmly. A lot has happened. Rushing this won’t get us anywhere faster. We still know nothing about the main reason why we are here.”

Seeing how agitated most of the group got by the revelation, I try my best to change the topic, to the one really important.

“Ah yes. Since you have gone through a lot today, let me just present you with a short summary of the situation and then you will be guided around the castle and to your rooms, so you can rest and assimilate everything.”

“Assimilate… Tsch…” Kamil sneers at his unfortunate choice of words.

The King begins his story about the calamity that descended upon this world.

Here's a sketch of the Hero Sigil. Sorry for the quality, I spent just a few minutes to make a rough representation.

Saileri · Feb 7, 2021

Chapter 5 – The Abyssals and System Details

During the King's speech, we learn some details about this world called Naharren. To my surprise, humans are the dominant race here, and even hold the title of the most powerful one. It is the other demi-human and monstrous races that are supposedly weaker. Looks like the knowledge of countless novels where humans were placed on the lowest spot of the race chain won’t come helpful to me.

According to his story, all those races weren’t always friendly or tolerating of each other. There were countless fights and wars in the past with a lot of bloodsheds. During one of them, humans triumphed over other races, securing their spot at the top and regaining their control over this continent, where they were the majority. From that day, other races didn’t dare to stand up to them. That led to the current, peaceful times.

Or perhaps, not so peaceful. The reason why we have been brought to Naharren is nothing but peaceful. Contradicting most stories I know, it’s not demons or a Demon Lord. No, in this world demons is a term used to describe some of the humanoid races with dark skin and horns or other ‘demonic’ features. Like Oni or Tieflings for example. I don’t want to assume which race is considered demonic here without checking that out properly. And well, at least one of those races' leader is called the Demon King, but that’s just the same title as the Human King.

Anyway. The calamity this world is facing is called ‘Abyssals’. They are creatures born from the void and darkness, or perhaps an Abyss. Imagine ghouls from most fantasy stories or RPG games and give them a more shadowy look. Those are the typical grunts. Supposedly, there are various versions of them, with different strengths and some intelligence, but they are not considered a sapient race. Why? Because they are born from this darkness only for one reason - to taint and consume everything. Their only instinct, or perhaps a higher order or something, is to devour everything. The inhabitants of this world still don’t know why and how they started appearing. If this is a natural calamity with a magical origin or a deliberate attack of some higher being.

They started popping out 15 years ago, when the previous human king, the father of the current one, was still in charge. The issue was neglected. Adventurers and the military took care of the smaller outbreaks that surfaced around the kingdom, but they did spread very quickly. The Abyssals have completely overtaken one of the demonic kingdoms to the south and started moving towards this human one. They were repelled by the previous King and his army. They charged forward and cleansed a big part of that country, but at the cost of his, and most of his generals' lives.

The danger has subsided, but it did not disappear fully. The goddess decided to do the only thing she could at the given moment to help the world and reached out to her believers sending a revelation saying that she will summon powerful heroes from another world. At least that’s what the King said or knew about.

Our mission supposedly is to first - get powerful enough to be able to do something, and second - to possibly gather some clues about the Abyssals while dealing with the outbreaks. But for the most part, it’s just protecting the kingdom.

After the given summary, we decide to take a tour around the castle to learn its basic layout. Then, each one of us goes their way to spend the evening in contemplation and perhaps resting. When I’m done with organizing my thoughts, I move out of my new room, which isn’t anything special, although looks fancy enough to be of a noble origin. Big double bed with a canopy, a lot of wardrobes, a desk and some cabinets. All masterfully carved from what looks like mahogany.

Anyway, slightly hungry, since all I’ve eaten recently is an apple, I walk to where dining quarters are located. Somewhere midway I clearly hear footsteps behind me. Clearly, because the floor is made out of stone or other minerals and it creates loud sounds, not even mentioning an echo. I turn back and see Shino walking out of one of the corridors. She naturally notices me. I wave my hand as a greeting and turn around to resume my stroll. After a moment, the sound of closing and hurried footsteps reaches my ears, so I to stop and wait for her to catch up.

“Where are you going, sensei?”

“Kitchen. Or something. I’m not used to surviving on a single apple. Now that I think about it, there goes my healthy diet. I bet they are going to stuff us with overwhelming feasts. You?”

“I was just looking around. Familiarizing myself with the layout. Can I join?”

“No point in even asking. Why would I decline?”

We begin walking side by side in silence. Shino breaks it first.

“Ummmm… Thank you sensei,” she says quietly with a downwards gaze.

“What for?” I ask surprised.

“For everything. For taking the lead when we arrived in that throne room and then keeping up with all that has happened.”

“You know that was just my obligation as your guardian. And besides,” I look at her with a genuine smile, “I noticed that you were going to stand up there at some point, weren’t you? I believe a real princess like you has a lot more experience in talks with people of high status, while my polite acting was just a guess based on all the novels I’ve read. I should have let you do the talking.” I recall the moment when we made eye contact in the audition hall.

She fidgets visibly at the sudden compliment. “Tha-t’s not true… I really hoped you’d say something before I did… It couldn’t have gone even more perfect than what you did.”

“Hahahaha, thanks, that’s reassuring!”

Laughing, I give her a few pats on the back. We reach the dining area in silence. Some servants rush to us at sight. Looks like they have already been informed about everything. We get whatever they recommend and sit at an empty table. During the meal we just dine mostly in silence, chatting from time to time about some things from our world. Like the game, we were supposed to check out together.

At some point, Shino keeps staring at me with a thoughtful expression.

“Something wrong?” I ask, pointing a fork in her direction.

“Ah, no…” She realizes her behavior. “I was going to say something, but at second thought it sounded rude…” She keeps lowering her voice with each word, to the point where the ending was barely audible.

“Have I ever got angry at any rude remarks? Out with it!” I fiddle with the fork around my fingers.

“Well… Sensei doesn’t seem to be too happy with this situation we are in...”

I stop and stare at her, half confused and half curious.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s just… I thought that sensei was a person who would definitely enjoy being transported to a fantasy world…” She tries to avoid my gaze by looking around. ”All those novels and other stuff… sorry…”

“Hahahaha! That’s anything but rude, you are just stating a fact! How could I have been offended by that?” I laugh wholeheartedly at her remark. “You are right. And if I were to be totally honest, deep down I am happy and enjoying these new things. But…”

“But?”

“But I’m not alone.” I sigh dejectedly. “If it was just me getting summoned, I would most likely have been playing along with everything more. But there are 5 more people here, and they were also under my supervision when all this happened. Someone has to act the part. At least until everyone settles in.”

“Most of us are already considered or fully adults. And we all received this ‘power’ and ‘blessings’. It’s hard to believe, but this is no longer our classroom, but another world. You shouldn’t feel that responsible for us. You should focus more on yourself.”

“You are still illegal in my book, no matter which world it is.” I blurt out with a smug grin.

“I’m 17! Eighteen in a few months! That’s totally legal in many parts of the world already!” She blushes slightly after realizing what she just said, picks up one of these tiny tomatoes and throws it my way, which I dodge and then chuckle at her. “Besides! True love knows no boundaries!”

“Oi, oi, oi. Don’t tell me you are all about the shotas? What a shocker. I really thought better of you. To go after the kids...”

I lean back and continue teasing her. She stands up and slams the table. Well… more like pats it heavily while leaning over. She’s still wearing her oversized hoodie, which covers her hands. Making her show anything besides her usual shyness is already considered rare.

“I was being serious! About both things!” She takes her plate and leaves with a soundly ‘Hmph!’

「Hah. Well… She is kinda right… At least about the responsibility part. They aren’t some random folks. It should be fine. They even got that ancient race...」

After returning the dishes I take a stroll around the castle and end up in my room. We are supposed to check out the city tomorrow and get some clothes, so I should rest early.

╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣

The next morning, after having breakfast together, we are taken on a tour around the capital. We are casually led around various districts to familiarize ourselves with their general location. I don’t think they will let us roam freely alone anytime soon, but it’s good to know the city you will have to live in for the next who knows how many months.

As expected, the streets are full of humans. Most of the demi-human races we spot have collars around their necks, so I guess they are some kind of slaves. There are still those looking ‘free’, but they are in the minority. We pass some Elves, Dwarves, Beastkin and such. Naturally, our clothes gather some attention, so we move to a tailor to something less eye-catching. Everyone gets a few sets of leather and cloth quips that suit them and change at the spot.

When our little trip ends, we are asked if we want to rest around the castle. Few minutes of group discussion later, we conclude that there’s no need to waste another half a day, so we would want to start with the preparations slowly. The knights escort us back to the castle and suggest we wait in the garden or our rooms since it will take some time to inform the King and bring the first planned instructor.

I wait in the beautiful garden full of creative formations of flowerbeds and hedges. An hour later some servant comes and informs me that the King wants to explain the system more before we start with the training. With their lead I arrive at a similar room to the one we have spoken with the King before. Everybody slowly gathers and the King arrives last, accompanied only by the Archpriest Nerphym this time. We sit comfortably and he begins to speak.

“Last time we have focused on your main task and also some parts of the system, but I believe it would be beneficial to you if we also shortly explain how it works for the people in our world.”

Nobody seems to be declining, so he continues.

“Let’s start with the class. We have already said that it is a quantification of your talent. A person usually awakens the class once, but there are cases where after some time, due to various circumstances, a person’s class switches to something slightly different or evolves into a higher rank of the same class. A class is for the most part helping people survive in this world. Examples are a Longbowman, Berserker, Fire Mage, or Priest for the common ones. The more rare ones are identified by additional adjectives, like for example Divine Priest, Hellstorm Fire Mage, or Ancestral Berserker.”

He lists some of the possible classes to us. Marcia and Kamil are listening attentively. I also am quite interested in how this affects us.

“So, in short, it shows you your fighting potential, but it’s not something people have to follow like an undeniable law enforced by the Goddess. There are plenty who don't develop their military talents and just focus on their everyday jobs. But I’ll get to those in a moment.”

He takes a sip of his wine.

“How far you have developed your class is shown by the Tier of it. Right now you are at Tier 0 because you still don’t have one. How to achieve a higher tier? That depends on the class. You mostly have to develop your talents, body and mind by yourself, take actions that would be considered as associated with your class, like fighting with a longbow as a Longbowman, defeat monsters or learn more about your class. There are also cases when a lucky encounter has led someone to a Tier upgrade, like a Mage finding and touching a pure Mana Crystal. With each Tier up your stats increase and you gain new class related abilities. Some you gain instantly, some you need to discover yourself, some can be learned from others or books. Understandable so far?”

“Yeah! It’s great! We don’t have to do all this boring grinding levels shit like in those retarded RPG games!”

Kamil says happily, Marcia nods, Paul has his usual thoughtful and analyzing expression, Shino glances down also most likely dissecting the information and Natalie just sits there quietly with an absent gaze, but I know she is fully paying attention.

“Great…” the King says slowly. I don’t think he is aware of what an RPG game is. “Then, next is jobs. You should have one currently.”

Everybody murmurs or says “Status.” and then they call up a summary or information tabs. Shino seems like the only one that has caught up on doing it silently.

「Let’s try to access options from the menu right from the bat. I think it was Information. Nice! No need to open up the menu. 」

A familiar window appears in front of me, but a tad shorter this time.

Checking it out, I decide to ask first. “Mine says Novice, and there’s some kind of double-lined symbol in brackets after it. What is it?” This time it's the priest who answers.

“Everyone starts with Novice when born. It doesn’t have any notable benefits. The symbol behind it means you don’t have any other jobs available to switch. The symbol will turn into an arrow when you do. People earn their jobs just by learning the craft, training physically or mentally, performing certain actions, like ploughing a field for a week, or just naturally via their inner talents. You can learn as many jobs as you might want if you spend enough time on them. Naturally, not everyone is talented in every field, so acquiring some might be second to impossible or just very hard. A common Farmer will face a lot of difficulties if he would want to acquire a Scribe job. Learning proper language, writing, etc. You can’t just get a job and the knowledge magically appears in your mind—”

「Oh? This sounds way more realistic than I thought it would be. In your usual novels, inhabitants of a system-ran fantasy world are just born with a destined job. Here it’s the same thing as calling yourself an engineer back at home. You gotta learn the stuff.」

“—. On the other hand, when equipped, each job provides small benefits. They boost physical and mental attributes according to their subject, like Soldier boosting Strength and Constitution. There are also skills you learn during or for the job. There’s a segment in your skill window called ‘Common Abilities’. Your Linguist is there since it’s not a part of your class. Various abilities land in that section. You can still learn or master other weapons even if your class specializes in swords, and the passive skills for them will appear in the common segment.”

He pauses for a moment to and glances around over us. Now it is Natalie who joins in. She speaks calmly, in almost an absent-minded manner, not even moving a bit.

“So, if I get it right, this class tells us what we are good at fighting and guides us in knowing what areas to focus on to get better, while jobs are like professions we acquire by working on non-combat related things. And we can learn and earn skills separately. Like one is your private life while the other is your work life.”

“That’s right. Although jobs can sound combat-oriented too, like Soldier, General, Guard, etc. But you don’t have to be a Swordmaster in class to be a Soldier as your job. Naturally, a person like that would fare a lot better than a Druid class for example. And you can easily switch between your learned jobs while keeping the skills you acquired. You just lose the benefits of having it equipped.” He finishes and lets the King speak again.

“It’s amazing how quickly you catch up. But well, that’s the Goddess’s chosen heroes for you,” he utters with amazement.

“What about the stats? Aren’t they supposed to say how strong we are? They should be important too, right?” Kamil asks.

“Yes, the four main stats do represent how strong you are, but they are not the most important. Class and skills have a much higher impact on combat or everyday life. But, knowing how your stats are distributed, we can guess what kind of class type you might receive, since it affects their base values and future growth. Oh, but besides them growing alongside the class, you can naturally improve them with exercises, but at a way slower rate. And the important fact is that they mainly fuel your skills which base their effectiveness on their value.”

“So, if I understood that correctly, higher stats means the skill will be stronger?” Paul interrupts.

“Yes, exactly. But you shouldn’t judge a person based solely on their numbers. Someone who has twice your strength isn’t necessarily going to crush you with their bare hands. There’s no perfect way to describe how much they influence you by 1 point.” A moment of silence falls before he continues. “Well then, since we are already here, why won’t you share your stats and we will shine some light on your possible classes.”

Marcia and Kamil smile at each other joyfully and bump their fists together. Even Shino and Natalie seem to show some excitement. Paul tries to hide his grin behind the fists of his thinking pose.

“Who shall we start with? Perhaps the ladies?”

“I want to go first!” Marcia yells out excitedly. “Mine are 13 for Strength, 22 Agility, 19 Constitution, 9 Intelligence and 10 Charisma. Are they good?”

“Yes, they are very nice,” the priest says. “10 is around the usual value someone at Tier 1 holds. It’s rare to see one above 20 so early, they appear from Tier 2 and 3 most of the time. You are really a chosen hero!” he speaks with increasing happiness.

Marcia looks delighted at his compliment.

“Ah, excuse me, I got a bit too excited. Ekhm… Judging by your stats disposition, your main one is definitely Agility, while the supportive one is Constitution. Strength is the 3rd one. This looks like an agile frontliner, perhaps expert at knives, shortswords, or other finesse weapons. Your class will be highly mobile and quick. Perhaps a Thief, Assassin, Ranger, Rogue, Duelist.”

“Wow! That sounds cool! I really hope it’s the duelist, it sounds the coolest out of them.” She jumps up and dances around the sofa. The King and priest smile at each other. I call out my stats window and check them out again.

「Damn… My highest is 15… Well, let’s not judge a book by it’s cover.」

“What about me then? It’s 21, 19, 14, 12 and 11,” Pauls asks curiously.

“Hmmmm…” The priest raises his hand to his chin and ponders. “Top is Strength, support Agility and then Constitution… Matches those of a warrior kind… with this Agility perhaps a Monk? But also an Archer route is possible since it focuses on both of those stats.”

“God please, let it be an archer…” Paul whispers barely audible words.

“Can I ask for your opinion now?” Natalie calmly asks, directing her stoic expression at him.

“Naturally.”

“I’m 9, 13, 11, 22 and 20.”

“Oh! Two of them above 20! Amazing!” This time the King shouts in awe. “Intelligence and Charisma, definitely a magical route, can be any kind of a Mage or Priest, or even magical Bard with your charm so high!” He clasps his hands. “What about you Lady Asakura?”

Shino’s eyes slightly widen and she blushes. I don’t think she’s used to this specific honorary term. “I-... I’m 16, 21, 11, 20 and 9… Is it… good?” She timidly gives her numbers.

“Oh! Another double! And the third stat is high too! Agility and Intelligence, you say… perhaps a Swordmage? A Battle Druid? An Artificer? There are a lot of possibilities…”

Shino backs off as far into the sofa as she can, hiding herself while blushing visibly. She has gotten bombarded with compliments recently. Kamil starts whispering something to Marcia with a smug grin.

「He has been quite calm this whole time… I would have assumed that he was to be much more lively and energetic...」

“Ummm… What about sensei?” A sudden change of direction by the shy girl.

“Me?” I ask slightly shocked by this unexpected turn of events. I have been expecting Kamil to go next. “Well… Uhhh… I’m 11, 11, 14, 13 and 15…” I give out my numbers hesitantly.

The King and priest frown upon hearing me speak. They must have expected something with at least two twenties with how things have been going. All of a sudden we can hear almost a maniacal laughter. Kamil is holding onto his sides giggling, snorting, or snickering in turns.

“Hahahahaha! I can’t! How the fuck are they so low! Highest 15?! You are trash even in this world!”

He starts banging his fist numerous times onto the table, wheezing uncontrollably. The King looks at me and I just shake my head with my hands spread. I couldn’t care less about his insults.

“Kamil-san!”

“Ouch! Hahahahah, someone got mad for the trash’s sake?”

Shino jabs him in the side and sends him an angry glare. He responds by hitting her arm with his elbow.

“Come one, don’t fight amongst yourselves. Just leave him alone, Asakura-san, I don’t care.” After facing her concerned gaze for a moment, I turn to the priest. “So, anything you can tell me about them?”

He and the King look at each other in thought. After a while, the latter answers. “Well… They are decent, but… Charisma as the main, with Constitution support and the third one being Intelligence, all varying only by 1 point… Honestly, we are not sure. Beast Tamer? Shaman? Druid? Summoner? With all of them so close together, it’s hard to pinpoint the path…” he answers dejectedly.

“Who cares! His stats are shit, it wouldn’t even matter!” Kamil sneers.

“What about you then, you jerk.”

Shino voices out her displeasure. Kamil stops giggling, sits straight and flashes a confident smile. Something tells me that he has been waiting for someone to ask this whole time. He then stands up, puffs out his chest and announces proudly.

“Be amazed! I’m 31, 19, 31, 15, and 27! That’s what you call a real hero!”

The King and archpriest gasp in shock. I let out a loud sigh, everyone falls silent with him enjoying the spotlight.

“Two above 30?! The other ones are really high too! Your class must be insanely rare and strong! I cannot fathom what it could be, but judging by your main stats it’s definitely a warrior type,” the priest responds trembling from excitement.

“Truly, what a fearsome potential…” the King murmurs.

They begin to talk about his stats, asking questions, debating on the possible classes and such. The students join the discussion eagerly. Only Shino seems to be in a slightly sour mood for some reason, and Natalie, well, you can notice some curiosity and excitement, but she somehow manages to keep her usual calm and cool facade.

I lean back, close my eyes, sigh for the n-th time and drift off into my own thoughts.

「Thrice some of mine… Well, it feels a bit sad, but not everyone can be a hero… Just hopefully, this won’t end badly for me...」

Saileri · Feb 8, 2021

Chapter 6 - The First Training

At some point in their discussion, a servant knocks on the door. Some nobleman has requested an audience with the King.

The King informs us that the first instructor will arrive next morning and we can start around noon. Everyone leaves with various emotions accompanying them. We separate pretty quickly and leave to do our stuff.

Not having much to do, I spend the rest of my time before the night comes checking out the books in my room since they are in Common. Unfortunately, they are all works of fiction. I leave a mental note to myself to ask for access to the library. There must be one in the King’s castle, right?

╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣

Next morning. I wake up, do some of my usual exercises, grab something to eat at the dining area and I move out of the castle to head to the skirmish area, a bit before the set time.

I arrive at a vast courtyard with many separated training areas. Some just like rectangular arenas, some in a fashion of a shooting range, some with a lot of dummies or those wooden mannequins with many rotating sticks you often see in martial arts movies. Surprisingly I’m not the first of our group here. Natalie is sitting on a bench to my right and writing something in her pocket-sized notepad.

I walk around to approach her from the front so that I don’t startle her. Sure that she noticed me I plop down on the bench and casually look around. After a few minutes, she closes her notepad and turns to me.

“You are not going to ask what I am doing?” she asks with her soft melodic voice but as usual quite a cold one.

“I didn’t come here to disturb you, just to wait. How are you faring… with all the stuff?”

“I still feel like it’s a dream or something, but I know this is real. I hope everything is alright back at home. Father can be… really emotional and caring. Even more than my mother. Hopefully, he’s alright…” she says while slumping her shoulders.

“He’ll be fine. He is a strong-willed person. They’ll get through this.” I try to cheer her up, but some empty words of reassurement won’t do too much good. “Look. It would be a different story if you were kidnapped or disappeared alone. With 5 people vanishing, they will definitely hold to the hope that you are all alright. No one would want to get rid of all 5 of you and anger a lot of bigshots, so they should think we are being kept away somewhere or something.”

“Yeah... You are right. Thank you, teacher,” she speaks more to herself than to me, trying to believe my words.

“No worries. Just remember. I’ll be always there if any of you need anything. And it’s not like I’ll be holding our classes in this world, so you can drop the official title. Carter is fine. Alastair too. Hell, anything is fine.” I stand up, stretch a bit, and smile at her.

“Okay.” She stares at me for a few seconds. “You are not worried about your family, tea-, Mr Carter?”

“My father is gone, mother could rot in hell as far as I care and grandparents are decently set up with the preparations I left in case anything happens to me since my dad was their only son.”

I put my hands behind my head and assume a grim expression on my face when remembering that bitch.

“I have spent only like 9 years at their place and haven't lived with them anymore for another nine. Gramps is tough so he’ll be fine. Granny, I guess too. I’ll still miss them of course. Besides that, I didn’t really socialize with the world. You should be aware I was kind of a shut-in.”

“Yes. Although no one would believe that seeing how open you are in the classroom.” She smiles faintly, but it fades quickly. “Sorry for making you remember the painful past. I didn’t know.”

“All good, I’m long over it. Look. Seems like we are getting started soon. They are coming.”

As I say this, the rest of our group arrives, and shortly after, a well-built man dressed in cloth armor that’s easy to move in, steps in accompanied by 4 people in robes. We move to one of the arenas. He stands in the middle while the mages or priests position themselves on the edges.

“Okay! Attention please!” he shouts energetically.

He wears a short shaggy beard and medium length hair tied up in a samurai-style man bun, both dark brown color.

“For the upcoming months, you will undergo training with every weapon we have at our disposal. You will be spending some time familiarizing yourself with those until one day you will stumble on the feeling of one of them ‘perfectly fitting in your grasp’. With that procedure, we will be able to deduce what type of weapon is mainly suited for your future class. When those are discovered, you will be able to focus entirely on developing it or them. Clear enough?”

We nod unanimously.

“Great. Today we will start with something simple. Hand to hand combat.” He hits his chest with his fist with a loud thump. “I’m a Martial Artist! Those guys around are all healers. You are going to attack me and defend from my attacks. No need to push yourselves to the limits. This is not a competition. But do give your best. And don’t worry for me, I’m a tough guy, you won’t be able to do much to me.” He flashes a smug grin. “The big guy with short hair and glasses. You are first!”

“Me?” Paul asks looking around. “I’m not really a close combat type. I’d rather try something with range.”

“Doesn’t matter. You can’t know what kind of skills you got at this moment. Come on! I’m not going to beat you up for sport!”

He reluctantly enters the flat arena, takes off his glasses and assumes a battle position with his fists out. Looks like a boxing stance to me. The instructor pumps his fists a few times and waves at him to start.

Paul approaches him sidestepping right and left while keeping his guard up. When at the correct distance, he starts throwing some straight punches. They are easily blocked or avoided by the instructor. Paul dances around him, trying to land a solid hit. I don’t know that much about boxing, but his movements look quite good. The sides switch and now it’s the man’s turn to attack. His heavy punches push Paul back a few steps every time they hit his guard. He manages to fit a feint and land a hit on Paul’s stomach, sending him back a few meters. He falls to his knees and coughs a bit.

One of the healers approaches him, while the man is spinning his arm happily.

“Good, good. That was decent. Did you feel something weird during the match?” he asks with a beaming smile.

“Cough. Cough. Yeah… Your fist on my stomach…”

“Haha! Funny one, ain’t ya? Well then, rest on the side. Maybe a lady wants a go now? I promise I’ll be gentle!” He clasps his hands and laughs. He does that a lot. “Hmmm? What about you there shortie?”

Shino sizes him up for a moment hesitatingly but enters the ring in the end. She makes a little bow and assumes her position. She moves her left foot to the front and lowers her posture by about 1/3. She then stretches her left hand to the front and down, and right to the back and up, with both palms facing upwards, and locks her gaze on the opponent. I suddenly get ninja vibes from the anime, but then I remember her mentioning a family’s traditional martial arts in one of our conversations back on Earth. Kendo might not be the only thing she is focusing on.

“Hoooh? You seem competent.”

Without a word of warning, he launches himself at her with a straight kick. Shino easily moves out of the way and pushes his leg to the side with her palm. She takes a few steps back, but the instructor quickly closes the distance and starts throwing his punches. Left straight. Right uppercut. Right diagonal into a spinning kick.

They are running around the arena, with Shino dodging every strike by a hair's breadth. He makes another heavy straight kick with his right leg, which flies by her face and makes her wisps of hair flutter. She moves to the left gaining an opportunity to strike back while his leg is stretched out, and her palm is on its path to the man’s underside… but it suddenly loses its momentum and only pushes him back a bit.

I catch a quick glimpse of her face in all this turmoil.

「It looks like she is struggling… No... She is not struggling with the fight. She is struggling with herself. For some reason, she seems hesitant.」

“Stop!”

I shout while raising my hand. They jump away from each other, and still in battle positions, they look my way in confusion. I slowly approach them and soon arrive at Shino’s side.

“Sensei?” She tilts her head.

I place my hand on her shoulder and look straight into her eyes. “Why are you holding back?”

They widen in surprise. She clearly hasn’t been expecting anyone to notice.

“You said it yourself. This is no longer Earth. So then?”

She drops her gaze to the ground.

“Ummmmmmm…”

“Listen here. I have no idea what your mentors have said to you back there, but you shouldn’t view the guy here with our usual, earthly standards. And I believe it’s much better to test yourself in a secure environment with a human partner than against a creepy beast two times your size.”

I grab her other shoulder and turn her around to face the man again.

“So stop worrying yourself over it and mop the floor with that dude. The hoodies on the sides will take care of him after.”

I give her a light push forward.

“Finished with your little pep talk? Not like it’s gonna change anything here. I’m at Tier 3, y’all still at 0.” He spits to the side and smirks. I leave the stage with a grin.

Shino gazes back at us one last time, turns to her opponent and takes a deep breath. She again assumes her battle stance, but this time, her palms are in a parallel line with her arms, not straight up like the last time. A subtle change, but I feel like she emanates a different aura now.

“Let’s finish this quickly, others want some fun too!”

He throws a happy remark and lunges forwards much quicker than in the first bout. He lands on his left foot shortly before Shino and makes a forceful straight kick in her direction with his right leg. In a flash, she lowers herself to the point where it flies above her head, she instantly positions herself on its right side below, firmly grabs his leg with her left hand and forms a claw with the right. Faster than we can blink, she hits the sides of his exposed calf and thigh with her knuckles, two times each, making his muscles cramp and start pulling the man’s body backwards and down.

“Ugh!”

She wastes no time, instantly starting to run. Still close to the ground, she runs under the leg she was holding, turns herself to face the man’s back and using all her strength she hits it with both of her palms, sending him forwards with a great force.

And that’s not the end. With a quick spin, she arrives at his right side, takes another fast spin extending her right leg upwards almost in a full split, and lands a spinning kick right onto the poor guy’s face, which is speeding forwards due to her previous push. Two opposing forces clash, resulting in the man’s body doing a double backflip in the air from the kick in the head while flying past her, crashing onto the ground on his belly and scraping along the ground for another 3 meters ahead.

Silence fills the air. Only Shino’s exhausted sigh wanders through it. The instructor isn’t moving. One of the priests finally breaks out of his shock and runs to him. The rest follows shortly. They start some incantations in panic. Shino trots back to us, where everyone is standing with their jaws literally dropped to the ground and I have the smuggest grin on my face ever.

“I suddenly feel like I was just a few steps away from my meeting with Charon[modern_footnote]In Greek and Roman mythology, Charon is the ferryman of Hades who carries souls of the newly deceased across the rivers Styx and Acheron that divided the world of the living from the world of the dead.[/modern_footnote] yesterday.”

I throw a comment at her and she responds with a very mischievous grin, totally unbefitting her usual character. Shivers run down my spine.

「God, please… Don’t tell me she’s a battle junkie...」

We are forced to wait around 30 minutes before the healers bring our instructor back to a working state. He doesn’t even comment on the last fight. His confidence and pride must have taken a huge hit from being obliterated by a little girl.

Natalie goes next. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like he is holding a grudge and he doesn’t take his anger out on her. He still does his job properly. Natalie blocks some of his weaker attacks and dodges the others, he doesn’t push her around too heavily. She even tries to grab him a few times, but the weight difference is too big. They end up pretty quickly.

Next volunteers Marcia. And forget everything I said about Paul dancing around the instructor. She is a real dancer. She keeps moving irregularly in every direction while being light on her feet. She is fast and agile. Her movements are very rhythmic, you can almost hear the beat somewhere. She reminds me of that capoeira guy’s idle animation from a certain fighting game I’ve played in the past. They exchange some moves, but in the end, she is pushed back.

Before I can move, Kamil jumps into the arena and starts attacking the instructor. There’s not much style in his movements. He just keeps pressuring the other man with his random punches and kicks. They do pack some power though. The instructor’s guard flies back a few times, but nothing worth mentioning happens. At last, my turn comes.

I enter the arena. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of real fighting experience. Yes, I’ve done some training with my father in the past, but I was like 12 back then. I also attended a few courses of self-defense and military CQC, but I have never gotten into a serious fight. And the man standing in front of me is a pro martial artist. But, this does not discourage me. It’s the opposite. It’s like a challenge.

「I can’t rely on strength or agility since he’s much better in those terms. I don’t have any special techniques I could utilize… There’s only one way, and it all depends on him… Time to make a bet...」

I try copying Paul’s boxing stance with my guard high up and covering my head. The instructor starts throwing some punches. They do not land on my guard. Although, it’s not because I am quick to dodge, but because I take a step or two back when I see his attack beginning. From time to time I try to clumsily send a punch of mine at him. We spend a minute with the instructor chasing me backstepping around the field.

I start to stumble over my own feet and breathe heavily. He matches my speed and more punches begin to hit my guard, throwing it in every direction. After another 20 seconds of me getting beaten up, it finally happens. Being done with all this charade, the instructor takes a heavy stance readying his right fist for a powerful punch that will send me flying. Unfortunately for him, it's exactly what I was waiting for.

He throws his punch with a lot of strength and body weight behind it, expecting me to jump back like usual. Instead, seeing a punch flying straight at me, I angle my guard to my left at something like 50 degrees from the vertical center, move it to my right side and rush forward. My arms meet his fist and it, painfully for me, scrapes over my angled upper forearms.

“What?!”

His fist slides off to the right, but at the same time, still keeping my momentum from the jump forward, I retract my left arm while turning my torso with it. Mustering all my strength alongside the centrifugal force, I slide my right elbow over his extended arm, straight into his face.

His head receives my hit and he takes a step backwards. I quickly crouch under his still extended arm, turning my back to him. I position myself close to his body, grab him by the aforementioned limb, and while thrusting my ass behind me, I throw the still surprised instructor over my shoulder, right into the ground in front of me, slamming him as hard as I can. I hurriedly kneel over his throat and cock back my fist in a threatening way. His eyes wide in surprise.

Exhaling heavily, I step away.

「Haaaaaaaaaah… Ouch, he hits like a fucking truck. My poor arms… I can’t believe it actually worked this well.」

He stands up on his own. My attack didn’t do enough damage to knock him out, just to daze him for a second. Massaging his forehead he turns to me, who is breathing roughly.

“How the hell did you get so strong in the middle of the fight?” he asks confused.

“Well…” I stop for a moment to catch my breath. All this running around hasn’t left me without any fatigue. “Some people say that the lack of information is the easiest way to lose a war. But, I dare to disagree.” I flash him a smug grin.

I look around so that others know I’m not only speaking to him. “What’s worse than the lack of information?” No one seems to want to answer, so I continue. “Mis-Information.”

“Misinformation? What do you mean by that? I didn’t have any information about your strength before the fight. Wait… Does that mean…” The instructor makes a thoughtful expression.

“Looks like you’ve finally realized. It’s exactly like you think. I fed you with false information during our bout. Since the very beginning, everything has been an act. My cowardly steps back, my semi-weak punches, my guard being punched around by you and finally, my fake exhaustion announced by me stumbling over my own legs.” I walk around as I explain my plot. “All that just for a single second, a tiny chance that you will drop your guard and underestimate me. And honestly, I really didn’t think it would work after you got destroyed by Asakura-san previously. I got lucky.”

I stretch a bit. “It’s way worse to be misinformed than to be underinformed. The weak aren’t always helpless.” While speaking the last sentence, I sweep my gaze over the students. Hopefully, they’ll remember that. Who knows what classes they will receive in the end.

Kamil looks slightly annoyed by the fact that I was able to manage against the instructor, while he failed to achieve anything noteworthy. Paul seems impressed by what I did with boxing style. Shino didn’t need any help with what she did, but she still looks at me with amazement. Marcia impishly smiles at me. It feels kinda dangerous… And lastly, Natalie, who was the most dejected with her performance, seems a bit less depressed now. She’s the creative type, she’ll manage.

「Seriously… I can’t get rid of my inner teacher even in another world...」

Saileri · Feb 9, 2021

Chapter 7 - Your Class Is…

The first week passes in a flash. For half of the day, we train with the martial arts instructor, for the other half, we are free to do whatever we want. Without an issue, I gain access to the royal library, after politely asking the King during one of our meetings.

The library itself is huge. Rows of shelves, like two-story-high, are neatly arranged in quite logical patterns, with each section visibly marked. Once in a while, some space is put between the racks, where some tables, chairs, sofas, desks, and similar furniture are placed. The main corridors are definitely over a hundred meters long, and there are plenty of intersections.

It will take some time to learn the patterns and ins and outs of this place, but it’s not like I’m in a rush. I should be able to find a lot of valuable information about this world, its history, the whole system thing and the world’s inhabitants. Perhaps, I should also ask if there are any guides to the existing races’ languages. I’m kind of curious to see how much easier it might be to learn them with that OP skill.

For a few days, I just wander around the whole place familiarizing myself with the layout and asking questions to the librarians near the main entrances.

╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣

We train for half a day, I spend the other half, or even more, in the library. In one month I’m able to learn a whole language, besides just reading about the history and facts of the world. As for the first one, being the fantasy freak as I am, I choose Elvish. I mean, that’s an obvious choice, isn’t it?

Learning languages really do come unnaturally easy to me now. I already was aware of my talent in them back on Earth, but right now, after just reading the words and their meaning, I memorize them instantly. All the grammar and more difficult parts take a bit more time, with speech and pronunciation being the most troublesome. Regardless, almost mastering a whole language in a single month is beyond amazing.

As for the weapons, during that month, we go through some basic ones like spears, longswords, axes and bows. One week each. And without any surprise, Paul is the first one to ‘feel something’ during our training. As easy as it is to guess, it’s during the shooting practice. After just a few practice shots he starts overperforming everyone. I’ve never seen him so happy than in the moment when he was assured his class would have something to do with ranged weapons. Good for him. You always get better results when doing something you like.

Others, seeing how he basically goes from no experience to novice archer in a few hours, are now brimming with eagerness to try out more weapons.

╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣

Another few weeks pass uneventfully. I’m currently sitting in one of the reading areas and slowly finishing learning Dwarvish language. While in deep thought I hear a woman’s voice at my side.

“Seems like the rumours were true. Are you really reading here every single day?”

I look up and see the court magician Cornelia in her usual purple robes, holding onto some book.

“Lady Cornelia.” I stand up and nod my head as a greeting. “Yes, it looks like the rumours you mentioned might have some truth hidden in them,” I say with a smile.

“I already told you to drop that Lady. I’m not a noble and you are older than me.”

“Yet your honourable position of a—”

“And you are a hero, aren’t you? Who is the one with the more honourable position here?” She quickly cuts me off.

“Well… Fair enough. Miss Cornelia then?”

“Just Cornelia is fine. Besides… I’m not really a real court mage…”

“Pardon?”

“Well… I’m more of a stand-in…” She sighs. “Before you arrived, the main one was sent by the King to check out one of the outburst areas and I was called as a replacement. Now that he returned, I’m back to… just a magician and a scholar.”

“The fact that you were the one chosen to represent the King already tells a lot about either your achievements or mastery over the magic. You still appear more than capable to someone who can’t even use it. Anyways, anything I can help you with?”

She smiles faintly. “Mind if I sit here?”

“Not really.”

I move away my scattered notes full of hand-drawn Dwarvish runes to make some space and place my hand on a chair next to mine. Standing behind it I gesture to her to sit down. She complies and I gently slide her chair in.

“Thanks.”

Hesitant what to do now, I wait for a moment to see if she’ll speak about anything, but she just opens her book and begins reading. I follow suit and focus on my own studies. We spend around 2 hours working in silence.

I finish the chapter I’ve planned to memorize today and close the book. While organizing my notes I notice that she is glancing my way. I stop and raise a brow at her.

“Are you learning Dwarvish?” she asks.

“Yep.”

“Why?”

“Hummm… I always liked learning foreign languages back on Earth. And you never know when those might come handy. Besides, it’s really interesting.”

“I see. How is it going then?”

“I’m almost done with it. A week or so and I should be at a decent level.”

「And by a decent level, I mean fully memorizing it...」

“You managed to learn a totally alien language in two months. That’s really amazing,” she speaks visibly amused.

“Well…” I smile awkwardly and scratch my head. “To be honest, I started around 3 weeks ago…”

“What?!”

She says quite louder than usual. Immediately noticing it, she covers her mouth with hands and looks around startled. No one seems to be around in this section, but her voice was definitely heard in the distance. Correcting herself she speaks in a lower tone.

“Your Linguist skill must be at a high level to be able to learn it so fast.”

“Hahaha… Yeah, it’s quite high when compared to the other heroes… It might be my only redeeming feature since I’m not really good in other areas and my stats are quite low,” I speak hurriedly.

“What level is it at?” she asks, sizing me up with her thoughtful stare.

“...”

I look around to see if someone is not coming.

「Where are the cliche timings when you need them?」

Cornelia also looks around, then back to me and squints her eyes. She traces some symbols on the desk with her fingers and a moment later they glow with a low purplish light. I notice how the air around us seems to start being distorted, like in a hot desert.

“Now no one will be able to hear us. Unless they can cast high tier magic. I really would like to know what level of this skill allows you to figure out languages this fast.”

I sigh and decide that it’s not wise to make a capable magician suspicious of myself.

“In full honesty, I don’t know.”

She looks at me even more suspiciously. “What do you mean you don’t know? Doesn’t it say in your skills window?”

“It says it’s Lv. MAX”

Her eyes widen in shock and her mouth involuntarily opens and closes a few times. In the end, she just stares at me visibly deep in consternation. She finally gets a hold of herself and speaks.

“I’ve never even read about anyone achieving it in the records… How many languages did you master to achieve that?”

I summon my skills window and focus on the Linguist skill.

Cornelia notices my eyes wandering in the air and speaks again.

“You can make any part of your system windows visible to others by—”

She stops when most likely my window materializes for her after I think about it being visible. She looks at me again surprised and I just smile. Then, I try to make a swiping motion, imagining the window flying towards her face. It does as I instructed and stops in front of her eyes. She blinks quickly several times, moving her gaze from the window to me and back.

"You already learned the Elvish language?!"

Then she swats it away and falls silent, intently looking into the table.

After a while, she looks at me with a serious gaze and speaks. “Say… Do you need some assistance with your studies?”

「Assistance? Having this skill? Oooooooh… I see...」

“You want to observe me while I’m learning, right?”

She moves her gaze away to avoid my eyes.

「Bullseye.」

“I don’t mind. You can come whenever you want. Having someone familiar with this place around could be a great help,” I reply. It would be kinda stupid to reject that opportunity. And she mentioned being a scholar.

She bows to me and speaks while smiling beautifully. “Thank you very much! I’ll be sure to help you with any questions you may have!”

And with that we leave together, talking about the library and its collections.

╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣

After our little meeting, Cornelia visits me every few days. Sometimes in longer streaks. At first, she just sits there looking all over me and my notes, but with time she proceeds to take her own, to ask questions along the way and to discuss some details.

At some point, she starts getting more active within my studies and research. She might have gotten enough data already. We begin discussing this world and whatever she suggests I should learn. With her having a good grasp on the library, I have a much easier time getting to the more useful stuff.

Under her care, I learn a lot about the world. Its geography, some politics, history and inner workings of the system.

She also starts explaining magic to me, even though I don’t seem to have that much potential in it. I manage to reach the understanding high enough to earn the skill Livelihood Magic, which is basically a weak, everyday version of it, like drying clothes, filling a cup with water, cleaning dirty things, etc.

Besides all the learning stuff, we talk about random things from each other’s world. Both of us are eager to discuss the differences and funny facts. She often takes her questioning quite seriously though.

As for the weapons, unfortunately, I don’t get to experience ‘the feeling’ in these months. And I practice with loads of different types of them. Fortunately for the whole group, all others find their preferred ones decently quick after Paul’s discovery. Shino naturally ends up with a katana. All that kendo didn’t go to waste. And I’m not really surprised they have them here. Natalie seems to have a knack for magic, so she is under the tutelage of the court magician and his peers. Marcia creates a strong bond with her two shortswords, so I guess she’s a dual wielder. Finally, Kamil ends up with a sword and a shield. Typical hero cliche.

Everyone focuses mostly on their main weapons, and I’m the only one trying out new ones for the most part. They still join for the first day to check themselves, but quickly return to their tutors. At least they seem to be doing fine.

╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣

And just like that, a year passes. We are currently sitting in one of the usual fancy rooms, waiting for Archpriest Nerphym to guide us to the place where we will finally unlock the classes and begin our journey in this world.

Everyone went through a lot of training with their respective weapons. And naturally, they also learned some stuff about the beasts and monsters roaming around the world, some survival skills, the list goes on.

I still haven’t found my ‘weapon of choice’, but as a side result, I’ve gone through everything the kingdom’s armoury could muster. And thanks to that, I now have two interesting new skills - Arms Mastery: Novice and Improvised Weaponry Lv.1.

All the passive skills connected to the weapons fused into that first one, while the second just appeared at some point during the training. The former is something in the lines of 'have your way with any weapon you pick up, but don’t expect fireworks', while the latter allows me to literally improvise with whatever I can get, due to all the experience with tens of weapons.

But, even though I’m behind with weapons, I’m pretty sure not one of them is even close to having gathered as much information about this world as me. Whatever happens, I’m ready for it. I’m also on pretty good terms with the King and Cornelia. I hope.

Everyone is nervously going through their status windows. Who wouldn’t be stressed in this situation? It’s like before a big exam which will decide your life, but you couldn’t do shit to prepare for it and its result is final.

Well, maybe not everyone is that nervous. Kamil and Marcia seem to fare pretty well. The latter sitting comfortably in the former's lap. They got quite close during our time here. Or, I should say, they stopped hiding the fact that they are into each other. They were a thing already back on Earth. I’ve learned about that after finding out they got quite passionate in the class, almost breaking the desk in the process. Checking the security cam footage, it was revealed that it wasn’t just once. And naturally, even though I had nothing to do with it and it was just the operator's job to report such occurrence, that prick still blames me for snitching on them. At least Marcia doesn't care.

Archpriest Nerphym arrives and we are guided out of the castle. After a short ride in the carriages, we appear in front of something akin to a small chapel or a shrine, somewhere in the city. The corridors are quite narrow, so we move in pairs. Kamil with Marcia, Natalie with Shino and at the end me and Paul.

Through a double-winged wooden door, we enter a small chamber. There’s a huge carving on every wall, depicting most likely the Goddess gifting humans various things. Everything is out of pure white marble. In the center of the room, a small pedestal is located. On its top, a deep black orb pulsing with goldish veins levitates. The King is already there, waiting for us.

“This is a Divinity Stone. It serves as a connection to the Goddess. Everyone comes here to awaken their class at some point in their life,” the Archpriest explains.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. How to use that orb?” Kamil waves his hand in an uninterested manner.

“Just place your hand on it. That’s all.”

He approaches the floating crystal and places his left hand on top of it. The orb’s veins start surfacing with a glowing golden light and in a moment it emanates an aura of the same colour, which surrounds him. A pillar of light strikes through the solid roof and also covers Kamil. After 10 seconds everything fades and he takes a step back.

“So, what is your class?” the King asks curiously. Everyone is looking at Kamil, who summons his status window with a verbal command.

“It says Divine Hero of The Valiant Sword. I also see some weird 3 title—”

“WHAT?! The legendary Hero class?” the King shouts in surprise.

“And it not only has an adjective but also a titled addition!” Archpriest Nerphym joins him and they start frantically speaking over each other.

“Marvelous! And he even mentioned three titles! As expected from the Hero chosen by the Goddess!”

They congratulate him with hope-filled eyes, visibly amazed and certainly happy. After a minute or two, the duo manages to calm down a bit and while Kamil goes through his new status with Marcia by his side, Paul walks towards the orb.

The orb again shows more of its golden veins, but there’s no pillar of light this time. A red, mistlike aura surrounds him and it gets quite hot in the room suddenly. When it fades out, everything turns back to normal. He gets back and checks his class.

“Mine says Draconic Sharpshooter,” he says with a huge grin on his face. Judging by the latter part, a perfect class for him.

“Oooh. A Sharpshooter is already quite rare, but to even link it with Dragons, it really is something.” The Archpriest ponders for a moment. “Does your status mention anything about them?”

Paul looks around for a second and answers, “Hmmm… Yeah. One of my titles is The Red Dragon Descendant and under my passive skills there’s something called Red Dragon Ancestry.”

“Amazing! Red Dragons are the ones with the most physical strength! I can already imagine the power behind your bow! Who is next, let’s learn about everyone!” The King eagerly looks our way.

Paul leaves to the side to join Kamil and Marcia comes to the pedestal. The orb shines as usual, and in her case a current of wind appears, making circles around her and snuffs out all the candles in the room.

“And?”

“It’s… Primal Blade Dancer?” She stops for a moment and squints her eyes, but a big smile appears on her face after she reads it.

“This is truly great! Another fabled class with an adjective!” The Archpriest marvels.

Natalie is next. A weird, but calming humming accompanies her awakening.

She calmly sweeps her gaze over her status window and speaks, “A Divine Songstress of Life…”

“Great Goddess! Another titled addition! And it’s the highest version of the Bard class!”

She smiles faintly and comes back to us to examine her status in detail. I notice Shino’s hesitation. She worriedly looks from one person to another. I move closer and plop my hand onto her head. She jumps a little and looks up at me.

“Don’t worry that much over it. Whatever happens, happens. You already kick ass even without a class, and with one, you’ll literally destroy moons.” I smile at her.

She blushes slightly and nods. I give her a pat on the back and she slowly approaches the pedestal. She looks back at me once more and places her hand on it.

Suddenly the whole room gets dark. Not pitch black dark, but like starry night dark. Some symbol appears on the ceiling and it looks like a… crescent moon? It shines its silvery light onto Shino and her skin starts glowing too. After a moment a black aura seeps out from the floor and surrounds her, slowly getting sucked into her body. The moon fades and everything goes back to normal. Everyone is looking around spooked. She turns to us and shakingly checks her window.

“Ummm… It says… Demonic Samurai Priestess...” she informs us quietly.

“A hybrid class? My Lord! Where was the last time we’ve seen one?” The Archpriest joyfully turns to the King.

“I have no idea. But it even has a powerful adjective! A Demonic Priestess! Almost as rare as the double class!” he replies in high spirits.

She looks through her status. Her eyes stop at a certain position and widen in surprise. She giggles a bit to herself and looks my way with a smile. I raise my brow in mild confusion. She trots back to where Natalie and I are standing.

“Thanks for your lucky charm, sensei!” Shino bows lightly.

“Lucky charm?”

I ask her confused and she throws her materialized status window at me.

「Hahaha… What are the chances for that...」

I laugh inwardly after checking her titles. I congratulate her again before starting to walk. It’s finally my turn.

I stand in front of the crystal. My Hero Sigil starts visibly pulsing in the same patterns as the orb’s veins. I place my hand onto it and a similar feeling to the one year ago permeates through my body. A pinkish-purple mistlike smoke starts circulating around me and the orb also changes its glow to a pink one. The air gets filled with a warm and sweet scent and I’m pretty sure I can hear a cute feminine laugh in the distance. My vision blurs. I appear to be in a weird purplish place. A silhouette of a woman slowly approaches me from the front. It looks like a pink shadow. She definitely says something to me, but I only hear unrecognizable whispers. She comes closer and places a light kiss on my lips, disappearing in a puff of pinkish smoke.

I’m back in the chamber with the orb. It doesn’t look like anything changed here. I turn around. Everyone looks at me in a kinda weird way and they avoid making eye contact. Marcia suspiciously grinds her legs together with a flushed expression. Even Natalie has a very faint blush on her cheeks. The guys are standing weirdly, like soccer players during a penalty.

「The hell happened here when I was out?」

“Sir Carter…” the Archpriest speaks to me with an awkward smile. He’s sweating a bit. “What is your revealed class?”

I decide to ignore their weird behaviour for now and summon my full summary. To my surprise, the window that appears is of a pink color instead of the previous navy blue.

「Wait… WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!」

Saileri · Feb 10, 2021

Chapter 8 - The Decision

I frantically move my eyes all over the new status window, jumping from one category to another and back.

「Sexmancer? Love Contract? Charm Affinity? Harem Lord? What the hell is all of this?」

I finally realize why everyone has behaved weirdly after my awakening. During everyone’s turns, those different things were materializing, like wind or darkness, but in my case, the pinkish mist had to somehow affect their bodies. It’s not hard to guess in what way.

“Is there some problem with your awakening, Sir Carter?” the Archpriest speaks again.

Honestly, I’ve been preparing myself to receive some trash class since the first day here, when everyone shared their stats and had a different race from me, but man, who would have expected a result like that.

「There’s nothing I can do about it right now. I need some time to get through all this and then judge my situation, but… How the fuck am I going to announce that my class revolves around sex! I don’t even have to check the details of any skills, it’s clear as the sky on a sunny day!」

With an uncomfortable smile, I turn to the priest and the King. “It says Sexmancer here. You have any idea about it?” I try to awkwardly present it like it’s nothing special.

Silence.

More silence.

I can literally see tumbleweeds rolling between us. Or it’s just my nervous imagination.

“Pshhhhhhht… Hahahahahaha… What in the flying fuck?!”

A sudden laugh echoes through the chamber. I don’t even have to move my eyes to check for the source. It’s obviously Kamil’s. Everyone looks his way, myself included. He’s holding his stomach with one hand and laughing while nudging Marcia with his other elbow.

“Hahahaha! I always knew you were a fucking creep, but to this extent?” He can barely stand on his own legs.

With a slightly sour and confused expression, the King speaks up. “I’ve never heard about a class like that… It’s almost impossible to even judge what branch it might be. Is it offensive, defensive, support? What does it even do?”

“Ha… Hahaha… Haha…” Kamil tries to calm himself to the point where he can speak again. “Isn’t that obvious? He is going to fuck enemies to death! Hahaha! Better hide your girls!”

「He’s slowly starting to get on my nerves, not gonna lie.」

“Oi! Are you perhaps hiding something from us? How many students back on Earth have yo—”

*FWOOSH*

*THUD*

“Guh?!”

Suddenly his legs are up in the air and the back of his head slams onto the floor with a great force. Beside him, Shino is standing with her leg to the front after a shoving kick. Her hair fluttering. She sends him a cold, murderous glare.

「Just a second ago she was standing on the opposite side of the room, how did she move there in an instant?」

She quickly walks towards me and the priest.

“Sensei…”

I put my hand on her head and ruffle her hair a bit more forcefully than usual. She does not back off though.

“Haha. You stole a bit too much of my luck back there, don’t you think?”

Shino drops her gaze to the ground and her expression darkens.

“Sorry, that was a bad joke. Remember? Whatever happens, happens. Don’t worry, it’s not the end of the world.”

I try to reassure her a bit with a smile, but honestly, it’s more like I’m convincing myself. She looks back up at me with concern.

「I’m getting a bit too irritated here… Better leave to cool down before I lose more face.」

I stop ruffling Shino’s hair and move a few steps towards the exit. I wave my hand and speak without turning back.

“That weird pink mist made me a bit dizzy. I’ll go get some fresh air before I faint. Don’t wait for me, I’ll be back at the castle before midnight.”

“Wait!” The King stops me before I reach the door. “I want to have a personal meeting with each one of you this following week to discuss your classes in a bit more detail. We’ll try to gather some information from the archives before you all move out.”

“Fine by me. Just call for me whenever.”

I pull the large doors and leave the chamber.

╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣

I’m walking through the streets back on the way to the castle. It’s an hour or two after noon. The city is bustling with people.

While I’m deep in my thoughts, someone leaves an alley to my right and bumps into my side. I watch as two big crates drop onto the floor while the carrier falls onto their butt. Fortunately, the boxes don't break.

In front of me, there’s a muscular man with grey furry skin and the head of a tiger. I also notice a tail sticking out from behind him. He’s what people here call a pure-blood Beastkin.

He glances over the boxes in a daze and then spots me. He instantly jumps to his knees and cowers. He speaks in Common, in a low and growly voice, befitting of his image.

“I apologize My Lord! This one was not paying attention to the road ahead! Please, forgive this blunder!”

For a moment I’m the one in a daze, but then I remember how humans are the ruling race here.

“As you can see I’m fine. What about you?”

While speaking I extend my hand to him. The hair on his tail stands up and he slightly trembles while backing off a bit. I notice a leather collar on his neck and everything clears up.

「A labour slave...」

Seeing his reaction I retract my hand. He’s definitely afraid of humans. Nothing I can do here.

“Stop kneeling and proceed with your task. I have no need to punish you.”

It pains me to speak in such a cold manner towards him, but he most likely will only get more confused by any kindness. Without waiting for his reaction I walk away.

On my way to the castle, I summon the summary window and focus on every new thing that appeared there, starting with titles.

「...」

「Okay, what the fuck? Is even my sweat an aphrodisiac now?」

I try to sniff myself, but I don’t notice anything special. Just in case I try to think about this ‘effect’ being non-existent or completely turned off. I move onto another title.

「Now I see why all my stats were so low, but damn, this looks broken as fuck. Literally, the more girls I sleep with, the higher my stats will be. But, what is a registered partner? At least there’s that part about consent, so whoever gets this class can’t just jump at any woman on the street. Feels kinda reassuring. But it’s not like I’ll suddenly find tens of girls who will fall for me in some way, and by the description, any kind of charm magic or such won’t work. Whatever! Let’s check the last one. It sounds the most normal of them all.」

「...」

I shake my head and rub my temples.

「What the hell I’ve been even expecting from this...」

Time to take a look at the class skills. I try to summon all of them at once.

「Great, the registered partner mystery is solved. I don’t get bonus stats from any random girls I sleep with. They have to accept me first. So even if I wanted to, nailing a whole brothel’s worth of prostitutes would give nothing, since they wouldn’t accept the contract, even though they would ‘willingly’ do it with me. And it sounds like there might be some skills that don’t require me to have sex with the girl, but just register her as my partner to use them.」

「The second one looks like a weak healing spell. Any healing is good healing. The last one though… Might work pretty decently as a debuff. A surprise attack, diversion or ass-saver in a tough spot. Obviously, I wouldn’t have any actual offensive skills...」

「WOW! All of them sound really good! But first, I can sense others being in danger from any distance! I wonder if I’d be able to confirm if they are telling the truth when I’m close enough, like a lie detector.」

「Then the strengthening. It’s like a buff you get from food in games, only that I have to actually do lewd things to others… It says it can even improve them permanently, so like training, but… I don’t think I’ll get to use it that much… I can’t imagine being in a party and just before a fight, I kiss all the girls in turns so that they can be a little stronger… Hahaha… What a joke...」

「The last one is all kinds of useful though. Even if I don’t know any charm magic at this moment, just the resistance is great. Haaaaaaaaaah… What the hell is wrong with all this… 」

I sigh heavily just as I enter the premises of the castle. It’s already getting dark. I took some time to arrive here. I bet others arrived much earlier than me. I don’t really pay attention where I’m going and I end up in the library. Since I’m already here, I’ll try to find some information and maybe figure what to do.

After a few hours, Cornelia passes by and decides to join me, but I excuse myself saying that I’m not feeling well today and quickly leave. I don’t know if I’m able to control all those skills properly yet. On my way, I grab something to eat from the kitchen area and move to my room to lie down and think about everything that had recently happened.

╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣

Five days pass. I spend that time in the library, trying to figure out what to do now. Shino comes to check up on me at least 2 times a day, but I assure her that everything is fine. She is really worrying too much. Even Natalie goes out of her way to visit me in that period. Fortunately, it seems that I’m controlling my class just fine, as none of them gets weird around me. Well, maybe besides the usual weird when you learn someone has a class literally about sex and he was your teacher once.

On the sixth day, I’m finally being called for by the King. I arrive at the familiar meeting room with the balcony. He gestures to me to sit down and I follow with a light bow.

“Your Majesty.”

He waves his hand.

“At ease. We’ve known each other long enough to drop the stiff titles. We are alone here and I would rather have a pleasant chat with a friend rather than another official.”

“If you are fine with that, why should I argue,” I speak more openly, then he continues.

“I’ve already spoken with the other heroes and provided them with whatever information we could find about their or similar classes. After that, I asked everyone if they are still willing to help the kingdom and they all agreed. I plan on sending you into one of the weaker outbreak areas to gain some experience with the Abyssals first.”

“Pardon me, but I don’t think I’m suitable to be a member of that party,” I interrupt the King.

“Is that because of your class?” he asks.

“Yes.”

“Hmmmm… We’ve tried everywhere, but we haven’t found any records about anything like it. Would you tell me what you know?”

I briefly summarize what the class is about, mentioning how I can strengthen others and myself and what kind of skills I have at the moment, but without going into too many details about the titles.

“As you can see, it’s all about indecent acts and as you can imagine, I can’t casually kiss and grope the girls in the party. Even forgetting that they were my close students, how do you think the other guys would react? At the same time, I have no combat skills besides that mist and only decent magic I know is the one boosting regeneration. I would just drag them down hard,” I explain.

“Yes. It’s really unfortunate for you to receive such a different class from the others…” The King ponders a bit.

“Each one of those guys is special in some kind. I might have had a lot of knowledge and stuff, but compared to them I was just a teacher. They all have strong backgrounds and bloodlines.”

He nods to my words. “That’s true. Especially that black-haired girl. Whenever I speak with her she emanates this dignified aura and is very polite.”

“Right, that’s Asakura-san for you. By her family, she’s basically an equivalent to a royal princess in this world. And also a priestess upholding many traditions and secrets of an imperial bloodline. And she’s trained in her family martial arts and the way of the sword. Being a hero fits her like a glove.” I smile at my own words, imagining Shino being revered by the masses.

“Oh. I didn’t know that. She is always so shy and quiet.”

“Yeah, that’s true. Well. In comparison, there’s me. Your usual teacher, son of a prostitute who was a total bitch and abused me for years, while acting meekly in front of my father just to get as much money from him as she could, who was a soldier, which went missing during one of his tasks when I was like 15.”

I stop for a moment and frown.

“Now that I’m thinking about it… If the classes are somewhat hereditary, she might be the reason behind mine. Ugh... goddammit! Why couldn’t I get an Archer or something after my father!” I cover my face with my hands.

“While this might be true to some extent, we all believe the classes given to us are always fitting our innate talents. I’ve seen your manly trained body and how kind you are to everyone around you while being cold and crude towards anyone you deem evil. If I were to be bold… you give a feeling of someone who would be really… sensual.” The King tries to shine some positive light on my situation.

“Thanks. And don’t worry, I don’t plan on beating myself over this. I ain’t gonna give up just because of a little bump on the road. Besides, I’ve been preparing myself for the worst-case scenario ever since my first day here. I always felt that something was not right with me.” I flash a light smile at him.

“Then… If you aren’t joining the heroes team… Do you have any other plans?” he asks semi-curiously and concernedly.

I pick up a glass of wine from the table and stand up. I slowly walk towards the balcony and support myself on the balustrade. I begin to speak.

“What else should I do other than what I am best at.” I take a sip. “I will start a business. My knowledge from both worlds will be at least somewhat helpful in that.”

“I see. Do you need a certain permit for that? Or perhaps it requires a royal sigil to conduct?”

“No. There’s no need for any of that. I’ve researched the business trade in this world quite thoroughly.” I pause for a moment. “You see, in business, it’s important to properly grasp and utilize all of your strengths. Also, it would feel wrong to just ignore and throw away the hero’s blessings.”

I turn around to check up on the King. He is sitting with his hands joined under his chin with a thoughtful expression. He must be trying to figure out what I am thinking about. With a smile, I reveal my idea to him.

“I’m going to open a brothel.”

His brows rise, but he does not speak anything, so I continue.

“I don’t plan on it being some kind of a lousy establishment hiring random whores and welcoming anyone with just a bit of money at hand. I want to thoroughly scan the incoming clientele to assure the girls' safety and wellbeing, while also introducing clear rules and ‘menu’ of services.”

I take another sip. The King doesn’t interfere, so I gaze out of the balcony and move to the main point.

“Since I’ve arrived in this world, there was one single thing I really couldn’t stand. I mean, I get it, humans are the domineering race and the strongest one now. They won the big war and are in control, everything is great, but… all the other non-human races are now being treated like lower lifeforms. The monster races have it even worse, usually being forced to a life in eternal slavery as a heavy labour force, disposable pawns or meatshields for the adventuring parties or caravans.” I sigh in disappointment.

“I know I can’t save everyone, but I will reach out my hand to any mistreated non-human slave or not, girl and perhaps men too, I encounter, and provide them with a safe place to stay, recover from wounds and live. If they wish to leave for any reason, that’s fine, I’ll try my best to help them. If they want to stay, they can live a sheltered life and if they are willing, I’ll offer them to work under me.”

I turn to face the King before continuing.

“Back on Earth, prostitution was publicly viewed as something obscene, only for the most desperate or depraved. But that only relates to the shady businesses. It’s just a line of work like any other. As long as it’s out of your own volition and not forced through blackmailing, abuse or other stuff, there’s no shame in it. Naturally, not everyone is suited for it. I’ll offer my utmost support and guidance to those who decide to work with me, assuring they won’t experience anything unpleasant. And with that, I’ll establish the most exotic and highest quality brothel, employing non-human races in the whole continent! With both happy girls and happy customers!”

I start walking towards him.

“You think it won’t work due to them not being humans? Men’s minds are simple. I guarantee you there are lots of those lusting after other races. There are plenty of beautiful girls amongst them, much more sensual than human ones. I’ll turn right over the human’s image of other races through pleasure, and possibly one day, it will improve their standing in this society and fix this horrible situation.”

I place my empty glass on the table with a melodic clink. I stand straight in front of the King and spread my arms wide like someone who just finished explaining his evil plan. Looking him straight into the eyes, I continue with a grin.

“So. What does humanity's King think about those heretic thoughts and plans to bring the dirty non-humans to the same position as the mighty human overlords? Does he plan to kick me out of the castle? Banish from the kingdom? Lock in an underground dungeon to prevent from spreading such heresy? Or perhaps act like nothing's wrong and then send assassins after me?”

He leans his back onto the sofa he is sitting on and extends his arms behind to the sides. He closes his eyes and ponders, while I start sweating more and more with each passing second.

Saileri · Feb 11, 2021

Chapter 9 - A New Home

After a minute or so, the King opens his eyes and speaks in a firm tone while looking straight ahead.

“There are no rules or laws that would forbid you from starting such an establishment, nor there are dogmas that force you to accept common beliefs.”

He picks up his glass of wine, takes a sip and spins it gently, seemingly thinking about what to say.

“You see… Humanity's hatred towards all other races is deeply rooted in the minds of the people. Centuries ago it was us who were the weakest race in the continent, as you are most likely aware from your studies. Always pushovers, dying in thousands in many battles against any physically or magically stronger enemies. It was us who were often viewed as an easy target. The Goddess took pity at the imbalance and our poor state and gifted the world with the Status System, which allowed humans to take a peek at their own potential and focus on developing it. With it as a guide, humanity’s high population finally started to give us an edge.”

He pauses to sigh.

“That was centuries ago. Personally, I have nothing against other races. Even more. I view all the citizens as my subjects. People living in my domain, under my protection. Being a king comes with great power, but also with even greater constraints. Do you understand what I’m getting at?”

I cross my arms and ponder for a while. Being an influential monarch has a lot of power behind one's words and actions. But constraints?

「Ah… I get it.」

“If you were to suddenly announce a drastic change in the law or even just beliefs, like proclaiming that all the races are now to be treated equally in the kingdom, people would most likely riot and rise. In the worst-case scenario, you could get dethroned and branded as a traitor, right?”

“Pretty much.” He shows a wry smile. “Honestly, since the day I took the throne after my father, I did whatever I could to change the situation in the kingdom, but no matter what I tried, I wasn’t able to overcome that generations-long hatred, especially amongst the people of high status. In the end, I gave up. As you mentioned, it started getting too risky. But…”

He stands up and points at me.

“Your idea might be the very spark that ignites the fires of change. If you succeed in creating a place where the girls of different races will willingly and happily interact with people here, if you succeed in showing that when met with respect and kindness they reciprocate with the same, and in showing that we can all coexist on equal terms and benefit from it, you might have a chance in changing at least some people’s views! I might have already given up, but with your help, my dear friend, I still have hope!”

The King approaches me and puts both of his arms on my shoulders with a wide smile.

“You have my full support in whatever you are going to do! Obviously, that’s between us. I can’t let the public get a whiff of this. But! Ask for what you need and I shall see it done! I naturally have my ways!”

Quite shocked with this sudden turn of events I gently shrug off his arms and move to the balcony to think a bit. Certainly, having the support of someone of such calibre is really tempting. But on the other hand, I will end up kind of a pawn for the King’s plans. His objective isn’t really against mine. My priority is to assure the safe haven for the girls. The talk about changing the image of non-human races was just an addition. I turn around and give my reply.

“I agree. This is too good of an opportunity to pass. I didn’t expect such a surprise.”

I move back to the table and we both sit back. Silence falls over the room. Both of us are most likely recounting the whole situation in our heads. The King’s mouth opens for a moment, intending to say something, but he stops. After a minute, he leans back and speaks.

“If the business starts well… I might even be able to direct some higher nobles to your establishment, who could certainly have a chance to become regular customers.”

“Oh?” I raise one brow curiously.

“There might be a few, who are actually interested in trying such things with certain other races… I once overheard them talking about it.”

While speaking he avoids any eye contact, not raising his gaze from the table and sips his wine. I catch a glimpse of a bead of sweat rolling through his forehead.

「Some nobles, huh? I see...」

With a knowing smile on my face, I decide to check out this hint.

“That’s really fortunate. Did you by any chance catch any details of their conversation?”

He starts overdramatically rubbing his forehead with a soundly ‘hmmmmm’, trying to recall the discussion.

“I think they were debating over Dark Elves and half-blood Catkin…”

「A man of culture as well. This might be the beginning of a real friendship.」

“Gotcha. I can’t make any promises since I’m not going to be hunting for specific races, but if there’ll ever be a Dark Elf or Catkin girl willing to work with me, I’ll definitely let you know to inform your friends.” I wink at him.

He flashes a nervous smile and coughs.

“Well… What about the other heroes then? I’ve been telling them you all are going to work as a team,” he asks, definitely trying to change the topic.

“I’d rather not tell them the details, for obvious reasons. We should go with me becoming a merchant in the city. That should be believable with my background,” I suggest.

“If you wish so, I’ll keep my mouth tight.”

I sigh heavily. The King looks at me and I shake my head while waving my hand.

“There’s so much stuff to be done… But first, I need to either find a nice locale in the city or find a place where one can be built.”

“Certainly. A working brothel won’t just drop down from the sky. Hmmmm…” He contemplates something for a bit. “The day after tomorrow I planned to send all of you to register at the local Adventurer’s Guild. Although you don’t need it now, I still suggest you go with others. It might come helpful one day. I’ll take a look at some of the real estate records. I’m sure there are at least a few possessions either confiscated, abandoned or not yet auctioned. I’ll give you a list, so you can check them out after visiting the guild. If you manage to pick any of them, just let me know and I’ll make sure it ends up in your hands. Consider that as my first investment into our fruitful cooperation.”

He explains his suggestion with a smile. Well… I don’t have a reason to refuse, it’s gonna help a lot. I nod my head politely.

“Thank you, I really appreciate it. This will save a lot of time.”

“Ah! One more thing! I decided on gifting each of you one artifact from our treasury. Everyone has already picked theirs. Shall we deal with this now?”

“Guess it would be rude to decline. I feel like I’m receiving much more support than others though…”

We leave the room and head to the treasury.

╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣

After fifteen minutes he guides me to a huge ornate door. The King takes out some kind of oval badge or sigil and places it in a small cave-in. The whole door starts flashing with countless runes and magical circles and slowly opens after they all fade out.

We enter a huge hall with multiple corridors leading out of it. There are many rows of pedestals, armour and weapon racks, shelves and tables filled with various items.

“Just go around and pick whatever you like. Since we are already here, I’ll go and check onto something in one of the further chambers.” He leaves me standing in awe and disappears into one of the corridors.

「Seriously… How much does he trust me to just leave me like that...」

I begin my small journey. In an hour I visit pretty much every hall I can enter. There are some really beautiful swords giving powerful vibes, but I don’t think those suit me. Rather than them, I’m looking for something that might come useful, but nothing catches my eye. I start considering picking up something at random or asking the King for a recommendation when a quite peculiar scene enters my sight.

There’s a chunk of weird black stone, around 1/3 of my height, standing in one of the corners surrounded by stanchions[modern_footnote]In event management a stanchion is an upright bar or post that includes retractable belts, velvet ropes, or plastic chains, sometimes in conjunction with wall-mounted barrier devices, barricades, and printed signage and often used for crowd control and engineering people flow and construction site safety.[/modern_footnote] with a distance of something like 10 meters. I move as close as they allow and take a peek at it. I can now distinguish some weird golden runes carved all around the stone and also, a weird silvery object, like a pipe with a purple crystal on its end, sticking out of the stone.

「Hah. Is that this world’s equivalent of the Excalibur?」

I lean over the line trying to get some more details and suddenly all the hair on my body stands up and I’m covered in goosebumps. A strong sweet fragrance hits my nostrils. Surprised, I take a quick step back and the scent disappears. Leaning closer, it appears again. It’s very alluring. Now I realize the reason behind the stanchions with velvet ropes.

「Should I check it out? It might be dangerous… but he didn’t mention to be wary of anything...」

I ponder for a moment waging out the risks and possible gains. In the end, I resolve myself to move closer. This is the only thing that caught my attention. With every step, the smell intensifies. I arrive at the stone and examine the rod.

It looks kinda like the hilt of a sword now. As I suspected. The lower end is finished with a purple crystal shaped into a deltoid. The hilt is made out of some silvery metal and the handle is designed with a scaly pattern and covered in darker material, most likely imitating dragon’s scales or something.

「Here goes nothing!」

I prepare myself to pull and grab the handle with both hands. It’s long enough to be that of a longsword. The moment I assure my grip on it, a wave of warm energy originating from the hilt rushes through my whole body. Then once more. I get the feeling that it’s scanning me. Then it arrives once more, but this time I feel like my whole life just flashes in front of my eyes. I blink a few times. The crystal starts glowing. I try to pull as hard as I can and with a loud crack the hilt breaks off the stone. But…

“EH?!”

The hilt is the only thing that comes out. Regaining my balance, I stare confusedly at the unexpectedly light ‘sword’ in my hand. The problem is, there’s no blade. The top end of the hilt ends up in something akin to a silver dragon head with its maw slightly open. Wide enough to figure out that if there was a blade coming out of it, the maw would be biting into it from top and bottom.

“Is this a joke?”

I wave the hilt a bit and look inside the dragon’s empty maw. The crystal isn’t glowing anymore.

“Did I break it?”

I check the stone, but there’s no sign of the blade even existing in the first place. I sigh and shrug.

「The fact that I destroyed the stone persists, so I should take this with me. It would be rude to just act like nothing happened and pick something else.」

With the weird artifact in my hand, I walk back to the main hall. It looks like the King is not yet back, so I fiddle with the thing in my hands while waiting. Ten minutes later I hear footsteps behind me.

“Oh, Al! You took way less time than the others. Did you pick something already?”

「Al? So, we are already on short nicknames level, eh?」

I turn around and wave my trophy to him. He suddenly stops and goes as pale as a ghost. His gaze strongly fixated on the hilt. I furrow my brows at him.

“A-a-are you okay?” he asks, visibly shaking.

“Um… yeah? Besides the disappointment from getting myself a broken sword, I think so. Something wrong?”

“How did you even… approach the stone?”

“I mean, I just walked? Honestly, I was sure it was a trap from how tempting and alluring its aura was.”

“Tempting and alluring?” he asks uneasily. “You didn’t feel like puking from a putrid smell, gouging out your eyes from the itchy feeling or stopping breathing to prevent your lungs from incinerating?”

I freeze. Then look at the thing in my hand while starting to sweat profusely.

“Was I… supposed to?”

“Well… The stanchions were placed around it so no one accidentally experiences those horrid feelings. We don’t know much about this… sword? Barely a few were able to even approach the stone to take a good look before losing consciousness.”

“Oh… And those who were able to?”

“They tried to pull it out obviously.”

“I guess it didn’t work.”

“Yeah…” He flashes a wry and nervous smile. “Say… You don’t feel like… exploding into a puddle of boiling blood, right?”

My heart drops to the ground. Alongside the hilt which just flew out of my hand. I take a few staggering steps back while staring at him with wide eyes.

“Relax! I don’t think it will happen now if it didn’t already when you touched it for the first time. I’m just… making sure...” He waves his hands.

“Don’t you fucking dare to scare me like that… I almost died from a heart attack…”

I take a few deep breaths and lean down to pick up the hilt gently. The King finally moves closer and takes a look at it too.

“Ack!”

While moving my fingers over the crystal, I cut one of them over its sharp edge. I instantly focus on it and cast Rejuvenation to speed up the recovery. Suddenly, the crystal starts pulsating with purple flashes. I feel something gathering inside my body and a second later, my right arm is surrounded in a purple helix of some kind of aura-like smoke. It connects to the crystal and I feel the hilt getting warmer. The same mist bursts out from the dragon’s maw and forms a long line, I’d say around 3 meters, of a dark purple colour. After it finishes forming, it looks like… a purplish whip-like tongue coming out of the dragon’s mouth.

“A blood-bound artifact… Incredible…” the King mutters in amazement.

Recalling what I learned about whips, I try to make a few moves. It feels very natural for me to use. Like it’s an extension of my arm and follows my wishes perfectly.

“If I remember correctly… After being marked with the owner’s blood, they won’t work in anyone else’s hands, right? And they kinda choose their own master,” I ask for confirmation.

“Yes, that’s what we know about them. Perhaps… The stone’s aura wasn’t foul for you because it chose you as its next master? Also, this is quite a rare catch. We know almost nothing about formless weapons, and I assume this is one of them. It is said it can take any form its owner wishes for.”

“Who knows…”

I decide to try out a few things and I learn that with just thought I can easily materialize and dematerialize the ‘blade’. I also can turn it into a purple mist which retains the whip-like form but doesn’t collide with objects. I try to imagine it being a sword, but it only stays in the mist-like shape and can’t be materialized like the whip.

“Well, at least it’s something. Having an ace in the sleeve might come handy.”

We leave the treasury while discussing the plans for the day after tomorrow.

╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣

‘The day after tomorrow’ comes. One of the castle’s inner areas. All six of us are waiting for the King to arrive. Everyone is geared up and prepared the best they could.

Kamil is wearing almost a full plate armour in silvery-blue colour combinations. A strong, reinforced chest plate, greaves, thigh and arm guards. There’s a big shield half of his size on his back, with a hilt of a fancy sword sticking out of it. A picture-perfect fantasy hero, with a brilliant cape.

Paul dons a full brown leather armour with chainmail under his vest. A long cape with a hood covers his back. A quiver full of arrows is attached to his belt horizontally. He holds a beautiful, masterfully decorated bow. It kinda gives elven vibes.

Marcia presents herself in a leather tank top and hot pants. Most of her skin uncovered, only her calves and arms are being protected by leather greaves and armguards. Behind her back, two shortswords are hanging down, green and red. Definitely artifacts too.

Natalie wears tight leather pants, a white shirt and an armoured leather vest. A short cape covers her left shoulder and falls to the back. A rapier by her side and something akin to an acoustic guitar on a belt hangs on her back. On her head, a stylish tricorne with a feather. If someone would ask me to describe a perfect bard image, I’d use her as my example.

And there’s Shino. Dark high boots with white details, black stockings, a short black skirt and a cloth white shirt with long sleeves, wider near the end, and cut-out armpits. Two crossing belts on her waist, with one upholding an ornamental black scabbard of a katana. It reminds me of some of her old artworks.

Finally, there’s me. Dark brown boots, caramel brown leather pants, a purple shirt and also caramel leather sleeveless vest. On top of that a long walnut brown coat with an open front, dark insides and a nice collar, but not too high. I’ve decided to make purple my brand colour. Behind my back under the coat, I’m hiding the bladeless hilt, strapped to my waist.

The King arrives accompanied by a maid holding a tray.

“We’ve already discussed the plan, so let’s get straight to the point. As my final gift, I’m giving you those rings with spatial storages. Unfortunately, they are very rare, so the insides are quite small, but your clothes, weapons and some necessities should fit.”

The maid moves to us starting with me. I glance over the rings and pick up a plain-looking dark one instantly. She moves away and I put it on. Focusing my mind on it, I can sense the space inside. Currently, there’s some bottled water, food and money there. As he said, it’s not very spacious.

“Well then. After registering at the guild, there will be a carriage waiting for the five of you. I wish you luck!”

Everyone cheers and they start chatting between themselves.

“Wait.” Natalie suddenly speaks up. “Aren’t there six of us here?” she asks the King.

“Well, that’s certainly so, but…”

“But, I’m not really suitable to join your adventuring party.” I take a few steps forward, turn around and take over the question. “You all know what my class is and I don’t have any decent offensive or supportive capabilities. I would just drag you down.”

“Hah! Definitely. At least you are aware of that.” Kamil smirks.

“Exactly.” I nod to him. “That’s why I decided to stay in the capital and try running some kind of business. The King agreed, so I shouldn’t have any problems with that. I’ll just stick to something I’m good at, while you guys have fun exploring around.” I end up with a smile.

Surprisingly there aren’t any additional comments or doubts. Only Shino seems kinda down. I don’t think that Paul cares and Kamil with Marcia definitely approve of this. As usual, I can’t get any read from Natalie. She rarely shows any emotions.

We depart and half an hour later arrive at the guild. It just screams ‘typical isekai-fantasy adventurers guild’ from the very entrance. Huge wooden building with lots of windows. Inside, an inn like lobby, few counters near the walls with professionally dressed girls behind them, a few quest or notice boards and such. The only thing lacking is the rowdy atmosphere. Currently, it’s kinda calm. There are parties of people going around or sitting at the tables, but it’s just like your typical inn.

Others got some kind of a recommendation from the King and are guided for a ‘rank assessment’ test after speaking with one of the women. I just nonchalantly register at the side, starting at the lowest F-rank. Fortunately, it’s a paper form registration and it doesn’t require you to state your exact class, so I just fill in the support role with some healing skills.

Since there’s not much more for me to do here, I bid farewell to the cute receptionist and exit the building.

“Sir Carter?”

Someone calls my name and I turn around to see an older man in a butler suit, with neatly arranged brown hair and fancy moustache.

“I was assigned to guide you through the list of estate locations,” he informs me with a slight bow.

“Great. I’ll be in your care then. Let’s go.”

Then, we spend the whole day moving around the town and checking all the suggested properties. The King prepared a long list of different buildings in many districts of the city. We visit houses, pubs, inns, warehouses and any other kinds of locums, but none of them actually suit my needs.

This one is too small. The next one is too ugly. That one has horrendous interior design. Another one was a safe house for some criminal scum. Then there’s this one located in the worst possible alley. Or in the part of the noble’s district where no other people can enter. No sleeping quarters. No kitchen or dining area. Not enough rooms and no possibility to expand anywhere.

I’m slowly getting annoyed by the fact that within the list of like tens of buildings, there isn’t even a single one that would fulfil most of the criteria. While following the butler I finally conclude that I had enough for today. It’s slowly getting dark. Before I can speak, he does so first.

“We’ve reached the end of the list I’ve been provided with. I think it would be best to end for today.”

“Yeah. I’m pretty tired of it too. Thank you for your hard work. I’ll continue tomo—”

Mid-sentence, I notice I passed him. I turn around and look at the butler standing a few meters behind me.

“This is actually the last one, Sir Carter.”

I look around. We are somewhere on the edge of the noble and mercantile districts. In the vicinity, there are just some plain-looking houses and shops.

“Where?” I ask, confused.

He smiles and signals with his head to the right. I follow his hint.

“You are fucking kidding me…”

We are standing near a white stone fence and the main gate to the front yard of a huge ‘n’ shaped mansion. It’s 2 stories high, has a fancy entrance with four beautiful white pillars, a small fountain with a narrow path surrounding it and a lot of rooms, at least judging by the windows in the side segments. Its main colour is grey, with white details and finishings. And from the looks of the fence encircling it, there’s definitely some space behind it too.

「This little jerk of a king… He deliberately left it for the very last… Hahaha...」

Saileri · Feb 13, 2021

Chapter 10 - Barrels Full of Life

The butler opens up the gate and we enter the front yard. A nice, paved path leads us to a small fountain in front of the main entrance. It’s made out of white marble and portrays a beautiful woman holding a vase, from which water falls down to the pond.

We glance over the entrance. Two steps high round elevation with four pillars upholding a small roof over it. With a half-mahogany half-glass wooden double doors, it reminds you of those high star hotel entrances.

Moving inside we are met with a breathtaking sight. A big lobby hall out of white marble and dark mahogany too. It’s quite spacious and two levels high. To the left and right, there are four groups chairs and sofas with tables, two per side. Definitely as waiting areas.

At half of the hall’s length, there’s a beautiful reception placed in the middle. A wide desk with lots of small boxes hanging on the short wall behind it, most likely for the room keys. There is a door to its left and right. Just beside each door on the sides, marble stairs are going up halfway, then they turn inwards and join in the middle, above the reception, leading to the visible second level in the other half of this hall. An entrance hall straight out of a rich noble’s fantasy mansion.

The second level extends up there to the end of the room. We can only see some furniture and doors from our position. There are walkways with railings on both sides that lead back in the direction of the reception and give access to the second level of the mansion’s corridors to the west and east wings. They are exactly above the ones on the bottom level we are on.

Not gonna lie, this is not a sight I was expecting to see anywhere else than in fiction and the highest class hotels reserved for celebrities. The view down from these walkways must be amazing. And that huge chandelier fits perfectly.

I walk closer to the reception staring at everything in awe. When I reach it, I can see into the corridors leading to the sides, and man, there are at least 6 doors in my sight and walls turn left, creating those long wings of the mansion we saw from the outside. There must be at least twice as many rooms in those segments. And there’s that second level too.

「There’s no way he wants to give this to me, right? This must be one of the most luxurious places in the city.」

The butler arrives at my side. I pick one of the keys from the reception and we walk to a room in the left corridor. I open it and take a glance inside. It’s quite spacious and in the same style as the main hall. A nice double bed, some furniture, a desk with a working area, a table with some chairs. There’s a door leading to the room adjacent to this. Interesting idea. If you come with someone you can have rooms by each other and pick up an additional key in case you want to cross without having to go outside.

We come back to the main hall and go through the doors by the reception. There are many tables with benches and chairs arranged in patterns here. I assume this is some kind of a dining area. We explore the doors that lead out of it and find an entrance to a big kitchen on the left. It looks well equipped and prepared to suffice for serving a lot of people.

Going the other way we stumble on most likely a cleaning department. There are a lot of various tools and devices here. Also storages for sheets, tableware and stuff like that. In both rooms, there are also doors further which lead to a narrow corridor with smaller rooms. Servant quarters if I were to guess. On both of its ends, there are stairs up, but we go back to the main hall and then use those stairs to check the second level.

Up there we see a recreational area half the size of the dining room below. Some more sofas and tables and a small counter to serve alcohol and snacks. It ends up with a set of double doors.

We pass through them and going right we find an indoor bath, split into 3 sections - male, female and mixed. We enter one and are met with a big pool, areas to clean yourself by the walls and some space to relax outside of the pool. It’s naturally empty right now. Everything in the usual mahogany-marble style.

Going left we find a library with a lot of books. Finally, we reach a similar narrow corridor as the one which is most likely currently under us, on the level below. There are also some rooms here but with much more fancy doors. We check the ones looking the best.

We enter a room which literally screams ‘VIP Penthouse’ the moment you step in. It’s around two times the size of the other room we checked before. There are two big beds, which would easily fit at least 4 people each. A lot of masterfully crafted furniture with big wardrobes and shelves. There’s also a small personal bath and a toilet behind a door. Two work areas, a small personal library and a half-glass door to a balcony. From there you have a view into a small but charming garden behind the mansion.

The garden has some benches, two small wooden bowers and is surrounded by path-making low hedges. There’s also a quite small pond there.

Checking out the other rooms in that corridor, they look similar to the ones on the bottom floor but slightly better equipped. We move back to the main entrance. I sigh and turn to the silent butler.

“What exactly is this place?”

“It was meant to be a high-class residence for anyone who had money and wanted to live comfortably while visiting the city. Something akin to a royal inn, but not reserved only for nobles.”

“As expected. I guess it didn’t garner enough attention or guests and was closed.”

The butler bitterly smiles.

“Not exactly, it was quite popular.”

“Why was it abandoned then?” I ask curiously.

“It has been revealed that the owner wasn’t particularly a good man and the whole thing was a ruse to try a heist on the castle’s treasury.”

“What? How would that even help? We are on the border of the noble district, quite a distance from it.”

“There’s a tunnel starting in this mansion’s dungeon which connects to the castle. It was supposed to be a job from both inside and outside.”

I assume a fully surprised expression.

「Those guys must really had balls to even try to rob the king. But man… To dig a tunnel and manage to connect it to the castle...」

I marvel over their dedication and planning. This would make for a good movie back at home. While I’m doing so, the butler speaks again.

“So… What do you think about this place, Sir Carter? Does it suit your needs?”

I look at him and think for a moment. Yes, this fits more than my needs. It has quite everything you could want even in the future. But… Isn’t it kinda too rich and special to just give away?

「Wait… A secret tunnel to the castle… No way... 」

I clasp my hands and start laughing.

“Hahaha! So that’s it!”

The butler gazes at me in confusion.

“Ah, sorry, don’t mind me. Yes, it’s perfect. You can inform the King that I’ll claim it,” I say with a smile.

“Great! I’ll excuse myself now, then. You can already consider this place yours, Sir Carter. Till we meet again.” He bows and leaves through the main entrance.

“Haaaaaaaaah. For real… Going as far as giving me a huge mansion just because it has a secret tunnel leading to the castle… It will really help those ‘nobles’ to visit without any risk.”

Quite tired, I only check out how the bath works. There are some Mana Crystals infused with the water element to fill the pool and similar ones with cold and fire ones to control the temperature. Even if someone is not talented in magic, every race and entity has mana running through their bodies, allowing them to activate those crystals with just a touch. They are not imbued with some complex enchantments. Just basic ones like Create Water. The temperature controlling ones are most likely Heat Wave and Cold Wave.

After 30 minutes of waiting I properly wash myself in a godly hot bath. The steamy atmosphere is something else. Then I go straight to bed. Naturally, the best one.

╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣

I wake up quite rested. I move to the kitchen, but the moment I put my hands on its doorknob, I realize that it’s pointless. There’s nothing I can get here. And if there is, I don’t think I should even try it.

「There’s so much stuff to arrange and prepare… Oh well. Can’t think on an empty stomach.」

I dress up and walk out. It’s still morning time. People are wandering through the streets, walking most likely to their workplaces. Since I’m not far from it, I enter the mercantile district. There are many inns and restaurants there.

After a few minutes, I arrive at a big square and it’s bustling with people. Really an interesting sight. A very lively place with lots of stands, merchants and customers. I walk around looking for some nice spot to eat at.

Entering one of the alleyways I end up in front of The Whistling Grog. From the name and signboard, which looks like a beer mug surrounded by musical notes, I assume that’s it.

I take a peek inside through a small swingy door at waist’s height. There are a few small groups of people sitting around, eating and drinking. I enter inside, sit at one of the tables close to the main counter and pick up a menu. Not being in the mood for any experiments I decide on some eggs and potatoes.

After a minute or two, a man in his forties, wearing an apron over his clothes, approaches my table. He has quite a round belly, slightly balding head and a bushy moustache.

“I don’t remember yer face. New around these parts, ay?” he speaks while cleaning a mug.

“Yes, it’s my first time here,” I answer honestly.

“Haha, great choice then! Whatcha gonna eat, dear sire? Or are we here for a drink?”

“I’ll settle for some eggs and potatoes today, thank you.”

“Comin’ right up.”

He returns to the counter and disappears behind a curtain. I can hear him yelling out some orders happily. After coming back he picks up a clean mug, fills it up with something and walks to me again. He places it in front of me and sits on the opposite chair.

“A welcomin’ one for a fresh customer. Food’s gonna be here in a jiffy.”

I pick up the mug. A sweet scent enters my nostrils. Taking a small sip I’m met with a very sweet mead. Quite good.

“Hahaha! Lower yer guard, will ya! It’s no poison!” He laughs heartily. “So. What’s yer deal in life if it ain’t a secret? Quite the decent clothes we have here.”

“Just a merchant starting a new business soon. I have a few coins in my pocket to supply myself,” I give a vague answer.

“Ooooh. What kind?”

“I’ve always dreamt of running an inn.”

“Oi, oi!” He slams the table with one hand and glares at me. “Ya better not be thinking ‘bout stealing my customers!” He squints his eyes for a moment but quickly erupts into laughter. “Hahaha! I’m just fuckin’ with ya!”

I chuckle at him. “No worries, I can take a joke. Also, you won’t be in danger. I’m going to focus mostly on having a nice place for people to stay. Who knows, I might even speak a good word about this humble abode if the food provides to be decent,” I say with a smile.

“Now we are talking! I better go lash the boys in the kitchen then!” He stands up and leaves while laughing.

Sometime later he comes back with my food and we talk during the meal. Mostly about what kind of people eat here, what are our daily struggles and about a bunch of random things. After I finish, he takes my plate, we both stand up and I follow him to the main counter.

“It was quite good. I’ll definitely pay a visit once in a while,” I say.

“Glad to hear that!”

He takes my cutlery into his hands, opens one of two barrels standing behind the counter and throws the knife and fork into a blue liquid.

“One more fucking scratch on them and yer fucking dead!” he shouts into the barrel.

He closes it and picks up the plate. While holding it he notices my confused expression. “What?”

“What was that liquid you shouted at?” I ask.

“Liquid?” He scratches his head. “Ah! That’s one of ma cleaning Slimes!” He taps the barrel with a fist.

“Slimes? Like the monster Slimes?” I ask even more confused.

“Ye, those little shitters. They can control their own acidity to melt what they want. Pretty useful as waste disposal. They gonna gobble up anything you throw at them! And with some training, they can clean the plates too. But that’s still an annoying bunch, let me tell ya.” He gives the barrel a solid kick.

“Ah. I see. Quite a clever idea.”

“Thankies! But honestly, they are such pain in the as— ARGHHHH?!”

While sticking the dirty plate into the other barrel, full of green slime, he winces in pain and jumps back.

“YA LITTLE SHIT EATING BLOB OF GOBLIN TWO WEEK OLD CUMSTAIN!” he shouts while getting increasingly red, “I’VE HAD ENOUGH!” I notice a slight acidic burn on his hand.

He kicks the barrel so hard it bounces around behind the counter and rolls out from there to near where I’m standing. A green ooze starts spilling out of it. After it’s all out, it looks like a ball of green jelly around 1 meter in diameter. Moments later, it starts shifting and it takes a weird… humanoid form? Now it kinda looks like a chubby mannequin or statue with carved hair and slight facial features and… it definitely has a feminine posture, judging by the front. I think the term THICC would fit it better. There’s a fist-sized ball floating inside the translucent jelly.

“RAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!”

The innkeeper jumps over the counter and kicks the slime in its head, which splatters over the nearby tables, leaving it decapitated. Everyone around starts laughing or chuckling. This might not be the first time. The slime starts slowly reforming.

“Why does it look like a human?”

I subconsciously voice out my thoughts with a hand over my chin. Then I remember what I learned about a Slime’s evolution.

「A normal Slime can become a Greater Slime. After that, there’s a possibility that with enough time and sustenance it will have a chance to evolve further into a King Slime or a Queen Slime, and those have the ability to slightly mimic more than just simple objects, but to mimic a humanoid...」

“Wait. The King or Queen Slime can assume the form of the prey it consumed the most before its evolution. Does that mean...”

The man shoves his hand into the reformed slime, grabs its core and yanks it out, which results in its body splashing onto the ground.

“Yer one hundred percent right.” He squeezes it hard. The fluid on the ground vibrates. “This fucker has feasted on at least one human in the past.”

「Queen Slimes are believed to be much more intelligent than the other ones. Even as much as to—」

“Today was yer last time ya burned me!”

The man raises his hand with the core high, preparing to slam it onto the ground. Having to act quickly, I try to speak with the most indifferent tone I can.

“Wait a moment.”

“Ey?” He stops his throw.

“It would be a waste to kill it.”

“Mayhaps, but I have no more patience for those fuckers! I won them in cards anyway.”

“Why not sell them to me then?”

“And whatever ya would need them for?” he asks while raising his brow.

“Your previous insult gave me an idea,” I say with a grin. “Some say that they can taste whatever they consume. So, instead of an easy way out for them, why not let me use it as a toilet cleaner in my inn? There will be plenty of shit there.” I wink at him. “You get rid of them and I get a pretty useful tool. Hm?”

“Ooooooooh…” He flashes a knowing grin and hurls the core into the puddle of slime, which starts gathering again. “I love it! Imagine a life full of licking shit!”

A sound of someone almost throwing up in the distance wanders through the place.

“Whooops… Hahaha, got a bit too picturey there!” He laughs and slams my back. “Let’s stop this shit talk and do business! 5 gold coins per barrel!”

「Thank fucking god it worked. I literally came up with that at the spot.」

“Really? 5 gold coins for a barrel of some jelly? Best I can do is 2.” I jab him with my elbow.

“No frickin’ way! I’m doing you a favor, 4!” He jabs me back.

“My toilets are quite crucial for this plan to work, 3.5, no more.” I escape his hold, stand in front of him and extend my hand.

“Fine! That’s still better than getting nothing after killing ‘em.” He grabs and shakes it. “I’ll send ma boys to go with you and carry the barrels.” He backs off and shouts for someone while stuffing the slime back into the barrel with his leg.

“Ah! I almost forgot!” He slaps his forehead. “I bought them both a ring infused with a Stone Needle in case they ever thought about attacking ol’ me. Drop a lil’ bit of blood onto it later. It will work with just thought after that, targeting the core.”

“...”

I leave with two young guys carrying the slimes. When my mansion is in sight I tell them to leave the rest to my employees and to go back to their boss. No need for them to know where I live. They happily jog back. I carry the barrels one by one to the main hall and open them.

The slimes slowly spill out and take their forms. Now that I can take a closer look, the green one is around one head shorter than me while the blue one is only like a few centimeters or so less than me. Their figures are pretty plain, but with more details on their still translucent faces. Both have quite short ‘hair’. The blue one has something akin to a braid lying on its shoulder. I guess those were the looks of one of the humans they consumed in the past.

「Great going, Al! You haven’t even received the deed to this place and you are already picking up people… or monsters… What now?」

“Do you understand Common?” I try asking for some reaction.

They both nod.

「Good. And they seem to have a grasp on some non-verbal responses.」

“I assume you aren’t able to speak, right?”

They look at each other for a moment. Well, if you can say that, since they don’t see with their eyes, but sense with their cores. Then they shake their heads sideways.

“Well then. Let’s establish some easy signs for easier communication. For yes and no you nod and shake your head like you did previously. For maybe, I don’t know, perhaps, you do this.” I extend my arm a bit and rotate my hand a few times sideways. “For the more complex answers, I guess you can try acting with your hands or something. We will figure that out later.”

I move the empty barrels to the side while they stand in place. I walk to the front door and cast Notice on it, set up so it activates when someone hits or opens the door and sends me a mental ping. Just in case.

“Come with me.”

I pick up a key from the reception and walk to one of the rooms.

“You can assume any form you are comfortable with. No need to stay human.”

They nod but don’t change. I grab a chair and sit on it near the bed.

“Don’t just stand in the middle of the room. Sit on the bed.”

They look at each other and reluctantly plop themselves onto the sheets.

“First of all, did both of you hear my conversation with the innkeeper?”

They nod and lower their gazes down to the ground.

“Good. Everything I said was a lie,” I announce calmly.

Both of them look up at me in something akin to surprise and confusion painted over their faces.

“There are a lot of questions I’d like to ask, but let’s begin with a short explanation.”

Also, similar as with the Hero Sigil, I did a little sketch of the mansion. Not that important, but eh, why not. Here it is.

Saileri · Feb 13, 2021

Chapter 11 - The Crystallization of Beauty

I shortly explain how I made the story up to stop the man from killing them. Then I mention my plan of creating a safe place for abused members of races other than humans to stay. I try to be brief to not overwhelm them with information.

“Long story short, I’m not planning to force you into doing anything horrendous.”

They both look at me with uncertainty. As expected, it’s not like they haven’t heard any lies in the past. It might take more than a few words to convince them.

“By the way. Knowing that you are kinda genderless… Is it fine for me to address you as girls? I don’t want to call you ‘it’ and you have this feminine appearance.”

They nod in confirmation. I take off my coat. While I’m pondering what more to do or say, I notice a small puff of smoke near the thigh of the Green Slime.

“Ummm… Could you please… try not melting the sheets?” I try asking as politely as I can.

She quickly jumps to her feet, glances over slightly burned sheets and falls to the floor assuming a sitting-on-the-knees position in front of me and lowers her head.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, I’m not angry, ok?”

I wave my hands, but it only results in her starting to tremble a bit.

“You can’t control it too well right?” She starts to frantically shake her head. “Thought so. It’s okay, accidents happen—” Her head is still shaking sideways while I’m speaking.

I stop for a moment and think. “No as in you can’t, or no as in no, you can? Nod for the second one.” She stops shaking and nods. “Ah. Then why did it burn?”

No reaction. She just stares at the floor.

“Are you perhaps scared or nervous?” I throw a random statement.

She nods shyly.

I sigh heavily, then stand up. I stop blocking my class effects and allow them to be released a bit. I wish for its effects to be moderate and relaxing or calming instead of fully arousing. Hopefully, this works. Well, I should have released it when I walked out in the public. I have no idea how random women react to the scent mentioned in the title. I might be a bit overcautious. Will it even work on Slimes?

Nevertheless, I move closer to the Green Slime and sit down in front of her. She stares at me slightly confused and still expecting me to hit her.

“Listen. I really do not want to hurt you. I know it’s hard to believe, but please, trust me,” I do my best to sound affectionate.

“I remember reading that your cores are fragile and delicate, while your bodies are highly resistant to any physical harm. But… do you still feel pain when it’s damaged?”

A confirmation.

“I see. Can you actually feel, like pressure or the touch, with it?”

She nods and at the same time waves her hand in the third sign we set.

“I don’t think it’s maybe or perhaps… a bit then?”

A confirmation.

“You must have been in a lot of pain at that idiot's place then…” I say with a sad sigh.

At this point, the Blue Slime slowly sits on the side of the green one and we all end up on the floor. It looks a bit less scared of me than the other one.

“So, umm… yeah. You can live here now. I’ll take care of you. No more pain and abuse, okay?” I say while looking straight at them. “Speaking of which, what do you eat? You do have to eat, right?”

They tilt their heads and then shake their hands.

“Well, I don’t know what they fed you back there, but if you have something you like and you notice it here, please tell me. I don’t think I’ll be able to hunt game or monsters though.” I laugh awkwardly and they nod with a bit more energy. “How long have you stayed there?”

The blue one shows a number of her fingers on one hand. Nothing unusual, besides the fact that she shows 8 of them…

“8 years? That long?” She nods. “Damn…”

“That reminds me, you have eaten humans before, right?”

They look at each other, drop their gazes and nod with uncertainty.

“Don’t worry, I’m not blaming you. Can you tell me how many?”

Both of them show one finger.

“Ah. It’s the girls you look like now?”

Bingo.

“I see. Did you attack them?” They shake their heads. “They attacked you then?” A nod.

“Nothing you could have done about that I guess…” I lean back and support myself with my arms. “It would be so much easier if you were the ones who could ask questions…” I say slightly dejected.

I look around to figure out something to say.

“Can you taste things? Like when you ate their bodies?” They nod. “I would have brought something normal to eat for you, but sorry, I don’t have anything here yet.”

They shake their heads, most likely signalling that it’s not necessary. Again silence falls. No longer being able to hold back my curiosity I blurt out a question.

“Hey… Would it be okay for me to touch one of you?” No response. They just simply look at me. “Figured out not…” I smile wryly.

But to my surprise, the blue girl draws a bit closer to me. I look at her and she nods. She slowly reaches out for my hand and places it over her belly.

“Woah… It’s so smooth… and slightly cold.”

I gently move my hand grazing over her belly and enjoy the smooth and springy sensation. It’s nothing like I ever experienced. The closest thing I can think of is playing with very soft rubber or a slightly cold jelly, but that’s still far from this heavenly sensation. Tracing with my hand to her side I squeeze it a bit.

“Can you feel that?” I ask curiously and she shakes her hand. So at least a bit.

I retract my hand and very carefully place it on her cheek. Then I gently brush it with my thumb.

“You are quite a cutie, you know?” I say with a smile.

She closes her eyes, or mimics the action, and pushes her cheek more into my hand. I reach behind her ear and caress her carved hair a bit. My hand switches to the top of her head with me patting it. She starts to visibly wobble. Something like a small ripple is travelling through the surface of her body.

The green one also arrives closer to me and I swear it looks at me with expectant eyes. Which is hard to judge with them being one colour green whites, without any irises or pupils. I raise my other hand and very slowly approach her. Before I even confirm if she’s okay with it, she pushes her head under it by herself. I end up patting two wobbling slime girls.

“Hahaha. Does it feel good? I don’t mind doing it for you from now on, you know?” I laugh sincerely at the spectacle in front of me.

They start wobbling even more. Now it’s more like strong waves on the sea. I take back my hands while chuckling to myself. Just now I notice that their cores are floating in patterns inside their bellies. One is making horizontal circles while going up and down, the other traces a number eight with its path.

Slightly in awe, I subconsciously place my hand over the Green Slime's stomach and watch the core dance. Suddenly, my hand pierces the membrane and falls inside. I quickly glance at her face to check if I hurt her, but I’m met with a very charming smile.

She must have noticed my gaze because the core slowly floats towards my hand. I turn it over and the fist-sized ball lands in my grasp. It’s hot. And pulsating. Waves of heat and mana tickle my hand. I gently brush it with my fingers, to what her whole body starts to vibrate.

“Ah, sorry, did I squeeze it too hard?”

I release the core and start slowly pulling out my hand, but she grabs it with both of hers before I finish and shakes her head. The floating ball starts circling my fingers, nudging and grazing them. I catch it again very carefully. My fingers run over some protrusion and I remember the man speaking about his safety rings. I squint my eyes to see it better.

The slime’s body becomes more transparent. She’s quite a perceptive one.

“You can change your opacity too?” I ask and she nods.

In a few seconds, she becomes fully opaque, like a green statue. A moment later her slime is barely visible, just a weak greenish tint. She then goes back to being somewhere in between. I smile at her and pull my arm back.

“Would it be possible for you to move your core close to the edge and stick it out a bit?”

She hesitates for a moment but complies with my request. I can now clearly see the ring with some runes on it on the half-out core.

“I’m going to touch it for a moment, okay?”

Seeing her nod, I trace my fingers over the accessory. Thanks to all the lessons from Cornelia, I can easily confirm that the man was telling the truth about its ability. I start injecting my mana into its circuits and after a few seconds, it breaks with a faint crack. It’s not some kind of a high tier artifact.

I gently remove the 2 pieces from her body. “We don’t need that here. Feeling better now?”

She takes back her core inside and spins it around a bit. With a euphoric expression, she jumps at the other girl and starts hugging her while wobbling up and down. The Blue Slime tries to peel her off but manages to only deform her body in weird angles. She makes enough space to see me again.

In an instant, she literally launches her core out of her body, my way. With utterly shocked expression I frantically catch it with both hands and cover with my own body to assure that it won’t drop onto the ground. In the meanwhile, her slime splatters onto the green girl and the ground.

“Hey! Don’t surprise me like that! What if I didn’t catch it!” I speak to the orb in my hands. “Besides! Doesn’t that hurt your body?”

The other girl imitates a giggling motion and signs ‘a bit’. I release a sigh at her carelessness. Then I repeat the procedure with the ring. After breaking it, I place the core back in the puddle of blue slime and she slowly reforms back.

“You really scared me, you know?” I say while rubbing my forehead. “I guess you are a bit less nervous now, huh?”

They both nod enthusiastically.

“That’s great.”

I stand up and so do they. I give them a few more pats. Then I freeze.

“Wait. I never asked about your names. Do you actually have them?” I ask.

They tilt their heads, look at each other and shake them sideways.

“Huh. It would be much easier for me if you did. Do you mind if I give you them? It doesn’t have to be forever, just as long as you stay here.”

They nod even more vigorously.

“Okay… Hmmm…” I ponder for a moment.

「Should I just name them after some of my favourite characters? Or should I come up with something original...」

I glance over them and suddenly a phrase ‘crystallization of beauty’ appears in my mind when I think about their beautiful, semi-transparent bodies. When they become more opaque, it’s like they are carved from a huge gem.

「A gem… A crystal… Hmmmm… Sapphire? Emerald?」

“What do you think about Safi and Emi?” I point at the Blue Slime and then at the green one. “You are like those exquisite and elegant statues made out of emerald and sapphire.”

Their cheeks get a bit more opaque. And wide smiles appear on their faces.

「Did I just make a Slime blush?」

Emi starts wobbling and jumps at me with a radiant expression. Her jelly-like body slams against mine like raging sea waves against a breakwater, but thanks to her springy characteristics I manage not to fall. She starts nuzzling her face against my chest while her core dances happily all around her body.

“Hahaha, easy now, Emi! I’m glad you like it.” I embrace her soft and chilly body with one hand and pat her head with the other.

Safi comes closer and tries to peel her off me this time, with a visible pout. Emi shows a smug smile and doesn’t back off. I’m watching as the two of them shift, entangle, stretch and reform. Truly a peculiar sight.

“Okay, okay! Enough fighting.” I gently bonk both their heads and they finally release me. “I’m enjoying having fun with you, but I still have a lot to do.”

They look at me curiously.

“This place isn’t your typical mansion. I can’t live off my benefactor forever. That’s why there will be a business here. And I need to prepare a lot of stuff, like hire someone to cook, to clean, to take care of the whole place, manage clients, and a lot of other stuff.”

I list some things, more so I just don’t forget them. They nod along the way.

“So yeah. You can stay and live here, but the fact that it will be a brothel at certain times of the day doesn’t change. Ah. But it’s not like you would understand what a brothel is.”

While I’m speaking they start nodding with increasing speed. Their faces almost lose their shapes.

“Wait… No way… You know what a brothel is?” I ask incredulously.

They nod.

“What? Then about procreation?”

Another one.

“Even the fact that some races do it just for pleasure?”

More nodding.

“The hell? How do Slimes know about such things?” I voice out my surprise and disbelief. “Wait. Don’t tell me that idiot has assaulted you?”

To my relief, they shake their heads. Well, it’s not like they have the particular organs to conduct such acts, but from a lot of news lines back at home, I know that humans will always find a way to stick their ‘head’ into anything. And somehow, they are almost always from Florida, huh.

“At least. But how then?”

Emi starts looking around the room for something to help her with the answer. Safi just stands in front of me with a thinking expression. After a moment she claps her hands making a slushy-slappy sound.

She moves closer to me and grabs my hand. I look at her curiously. The core in her body starts floating up and stops in her head. She starts pointing at it with one of her hands. I look at her trying to figure out what she means.

「Something about a brain?」

I tilt my head while thinking. Noticing that it’s not working, she uses her other hand to guide mine close to her face and… chomps onto it. Although without the biting part. The soft insides of her frosty and jelly mouth surround my fingers.

I stare at her munching on my fingers while pointing at her head in confusion. Emi must have realized what her friend tries to do because she walks closer and starts moving her hands from shoulders to knees over the shape of her body.

“Brain? Body? Eat? Ah! Don’t tell me, you somehow gained this knowledge from the girls in the past?”

I finally connect the dots and they start happily jumping up and down.

“That’s unexpected. But don’t worry, I don’t plan on forcing you to work like that. In the first place, it’s not like you have a lot to work with, and I’d rather not have people sticking their dicks in some random places around yo—”

I start feeling the insides of Safi’s mouth change. It gets more textured than smooth, some parts slightly harden, most likely the gums and ‘teeth’ and a freshly formed tongue starts tickling my hand, which is still in there.

She glances down and I follow her. And my eyes widen in surprise. On the tips of her previously plain and round breasts, slightly darker and more opaque nipples formed, even with areolas.

“Haha, how many times are you two going to amaze me today...”

Looking at her stomach I notice a cute belly button forming. Slightly lower, in her translucent underbelly, I can almost clearly see a female reproductive system taking shape. Up from the ovaries to the very vaginal canal and its ending. And also part of the rectum behind.

I gulp audibly. It’s kinda getting even hotter in this room. If there were any doubts before, right now, in front of me is standing a ‘real’ slime girl. With the emphasis on girl. A very charming, slightly chubby, sapphire-coloured semi-transparent girl. Which is currently joyfully licking my fingers all over.

“Ummm… I did not know… that you can mimic to this extent…”

I flash her an awkward smile, trying not to stare at her naked body. Well, she was naked all the time, but now, it rose to another level. She finally stops playing with my fingers. Pulling my hand back I see strings of some liquid. It’s a bit chilly.

Safi steps even closer to me and pushes her bouncy chest against mine. Even through the vest, I can faintly sense her hard nipples, alongside the cool sensation of her jittery boobs. She looks at me from up close with her big, pupil-less eyes.

I shake my head to clear all the indecent images that filled my mind. I’ve seen too much Slime action back at home. I can already feel my pants getting tighter with every passing second. As if noticing it, she looks down and lays her hand on my crotch. A frosty breeze envelops my nether regions.

“Oooooohohoh…” Chills run through my whole body. “I’m glad that you now trust me a little more, but you don’t have to prove your ability to do those things.”

I place my hands on her shoulders and start slowly putting some distance between us while my gaze is fixated on her enchanting blueish lips.

[It’s okay if it’s for Master.]

“Thank you, but that’s going a bit too fas—… Excuse me?” I start blinking totally dumbfounded.

「Did I just… understand her? But… I swear there was no sound...」

She tilts her head and this time I clearly catch her lips and tongue moving.

[Master?]

“Ha. Hahaha. Hahahahah!” I burst into laughter due to a sudden realization. “What the hell! I can read from lip movement? Why does it not say so in the Linguist skill! Goddammit, hahahahaha!”

I calm myself down and wipe the tears off my eyes. “This would have been so much easier! Hey, Safi, can you try saying something longer?” I ask and focus on her mouth.

[I don’t know what I should say, Master. Ummm… Thank you for taking off the rings? They really hurt.]

“Hahaha, so it truly works! And I’m happy I could help. Emi, can you try doing the same thing as her?” I turn to the Green Slime, which has been standing near us.

She opens and closes her mouth, but I can’t get any read from it. In the first place, she is still in her less detailed, plain form. Maybe that’s the reason I only noticed now?

“Oh well, it really will help to talk with you girls. But… could you please remove your womanly parts for now? It’s quite easy for me to get distracted, haha.”

[I’m afraid I can’t, Master.] Her lips move to answer my question.

“What? Why? Didn’t you just form them to show me?”

[Yes, but it happened because I advanced a stage. I can’t change it back now.]

“Advanced a stage? Wait, like you evolved just now?”

[Not exactly. We have to go through a few smaller stages before we can further evolve. I just crossed one.]

“Ah, okay, but why now?”

[Most likely that’s thanks to the energy Master leaked to my core when taking off the ring.]

“I see. So why does Emi not advance?” I look curiously at the other girl who assumes a sad expression. Safi pokes me and I turn back.

[I think I was already close to it. She might need a bit more time.]

I step closer to the dejected girl and rub her head.

“Don’t worry, there’s no rush, just make Safi translate for you for the time being. You could communicate somehow before, right?” I again look at the blue girl.

[Yes, naturally we can since we are both Slimes.] She smiles.

“Great. Oh, and I better find you some clothes. Actually... Safi, can you make yourself opaque to hide all the insides?”

She nods and turns fully sapphire, but… she now looks even more erotic due to all her curves up and down here. She is now just almost like a normal human but with blue skin.

“Okaaaaaaaaaaay, that didn’t work… You can go back to your usual self if it strains you to keep this up.”

[Understood, Master.] She turns back to being translucent.

“Why Master? I took off the rings, you are free now.”

[Because Master is Master?] She tilts her head.

“We’ll work that out later. Anyways, you are free to explore the mansion, just please don’t leave it or peek outside the windows, okay?” They both nod. “I’ll go to the town for what I mentioned earlier. I’ll grab something for you to eat on the way back. Then later we can talk about your stay here. Got it? Perfect. Let’s—”

I feel three knocks somewhere in the back of my head. I squint my eyes in confusion and turn around. Then I realize it has to be the Notice spell.

“Be right back. Someone is at the door.”

I quickly walk out of the room and head to the main entrance. I can see a robed figure through the distorted glass parts in the doors. I push them open.

“Morning Al.”

“Eh? Cornelia?!”

Saileri · Feb 14, 2021

Chapter 12 - First Partners

“Eh? Cornelia?!”

“Last time I checked that was my name, yes,” she answers with a warm smile.

I look at her in surprise. She wears her characteristic purple robes with cut sides to reveal her smooth, long legs and a triangle cut above her chest to show a little bit of cleavage. She is only a tad shorter than me.

“How did you know I was here?” I ask shocked.

“I asked the King. How else?”

“What? Oh, come on! He swore to keep his mouth shut.” I roll my eyes.

She puts a finger on her lips and winks at me. “A woman has her ways.”

“Note to self, never underestimate women. Especially those which can pry information from kings.”

“Wise decision.” She giggles and I chuckle.

“So, is there anything you need from me?” I lean onto the frame and ask.

“Is that all you have to say after running away from me in the library?” She crosses her arms and raises her brows. “And then disappearing from the castle without a word?”

“Ah… Sorry… I was kinda out of it that day. And you see… I was in a bit of a tough spot…” I answer apologetically, rubbing the back of my head.

“Did you really think anything would change after revealing to me that your class is all about sex?”

My eyes widen a bit. “How much… do you exactly know?”

“Everything. At least everything that Rossberg knows. Am I that untrustworthy? Aren’t we friends?”

She assumes a quite hurt and betrayed expression. I straighten up, put my hands on her shoulders and speak looking straight at her.

“Listen. I trust myself less than I trust you. I suddenly got bombarded with ridiculous abilities. I had zero idea about their effects. Would you not do the same if you got a skill which could brainwash other people without your intention? I was not going to take risks. Not with you.”

I try my best to sound confident and convincing. Everything I said was true. I was able to avoid her. If not for Shino coming after me every day, I’d have most likely tried so with her too.

Cornelia breaks the eye contact and looks away. “Fine. You are right. Sorry for jumping at you.”

She looks back and sighs. Then she blinks a few times and looks at me curiously.

“Don’t be. I’m at fault, but… is something wrong with my face?”

She moves her face closer and starts sniffing the air around me.

「Oh fuck… I forgot...」

“You started using perfumes? I must say they are great. This charming and sweet lilac scent really suits you.” She takes a deep breath and smiles blissfully.

“That’s exactly what I meant earlier. You are sniffing my sweat. Literally.”

She breaks out of her daze. “What?!”

“Just one of my titles’ effects. Get it now?”

“Okay, you are excused. This is just your sweat?” She nods and supports her chin with her hand staring at me.

“Yeah. So again, how can I help you?”

“That’s my question.”

“Huh?”

It’s my turn to blink in confusion now.

“I want to join you,” she says.

“Even after knowing what kind of business this will be?”

“Yes.” She nods confidently. “Ah, but I don’t plan on joining… you know… to do that. I just thought you might want someone to help you run this place.” She looks away slightly embarrassed.

“Haha. Certainly! But why would you choose that over being a court magician?”

“Do you really need to ask?”

She sighs and shakes her head. I look at her still slightly perturbed.

“You are an unknown. An unpredictable variable. And I am a scholar by heart. Even before you’ve gotten your class there was so much stuff I was able to learn from and about you. Even forgetting the knowledge from your world, there’s this aura of mystery all around you.”

She pauses for a moment to gather her thoughts.

“You are an otherworlder. A hero. A person with a class never heard of before. You are affectionate and smart. You treat everyone equally, no matter their title, position or race. There are just so many interesting things to study about you. Besides... the days we spent together in the library… I had so much fun just being around you… You were the first person to not say that I’m an obsessive freak and run away…” She smiles bitterly.

“True. The moment you get into your scientific heat, you can ferociously assault people with questions for countless hours.”

She drops her gaze with even more bitter expression. I quickly pull her into a hug.

“But did I ever say that I dislike this side of you?”

I speak while taking her into a warm and friendly embrace. She hesitates for a moment just standing there awkwardly, but in the end she also places her hands on my back.

“No, you didn’t...” she whispers quietly.

After a moment I break off the hug and smile at her.

“With you here, it will be immeasurably easier to manage everything. I expect many great things from you, partner!” I plop my hand onto her shoulder.

“Guess I have no choice, but to do my best no—...w.”

She ends her sentence with a weird pause like she was still going to continue and squints her eyes. Her gaze takes the form of someone who is not present with their mind at the spot.

“What this time?” I ask while slowly waving my hand in front of her.

“What are those?”

She points behind me and I turn around. From the left wing’s corridor, close to the ground, two single-coloured heads peek out. A green and a blue one. They quickly disappear after I lay my eyes on them, but the fingers holding onto the edge are still visible.

「Oh come on. Give me a rest...」

I turn back to Cornelia and sigh. “That’s Emi and Safi. They are Slimes. I saved their lives by accident.”

“Slimes? You mean the weak jelly monsters?” she asks, puzzled.

“Nah. They are Queen Slimes.”

“Queen Slimes?! Where in hell did you get Queen Slimes a day after leaving the castle?!” she shouts totally bewildered.

“Found them in some random barrels,” I say jokingly.

“Wha—?! How?! I—?! What?!”

She frantically moves her gaze between me and the corner of the corridor, flustered. Her mouth gaping like that of a fish out of the water.

“THIS! This is exactly what I was saying!” She points at them with both of her arms extended like a merchant presenting their wares.

I chuckle. “Yes, yes. I get it. I’m a magnet for weird situations. Come in, let’s not stay in the doorway any longer.”

I make space for her to enter and close the door after her. We start walking towards the two curious entities.

“You can come out, I know you are there. It’s okay, she is my friend,” I shout their way.

The slimes take a peek again and after a while, they step out into the open. Emi is standing slightly behind Safi and peeping our way shyly. When we reach the halfway point, Cornelia stops.

“Hey,” she says.

“Yes?”

“Tell me. Does your smell also cause hallucinations or does one of them have a… vagina?” she asks with her eyes wide open, glancing over the obvious place.

“No, I don’t think so and yes.”

“I need answers. A lot of them.” She moves her gaze onto me, her eyes literally sparkling from curiosity and passion.

“And you will get them. One thing at a time, okay? This morning is quite hectic.”

I signal to the girls to come closer and we all sit down by one of the tables in the main hall. Safi and Emi sit on the sofa on both of my sides, glancing at Cornelia who positions herself on the opposite side. Emi entwines her elbow with mine, visibly uncertain about this situation. I rub her head and smile to reassure her a bit. Safi looks a bit more composed. She sits on my left side with her back straight and hands joined between her thighs.

“So…” Cornelia sweeps her gaze over all of us. “It seems like you are pretty close.”

I pat Emi a bit more. “She is just scared. They went through a lot. Anyway. Cornelia, this is Emi and Safi. Emi, Safi, this is Cornelia. She will help me take care of this place, okay?”

I explain while pointing at each person. They both nod still a bit uncertain. I briefly go over what she knows with Cornelia and fill her in on the other details about my plan. Then I tell her about my encounter with the slimes. I promise to tell her all about my class and abilities sometime later.

“That’s so like you.” She shows a reminiscing smile.

“What do you mean like me?”

“Do you think I’m blind? Do you know with how much disdain and disgust you have looked at people who belittled other races in front of you? I also know you always took scraps from the kitchen before going to the town. Do I even have to guess for what purpose?”

“Are you sure you are a magician and not a spy?” I give her a doubtful look.

She chuckles. “Don’t make light of a scholar’s information network.”

“I’m starting to have second thoughts about who actually runs this kingdom.”

We both laugh.

“Well then. I suggest we split up and each one of us handles a different matter,” she says.

“Good idea. We have a lot of areas to cover.”

“I’ll return to the castle and see what I can do about maids and servants. I don’t think posting an announcement is a good way. We need people without any prejudice against other races and willing to work in a brothel too,” she presents her idea and starts pondering over it.

“I’ll try to get someone into the kitchen. I planned to do it just before you arrived.”

We all stand up and move to the middle. Cornelia decides to stay around for a bit to check out the mansion. I prepare to leave.

[Don’t worry, Master. We will wait for you patiently.] Safi’s mouth conveys the words and she bows her head lightly.

“I know you will. If she tries anything funny you can melt her clothes.” I pat their heads with a mischievous smile.

[We would never hurt Master’s friends.] She tries to keep calm but I can see her slightly wobbling from my hand.

“Wait! You can understand them?! How?!” Cornelia catches onto me speaking like I’m having a conversation.

“Ah right. It turns out my Linguist allows me to read from lips. They have to be fully developed though. I can’t understand Emi.”

“Marvelous! Truly amazing! So much to learn! I can now study not only you but also communicate with Queen Slimes! Ah, I wonder how their cores feel in touch—”

She dives into one of her scientific states and loses all contact with the world.

“Cornelia. Cornelia! CORNELIA!”

I try to shake her out of it but it's not working. Worried that she might forget herself when I’m not here, I forcefully clap my hands in front of her eyes.

“—nd if I try to— AH! YES?!”

She jumps back. I raise my finger in a threatening way and look her straight into the eyes.

“Just 2 hours ago they were being physically abused by humans. Almost met their ends there. DO. NOT. Force yourself on them. Got it?”

“I’m sorry… I promise I won’t…” She joins her hands and apologizes.

“Good. I’m going. They are friends, not test subjects, so treat them like ones.”

╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣

First I decide to check all the notice boards I’m aware of, but even though they are flooded with job offers and people advertising themselves, there are hardly any cooks. If there are, they usually list requirements that are quite unachievable for me.

I decide to stop by the Adventurer’s Guild and have a nice chat with that cute receptionist girl. Unfortunately, she can’t help me with my problem but instructs me to visit a few offices which fare in recruiting. I follow her advice.

In one of them, I’m able to acquire a decent list of people with cooking skills or Jobs, that are looking for a workplace. I’ll have to contact and audition them first. The president of the locale suggested considering buying a slave if there would be any problem with normal hiring.

At some point in my search, I realize that I not only need to find someone willing to work around other races but also to learn and prepare cuisine for them. I don’t want to feed them the same thing every day and I’m pretty sure not all of the races like the usual human dishes, even though they would still eat if that was their only option.

I really want to fill my staff with humans, so that in the future they can spread the word as living alongside non-humans isn’t that bad. And for the visitors to perceive a similar message. But in the end, I might not have that much leeway to do that. Hopefully, Cornelia will be able to come up with something when it comes to maids.

It’s already getting dark when I’m done with looking for the day. I eat something on my way back and grab a few apples, pretzels, bread rolls, some cake and stuff it into my ring.

╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣

Barely seconds after I enter the mansion and close the door, something crashes into my back. Something very elastic. Green, jelly arms appear on my chest and I can feel someone’s cold face nuzzling to me from behind.

“Calm down Emi! I’m glad to see you too, but let me enter!”

I hold my arms up and turn around to face the enthusiastic slime. I give her head a few good rubs. Then I notice Safi standing a bit further and I’m hit with a surprise. She’s wearing a long, oversized white shirt, from under which black panties peek out. She entwines her hands in front, accentuating her bouncy chest even more.

With Emi in tow, I walk her way. “You look gorgeous in that.”

Her cheeks get a bit more colour and she smiles shyly.

[Thank you, Master. Your friend found it and told me to cover myself with it.]

We move upstairs to the room I choose for mine. Sitting on the bed I tell them what I have been up to today. I give them a few fruits and pretzels to try and watch as they slowly disappear inside their bodies. For the whole time, Emi snuggles to me from every possible angle and Safi sits on my left side trying to look calm and collected.

“Did something happen when I was out? You two seem a bit different.” I ask Safi while rubbing the belly of the other girl, lying on her back on my lap.

[We answered some questions from Master’s friend… She also talked to us a bit about Master…]

“Oho, now I’m getting curious what weird ideas she could have given you,” I say more to myself. “And you can call her Cornelia. She’s our friend, not just mine. At the same time, you don’t have to keep calling me Master. You are not my slave.”

[Master doesn’t want to be our Master? I understand...]

She starts looking down and fiddling with her fingers. A phrase I’ve encountered sometime in the past reappears in my mind.

‘Are you really thinking of their well-being by setting them free if they do not want to be set free from you?’

I close my eyes and sigh deeply.

「This is not Earth. They are not modern humans. I should not let my past knowledge cloud my judgement.」

I open my eyes, turn to her with a serious expression and brush her cheek with my right hand. She looks at me slightly surprised.

“Safi. Tell me. What do you wish for? Both of you. And speak honestly, I want to know whatever it is.”

Emi gets up from my lap, sits on my right side and they look at each other for a moment before Safi moves her lips again.

[We want to repay Master’s kindness—]

“Is that really what you want for yourselves?” I interrupt her.

[—… We want to stay by Master’s side. We felt warm when being around Master for the first time in our lives. It felt really good. We also want Master to feel good and be happy. That’s why for my advancement I choose to be able to mimic the human body better. But… we are just Slimes…]

“And I want you to be happy too. If you really want it, I’ll be your Master. What if you are Slimes? You are very cute and charming Slimes. I could spend whole days just hugging and cuddling with both of you.”

Emi jumps at my arm and starts grinding her body against it with an excited expression. Safi smiles enchantingly and also finally leans over my side. I gently caress her head. She uses her hand to slowly unpin the buttons in the shirt and reveals her big, bouncy sapphire breasts to me. I don’t know if her nipples can get erect, but they are definitely pointy.

[Can I make Master feel good then?]

She moves to sit in front of me between my legs and presses her chilly chest against mine. I swallow my saliva. Even with all this coldness, a certain part of my body is getting increasingly hotter.

“Are you really sure about that? You don’t have to do all the sexual stuff to make me happy.”

I try to pry for the last time before I cross the point of no return. My mind is already getting filled with lots of indecent thoughts. Safi stares at me pondering over something.

[Is Master a virgin?]

My eyes widen in consternation.

“Where did that come from?” I get embarrassed by her unexpected question but decide to answer honestly. “Yeah...” I’m the one to shyly turn my eyes away this time.

[I see. It’s understandable that Master wouldn’t be willing then…]

“What? What’s the relation here?” I turn my face back to her, now puzzled more than embarrassed.

[The girl whose memories I’ve inherited always considered her first sexual experience as something special. She wanted to offer her body to the person she would fall in love with. It’s natural for Master to not want to waste his precious first time on monsters such as ourselves.]

I open my mouth agape, totally bewildered by her statement.

“You stupid little girl.” I chuckle and shake my head. “You talk about my first time, but wouldn’t it be a first for you too? Didn’t you say it’s reserved for a special person and not just some random human you met by accident?”

[I’m not a real girl. I’m just a Slime mimicking the form of one. That belief was just from the memories of that person. And I can’t even replicate a lot of details of a human body, like having a first time…]

Her shoulders drop down and she assumes a disheartened expression, yet smiles faintly after a moment.

[And Master is not a random human! Master is kind and doesn’t hate us! Master saved our lives! And! And…]

Her cheeks grow opaque to the extent where they look practically solid.

[And when Master touched my core it felt really good… and Master’s hands tasted sweet too… Other humans always tasted disgustingly bad… Especially that man from before…]

I pull her as close as possible. Our faces are almost touching. We look each other into the eyes.

“I don’t care if you are a Human, Elf, Dragon or Slime. You are very adorable and sexy. I’d love to do it with you, but only if you are okay with it.”

[I am!]

She expresses herself with confidence. Suddenly, she jumps a little and I see a pouting Emi bumping her fists at her from the side.

[Ah! We are!] She quickly corrects herself.

I giggle a bit and ask, “Do both of you want to become my Partners then?” I invoke the Love Contract skill in my mind but decide not to ruin the moment and explain the details later.

[Yes, of course!] Safi nods vigorously.

I cup her chin with my hand and turn her face back to me after she was looking at Emi for confirmation. Then I plant a gentle kiss on her frosty, charming lips. A slight shiver runs down my spine from the icy pleasure and I can see Safi’s core tremble from the same.

I break off and turn to Emi on my right. Her face is already quite close. Without a moment of hesitation, even though her lips are much less detailed and visible, I place a kiss on them too, while supporting Safi’s back with both my hands.

I swipe the window that appeared in front of me away to check it later. There are much more important things to focus on right now.

Saileri · May 11, 2021

Chapter 13 - A Slime Is Fine Too ❤❤❤

Just moments after I swat the pink window away, I start to notice a faint connection between me and the girls. It’s nothing as complex as mind-reading, but I can barely feel their emotions. Happiness and gratitude are flowing into me, along with an expectant mood. Safi is eager to continue where we left off in the morning while Emi sends off slightly sad yet curious feelings, most likely due to her inability to advance with Safi.

Emi rubs her cheeks against mine after we part our lips and then creates some distance between us. Safi looks at her and turns back to me.

[She says that she will leave it to me since I should do better in making Master feel good with this body.]

I shake my head. “I bet it will feel heavenly no matter which one of you tries. But I can’t split myself so let’s feel good together first, Safi." I reach out to pat Emi’s head. "I’ll take care of you next.”

We sit on the edge of the bed. Safi is resting between my legs with her chest pressed onto mine. I move my hand to her face and gently brush the surface of her cheek while gazing into her big sapphire eyes.

“Can you feel this?”

[Yes. It feels really warm.] She smiles. [But Master can be more forceful. Our external coating is highly resistant.]

I apply a bit more force to my touch. The areas I graze with my fingers dent in a little and it feels like I’m kneading one of those sand sacks I’ve played with as a kid but if they were a bit more springy and elastic. Safi’s smile grows a bit bigger so I guess she started feeling it more.

Pulling her face closer, I join our lips. At first, we just exchange a few gentle pecks, but then our lips entwine more seductively and our tongues meet. I get goosebumps. A frosty and textured object prods my own tongue. We fall into a deep kiss and drips of saliva start escaping our mouths. Hers is chilly like from a mountain’s water stream.

After a minute or two, we back off. My heart is beating faster than usual and the tent down below has already been fully set up.

[Master’s saliva… is so tasty....] Safi brushes the edge of my mouth with her finger and licks it charmingly. I chuckle a bit.

“And yours is very cool and refreshing.” I flash her a playful smile.

Safi responds with her own smile and steps back from my legs. She glances at Emi. In the next moment, both of them start undressing me. Safi unpins the buttons of my vest and shirt while Emi peels them off me from the back. In half a minute I’m left with just my shorts.

Safi's shirt playfully slides down off her in front of me, leaving her with just the black panties. I place my hand on her soft belly and trace circles with it, slowly moving down. When I reach the black material, I use both of my hands to pull it down. A string of slimy liquid connects their bottom to the perfect small mound between her legs. I’m not sure if she can imitate love juices, but it’s not like I care if they are scientifically correct.

Safi moves her hands towards my crotch and removes my underwear, revealing my penis already at full attention.

[So this is where human males feel good, right?] She kneels down and gently embraces it with her frosty palm.

“Ooooohh… Yeah… You can say that…” I exhale while shivers overcome me again.

Her hand is not cold or frigid; it’s cool and chilly but to a pleasurable degree. Suddenly an urge to feel up her insides start rising inside me.

[Unfortunately, that girl didn’t experience sex in her lifetime, so I’m not sure how to make Master feel good properly. Besides some ideas she had in her mind,] Safi conveys slightly down.

“Don’t worry, I’ll guide you.” I pat her head reassuringly. “First, you can start by rhythmically moving your hand up and down.”

She reaffirms her grip on my member and starts gently pulling up and down. A soft and squishy mass rubs over me with a bit of pressure. It already feels amazing. After a moment, she starts to also rotate her hand during the strokes, evoking even more pleasure.

“Ahhh… See? This feels great…” I speak to her.

[I’m happy then. But… can I try something Master?] She looks at me expectantly.

“Yeah. Go for it.”

She leans over my dick and opens her mouth. A little stream of liquid falls onto it. A chilly lube almost completely removes the friction between her hand and my penis. She starts stroking it faster.

“Oooooooh fuck…”

An unexpected cold shower for my little guy, and another jump in pleasure, make me grip the sheets real hard. I’m surprised a virgin like me isn’t bursting already. Slimy and slushy sounds accompany Safi’s act. She looks at my dick with almost a motherly smile.

“If you keep that up I’ll cum in no time.”

She smiles even more enchantingly at it.

[Then come, Master. I want to taste your seed. It already gives a strong and sweet smell.]

“Slimes can smell?” I ask trying to act composed.

[Not really, but… somehow we could feel this sweet aroma around Master. It grew even stronger after we kissed.]

「Must be due to the title and then becoming partners… Ohhh...」

“How would you describe it?” I try to pry a bit more while still being able to think straight.

Safi ponders, not stopping her hand even for a moment.

[Like morning dew. And Emi says it’s like fresh apples for her.]

「Cornelia said something about lilac… Ughm… So it must vary per person… God...」

“Ah… I’m very close now, Safi…”

Honestly, I've had my experiences with some quite good quality lubes, but this makes them feel like nothing but cheap bootlegs.

[Should I lick it then?]

“Eh?” I say, surprised at her suggestion.

[The girl thought this would feel really good.]

Without waiting for an answer she lowers her face and her lips connect with the head of my member.

“Ah! Wait!”

They part and she slowly slides it inside, all the way up to the very root. My dick gets enveloped in cool and textured insides of her mouth while her slightly rough tongue starts to brush over my whole shaft.

A second later, something unimaginable happens. I watch from above as her cheeks begin shifting and I can not only feel but also clearly see how she applies a strong, rhythmic suction on my cock.

「Oh my fucking goooooooooooood...」

Another wave of shivers. Her tongue dances around the glans of my penis. A helix of slimy liquid surrounds my shaft and applies pleasure in waves of mimicked suction. I don’t know a lot about blowjobs, but I don’t think a human would be able to achieve something like that.

She gazes up at me and I place one hand on her head.

“Ugh… I can’t hold it back any longer!”

As a reply to my words, she increases the intensity. Her swirling tongue focuses on the tip and the insides of her mouth cave in, applying overwhelming pressure. A strong urge to ejaculate runs from the very core of my being straight to my member surrounded by heavenly pleasure.

“Ohhhhhhhhhhh, fuuuuuuuuuuuck…”

A hot, creamy white liquid erupts into her mouth in raging waves. I watch as Safi’s insides get filled with my erotic milk. She keeps sucking until the very last drop leaves my twitching member. Her core swims wildly in her belly. I feel her happiness and part of pleasure through our connection.

She slowly backs away with her mouth, carefully licking my still erect cock out of all the seed. She then joyfully licks her lips and covers her mouth with her hands. I see my liquid dissipating in the place of her throat. Her whole body gets enveloped in shivering waves and the core starts ferociously trembling while emitting a bit of pinkish vein-like light on its surface.

She suddenly starts losing her balance so I quickly slide down from the bed and hold her close. After a few seconds Safi returns to normal. Maybe besides her mouth moving like she is panting heavily.

“Everything okay?” I ask with my voice full of worry.

She snuggles to my chest, hugs me with her arms and nods. Before I manage to ask about anything she looks at me and conveys the words with a blissful expression.

[Master’s seed is amazing! It’s so full of mana, and energy and nutrients! I’ve never absorbed something so delicious… When I was assimilating it, my core felt so hot I thought it would burst! Ah, but it was all from pleasure, it didn’t hurt! And now I feel different… very refreshed and… I don’t know how to call it… light? I feel like I can control my slime even better and easier right now.]

Safi suddenly barrages me with a monologue while wearing a beaming smile. She embraces me again but notices my hot cock brushing over her belly. She looks down and strokes it with her hand.

[Did Master also feel good?]

“Of course. It felt amazing.”

She looks back at me. [I see. I’m glad]

I pull her face closer for another passionate kiss. She starts being more proactive and our tongues dance wildly with each other. We part and I keep staring at her alluring figure. She takes my hand and slowly guides it down between her legs. My fingers run over the very slimy and moist entrance of her pussy.

[My memories say that this place should make Master feel even better. Does Master want to try?]

I struggle to swallow my saliva while brushing my fingers over her chilly, beautiful flower.

「If her mouth felt heavenly already, then what about her pussy...」

I scoop her from the floor into my arms and step onto the bed on my knees. I place her in the middle with a light kiss on the lips. I’m not sure if it feels any pleasant for her, but I slowly pepper her body in kisses while moving down.

I quickly arrive at the round, sapphire mountain peaks. Her chest is not unrealistically huge, but it’s still in the big department. I softly trace around her nipple with my tongue and try feeling up the other breast with my hand. It’s unimaginably springy and elastic, escaping my grasp every time I try to squeeze it. I’ve never touched a girl’s chest so it’s not like I can compare this to anything. While applying a bit more force to my hand I look up at her face and ask.

“Do you actually feel any good from this?”

She nods sweetly. [I can feel Master’s warm hands. Sometimes there’s a tickly sensation inside my core when Master bites on the nipple or grasps my body strongly.]

「I guess I’m a bit too cautious since it’s my first time touching a girl’s body, but she’s not your typical girl from blood and flesh. I should try being a bit more forceful.」

While encouraging myself I slowly arrive at her secret place. For the first time, I’m able to lay my eyes on a real pussy. It might be a bit transparent, chilly and not really human, but that does not take away any charm from it and I’m entranced just from the very sight. It looks quite small and its beautiful lips are currently closed, revealing just a cute, blueish slit.

I use my fingers to spread them to the sides and become stunned by her womanhood’s beauty. Transparent, slimy mucus starts sluggishly dripping out of the entrance. I place my lips there and prod it with my tongue. As usual, a chilly and springy sensation is what I experience. With how viscous the fluid is, I don’t think there would be any issues with entering even if she was a human girl.

I pull my face away and move my hips closer to hers. I take my hot member pulsing from anticipation into my hand and point it at Safi’s translucent, sapphire entrance. I take a last look at her face and she nods happily.

Leaning over her from the top, I start to slowly push my cock inside. There’s no resistance. I watch as my fully erect dick proceeds deeper and deeper inside Safi’s vagina, pushing her walls to the sides. Truly a bizarre sight.

I’ve already lost the count, but shivers run down my spine again and I release a long, hot sigh while experiencing her tight, but slimy and cool insides. They apply just the perfect amount of pressure over my whole shaft and the feeling of the tip of my penis pushing aside her walls is godly. Due to the slimy mucus, I slide in my whole member in a flash.

I’m experiencing my first ever sex, my first ever missionary, with a Slime Girl. Do I care that it’s not a real girl? Oh, fuck no! She’s as much real as every other being in this world. I lean over her and reach her cheek with my hand to brush it with some force.

“Hahaha. You are quite tight down there for such an elastic Slime. How are you feeling?”

She just keeps smiling.

[It feels much warmer when Master enters inside my inner body, no matter where it happens. It feels really good, so Master doesn’t have to worry, just enjoy my body as much as Master can. I’m happy that way.]

I lean even closer for another kiss. “Oh, you. I’ll find a way to make you feel even better than me, just you wait.”

I begin to move my hips forth and back. Very obscene and arousing sounds start accompanying my movements. All the liquid creates soft, sloshing noise while I piston Safi’s pussy with my dick, splashing the juices over the sheets. Every time my pelvis hits her bottom, a loud slap wanders through the room, making Safi’s whole body wobble a bit. Naturally, her springy breasts rhythmically jump up and down, matching my movements.

I start violently pinching and biting on her nipples while roughly moving inside her secret place. From time to time, I catch a slight change in her delighted expression, but it’s nothing notable.

Moving to a straight position I grab her legs, place them over my shoulders and lean over her again, which results in her butt hanging slightly in the air.

“My… fucking… god… oof… You are insane…” I start panting heavily.

The lewd sounds increase even further. Safi’s mouth felt amazing already, but the only reasonable explanation of me not instantly bursting out from just inserting my throbbing dick into the chilly, tight and slimy insides of her stimulating vagina must be the title’s effect. I don’t think I can hold back forever, but it definitely helps a lot.

I speed up my thrusts to the point where I’m basically hammering Safi into the bed while our tongues are now entwined in a wild dance. Her body can’t be described as just wobbling with each thrust now. I’m amazed that it can still retain its main form from how heavily I pummel her down. I think I’m slowly approaching my limit again.

I break off the kiss and look at Safi’s face. She opens her mouth as if moaning a little with the moment of my dick hitting the depths of her replicated pussy, but I don’t feel that much pleasure from her through our connection. She seems happy, but I bet it’s just from seeing me enjoying her body. And what kind of man would not feel bad when his partner is not feeling good?

I rest my forehead on her chest while still keeping up the movements. My dick starts twitching even more furiously. The time is running out. I watch as Safi’s core makes the familiar infinity symbol pattern inside her belly. Suddenly, I recall Emi’s reaction to my touch in the morning.

「Goddammit, I’m such an idiot!」

Cursing myself, I quickly formulate a new plan in my mind. I give Safi a peck on the lips and smile mischievously at her. In the next moment, to her surprise, I pull my dick out of her and, with some effort, flip her body so that she falls onto her stomach. I lift her butt up into the air while kneeling behind her. I insert the fingers of my right hand between her lower lips and spread some of her juices over them.

Safi turns her head around while her chest lies on the bed and looks at me in confusion. I wink at her and in an instant, I shove my cock inside her pussy again, with a loud slap. While slamming my hips against hers, I start to rub her anus with the liquid I picked up. I don’t think she will feel uncomfortable from what I am about to do anyway, but just in case.

I lean over her back and pinch her chest with my left hand. After a few strong thrusts, her core starts dancing again. At a perfect moment, I slide my right hand into her anus without much resistance and grab the floating, hot core when it’s passing the closest to her ass.

In a fraction of a second it flashes with pinkish veins and the walls of her slimy pussy squeeze my dick unbelievably strong, but still in the margin of pleasure and not pain. Waves of intense ripples run through her whole body, beginning at the core.

“Guh… Oh, fuck!”

I’m unable to hold back my grunts with that intense pleasure. Safi grasps the sheets and her hands roll into fists while her face assumes a truly spasmic expression, with wide eyes and tongue hanging out from her mouth. Her saliva starts dripping everywhere due to my forceful thrusts and her body is shivering ferociously from the pleasure.

I lean over her ear and whisper, “Told you… that I’ll… make you feel good too! Guh!”

She turns her head and locks our lips together. I pant so heavily it’s hard to even kiss and we create a wet and sloppy mess on our faces.

“I’m at my limit!”

I begin drilling her insanely tight pussy even more violently while rubbing her core with my fingers. The bed is now almost completely soaked with her juices. Safi shoots her head to the front. Her springy body is enveloped in wild waves from my cock ramming her pussy and great pleasure my fingers give to her core.

Feeling the great eruption coming, I decide to implement the last part of my plan. Returning back to a straight position behind her, I slam my cock into her flower as hard as I can while leaking my mana through the right hand straight into her core, also pushing it to where her womb is located.

It flashes with more pink veins and Safi’s pussy clamps on my penis for the last time. I release the hot waves of my milk straight into her depths. Her core gets flooded with both my sperm and mana and her whole body trembles to the extreme, almost losing its humanoid shape. We both keep coming and spasming for good fifteen seconds.

Panting roughly I fall to the side, behind Safi’s trembling back, and with my penis still inside I embrace her from behind.

“Holy mother of god… Haaaaaaaaah... I hope this didn’t... destroy sex with normal humans for me… hahaha…”

I notice Emi kneeling over me with a pouty expression. I smile at her wryly and reach out to rub her cheek.

“Haaaah… Sorry for leaving you out like that. Just give me a moment, okay?”

She nods and lies down on my other side while I flip myself onto my back and sigh loudly. Safi gets a hold of herself and turns around to face me. She instantly jumps at my lips and we dive into a wet and deep kiss.

After we finally part, I chuckle. “You are acting more like a girl than a Slime with every passing second.”

[It’s all thanks to Master’s training.] She smiles blissfully. [I don’t even know how to describe how good it felt just now…] She looks straight at me while her cheeks grow almost fully opaque.

“I’m really glad to hear that. I don’t know what I would do if that actually hurt you.”

She draws herself closer and rests her head on my chest. [Master is so kind…]

Emi also follows suit and I end up lying on my back with two slime girls on my chest. Pure bliss. I feel something gently brush my balls and looking down, I see Emi’s hand playing with my flaccid penis while she gazes at it. I pat her head to get some attention. She glances at me with a sad expression. I cup her chin up and place a kiss on her lips.

“Don’t worry, I still have enough milk for you. I have to help you advance quicker, right?” I smile at her and sit up.

「Let’s see if this works.」

I invoke Rejuvenation in my mind and focus on my member. I feel a wave of warm energy run through my body heading down. I keep feeding the skill with mana and all the fatigue and strain is slowly being washed away from my penis. Before I run out of it, I manage to revert my dick into a full mast state and slightly reduce my muscles fatigue in the rest of the body.

“See?” I turn to her and she hugs me enthusiastically. I glance back at Safi. “Do you feel different now? Like, you mentioned being refreshed earlier, but perhaps are you experiencing something akin to, I don’t know, growing stronger?”

She assumes a thoughtful expression. [Certainly, I do feel so. It’s close to the feeling of advancing to another stage, but I definitely didn’t jump them twice in such a short period.]

“That’s due to my skills.” I start explaining. “My class allows me to strengthen others who agree to be my partners via physical contact. It works both in the short and long term, and we both can— ooooooh....”

Mid-sentence, a familiar but quite different chilly feeling envelops my dick. Checking it up, I notice Emi just finishing gobbling up my cock in one big swoop. The elastic mass of her internal slime surrounds my pole. Plain and smooth like jelly, completely different from Safi’s textured mouth or pussy.

“Can you wait a moment, please? It will be a bit hard to speak like that,” I ask, but Emi does not leave my stick alone.

Safi looks my way as if waiting for me to continue.

「Hahaha… I never expected to be forced into a ‘speaking with another person while receiving a fellatio’ situation...」

Saileri · Feb 16, 2021

Chapter 14 - Two Girls One Pimp ❤

“—and because of that title… uhhh… I and my every partner receive bonus… ohhh… stats. There are also some skiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiills… uff… which work after sealing the contract. For example… oh, fuck meeee…”

As Emi playfully takes her turn with my dick, I’m trying my best to have a decent conversation with Safi, but I’m failing miserably.

“Okay, that’s impossible. Let’s continue in a moment.”

I finally give up and decide to focus on Emi’s mouth. She might not have a tongue or textured internal walls of her cheeks, but that does not change the fact that her blowjob feels equally insane to Safi’s one.

Behind those barely developed lips is just her body all of slime. So having my penis in there feels just like sticking it into a sapient blob of frosty jelly. How does that feel any good while she is not moving her head? Well, that jelly can apply different pressure at different spots in different patterns. And that’s exactly what she is currently doing.

My cock surrounded by all this slime is constantly being attacked by various movements from all sides and angles. At one time it’s being stroked bit by bit from the root up to the glans with incremental force, at other it’s being kneaded from the sides in a spiral motion. The range of these actions is unbelievable and I constantly see my penis being pushed around inside her mouth. It’s like watching myself getting jerked off by ghost hands. Or amazingly advanced, almost sci-fi level, ultra-mechanic onahole. Not like I ever saw one with this many options.

“Told you it would feel heavenly no matter which one of you tried, right?”

Smiling, I pat Emi’s head. She answers by increasing the force of the movements and shaking her butt joyfully. Safi moves closer and pushes me down onto my back.

[Can’t be helped then. We just have to make Master cum quickly so we can resume our talk.]

With a mischievous smile, she leans over me and steals my lips. Her tongue wildly explores the insides of my mouth, entwining with my own from time to time. She pulls away with a string of saliva connecting our faces. Or it's her slimy equivalent. I don't really care.

She moves to where Emi enjoys her meal and disappears behind her. I wonder what she is going to do, but I don’t need to wait too long to find out.

“Oooooohhhh…”

Just a moment later she makes use of one of the advantages she holds over Emi, her tongue, and starts gently licking my balls while the other one applies pressure on my dick.

“A tag-team, huh?”

I raise myself on my elbows and still lying, watch as the two of them work over my cock. They must have started communicating because every time Safi focuses on one testicle, Emi pressures my member pushing it to the opposite side.

“That’s a bit… too much… guh…”

Being toyed with for something like seven or ten minutes now, if we include the time during my poor attempts to speak with Safi, I’m slowly approaching my current limit of how long I can hold my orgasm back. As if sensing my distress, Safi launches an attack on my left testicle by taking it inside her mouth and sucking ferociously. Emi joins the assault and starts tickling the right one while applying a strong pulling-sucking motion over my whole shaft in waves. I can see it being kneaded from bottom to the top by the pressure.

“You girls… are just… hoooh… cumming!”

I release my hot seed into Emi’s cold insides. Wave after wave, my throbbing cock spits white milk, creating surreal patterns in her slime. Taking one last suck Emi backs off to consume the meal, while her core dances happily around the collected semen. Safi doesn’t waste a second and starts licking my tip, expecting to receive some more juice.

Watching over them, I notice the familiar pink veins lighting up on the surface of Emi’s core. “How was it?” I ask after they fade out.

Emi wobbles up and down and falls onto my chest snuggling her face into it. She really seems to love doing that. Safi parts ways with my junior and moves closer to convey her answer.

[She says it was delicious and that she can feel more connected to Master now.]

“What about her advancement? Did it help in any way?”

[Yes, but Emi needs some time to process all the energy.]

“I see. You don’t have to choose the same path as Safi, okay?” I say while patting her head.

We rest a little while I explain the details of my strengthening skills and titles to them. Mostly to Safi. Emi just can’t stop cuddling me up. But I guess she listens too anyway. I get into my shorts to not walk around with a dangling noodle and Safi covers herself a bit with her open white shirt. We sit on one of the sofas and I start exploring my status.

“That reminds me, you can’t see your own statuses, right?” I ask them curiously.

Emi tilts her head while Safi makes a confused expression. [Statuses, Master?]

“It’s a kind of a system, magical spell, that allows the user to see their abilities and some other things. If I remember correctly, monsters and monster races didn’t receive this blessing, only some of the humanoid races.” I ponder for a moment. “No wonder it was hard to develop properly, people had to guess a lot. How do you know what abilities you have?”

[Ummm… we can just feel them? I don’t know how to explain. It’s really vague but it’s like we just have some idea.]

“Must have been similar for people from before the system.”

I summon the window from before and check it. It only informs about receiving new Partners. I try to call out the menu responsible for them and it appears in front of my eyes.

「So, I assume the Bond Level corresponds to the 10-50% stat boost. Since it says 1/5 it should be working already, right?」

I move that screen to the side and summon the Stats one. It appears without an issue.

「Okay, it seems to be working. I see that my core values didn’t change but the numbers in brackets must be how many additional points I get from both of them. There’s a lot of Charisma and Constitution. No wonder, they are Queen Slimes, their top stats are around those of a Human at Tier 3.」

I look at the previous panel and my eyes fall on the STATUS DETAILS section.

「They shouldn’t be able to see their own status, but can my system quantify it for me?」

While trying to focus on Safi’s one, a blue window pops up.

「Wow! That’s a lot of data. She is 62 years old?! Well, a Slime wouldn’t end up as a Queen in just a few years. I can see not only stats but also their skills? Hmmm…」

I attentively browse through the screen analyzing the information presented in front of me. I move hers and mine close together and compare the stats tab trying to figure out the details. She gets +2 to CON and INT, but only +1 to AGI.

「While CON might be logical, 10% from 15 is 1.5 and rounded up gives 2, but why 14 does so too? Does it round up from less than 0.5? Wait a moment… in the first place does their bonus come only from my base stats? I get +6 CHA but Safi should give me +3, so it must be from them both.」

I summon Emi’s status and juggle my sight between 3 data boards. Each in a different color.

「Interesting… Wait...」

Trying to make the windows visible, I move them in front of the girls' faces.

“Can you see those?”

They nod. [Yes, we can. Is this the system Master talked about?] Safi asks.

“Yeah. Looks like I can peek at your information and show it back to you.”

I stand up and move to one of the desks. Opening a drawer I find a notebook and a few pencils. I pick those up and sit myself on the chair, beginning to write down all the stat numbers of our trio. Safi stands to my right watching my movements carefully while Emi hangs herself from behind me, joining her hands over my chest. She doesn’t inconvenience me, so I let her be.

I do some quick and simple math. After a few minutes, I learn that it definitely rounds up scores from 0.5 up. The other important fact is that their bonus is calculated not only from my base stats but it includes the bonus I get from other people, besides the person in question. So, while my INT is 14, it rises to 15 with Safi’s +1 point and then it’s transferred as +2 to Emi, and vice versa. Thanks to that, all my followers grow with me not only when I advance a Tier, but with every new Partner I get, which makes the title effect even more powerful than I suspected.

「This thing really fits your usual Harem Hero trope.」

I assume that the +20% and +50% above their stat sections correspond to the effect of Sensual Strengthening from what we did. It doesn’t show the exact numbers near each of their stats but that’s fine, it’s easy to figure out. I just wonder about the ‘slightly strengthen their body and mind permanently’ part of the skill but well, I’ll most likely see its effect with time.

I stretch my arms up and follow with a long yawn. “Guess it’s time for me to hit the bed. Less violently this time.” I smile at Safi and nuzzle Emi’s cheek with my own a bit.

“Do the two of you even need to sleep?” I ask them.

[It’s not necessary, but we can enter a hibernation state to quicken our regeneration.]

Before going to sleep I walk to the personal bathroom to take a quick shower. Unable to convince the girls that their help is not needed, I end up with both of them inside, washing my body all over from the front and back. Fortunately, that’s all that happens.

I turn off the lights, via the crystal, and lay on the bed. I drift off to sleep while squished between two chilly and passionate slime girls.

╠════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣

I wake up to the sound of footsteps on the wooden floor. They are slowly getting closer. I feel slightly heavy. Opening my eyes I see Emi lying on my chest and Safi closely embracing my arm on the right side.

Before I can move, someone opens the door and enters the room.

“Ugh… Why must everyone have something against non-humans? Do they not understand that they are robbing themselves out of possible informa—”

Cornelia walks in visibly annoyed. She takes a few steps and freezes when her eyes meet mine. Thank god I picked up my shorts before going to sleep.

“Hi.” I wave at her with my free hand.

She looks over our trio for a moment. Safi and Emi wake up from their hibernation and slowly rise to a sitting position, and so do I.

“Are they so scared that you have to sleep with them during the night?” She crosses her arms and smirks.

“We were just talking and fell asleep together.” I flash her an awkward smile.

“Hmmmm… I see… Oh! Did Emi advance overnight?”

I look at her and it’s true. She now has the same internal organs as Safi, including better-developed lips and a tongue. I’ll finally be able to speak with her. She moves around a bit to check the changes in her body.

I turn to Emi to pat her head. “Congratulations! I can’t wait to finally talk to yo—”

[Master!]

She launches herself at me before I get to finish the sentence, pushing me back down onto the bed and heading straight for my lips. She starts aggressively kissing me, instantly making use of her new tongue. It forcefully enters my mouth and begins greedily moving around, exploring every corner of it.

“Oh my…” Cornelia gasps.

I try to desperately fend off the overenthusiastic slime. Sitting up again, I try to pry Emi off my lips and put some distance between us by holding her shoulders.

“Mmmmmwhha… calm down…. nhhhnhhhnm… girl!”

I finally manage to shove her off me after some struggles.

“What’s gotten into you?”

She drops her gaze apologetically.

[Emi is sorry… Emi just got very happy and wanted to try the same thing as Safi did with Master…]

I sigh and chuckle. “Okay, just warn me next time.” I rub her ‘hair’.

“How did she evolve so quickly?” Cornelia ponders.

“I made them my Partners last night, you know, that skill I have, so that might be wh—”

“Wait… you fucked the slimes?!” she cries out in shock.

“Eh? How did you arrive at that conclusion?”

Confused, I lean over Emi’s shoulder to take a better glance at the speaker and notice Safi standing near Cornelia, which holds a familiar notebook in her hands. She rotates it and I can barely read the contents from my position.

~Master shared his nutritious seed with us last night, which helped Emi advance quickly.~

I look at Safi completely surprised. “You can write now too?”

[I remembered that I can while watching Master do it yesterday.] She smiles.

Emi wobbles in front of me. [Emi too!]

“Yeah. We did it. Is it that surprising?”

“It’s just anyone insane enough to think about it ended up with their manhood melted off. Yet you seem... fine?” She ogles a visible bulge between my legs and averts her gaze.

“Courtesy of these two. You can ask them why yourself.”

I pick myself up, dress a little, throw another shirt at Emi so they both are semi-covered with Safi, and we move to the dining area to eat something I still have in my ring. Cornelia and I share our findings. None of us managed to achieve anything yesterday.

“It’s tougher than I expected. Everyone just winces when you mention demi-humans or monsters,” she says.

“Isn’t that the norm in this world?” I reply.

“This is just stupid. They are missing out so much. Their prejudice blinds them from facts and truth. To think that there are even people who call themselves scholars and still ignore other races!”

“You are just a special case. Like me. Nothing we can do about that. I’m going to pay a visit to a few people I got info about, but I’m not expecting anything. Someone advised me to consider buying a slave.”

“This might be the only way…” She dives into her thoughts for a moment. “Let me give you a little advice too.”

“Hm?”

“Knowing you, you would instantly try to break the slavery seals out of pity. I’d rather have you think before doing that. Or at least have them still wear collars. You know how dangerous it is for other races around. People at least consider the owner when they see a slave with a collar.”

I exhale dejectedly. “Yeah, I know. I realized something yesterday. I’ll be careful.”

“Ah… ummm… good. I thought it would take some more time to convince you.”

We finish in silence and prepare to leave for another day of headhunting. Cornelia decides to stay behind for a bit to talk more with Emi and Safi since they can now easily communicate. Her inner thirst for knowledge starts taking over. Before leaving I remember something.

“Ah, you will be returning to the castle, right?” I ask Cornelia.

“Yes, why?”

“Why not check out that secret tunnel that’s supposedly connecting this place to it?”

“Hmmm… Nice idea, but it would take days to search the whole mansion for the entrance.”

“You don’t have to search everywhere though,” I suggest.

“Hm? You have some hints?” she asks curiously.

“Not really. Just some logical assumptions.” I start walking around the lobby while explaining my thoughts. “This was a full-fledged inn during its prime, right? Naturally, you wouldn’t want to place an entrance to a secret tunnel in front of your guests, so public areas are out of the equation.”

I gesture over the corridors.

“And I don’t think you can have a tunnel on the second floor, so we can ignore it too. What’s left are all the rooms and facilities available to the employees. Now… If I were part of that group, I’d definitely want to limit the number of people who know about the real purpose of this mansion to only those who I trust or work with. Thus, I don’t think most of the staff were aware of the tunnel. Going with that, the kitchen and cleaning department can be omitted. It would be hard to use a secret door with many people around.”

I stop for a moment and ponder.

“That leaves the space in that corridor in the back and servants quarters. Again, if I was behind this, I’d want the entrance to be in as much inconspicuous place as possible. I’d most likely choose one of the rooms at one of the ends of that corridor and place a trusted person inside. Everyone involved would have easy access to it and all other employees would normally not intrude into someone’s personal room.”

I turn around and glance at Cornelia with the girls. She looks slightly surprised and impressed.

“Wow… That’s some amazing deduction…”

“Does not mean any of them thought that way. They might have been some random idiots and placed it literally here, in this hall, because they thought it would be cool.” I shrug and leave them to their own machinations.

My journey in search of a cook continues. I start visiting the homes of people I have on my list from yesterday. As expected, all of them are humans and don’t want to work alongside filthy demi-humans. Some don’t want to step so low as to serve them, some just purely hate other races, some consider them spawns of evil and even the reason behind the current calamity.

They really don’t want to make this easy for me. I might really have to visit a slave trader or an auction in the end. I’m getting slightly worried if the whole brothel thing will actually work. But if even the king is interested, there should be more people hiding around, right? Finding those willing to help will be a real challenge though.

After wasting half a day with my interviews, I decide to head towards the biggest slave company I know of - Selina’s Splendid Servants. Due to the King’s generosity, I’m quite fine with cash. I have around 10 platinum, 70 gold and some silver and bronze coins. 1 platinum is 100 gold and the rest follows the same pattern. A decent meal at a mid-tier restaurant or inn is around a few silvers while for like 40-50 bronze coins you can get enough food for a person to survive 3 days. Your typical guard earns around a gold or two in a month. So yeah, he splurged a bit on me. But it will go down fast when I start changing the interior, buying some decorations and different furniture, or finally establish a stable supply chain with some residents to feed.

While recalling my finances I arrive in front of not that wide, two-story stone building. Most of their space must be underground. Well, besides its unexpected small size, there’s one more thing that makes me wonder if it’s the right place, but a fancy signboard tells me it is. The whole building is in red shades. Light red walls, dark red columns and details around windows. Even the door is red. The owner must really have a thing for it.

「They say the most successful business owners are always quite eccentric. I wonder if that rule will apply to me too.」

I shake my head with a wry smile and enter through the front door.

Saileri · Feb 17, 2021

Chapter 15 - Touring the Dormitories

I enter the main lobby. Thankfully for my eyes, the interior is not pure red. It looks like they decided to use it for smaller details like some tapestry, hanging banners and a pinch of paint here and there. The walls are decorated with dark wood while the floor is made out of red square tiles.

The room is decently spacious and features two counters in the far corners with an employee behind each. There are two segments with chairs and tables just near the entrance. The staff wears black tuxedos and uniforms, obviously with red shirts and finishings. Both of the men seem to be already busy with customers so I sit on a sofa and gaze around. This place really gives professional and high-class vibes. Hopefully, I’ll be able to achieve a similar feeling. Well… maybe without slapping purple on everything…

A few minutes later, another person in the company’s outfit emerges from the door between the two counters. He exchanges a word with his colleague and starts walking my way with a smile. Since there’s no one else besides me and the other 2 customers, I stand up expecting him to be approaching me exactly. He quickly arrives at my place and bows lightly.

“Greetings honoured Sir! My name is Lucas and I’ll have the pleasure of assisting you today. How might I serve you?”

He speaks without dropping the smile. I glance at him. A fine young man around my height with short blond hair neatly swept to the back and blueish eyes.

“The pleasure is all mine. I’ve come to take a look at some slaves. I’m in need of servants and my recruitment isn’t really fruitful.”

I explain without mentioning the cook yet. It would be a good idea to check some generally.

“I see. Anything that interests you in particular, Sir…”

“Carter. And I’d like to have a general look first. Anyone who can work as a servant in a typical mansion is fine. Is that okay?”

He bows again. “Naturally! Please follow me then, Sir Carter.”

We exit through a door on the right, and after a moment in a short corridor, we take stairs down by one level. We enter a slightly wider one, much less decorated but still in the dark wood and red fashion. There are tens of wooden doors which as I assume are to the rooms where the slaves stay. He leads me further and after a few intersections, we go through a door walking into a spacious room with a sofa, a low table and something akin to a theatrical stage in front of it.

He gestures over the sofa. “Please make yourself comfortable, Sir Carter. I’ll go through our records and quickly introduce the merchandise in waves.”

Saying that he first walks to a door on the other side and knocks four times. Then he bows and leaves the way we came from. A minute later the other entrance opens and a woman in a maid outfit, with red details, appears in the room while holding a tray with glass, some cookies and a jug with water. She has short orange hair decorated with a headband and pretty mature face painted with a professional smile.

She places the tray on the table and pours some water into the glass. Then she bows and leaves me alone. I’m left quite surprised. That is because I'd have thought they'd employ cute young girls in more revealing outfits to get an edge over a customer, but here they have this fine woman in more of a Victorian-style outfit. Am I disappointed? Not really.

「Who said that the maid outfit has to barely cover anything to be hot? Whoever did, they definitely haven’t seen a great woman in a perfectly tailored suit.」

While I’m wildly exploring my imagination someone knocks twice and Lucas comes back with a line of people of various ages and genders, and they have only underwear on. All of them are human. I count around twenty. They walk over to the stage and turn to face me. Lucas stands in front of them with a notebook and a pencil, already taking some notes.

He starts introducing them shortly while asking me questions. Most of them are poverty slaves with a few being debt ones. While those terms might seem similar, they are different types of slavery in this world.

There are debt slaves who enter a temporary slavery service due to not being able to return a debt. But it doesn’t have to involve money. It can also be about broken agreements, promises, destroyed property or anything that includes some kind of a loss for one of the sides. It’s kind of like a servant work but with more restrictions and monitoring. They often end up serving that other side, but it doesn’t have to be accepted and they will end up in a company like this. They are freed after finishing their sentence. It’s more like renting a slave than buying them, so their prices are usually lower. Sometimes they end up staying at their new workplace.

Poverty slaves are those who literally went broke or lost everything and have no other way to survive. They enter slavery mostly by their own decision and register in a company. They can negotiate some terms about their future owner with it and those have to be presented and respected if someone wants to buy them. They can be released by the owner with proper payment to the company. It’s usually quite high.

Then there are criminal slaves. They naturally end up that way due to breaking the law, there’s not that much to explain here. The more severe their crime is the more restrictions might be placed onto them. If someone doesn’t end up beheaded, the worst thing in slavery for him would be heavy labour in a mine or something. For lifetime naturally. They often bear the strongest slavery marks, completely sealing off most of their abilities. Naturally, they are treated way worse by their owners and slavery companies.

And the sad thing here is, that all of this is mostly related to human slaves. Demi-humans are usually slaves in their own category, having much fewer rights which would protect their well-being and the companies care way less for who buys them and what happens after. It’s rare to find a debt or poverty demi-human slaves. They almost always end up as ‘general’ slaves without any means of breaking out of it. In some ways, they have it even worse than the criminal ones. Who knows how many of them were just randomly captured without doing anything wrong.

Lucas presents four batches of people to me in around 2 hours, noting down the ID's of those that I spend more time asking questions about. After the last one, he guides them back and joins me in the room.

“What do you think, Sir Carter? Did any of them catch your attention?” he asks.

「I can’t really go for a debt slave, even though a few of them were quite decent. From the poverty ones, only like five seemed adequate and even they might be problematic while working alongside non-humans. Since I’m already here, should I check their demi-human slaves?」

I take a sip of water before answering. “Yes, there were a few which I’m considering. Although, let me ask, don’t you deal with other races besides humans? You didn’t present me with anyone else.” I pry a little bit for information.

His smile falters a little. “Ah, my apologies! We don’t tend to move those out of their dormitories and we don’t showcase them alongside normal slaves, but yes, we naturally possess a wide array of other races.”

「Normal slaves, huh...」

“I see. Would you mind if I take a look at a few too? I might have some use for one.” I try to sound like it’s just my daily thing.

“Esteemed Sir doesn’t have to bother himself with looking at those things.” He tries to keep his professional facade, but the intonation of his words make it clear he has the usual view on them. “If I know of the purpose I can quickly grab one suited for it.”

“Does that mean that I can’t check them personally? I think it would be better if I did so, rather than having to bother you with bringing another one each time I would be dissatisfied, don’t you think?” I pressure him a bit.

“I apologize for sounding rude, Sir. If that’s what Sir wishes for, I’m obliged to lead you to them.”

He makes a low bow. I catch a glimpse of grimace on his face, but it disappears quickly when he raises himself again. We exit the room and he leads me through a different corridor to another set of stairs. This time we descend around 2 or 3 levels. We enter a small room with a single counter and an employee inside. There is a door leading out in every way. They nod to each other, the other person stands up and proceeds to open one of the doors with his keyring. I go through them after Lucas and the door closes behind us.

「Dormitories? Oh, come fucking on...」

My eyes fall on a 4 meter high stone corridor with its walls reaching up only to half of its height, so this might just be a secluded part of a bigger hall. Everything is from grey stone bricks. Floor, ceiling and walls. The only things that are not out of stone are metal bars and gates on both sides. To my left and right are literally prison cells made out of them, coming out of said walls, matching their height. Or perhaps cages would be a better term here.

There are people of various races placed in those dormitory rooms. Yes, those are clean and definitely being properly managed, but all that is inside them is just a single wide wooden bench hanging chained to the back wall and covered with a long cushion filled with straws. I guess that’s supposed to be a bed. I notice a slightly glowing symbol on one of the bricks there. From what I remember, it looks like some kind of communication glyph, perhaps to signal for someone to come. The slaves here wear ragged clothes, mostly brownish t-shirts and shorts or pants. Surprisingly it’s not cold here.

Suddenly a loud sound of metal clashing against metal makes me flinch. I quickly turn to the source and see Lucas holding a metal pole and banging it on one of the cell’s bars.

“Wake up, you trash! We have a customer! Line up in front of the gates!” he shouts.

His professional, kind smile is gone and replaced by cold and scornful expression. Everyone around starts standing up and walking to the front. Lucas turns back to me with a new smile.

“Please have a look, Sir. If you have any questions about a certain slave, just ask. You can also interview them as you wish.” He explains with a bow, then moves behind me.

I take a deep breath to compose myself and start walking while looking around. This corridor has around twelve cages per side and splits somewhere at the end. I pass a lot of Elves, Beastkin, both pure and half-bloods, a Gnome, two Tieflings and what I guess is a Satyr. They all look really miserable, with some already having empty eyes devoid of life. It really hurts just to watch and I’m slowly starting to regret coming down here, even though I only made a few steps.

「Come on, you gotta keep up the act...」

I stop by an elven woman seemingly looking at her with interest. Tall, slender figure and long blond hair and green eyes. She glares at us but tries to look disinterested. Lucas quickly catches up onto me and moves to the front to speak.

“She is quite a fine specimen of her race, which is Wood Elves. Nimble and quick on her feet. Also knows a lot about forests. Would serve as a great monster lure during hunts. Not that strong, so I’d advise against it when it comes to the labour force.”

He presents her like some sort of a tool. I shouldn’t have expected anything else.

“How did she end up as a slave?” I ask.

“She barged into someone’s property battle-ready, holding a bow with a notched arrow in hand.”

Her expression fills with anger and she shouts, “I was chasing my prey when you humans kidnapped me!”

“Silence!” Lucas hits her in the arm with his staff. “Speak only when asked! And do it in Common, you filth!”

This makes me realize that she spoke in Elvish. It doesn’t look like he understood. But still… I don’t think they cared for any explanations from her. I start wondering how many others like her, with an assumed crime, have been enslaved.

I shake my head and we move to the intersection. I can see tens of rows of corridors similar to the one we came from. Trying to act like I’m looking for something in particular, I walk from place to place with Lucas in tow. He lists some details about the slave I stop around, always suggesting some absurd way to utilize their strong points. Sometimes it’s a quite strong Class. I’m not sure telling him I’d like to see someone who knows how to cook and not to act as bait will be good in this situation.

We walk a bit more until I hear a clang of rattling chains to my left. I stop and take a glance inside the cell where I heard it. A girl of a quite short posture sits in the far corner of the cage, huddling her knees and hiding her face in them. She has small but slightly pointy ears and long cinnamon brown hair woven into two braids behind her head. She wears the same ragged clothes as others. Both her legs are restrained together with manacles and linked with a metal chain to the wall. Looking at it, it seems to be long enough to allow her to almost reach the front bars.

There are countless bruises and cuts over the visible areas of her body. She has a few bandages here and there and I think one covers her eye or that part of the face. Can’t say properly since it’s hidden.

“What’s with her?” I ask Lucas curiously. She’s the first slave we encounter locked that way.

“Ah…” He glares at the person in question with disdain. “That thing there is a criminal slave. A female Dwarf. Dear Sir shouldn’t concern himself with such—”

“Criminal slave, huh? What did she do?” I interrupt him.

“Ekhm… Attempted murder. Or rather an assassination. She worked as some noble’s food tester. Two months ago, out of spite, she brewed a strong poison that doesn’t work on dwarves and sneaked it into the dish.” He grips the staff stronger and spits to the side. “Poor guy was saved but ended up in a coma. Healers still can’t get him up.”

“And she hasn’t been executed on spot?” I ask feigning a shocked expression.

“She was swearing that it was not her, but after a month she finally admitted it. They decided that a quick death would be not enough and sold her here. If nobody picks her up in the next 3 months, she will be beheaded.”

「These scars must be from all the torture during interrogation… Why does this stink like your typical setup.」

Someone starts shouting in the distance and the sound of something banging against the bars echoes through the hall. We both look its way, but it’s too far to spot anything. Lucas turns to me slightly hesitant.

「Perfect!」

I fake a sigh. “Go. Better safe than sorry. I’ll wait here for you.”

“Thank you, Sir! I really appreciate this!” He makes a quick bow and dashes away.

After he disappears from my line of sight, I step closer to the bars and crouch. I try to speak in Common first. It would be slightly suspicious for a Human to talk in Dwarvish casually.

“Hey. You there in the corner. Can you understand me?”

Her ear twitches a bit and she pulls her legs even closer to her face.

“I can get you out if you are willing to come with me.”

She raises her head. As I suspected, her left eye is covered with a patch of bandage, while the other one seems fine. It’s of a light brown colour. She has a very cute face, stained with a few bruises and cuts. It’s pretty, but I wouldn’t call it childlike like those of Halflings are. She’s definitely lived a few tens of years. If she stood up, I guess she would be around 130-140cm. Dwarves average around that range, with 150 being tall and 120 starting to be short.

Anyway, she gazes at me with her clearly absent look. I ponder about what can I even say to gain a little of her trust.

“I’m looking for someone who would cook for my non-human servants. Would you like to help me?”

I try asking with a warm smile but she does not respond.

“It’s better to live than to just wait for your death, right?”

I start hearing running footsteps. Lucas must be coming back already.

“I can give you a place to stay. Think about it. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

Soon he arrives at my side, panting heavily. I rise up.

“Thank you for your patience, Sir. We can continue.”

“I thought a bit when you were gone. I have a few of them on my mind, but I’d like to consult that with someone first. I’ll end here for today and come tomorrow to pick up the goods. Do you respect reservations?”

“A single day is fine. Which ones does Sir want to book?”

“The elven woman from the beginning, that one Tiefling with red skin and this Dwarf here.” I list three of them to sound less suspicious.

“I… see. Consider it done, Sir!” He notes all of them down.

I leave the company and head back home. It’s not yet that late, but I’d like to think about everything at my own place. I enter the mansion expecting to get jumped at, like yesterday, but it does not happen. I turn around after closing the door.

“Oh. My. God.”

I’m taken aback. Safi and Emi walk towards me and stop a few meters before, on both sides of the carpet, then they turn their sides to me and make a bow towards each other. What’s so special about that? Perhaps the fact that both of them wear those frilly, skimpy maid outfits. Short black skirt and top with short sleeves and white details, also showing a great deal of cleavage. A cute headband on their heads. And what’s best, black over-the-knee socks covering their legs.

Why best? Because of how jiggly and squeezy Emi and Safi are, and also thanks to the fact that they are slightly chubby here and there, these kneesocks depict a perfect definition of a word THICC. Their thighs are seductively squished by them, creating beautiful small mounds of body which barely spills out.

“Where the hell did you get those?” I ask, completely stupefied.

[We found them when looking for the entrance.] Safi explains.

[There were exactly two! Cornelia said we would look great in them!] Emi happily announces.

“And she was right. Both of you look gorgeous and stunning.”

「They must have been for the VIP’s personal maids.」

Emi breaks the bow and jumps to hug me, so I start patting her head. Safi comes closer too, but she’s more reserved, just standing there with a smile. Naturally, I pull her in for a few pats too.

They lead me to the back and show the entrance to the secret area, which is located in that corridor near servants quarters, under the west stairs. I enter the underground part of the mansion where a lot of rooms of polished stone are located. One of them has a secret door in the wall. And yes, it obviously opens by tilting a lantern… Amateurs… There are two sets of tracks laid down in the tunnel. There’s a manually run trolley on one of them. I guess there’s another on the castle’s end.

We talk a bit and they tell me that they have nothing against taking in more people if I like them. For the next 30 minutes, I try to explain to them that I do not plan on collecting girls just so I can personally sleep with them and that there will be those just working here, like servants, or just taking shelter, but I don’t think I get through them.

We arrange the room next to mine as their own. Not many changes yet. Perhaps in the future. I’d definitely want every tenant to have personalized rooms, so they can feel at home. Well… they still end up sleeping in my bed. But I guess that’s fine. I don’t really want to kick them out if they enjoy it.

╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣

I go to the company quite early in the morning. Lucas guides me again. They must take notes of who served who to build better relationships. Without useless chatter, we move down and head to the dwarf’s cell.

Arriving closer we spot three people in front of it. From their attire, they look like adventurers. Two girls and one guy. The first one wears dark robes, a pointy hat and holds a staff. Must be some kind of a mage. The second one wears leather armour and equips a dagger, giving roguish vibes. The guy wears a studded leather chest piece and pants, with a longsword on his back.

They look pretty young. Perhaps 16-18 years old or something. We approach closer and hear them talking.

“How long does it take to pick a key? Geez…” the man complains.

“We sure one is enough? What if she dies early?” the roguish girl asks.

“Then you will have to do your job properly and disarm all the damn traps, Sasha,” the mage answers rolling her eyes.

“Come on Tirelia, you know that she doesn’t have a lot of experience yet. Let’s not be mean,” he tries to defuse the conflict before it happens.

I arrive with Lucas at their spot in front of the cage. The dwarven girl still sits huddled in the corner. The boy, having short red hair, steps in front of the group.

“You need something?” he throws his question at me.

“Yes. I’d really appreciate it if you guys moved. I came here to pick up that slave,” I say and point at the dwarf.

“What? No way! We just decided on her! Our guy went for the key already!” Tirelia raises her voice, annoyed.

“Then we have a problem. I reserved that slave yesterday.” I glance over at Lucas, who holds an awkward smile but nods.

“There was nothing about any reservations. And we need that Dwarf.” The guy crosses his arms.

I look at Lucas with one brow raised. He starts sweating a bit.

“I’ll talk to him.” He bows and runs away.

I turn back to the party. They aren’t looking like they will back down easily, even if the guy guiding them made a mistake.

“There are plenty of other slaves around, why are you so fixated on this one?” I ask.

“She’s perfect for what we need. And the same could be asked about you,“ the boy responds.

I glance over them and the dwarf girl, trying to figure something out.

“She wouldn’t be that good as a luggage carrier. Yes, Dwarves are quite strong, but a Beastkin or an Orc would fare a lot better.”

“We don’t need her for that. She will be spotting traps. We are entering some dwarven looking dungeon,” Sasha explains. She seems the least hostile out of them.

“Wouldn’t a Mountain Dwarf be more suitable than her then?”

“What? How do you even tell them apart? And which one is she?” Tirelia looks confusedly at the girl inside the cage.

「Houston, we have a chance!」

I straighten up, cross my arms on my chest and speak while looking like I’m explaining basics to some annoying students for the twentieth time.

“Simple. Mountain Dwarves have a lighter skin colour. Sometimes even slightly in shades of grey. They are also a bit shorter and more burly. They usually have dark hair.” I tap on the bars of the cell. “This one here is a Forest Dwarf. Look at how thin she is.”

They glance at her and me in turns. The mage and the swordsman look perturbed while the rogue seems surprised by my knowledge.

“How do we know that you are not lying just to get her?” The guy squints his eyes my way.

「Fuck...」

I look at the girl. She seems to be awake and listening.

“Why not just ask?”

I hit the bars with my fist and shout in Dwarvish, acting slightly angry. “Hey! You heard why they want you! I can save you but you have to play along!”

The girl raises her head from her knees and looks at me, surprised to hear the language of her people. Her eyes are a bit less absent than yesterday.

“Do what I tell you! Act scared!” I shout again, even more angrily.

“What are you shouting?” Sasha asks.

“I know a bit of Dwarvish since I deal with them often. I told her to wake up and come here or I’ll let my dogs chew on her limbs straight after the purchase.” I kick the bars before shouting in Dwarvish again. “Come on! Help me!”

She stands up hesitantly and starts slowly walking our way, trembling a bit.

“Good. Walk faster, but stop before they can reach you! And kneel!”

I continue in Dwarvish, less shouty but still with a raised voice full of spite. She complies with my instructions, quickly trotting closer and falling onto her knees while looking at me.

I turn to them and speak in Common “Finally. From my experiences yesterday, I’m sure that she knows enough of Common, so you can ask her yourself.”

I look back at her and talk in Dwarvish again. “Look at my right hand. Fist is a nod, palm is a shake. GOT IT?” I shout the last part to keep up the act. I nod at the group, switching to Common. “She won’t dare to not answer now.”

“Are you a Mountain Dwarf?” the mage asks and she frantically shakes her head.

“A forest one?” the guy follows and she nods accordingly to a fist behind my leg. “Do you have experience or knowledge about dwarven construction?” She shakes her head.

“Fuck. We almost wasted our money on a useless tool!” he bangs his fist on the bars.

“If I were to give you a piece of advice, you should try looking for a Gnome. Most of them are masters of mechanisms and traps. Mountain Dwarves are pretty rare in this region,” I suggest.

“Thanks…” he blurts out without looking at me. “You can have this one. Come on, we have a Gnome to find.”

He starts walking away and the mage follows him. The rogue girl stops for a moment and makes a light bow before running after them. When they disappear I make a heavy sigh of relief while smiling at the still kneeling dwarf girl.

A sound of slow clapping arrives from somewhere behind me. Shivers run down my spine and I freeze.

“My, my… What a beautiful spectacle… A Forest Dwarf, hm?”

The voice of an adult woman follows it. I cautiously turn around and see one, clad in a beautiful long red dress out of some high-quality material, with her shoulders covered by a classy fur coat, and a hat with a very wide brim of the same colour decorates her head. I gulp involuntarily.

「Shit... I’m screwed...」

Saileri · Feb 18, 2021

Chapter 16 - Artisanal Bloodline

I stare at the woman in the eye-catching attire. Besides her clothes, her hair is also flashy red and quite long. I’m surprised her eyes are not. They are green. What an irony. If I had to guess, she looks like someone around 40-50 years old, but who knows in this world.

There is no doubt that she is the owner. Lucas and some other guy peek out from behind her. She glances all over me as if trying to get as much information from just looks as possible. She walks closer. The little girl quickly retreats to the corner of her cell.

“Ah! Where are my manners! My name is Selina Noint and I’m the owner of this business.” She grabs the hem of her dress and makes a very light bow while nodding her head. “I stumbled on my employees having an issue, so I decided to help them resolve it, but looks like you’ve already dealt with it quite skillfully.” She smiles knowingly.

I place the right hand over my heart and also bow lightly too. “Alastair Carter. I’m honoured to be able to meet the president personally, Madam Noint.”

She chuckles. “Not only quick-witted but also courteous. Interesting. Very interesting.”

I smile wryly at her compliments.

“Would you mind exchanging a few words with me in my office, Sir Carter?”

「Great…」

“No, of course not! I’d be happy to have that opportunity.”

I glance over the cage and she notices it.

“Don’t worry, Lucas will personally make sure that no one will intrude on your reservation during our talk. Isn’t that right, sweetie?”

“Naturally!”

He steps into the front and bows to me. He is sweating a lot. Having your boss walk into you while you are in the middle of something you fucked up is the worst that can happen.

Leaving the two guys behind, she guides me back up. Every employee we pass instantly stands up and bows. Even those busy with customers. While walking, she moves with a dignified aura. I wonder if she is of noble birth. After a few minutes, we reach her private office and I’m invited inside.

It’s not big. One small area with a table and two sofas, and another spot with a big wooden desk in front of a huge window, almost the size of the whole wall. Most of the wall space is covered with bookcases full of documents. Everything is in the usual fashion of dark wood and red details and other things. We sit on the sofas, on opposite sides.

“I must say, I’m really amazed by your shrewd attempt to drive that group away,” she begins.

“I’m sorry for messing up with your customers, Madam,” I try apologizing.

“Oh, no, no, no. Don’t be. I was able to see something really interesting.” She smiles mischievously. “Coming up with a fake subrace after noticing that they aren’t very well versed in Dwarves was quite smart.”

She leans to the front and joins her hands under her chin.

“You could have just lied all the way, but you balanced around the facts and falsehoods, making yourself very believable.”

“They looked like adventurers. If I had straight up lied to them, it could possibly endanger them too much in the future,” I say.

“And you even correctly advised them to look for a Gnome after, so it’s not like I lost a patron.” She squints her eyes. “Although, I’m really curious about what you said to that Dwarf to make her cooperate with you.”

“Whatever could you mean, Madam. I just—”

“She was tortured for a month. Do you think anyone knowing this would believe that she became an obedient little girl with just a few mean words?”

She interrupts my sentence and keeps staring daggers at me. I just smile awkwardly and we sit in silence for a moment. She sighs and finally gives up.

“Well then. Did your weird hand movements have anything to do with her answers to the boy?” she asks.

「Dammit… She had to come specifically from that side and be very perceptive...」

I nod to answer her. She stares at me a bit more, but soon starts giggling and explodes into a burst of full lady-like laughter while covering her stomach.

“Ufufufufu! Brilliant! To come up with such a hustle on the spot! You truly are something!”

I look at her, bewildered by that reaction. I expected to get into a lot of trouble, but perhaps I’ll be able to somehow avoid it. She slowly calms herself down and stands up.

“Ufufu. I really love people like you! They make the best business partners. Don’t worry, I'm not mad or anything. You will get your merchandise.”

She extends her arm my way. I rise and grab it before she changes her mind.

“I feel like this is the beginning of a great relationship! To commemorate it, I’ll throw the best slavery mark we can offer for free!”

She pats my shoulder a few times still laughing, breaks off the handshake and moves to her desk. She brings back something that looks like a ruby credit card.

“This is a special VIP card. Just show it to any employee and they will comply with any request, knowing that I approve of it. Well, besides too high discounts of course! Today is special!” She shoves it into my hand and starts pushing me towards the door. “Now go pick up your prize. I have something to do! They will know about the mark.”

I’m out of the office and the door closes behind me. A soundly ‘ohohohoho’ laugh can be heard from the inside. I stand in front of it with a blank expression like an idiot.

「What the fuck did just happen?」

╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣

I move back down. Lucas, seeing the card, starts prostrating himself in front of me and apologizing frantically for his mistake, while begging to have mercy. This VIP status might have more power to it than I thought.

I wait in the room with the stage while they prepare everything. The dwarf girl is brought in and they place a slavery mark under her collarbone, firstly getting a bit of my blood. Only now I can see how long her braids truly are. They almost reach her ankles. I start feeling a faint connection. It’s different from my Partners one. I subconsciously know that she can’t disobey me now. I need to be careful about this.

After everything is done, I pay up her price of fifteen gold coins and we move out. We start walking back in silence. She just quietly follows behind me, without any reaction or interest in anything. I try to slow down enough to walk beside her.

“So… What’s your name?” I ask in Dwarvish, trying to break the ice. We can have some privacy using it.

“It’s Sirgia, Master,” she answers lifelessly, not even looking up.

“Sirgia, huh… Sounds cute.”

And silence returns. I don’t think I should expect her to hold a decent conversation yet. I thought that she perhaps opened up a bit after our little act.

“What about your clan name?” I pry further.

She stumbles over her legs. That question must have surprised her because she finally looks up.

“Don’t you have one? Did your clan lose their inheritance rights? Or were you disowned or exiled?”

A bit more clarity returns to her eyes, even though her facial expression does not change.

“... Forgegraver.” She returns her gaze forwards and quietly announces.

“I see.” I ponder for a moment before continuing. “Are you perhaps related to Forgegravers from Dwarguhlim or The Mad Lady Thorargiel?” I ask while rubbing my chin.

She stops and I turn around. For the first time, I can see sincere emotions on her face. It’s shock and disbelief. Her eyes go wide.

“How does Master know of—”

“She created The Dawnbreaker, which solely annihilated thousands in The Great War. The Mithril King wouldn’t have stood a chance if not for her artifacts.”

Her mouth goes completely agape. I smile at her reaction.

“But, Master is—”

“A Human? Does that mean reading dwarven chronicles is forbidden for me?” I chuckle. “Did you not notice we were speaking Dwarvish this whole time?”

She covers her mouth as if realizing this fact just now. She must have been really lost in her own mind to miss that. Especially after the scene in the company. Maybe she was in denial that it all happened.

“Why does Master know so much about Dwarves?” she asks very hesitantly.

“Because your culture is interesting?” I answer, tilting my head.

She drops her gaze to the ground and most likely begins thinking about something. I glance over the bandaged part of her face.

“Did you lose an eye?” I ask.

“Huh? Ah, no, it’s a deep wound, but my eyes are fine.”

I look around and spot an empty alleyway. Grabbing her hand I lead us there. At the spot, I kneel on one knee in front of her, so that we are on a similar level.

“Can you show it to me?”

She seems a bit confused. “Does Master not know how to use commands?”

I shake my head with a smile. “Like this? Jump two times,” I speak while sending a clear intent through our connection and after a moment she jumps twice.

“Then why?” she asks.

“Listen. I know it’s quite hard to believe, but I meant every word I said back there. Both today and yesterday. I don’t want to abuse you. Just to give you a place to stay. You don’t have to do everything I say. I don’t know what you went through, or anything about your life, but from now, I want you to act like a person, not like a slave. I’d rather not use commands on this, okay? If that’s too much, then just try acting like a servant.”

We stare at each other for a moment. Me with a smile and her with a blank face again. After a moment she starts untying the eyepatch and I can see a big, vertical wound over her closed left eyelid, starting in the middle of her forehead and reaching down to the cheek. It’s quite deep. I’d say it has less than a week. She was fortunate to not lose her eye.

I place my hand gently on her face and start channelling mana. I haven’t worked with wounds yet, so this will serve as a good experiment.

“Nhhnn…”

Her body shivers a little and a soft moan escapes her lips. I immediately stop the spell, worried that using this ability can cause pain.

“Sorry, did it hurt?” I ask concernedly.

She shakes her head. “No. It felt warm. I was just surprised.”

Reassured, I continue. While I supply mana, the wound is slowly getting darker. I start focusing on its part on her eyelid and close to the eye socket. Bit by bit the scab forms, toughens and falls off, leaving a whitish scar behind. In three minutes I run out of mana, but manage to partially heal the targeted area. The wound is still untouched on her forehead and cheek.

I exhale deeply while swiping my face out of all the sweat. I falter a bit while standing up. Sirgia quickly grabs me around the waist to assure that I don’t fall.

“Master?”

“I’m okay. It’s just mana exhaustion. You can try opening your eye now.”

While she slowly does so, I grab a small mirror from my storage ring behind my back and pass it to her.

“Unfortunately, I’m not a healer, so all I could do is to speed up the natural recovery a little. We will have to deal with the rest in turns. And I can’t do anything about the scar.” I lean over the wall.

She turns her head from side to side examining her face in the mirror from every possible angle. For a moment, I think I notice a faint smile in the reflection while looking over her shoulder, but it fades instantly. She turns around, hands me the mirror back and makes a very low bow.

“Thank you, Master.”

And she is back to her emotionless self. But she clearly pays much more attention now, so that’s a success. She looks up at me as if ready to ask something.

“Ummmm…”

*BUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRP*

Her stomach suddenly grumbles loudly and she covers it with her arms while dropping her gaze to the ground. I chuckle a bit.

「Good. She finally somewhat relaxed. Hahaha.」

“Let’s grab you some better clothes and go eat something. You must be starving,” I say, push myself off the wall and start walking.

She catches up to me and walks by my side. “Clothes for me?” she asks.

“Obviously. Or would you rather stay in those rags forever?”

We walk around looking for a tailor or a clothing shop while Sirgia is the first to break the silence this time.

“I’m not a direct descendant…”

“Hm?”

“My family branch has some ties to the Mad Lady, but we are not considered as directly connected to the root. We receive only some minor teachings,” she answers my earlier question.

“As I thought.”

“How?” She looks up at me.

“No offence, but Dwarguhlimian women tend to be a tad shorter, more burly, round and also,” I glance at her from feet to shoulders, “they are known from their quite voluptuous bosoms.”

Sirgia is slim, not to an extent of it being unhealthy, but amongst most of the dwarven subraces, she can be considered skinny. And while she might not be completely flat, her chest is definitely on the smaller size. Somewhere between A and B cups or something. The small, perky mounds are still quite distinct thanks to the fact that she’s braless.

She stares at her chest for a moment. “Master really does know a lot about Dwarves…”

We find a decent looking shop and enter. I tell her to pick something she likes, but she just tilts her head confusedly. It might take a few days for her to understand her new position, so I just select a few things that look fine and tell her to wait in the changing room. I pick up a linen shirt, short leather pants and some shoes with socks. It feels a bit awkward to browse through women’s underwear, but I have to man up or she’ll go commando forever. I pick a few pairs of panties since I’m not sure about the size.

I arrive at the changing rooms and slide the curtain behind which is Sirgia. Only to instantly drag it back in a flash.

“Sirgia? Are you completely naked?”

“Yes?” she answers like it’s something obvious.

I sigh and inwardly berate myself for not predicting that. “Here. Wear this. Choose one of the underwear.” I extend my hand through the curtain.

While she is dressing up I notice some not-so-nice stares from the cashier and a few other customers. I recall my conversation with Cornelia. Fortunately, it seems like they have collars here too. I take a leather one with a dangling badge, which looks the least uncomfortable and pass it to her too.

“Put it on for a moment. Just in case.”

A few moments later she uncovers the curtain.

“What the… Are you an idiot?!”

I jump at her to which she covers her head with her hands and closes her eyes. My hands instantly move to her neck, where the collar is strapped so tightly I can feel it on my own throat. I quickly loosen it up and it falls onto her shoulders. I step back and exhale audibly while she coughs softly. Then she examines her neck confusedly.

“Why?” she asks.

“Already forgot the no abuse part? Geez...” I shake my head.

I pay up and we move out. I have no idea which inns or restaurants have a non-hostile policy towards the non-humans, so we’ll have to leave today’s choice to luck. After around half an hour we pick one that’s not too crowded. We get in and I sit at one of the tables. Sirgia sits on her knees beside it.

“What are you doing?” I ask, looking down.

“Siting?”

“Get up and sit on the opposite side.”

“But I’m a slave,” she responds, yet a moment later she stands up and takes the chair with slightly mechanical movements. Yes, I used a command.

“Maybe, but you are my slave and I want both of us to have a nice breakfast, okay?”

She stares at me for a while and nods hesitantly. The waiter arrives at our spot and starts glaring at her.

“Can we order yet?” I ask.

“Not with that thing sitting like—”

“Okay, look here.” I interrupt him in a cold tone. “It’s still morning, but I’m already tired of all this shit. So, you will either take our orders or there won’t be a reason for you to come back here tomorrow.”

He sizes me up as if judging the weight behind my threat. I get an idea. Trying to act like someone from higher ranks, I reach into one of the pockets in my vest and pull out the Ruby Card between two fingers. I point it at him while raising my brows. He’s taken aback for a moment, but he quickly bows, apologizes and takes our order.

「Interesting. This is more prestigious than I thought.」

Sirgia gobbles up her portion like there’s no tomorrow, even before I reach half of mine, she's already done with it. I slide my plate in front of her, saying that I ate before coming for her and she finishes it too. She keeps sending me glances all the time. After she finishes, I speak first.

“You can speak up whenever you want. No need to ask for permission.”

She stares at her empty plate thinking about something. “Master said he needs a cook, right?” she asks uneasily.

“Yes, but don’t worry if you know nothing about it. You can still stay at my place.”

“No, I do know how to cook. A bit. And I watched servants prepare meals for my previous owner almost every day. But... “ She looks up from the plate. “Is it really fine for me to do it?”

“Why wouldn’t it?” I ask curiously. “Because you are not a Human?”

She drops her gaze again. “Isn’t Master afraid… that I’ll poison the food?”

「Ah, right… this...」

“Did you do it?” I join my hands under my chin and ask.

Her eyes widen barely. “Master didn’t use a command?”

“Would your answer be different if I did?”

She shakes her head. “I didn’t do it…” She closes her eyes and tenses her muscles.

“Then there’s no problem,” I announce and stand up. “Let’s go. I’ll explain everything on our way home.”

She opens her eyes and also stands up. “Master is not going to hit me?”

“Why? Didn’t you tell the truth?”

I move closer and ruffle her hair a bit for the first time. She winces at first but realizes that I’m not going to hurt her and just stares confusedly at me from below. While we are walking back, I thoroughly explain about the mansion, brothel, cooking and other things. A few times, just to be sure. We arrive around noon.

Seeing the mansion doesn’t evoke any changes in her emotionless expression. We enter through the main entrance. A green girl clad in a skimpy maid outfit makes a dash towards us the very second I close the door.

“Slime?!”

「Ah, shit… I forgot to mention them...」

Sirgia notices her and quickly moves in front of me, taking a weird stance. She reaches behind her neck with her hand as if grasping something, but realizes there’s nothing there but air and switches her stance to a brawling one. Emi discerns hostile intentions, stops a few meters in front of us and prepares herself to jump at her.

“STOP!” I shout switching to Common. “Both of you, calm down.”

I move past Sirgia and signal to Emi that it’s okay. She embraces me in the usual, snuggly hug with her face in my neck. Safi slowly walks out from the corridor. I turn back to Sirgia.

“They are friends, not enemies.” I look back at the slime girls. “And so is she now, so treat her nicely, okay?”

[Of course, Master.] Safi nods.

[Emi is sorry…] The green girl looks up at me with a sad expression, so I give her a few pats.

“Master’s friends are… Slimes?” Sirgia stares at us, confused.

“Yes, they are Queen Slimes.” A slight surprise flashes on her face for a moment. “Do you have anything against living and working beside monstrous races?”

She shakes her head. With the misunderstanding resolved, we show Sirgia around the mansion and end up in the kitchen.

“It’s so big and well furnished…” She walks around while admiring all the kitchenware. “It even has a cooling chamber?”

“A cooling chamber? What’s that?” I come to her side and ask.

She points at a metal door with a magic circle and some runic sigils carved onto it. She then moves closer and touches the metal. The circle starts glowing with a cyan colour while runes flash in dark blue. She pulls the handle and opens the door. She seems quite strong.

Behind it is a small room or wide corridor with a lot of shelves. Everything is out of metal. There are plenty of blue magic crystals embedded into the walls. When we walk in, it’s slowly getting chilly.

“A frost chamber too? Amazing...” Sirgia notices another similar door on the left wall inside.

「Isn't this just a huge fridge with a freezer?」

She turns around. “Even my previous owner didn’t have such expensive arrangements. Who are you really, Master?”

I shrug and smile. “Just a random guy starting up a brothel.” I chuckle a bit and we exit the chamber. “So. What does our new chef want to prepare for her debut this evening?”

“But there are no ingredients.”

“Just write down a list and I’ll get them.” I ruffle her hair again.

Acting like I’m opening a cupboard and picking something up, I pull out a waterskin from my ring. ”And you girls? Anything you would want to eat?” Turning to Emi and Safi, I take a sip.

[Emi still haven’t received the second helping of Master’s cum, so—]

“Pfffffffffft, cough, cough, cough.” I accidentally choke on water due to the unexpected statement from Safi. Sirgia comes rushing to me. “I’m fine! Cough, cough. I’ll… consider that... for later...” I smile awkwardly while wiping my face off.

Sirgia stares at me confused. She looks at them and back at me. “Master can understand Slimes too?”

“Ah, no, I can just read lips very well. They, fortunately, know Common.”

「Thank god, they can’t speak for once… She doesn’t need to get even more weirded out by me on the very first day...」

I receive the shopping list from Sirgia and head for the city. On my way out, I instruct Safi to show Sirgia the bath so that she can refresh herself a bit after spending who knows how much time in that prison. I also tell Sirgia that they can communicate in writing if she has any questions. Hopefully, they won’t start with the fact that we had sex...

I found a useful chart with the exact height of the MC, so here it is if you want to have a better picture of how tall other characters are in comparison to Alastair. Their info can be found in the glossary, but Safi is just slightly shorter than him, Emi is like 153cm and Sirgia is around 136cm. Just for all of you Shino fans, she is 160cm ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Saileri · Feb 19, 2021

Chapter 17 - A Jog Through the Market

It’s around an hour or two after noon. Without pointless stalling, I go towards the main market in the Mercantile District. It will be the best place to look for all the ingredients.

As usual, there’s a huge crowd here. It’s not that loud, but you’d need to slightly raise your voice when speaking with someone. Walking from stall to stall, I pick up most of the things from the list I was given by Sirgia quite fast. I decide to check some stationary shops in the area too.

As I’m advancing towards one and placing my foot on the few steps in front of its door, someone bursts out through them and crashes into me while looking behind.

“Nguh!”

We both fall to the ground. I raise myself on my elbows and look at the other person.

“Come on, dude! What’s the rush—”

Our eyes meet. And that’s the only part of his face I can see. The man lying on my side has most of his face covered by a bandana. I glance down and spot a small sack in his hand and a knife lying between us, also most likely belonging to him.

“I’ll get you, you bastard!”

Someone shouts from inside the store with a manly tone. The man frantically grabs the knife and stands up while pointing it my way. The owner of the previous voice appears in the door. It’s a tall man with short black hair and beard, which covers most of his chin and face. He leans over the door frame while clutching his chest. A fresh cut can be spotted in his shirt, slightly red from blood.

The man lunges forward at the guy with the knife, but he dodges and starts running away. Already crouching, I catch the wounded man before he slams to the ground. He looks at me surprised.

“I want a discount.”

I pat him twice on the shoulder and break into a dash after the thief before he merges into the crowd. His wound isn’t life-threatening.

「Time for some exercise. Hopefully, he doesn’t have any movement skills.」

Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like he is of a high Tier, because I can quite easily match his running speed. Nothing unexpected. Majority of the population doesn’t develop their classes due to the risk of getting hurt. And I had quite decent stamina even before arriving here.

He charges through, pushing many people off his path. Thanks to that, I’m able to slightly close the distance between us. He notices that I’m after him and shoves some woman towards stacked barrels. They start falling and rolling my way.

“You wish!”

I quickly jump over someone’s stand to switch paths. “Sorry!”

The barrels start hitting unaware people and crashing into other stalls while I safely continue my pursuit, running through the backstages and manoeuvring between surprised merchants. After the barrels crisis is no more, I jump back to the street, still having the suspect in my line of sight. Others start noticing the ruckus and moving away from his path.

「Oh, come on! Just fucking trip him with a leg or something!」

We are almost reaching the end of this big square. After he escapes into one of the alleyways, I will have no way of tracking him down in that web of passages.

「Fuck! Not a single useful skill!」

While I’m considering my options, he spins around and throws his knife at me. I barely react in time and it grazes my cheek, leaving a hot, red line over it. He stumbles during that motion and I’m able to shorten our distance to something like 6 meters.

「Ohoho, now this is personal!」

I bring the draconic hilt from behind my back and infuse it with mana. Purple mist surrounds my arm and connects to the crystal. I create a 4-meter long whip from the dragon’s maw, still leaving it in its ethereal form.

I cast Rejuvenate focusing on my legs and sprint to my utmost limits, slowly starting to catch up to him. Noticing that, he grabs something from his pockets, a ball of a fist’s size. He starts jumping through the stalls and closing onto the buildings. I naturally follow him.

We reach the walls and start rushing alongside them. He throws his ball at a spot with lots of crates just before slipping into an alleyway. It starts releasing smoke and soon explodes, destroying most of the bottom-row crates. They all fall and obstruct the entrance to that street.

「Didn’t work the first time, won’t work the second!」

I leap to my right and, using some tables and smaller crates, hop onto the roofs of lined up wooden stalls. Reaching the highest point and also the corner of the alley, I materialize and throw my whip at a wooden beam protruding from the building at that corner, making it coil around it.

“I always wanted to try this.”

Mustering up my courage, I dive down from the stall roofs while in a full sprint. The whip stretches and the momentum pushes me flying around the alleyway’s corner, just above the fallen debris. I spot the thief standing behind it while catching his breath. To not waste the centrifugal force, I make the whip shorten midswing and get launched slightly upwards after passing the plank.

He looks up in shock, but it’s too late. Cancelling the whip, I plunge onto him from above, knee-first, slamming him into the ground. Rolling twice, I assume a crouching position and materialize my weapon again. Just when he is standing up, I send it towards his neck and forcefully crash his head against the wall. Left, right, left. The street is narrow enough for me to bounce him against them with just a bit of strength. After three hits he falls down, unconscious.

Exhaling heavily, I retract my whip. I pick up the small sack he dropped. As I suspected it’s filled with gold coins. I store it into my ring. Looking around, I spot no one else, so I tie my whip all around his body as tightly as possible and throw him onto my shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The way back is blocked so I walk further into the alley, hoping to find a route back to the square and then back to the store owner.

Ten minutes later, and tons of weird stares, I’m back in front of the shop. I knock onto the door.

“Closed for today!” A taut and husky voice answers.

“I have an important delivery. You don’t want to miss it,” I say.

He grumbles something but soon unlocks and opens the door.

“By the Goddess… It’s you!” His angry face softens a bit, then he notices my cargo. “And… how?”

“May I enter first? Standing with an unconscious man over the shoulder is quite eye-catching…”

He gestures with his hand for me to walk in and closes the door. I shove the thief off my shoulder to the ground and pull the whip back like a lawn mower’s starter. He spins a few times and rolls a meter forward on the floor. I pull out the gold sack from my ‘pocket’ inside the coat and hand it over to the man.

“I believe that’s yours, right?”

He opens it and smiles. “Yes, yes, thank you! Er…”

“Alastair. Al for short.”

“Barren. Barren Staghide. I can’t thank you enough! That was most of my savings!”

He shakes my hand with an even wider smile. He grasps a handful of coins and presents them to me.

“No, no, no. I don’t need money. Discount, remember?” I chuckle and push back his extended fist with the gold.

“Oh, you!”

He grabs me into a hug and spins around while laughing. He can easily do that, being almost 190cm in height and with quite wide arms and chest. He is muscular, but most likely not from training. It’s just that his stature is big.

“Ouch!” He stops spinning us when he presses me too strongly against his wound.

“Let me take care of that.”

Escaping his hold, I place my hand over it and fuel the skill with mana. The cut isn’t deep like in Sirgia’s case, so just in a minute, I’m able to completely make it disappear. I feel a mental nudge, a familiar one. I pull up my skills window and as I thought, my Rejuvenate has reached the second level.

“Oi, you are hurt too!” He notices the line over my cheek.

“Ah, right. I forgot about that.” Without any issues, I get rid of it too.

“How did a Healer catch up with a Thief like him?” He squints his eyes.

“I was just lucky, that’s all. Moreover, what now?” I point at the body.

Barren sighs heavily. “It will be such a pain in the ass to deal with the report…”

“Should I deal with it then?” I suggest.

“What? How? You are not thinking about getting rid of him, are you?” he asks slightly shocked.

“No, obviously not. Hmmm… You have a piece of paper and some sealing wax?”

He scratches his head but brings me what I asked for. I briefly summarize the situation in text and roll the piece. I summon a signet with a royal sigil that has been given to me by the King, in case I need to pass a message or something. Making sure that Barren doesn’t notice the crest, I quickly heat the wax with weak fire magic and seal the paper.

「Now then, the Police always starts popping up in the area after the deed is done, that’s one of the most basic paradoxes.」

I open the door and take a peek, and of course spot two guards entering the market, three crossings further. I chuckle to myself and walk up to them. I hand one the letter and secretly show the ring, instructing him to deliver straight to the King. He instantly salutes and dashes away. I tell the other one to check the stalls because there was some damage. I walk back to the confused store owner.

“Tie him up and leave in a corner. Someone will come to pick him up before sunset.”

“Who the hell are you to make guards react like that, Al?” he asks, still bewildered.

“I’m just a pimp on a grocery run.” I shrug at him with a smile.

He erupts into laughter. “Psssht, hahahaha! Okay! Keep your secrets!” He comes closer and slams my back. People really like doing that. “Whatever do you need then? I don’t think you’ll accept freebies, so today’s half off!”

We talk a bit while he brings the lacking ingredients from my list. He seems like a pretty chill man. He is 35 years old and lives alone, running this decently sized store. We pack up everything into bags and I prepare to move out.

“Thanks. My chef will definitely be grateful for the extras,” I say, announcing that I noticed how he sneaked in more merchandise than he was supposed to pack.

“Hahaha! You caught me.” He laughs. “Say… you really run a brothel?”

“I do. But it’s not yet open. I’m still working on the staff and other stuff.”

He scratches his beard while looking at me. “Hmmm… You need a food supplier, or already got one?”

“No, I didn’t. And it would be great to get it done, but…” I smile wryly and look away. “I think you should reconsider that offer,” I continue, sighing heavily.

“What? Why? Come on, you saved my ass! I’ll help if I can!” he says, a bit appalled.

I shake my head and speak hesitantly, “I employ… mostly non-humans…”

“That’s it?” He crosses his arms.

“What? What do you mean by that’s it?” I turn to him, perplexed.

“What’s the big deal with some catboys or doggirls running around?”

“Eh? But, your reputation—”

“What reputation does some small store have? And it’s business. Only idiots don’t grab their opportunities because of some fucking racist beliefs,” he explains and spits to the side.

“You are aware of how rare your opinion is here? I spent two days recruiting servants and not a single one could stand even the thought of working in a place with demis.”

“I know and I don’t care. Money is money. As long as it’s not illegal.”

“You really are a nice guy…”

He hangs his arm over my shoulders while laughing heartily. We have a bit more of a pointless banter and after agreeing on the deal, we leave details for another time and I head back home.

While entering, I can sense Safi and Emi in my room, so I use this chance to sneak all the groceries to the kitchen, which fortunately is empty. After unloading everything on a countertop in the middle, I walk up to them. Looks like everyone is here, even Cornelia is present.

I ask her how her searches went and she just shakes her head. I explain that I most likely secured a general supplier, so that’s that at least. I wonder why they are all here and they say that they were waiting for me because Cornelia wanted to ask which room she could take. And that they just have been chatting with each other. I chuckle and remind her that this is as much her home as it is mine and she can do whatever she wants. She then chooses the other room adjacent to mine and leaves to arrange things there. I give some pats to the overly-clingy Emi and move down to the kitchen with Sirgia.

She starts moving around and placing all the ingredients in various cupboards and shelves, also going to the fridge. I glance over the room and see that they definitely dusted the whole place and they already brought out all the utensils and hung them on their corresponding spots. There’s even a small, adjustable triangle step-ladder, which Sirgia uses to reach higher places and comfortably work on the counters.

After everything is gone, she begins working on the meal and I stay to help her. We have a nice chat during it. Or rather, I’m just asking questions and she answers. Half an hour later she pauses whatever she is doing and jumps down from the ladder. She joins her hand in the front, speaking by herself this time.

“Ummmm… I’m sorry, Master,” she says.

“What for?” I glance at her.

“For doubting Master’s intentions. Even after all Master had done for me, I still was very sceptical and distrustful, but after speaking with Lady Cornelia and Master’s friends I understood that Master is a really kind person and doesn’t have any ulterior motives.”

I move closer and place a hand on her head. “It’s good to be wary. Raise your head, it’s nothing to be apologizing for.” She complies and I stroke her hair while she looks up. “And it’s Cornelia. There’s no Lady there. If she heard that, you’d be up for a lecture.” I giggle.

“Same goes for me. You don’t have to insert Master into every single sentence. Ah, but I don’t mind you calling me that. Just don’t forget that you are now part of this family I’m building here. You are now my friend and an employee, okay?”

She nods and we get back to preparing the dish. For her debut, she chose something sounding very close to Spaghetti Bolognese from my world. She focuses on meat and sauce while I take care of pasta. We move swiftly around the kitchen while talking a bit. From our chat, I learn that she is 72 years old and was captured by slave hunters when she was 51 after the ship she was on got attacked by pirates and scuttled. Those who survived were washed ashore, unfortunately encountering the slavers.

Dwarves live around 300-500 years in this world, and they are considered fully matured after they turn 50. She basically got kidnapped just after entering adulthood. This does not mean that they are just kids below that age, which require protection like in human society. She has been travelling a lot since she turned 27 years old. Sirgia was visiting various dwarven cities to learn the artisanal craft and raise enough of her name to be worthy of passing the inherited techniques and family secrets.

There’s one thing I recall from earlier and can’t hold back asking.

“Do you have fighting experience? Or went through a lot of training?”

She turns her head to me questioningly.

“I’m just curious. Before, you jumped in front of me pretty quickly and assumed quite an experienced pose. I don’t plan on making you fight or anything.”

She shakes her head. “It’s not a secret. I used to adventure to raise money for my materials, gathering some on my own. I was a D-rank, almost C,” she explains.

“I see. What is your Class?”

“Crusher. Tier 3.”

“Ooooh, an advanced hammer derivative. You must be an amazing frontliner. Warhammer or Maul?” I ask.

Her eyes widen a bit before she answers. “Both are fine.” She stops doing whatever she was for a moment and gazes at me curiously. “What is Master’s class?”

I freeze. I don’t really want to reveal it to her yet, so she doesn’t get any weird ideas, but if I hide stuff like that from the very beginning, she might lose this little trust in me that I’ve already earned.

She gets back to her work. “It’s okay if Master doesn’t want to answer—”

I sigh heavily and decide to leave it out to fate. “It’s called Sexmancer and I’m still Tier 1.”

She stops again and looks at me. “Sexmancer…?”

I briefly explain how it works, mentioning that I strengthen others and myself via a bit indecent methods.

“But don’t worry, I didn’t buy you so I can force myself on you to get stronger. This and that are completely different cases.”

She stares at the counter visibly thinking about something but then nods.

“Uhn.”

A few moments later Emi and Safi arrive in the kitchen and force me out of it, saying that they’ll prepare everything with Sirgia and I just have to wait. I comply with their request and move to the dining area where Cornelia is already sitting alone. We start brainstorming some ideas about the servants since this will be our next focus now. She tells me that looking for humans is pointless and can take weeks. None of her connections worked. I tell her about my encounter with Selina to which she is bewildered that I received the famous Ruby Card, which is given only to the most important patrons of hers and all of them are quite the people of power.

Time flies pretty fast and the girls come out of the kitchen. They place the plates in front of me and Cornelia and sit down on the benches around the table. Sirgia tries to stand slightly behind, but Safi quickly pulls her closer and sits her down. There’s just one issue.

“Sirgia?” I turn to her.

“Yes?”

“Where’s your share?” I ask.

“My… share?” She confusedly looks over the two plates. “Ah! I didn’t bring a plate to test in front of Master!” She stands up and prepares to run into the kitchen. I signal to Safi and she catches her by hand.

“No. That’s not it. You don’t have to do that anymore. I said I believe you.” I sigh and look at her with a warm smile. “Where is the portion for you to eat with us?”

A bit of surprise paints over her usually emotionless face. “I… can eat the same things as everyone?”

“Didn’t we eat together before?” I raise my brow at her.

“That wasn’t just a special case?” She tilts her head.

I shake mine and tell her to bring another clean plate. I halve my portion and move it there, to which she protests, but I don’t back down. With a quiet thank you, she sits down and we enjoy our meal while showering her in praises. Especially Cornelia. Although Safi and Emi said they don’t need theirs, they get too curious while we are eating and I feed them a few pieces just so they can taste the dish.

After dinner, I help Sirgia with washing dishes. She asks if she can have a room next to the kitchen and I offer her one of the closest ones above, but she insists on the bottom floor, saying that those rooms are fine too. Not wanting to force anything on her, I end up agreeing. I tell her to come to me in the morning so I can take care of another part of her wound and I move to take a bath.

With bath done I arrive in my room, which is occupied by none other than the jelly girls. Emi rushes to me as usual. I start thinking if she didn’t actually extinguish a whole breed of dogs during her life, because she’s closer to them than to a Slime. A question pops up in my head.

“I hope I won’t sound rude with this, but… do Slimes have their own personalities? Or are you mimicking the way you behave from the memories of those girls?” I ask curiously.

[I can certainly say that Emi was like this since the day we met. I think the same goes for me. We do look at their memories to understand humans better and imitate some actions, but it’s from our own will,] Safi explains while I arrive at the bed with Emi acting as an anchor.

“I see, so this little greenish girl was always so enthusiastic, huh?” I forcefully stroke her head to which she wobbles in joy.

She looks up at me. [Emi wants to feel good with Master too! Like Safi!]

“Okay, okay, I get it.” I chuckle with her around my waist. “I’ll try my best.”

I pick the wobbling girl up into my arms and move to the center of the bed. Let’s just hope Cornelia doesn’t walk into us in a bit more heated situation this time.

Saileri · May 11, 2021

Chapter 18 - The Second Helping ❤❤❤

Being fresh out of the bath, I have only a shirt and some pants on. Emi and Safi wear their maid outfits. They grew to like them. And it’s quite the sight. A slime girl in an alluring costume, accentuating all her curves and womanly charms, is really something else. I wonder how Cornelia would look in one. There’s no chance she agrees on wearing it though. But man, a mature-looking woman, with her perfect back-bun and glasses, that’s hot.

Pushing away those thoughts, I move on my knees through the bed with Emi in my arms. When I try placing her down, she pulls me with her and my face lands in the fabled Valley of Dreams. She hugs me tightly, encasing my head between two jiggling peaks. If she had a voice, I bet she’d be giggling like crazy right now.

Somehow escaping her trap, I gasp for air. I look at the mischievous slime with a smile.

“You little…”

I dive in straight for her lips and attack them relentlessly. She responds by joyfully probing my mouth with her chilly tongue and we are quickly entwined in a wild dance of fire and ice. One moment, I’m pushing her back and greedily exploring her cool insides, just to get violently kicked out of them the next second, and have my own mouth delved into by a cold and soft entity, bringing a lot of frosty saliva with it.

I back off first from this battle. Having to breathe once in a while is quite a huge disadvantage. Emi does not let go of this chance. She rolls to the side pushing me down and straddles me up top, beginning even more fierce assault. I let her have her way with me for a minute, enjoying this cool barrage. I put my arms around her and raise ourselves to a sitting position. She finally stops ferociously kissing me and nuzzles to my chest.

“We are quite aggressive today, aren’t we?” I speak to her while she rubs her face against my neck.

She looks up. [Emi has to show Master that she can be doing things too to help!]

“Huh? What do you mean?” I stare at her a bit confused.

Safi comes into my view. [We spoke with Cornelia and we want to help with Master’s work.]

“That’s… I’m quite happy to hear that, but didn’t you say that other humans taste awful when you touch them?” I ask while recalling our first conversation.

[Cornelia and Sirgia kindly let us check on them and while it wasn’t very sweet like in Master’s case, they didn’t taste bad,] she explains.

“You sure that’s not because they are all girls?”

[Yes. We also encountered women with similar, rotten auras when we were held at that place.]

“I see... “ I pat the heads of both girls. “I guess it would be rude for me to decline after you’ve both resolved yourselves. And we do need that kind of help.”

Safi comes closer and we get into a group hug with lots of cuddling and patting. Emi backs off a bit and looks down.

[Emi is not sure how to make Master feel good properly…]

“That’s fine. I didn’t expect the both of you to know literally anything about the topic and yet you’ve surprised me this much last time.” I lift her head and place a kiss on her lips. “Should we start our first training session then?”

They nod and we undress each other while engaging in a few passionate kisses. Safi then moves aside and pushes Emi towards me. It’s her turn to be the star of the show today.

“First, since you have a working tongue now, why don’t you try a proper blowjob like Safi did last time?”

She leans over my crotch from the side and gently strokes my penis which is not yet at full attention. A few moments later, it shows its eagerness by standing up and twitching a little in her chilly palm. She looks up at me with a smile and then slowly puts it in her mouth.

On the previous day, the insides of her mouth were no different than the slime in any part of her body, but now she has them similarly developed to Safi. Emi’s textured and frigid tongue starts coiling around the glans of my dick and the whole shaft is enveloped in cool, slimy liquid while being squished by her jelly cheeks.

“Yes… That’s nice. Try moving your head now.”

She does as being told and begins bobbing her head up and down, still keeping up with the tongue. Her slightly harder lips apply a bit of pressure over the shaft during the movements and every time they reach the tip, it sends a small wave of pleasure through my body.

“See? You are quite good at it already.” I stroke her cheek. “Another way to do it is to apply a bit of suction.”

She wiggles happily and looks back down at my cock, focusing her efforts on making it feel the best she can. With a few tries, she figures out how to match sucking with the motions and fastens up the pace, making her mouth devour my whole dick down to the very balls with each push. Wet, slapping sounds are being made every time her green lips hit against them.

“Okay, you are doing just fine and it will get better with time. Haaaaah… Do you want to try something else now?” I ask.

She slows down and leaves my penis alone with the last, sensual lick. [Yes! I want to learn more things!] she conveys with an expectant expression.

“I believe that with your soft and springy body it would feel amazing if you used your boobs.”

I move to the edge of the bed so she can have an easier time and instruct Emi to get on her knees in front of me. I pull the curious-looking girl closer and lead her hands to her breasts, enveloping my cock between the flexible cushions. It truly feels incredible. I barely feel being squished by the elastic peaks and her soft, chilly skin makes my dick twitch with excitement.

Following my instructions, she starts moving her tits up and down along my meat rod, with her whole body, because her chest is a bit smaller than Safi’s. It’s still in the big department though. She’s a shortie with a nice bosom.

My cock disappears and shows up with each movement. Although, it’s slightly visible through her chest, which gives the situation even more erotic vibes.

She starts pressing them harder together and jumping more energetically. Her whole body wobbles each time she changes directions. She focuses her eyes on my penis the whole time, to make sure it’s being properly massaged. What a devoted girl.

“You can drop some of your saliva onto it.”

She quickly opens her mouth and a tiny stream of slimy liquid falls onto my junior from above, creating a small puddle in her cleavage. I shiver a little from the coldness and Emi imitates a giggling motion. After covering most of her breasts with saliva, she resumes the motions, this time moving each of her breasts in opposite ways.

「Damn… Umph… She’s learning even by herself....」

I feel like I’m already going to burst, but somehow I’m able to control myself with all this stimulation. I guess I got a bit more proficient with that Title’s effect since it’s much easier to hold back now than the last time. Doesn’t mean it can go forever though.

Suddenly a frosty sensation hits my back.

“Ooooooooooh.”

A wave of shivers runs down my spine and I tilt my head to the side. I’m met with a smiling Safi, who embraces me from behind.

“Someone feels left out?” I ask looking at her.

We join our lips in a light kiss. It’s much less violent than with Emi. Safi starts grazing my chest with her chilly fingers and showering me with kisses while the greenish girl works over my dick.

Most likely discontent with my lack of attention, Emi starts giving my glans a quick lick every time the head bursts out through her cleavage. She is back to moving her breasts together and squeezes them even more. I break off my kissing session with Safi and glance at the pouting emerald beauty. I brush her head and chuckle.

“You are doing an amazing job, Emi. Here’s your reward.”

I stop holding back and let the heat consume me. Safi hugs me even tighter, her nipples press against my back. A wave of pleasure permeates through my whole body when supposedly delicious seed shoots straight at Emi’s overjoyed face. Burst after burst, it’s getting covered in white liquid, which starts dripping off her smooth head, down onto her chest. She hastily dives in with her mouth to catch some more of my cum directly into her mouth.

After sucking up the very last drop, she backs away with a smile and starts consuming the load. Safi changes places, jumps at her and starts licking off as much of white stuff from Emi’s breasts as she can like it’s some kind of rare delicacy. A well-known pinkish glow surrounds their cores, with Emi’s naturally being stronger.

Emi climbs up back onto the bed and hugs me from the front. [It’s delicious! Thank you, Master!]

“Hahaha, I’m glad then.” I hug her back while laughing. I’d have never expected any girl to speak those words towards me ever.

She glances down at my crotch still full of energy. [Master can teach Emi more, yes?] She conveys the words with a pleading expression.

“Of course. I have to train you well, don’t I?”

I pinch her cheeks and stretch them with a bit of force. She grabs my hands but doesn’t pressure me to stop. I play with her face, giggling a bit. After I stop, she looks at me with a well-mimicked pout, but soon smiles happily and snuggles to my neck.

We move together to the centre of the bed. I take a peek at Safi. She places a kiss on my cheek and pushes me towards Emi again. I’ll have to properly shower her with affection later for holding back so much. She’s like a doting older sister.

Emi looks at me with an expectant and determined face. Let’s start with something simple. I lay down on my back and instruct her to walk over me. She happily crosses her legs over my waist and lowers herself onto it. Cool lips of her pussy squash my rod to my belly. Complying with my pointers, she starts grinding her hips back and forth, covering my whole shaft in her chilly like a mountain’s stream, slimy juices.

She places both hands on my chest and varies the speed of her movements based on my reactions, watching me quietly grunt and moan with a smile. She leans forwards and begins to lick around both of my nipples, leaving a trail of cold liquid behind. When she is close to my neck, I grab her chin and we join our lips together in a passionate kiss.

Emi breaks it off and sits up straight, awaiting further orders.

“Grab it with your palm and guide it between your legs. Then, start moving your hips up and down.”

She follows my guidance and lifts her butt, leans over and properly aims my dick towards the entrance of her pussy. I expect her to go slowly from the uncertainty of her hand's movements, but the moment my cock slides a bit into her cute flower, she slams her hips down like a falling guillotine of pleasure, followed by a loud slap against my pelvis.

“Oooooooh, fuck!”

I can’t hold back but grunt as her elastic body crashes down onto me, deforming in almost a splashing motion. My junior rushes through her insides while enveloped by the pressure of her vagina’s chilly walls.

She glances at me visibly proud of herself. I smile wryly and she begins moving. Emi switches from sitting on her knees into a crouching position, placing her hands under my belly. She gives me another glance and raises her hips until my tip is barely inside, just to violently rain them down a moment later.

She starts repeating the motion faster and faster and the room becomes filled with loud, wet, sloshing and slapping sounds. Lots of frosty, slimy liquid gushes out from the place where we are connected with each violent thrust, splashing itself over my belly.

It’s my second time now, but I still can’t get used to not hearing any response from my partner. From our connection, I know that she’s not ‘feeling good' in the same way as other humanoid races would from such acts, and she enjoys the warmth of my penis stirring up the insides of her jelly-like body, but no vocal reaction makes me feel kinda insecure.

She tilts her head as if sensing my distress and leans forward, barely reaching my face. She starts kissing me lovingly while brushing my hair with her hands and still keeping up the pussy bombardment.

Realizing I made her worried while I should be all happy about her trying so hard, I start pushing my hips up the moment she brings hers down.

To all that, she slows down the kisses a bit. She has to stop every time my cock charges towards and hits the far spot in her replicated pussy. I can feel her pleasure rise a bit more when I reach that part, so I guess there are some places where their advancement made them a bit more sensitive. Curious about that, I decide to check another thing they grew during it.

Emi looks at me slightly surprised by the fact that I suddenly started being proactive.

“You’ve done a great job. Now it’s my turn to make you feel good.”

I move my hands from her back to the front and grab the two soft mounds of jelly which were rubbing against my chest all this time. They are so flexible and mushy that my fingers are almost sucked into them. Trying to not get lost in this incredible, squishy sensation, I pinch her cold, emerald nipples between my thumb and index fingers and pull on them a little.

A small ripple travels through Emi’s body and she opens her mouth wider in joy. I take that chance to assault her tongue. Every time my cock violently chargers through her pussy, I pinch her nipples along with it. She starts gradually slowing down her movements, not being able to properly keep up with my advances.

Since I’m quickly nearing my limit, I hastily rise up with her in my arms and we enter a lotus position. Emi, confused about what to do, breaks our kisses and looks at me. I nuzzle my face against hers.

“Bring your core to the surface around your chest and just leave the rest to me.”

She complies without any hint of hesitation and half of the fist-sized, dark orb plops out between her boobs. I grab her ass with my hands and begin pushing those elastic hips against my pelvis as hard as I can, reaching all the way to her deepest parts with my penis.

I push her back with my body and she joins her hands behind my head to not fall backwards. I flash her a playful smile, lean forward and give her sticking out, warm core a very long lick from the bottom to the top. My tongue slides over the hot orb while experiencing a fuzzy, ticklish sensation.

Emi instantly arches her back and shoots her head up while strong waves of ripples spread from her heart to every end of her bouncy body. Due to that stimulus, the pressure of her pussy increases along with the density of her slime.

“Uuugh… This is too fucking good…”

I speed up my thrusts upwards while resting my forehead above Emi’s core. With each strike of my dick, I spontaneously caress the ball with my tongue, making her jolt and squirm to the rhythm.

“Shit… I’m almost there...”

Not yet satisfied with my teasing, I hold back to the extreme. I dive with my lips for her core and give it a strong, sucky kiss while ferociously moving my tongue. I can feel Emi’s body starting to lose its shape from the pleasure she’s feeling. She’s wobbling and trembling with her back arched and face full in ecstasy. I prepare myself for the big explosion.

“Mwwwwaaaah… here’s… your third helpin— AHN?!”

My butt muscles tense and a sudden moan escapes my lips as something frosty and slightly moist tickles my anus. I try my best to shift my head and strain the eyes to the side as much as possible without depriving Emi’s core of all the pleasure and barely catch a glimpse of something blueish lying behind me. There’s no doubt about its identity.

Before I can utter any word of surprise or protest, the chilly thing sensually circles around my asshole, making my ready to burst cock throb intensely in response. Giving up on any resistance, I focus my attention on Emi’s heart and violently shove my dick into her pussy for the last time.

“Uooooohh!”

Safi’s finger or tongue, I have no idea which one it is, gently prods the entrance of my anus, stretching it a little. My eyes widen as the dam that has been holding the wild river of semen back, breaks, and a sea of white floods Emi’s womb as her whole body shakes uncontrollably.

Raging waves of cum fill her up while I push her hips towards mine as strongly as I can. After like ten seconds, a full load is expended and I fall forwards onto still wobbling Emi, panting heavily myself. That shouldn’t inconvenience her, so I just rest on this cool and smooth gelatinous cushion, with my blazing member still inside her.

Emi’s core moves back inside and dances around creating a torrent of white seed around itself. The liquid starts slowly dissipating and the pinkish veins resurface on the orb, glowing happily.

As I compose myself, the perpetrator of the last, truly heinous act, shows up crawling to the right of us with a devilish smile.

“I swear, I’m going to get you for that,” I say while squinting my eyes.

Safi assumes a shocked expression with her hand gingerly covering her mouth and then imitates a giggling motion. I roll myself off Emi to land in between them and pull the sapphire girl into a hug. She does not resist and accepts my soft kiss.

Shortly after, Emi finally gets a hold on herself and joins us in the hug, nuzzling up to me with a satisfied expression. I lay on my back with them in my arms and sigh blissfully.

“You two will create a mind-blowing combo in the future.”

[Did Emi do good?] the greenish girl asks, looking up at my face.

“You were perfect.” I playfully rub her head, then I glance to the other side. “And you, little devil, know a bit more than you claim to do.”

[Did Master like it?]

“I was a bit shocked, but of course I did.” I brush Safi’s cheek with my fingers. “And I definitely have to reward you for your kindness and patience.”

She gazes at me and I give her a knowing look while hugging her tighter.

“So ask for anything you want. I’ll try to make it happen,” I announce confidently.

Safi makes a surprised face for a moment, but it quickly changes into a thinking expression. After a minute, her lips start moving hesitantly.

[Ummmm… Could I have… an accessory?] she asks.

“An accessory? Of course. What kind?”

She drops her gaze a bit. [Like the one… Sirgia got from Master…]

“You want a collar? Are you sure?” I ask her, slightly surprised.

Safi shrinks back into herself shyly, most likely assuming that she asked for something inappropriate. I tickle her belly with my fingers. Well, she does not explode laughing, but it at least gets me her attention.

“If that’s what you want, then I’ll obviously get you one. We’ll make a custom order for it.”

She smiles charmingly and returns the hug. A moment later she notices something behind me and her smile falters a little. I raise myself up and look there. Emi wears a sad expression.

“Something wrong?” I ask.

She opens her mouth a few times, but I don’t catch any words, so she must be stopping herself before they escape her lips. She then conveys the message while mimicking the action of looking away.

[N-no… Nothing… I received lots of Master’s warmth today…]

「Be it joy or sadness, she is really bad at hiding her feelings. Just like a dog. If she had a real body she’d be on the verge of tears right now.」

I shake my head and sigh with a smile. “I’ll get you one too. You’ve earned it.”

She looks perplexed for a moment but almost instantly bursts with joy and throws herself at me.

[Master!]

Her elastic body crashes against mine and I fall back onto Safi, with my head landing between the Valley of Dreams. I chuckle while holding the snuggling, emerald girl in my arms. Safi starts stroking my hair with her hands and I look up to see a motherly smile which I’ve already experienced from her a few times.

“You will have to think of something else,” I whisper to her with a wink.

We fall asleep cuddled up together. I don’t even get to grab my shorts this time.

Saileri · Feb 22, 2021

Chapter 19 - A Shopping Trip and the Great Cleaning

In the morning, I wake up with something cool on my chest. Well, there’s no need to guess, I fell asleep squished between the two lovely slimes. But when I open my eyes, I do not see a girl lying on me. Instead, a huge sapphire blob of translucent jelly wobbles softly with every movement of my lungs. It covers me from neck to underbelly.

Looking around I spot another one, green-coloured, naturally, to my side.

「I guess they morph back into this state when they enter hibernation? Oh, their copied organs are now gone too.」

As I glance over them, only the fist-sized cores calmly float inside their bodies. I give Safi a few slaps, sending ripples over the chilly membrane. Her core jumps a little and starts swimming around. The blob begins shifting and soon takes a familiar outline. Safi imitates a yawning motion and raises herself on her elbows at my sides, while her jittery breasts softly press against my chest. The Valley of Dreams has been flattened and its peaks are spilling to the sides.

[Good morning, Master,] she announces with a motherly smile. Whenever I see it, my heart gets filled with such warmth that it’s impossible to describe. Of course, I love it when Emi smiles in her cheerful way, but Safi’s smile melts down all my worries. Maybe it gets to me so much because my mother never smiled at me with such affection... I shake my head before I enter forbidden territory.

“Morning.” I raise us to a sitting position and give her a light kiss, keeping her within my embrace. Emi soon wakes up and jumps at us. We fall onto the bed again.

“Hey Safi, how is it that you can hide your organs when in that round form, but can’t in the other?” I ask curiously.

She ponders for a moment. [When I choose to mimic the human appearance, they appear as a permanent part of it. Morphing back into my true Slime form, they disappear because they are not components of that body. I think,] she explains the best she can.

“I see. Anyway, I was just curious, that’s all.”

I move towards the shower but Emi stops me, saying that Safi is not even after what we did yesterday. Safi tries to convince us that she doesn’t mind, but Emi does not let the case go. Before the situation gets more out of control, I suggest teaching her some more about blowjobs. And for the next ten minutes Safi experiments with various motions following my tips, earning herself a nutritious meal at the end.

After bath, we move to the kitchen and help Sirgia with breakfast while we wait for Cornelia to wake up. During our meal, I mention the girls’ request from last night and ask if she knows a good leatherworker or tailor. She lists a couple of places and we decide to check them out together.

While doing the dishes, I tell Sirgia that it would be a good chance to pick up some more clothes for her and ask if she doesn’t want to come with us. She shakes her head and says that the set I got her recently is enough for her and she doesn’t want me to waste more funds on her.

Cornelia overhears our conversation and rushes in through the kitchen’s entrance.

“Oh, you are going with us no matter what.” She puts arms on her hips and sends Sirgia a cold glare. “No girl should ever have to live with only a single shirt, shorts, and Goddess forbid, A SINGLE PIECE OF PANTY!”

She grabs her by the collar and drags out of the kitchen while Sirgia stares at me with wide eyes. I just shrug and shake my head in an ‘I ain’t fighting with that woman’ fashion towards the disappearing victim. Our trio leaves for the town.

Along the way, I bring up the topic of the collars’ design. Cornelia comes up with an idea to introduce them to every employee as a part of the image, be it a servant or sex worker. At first, I’m opposed to the idea of collaring every single person but under the barrage of reasonable facts from her I agree in the end.

She suggests that we choose a unified design, so it can become a recognizable feature of the establishment. And if we get some recognition, it will be safer for the girls to walk around the city in those collars. Personally, I’d like everyone to have their own, unique one. We start a heated discussion about which one is better and don’t stop until Sirgia tugs my sleeve and points at her own collar.

Cornelia instantly realizes what she means and says that we should use a unified badge with a crest or logo and leave the straps to the girls’ choice. Happy with that compromise, I agree without any second thoughts.

We visit the store Cornelia recommends to us. I approach the receptionist to discuss a custom order. She leaves to bring the craftsman here from the workshop. Looking behind me I can see Cornelia pushing Sirgia around the whole shop and trying different pieces of clothing by bringing them closer to her body. I lock eyes with the poor girl for a moment and just smile wryly at her even more than usual, blank expression.

「I can’t save you. You are a tough girl, you are going to persevere.」

And they disappear in the changing rooms. I leave them to their own machinations, sending a quiet prayer towards Sirgia. I begin the talks with the craftsman. We spend like half an hour exchanging views and pointers and there is still no sign of the girls returning. I’d really like to have Cornelia comment on our final version.

I’ve settled for a gem, cut into a shape of a heart and surrounded by a silver border, with two small horns on the top and a succubi-like, pointy tail at the lower side, as a core element of the dangling badge. That way we can choose a crystal with a different colour while still keeping a unified shape. A sapphire one for Safi and emerald one for Emi.

Finally, another 15 minutes later, I hear two pairs of steps coming our way. I turn around and see Cornelia with tons of girly clothes hung on both of her extended arms and Sirgia following her with her gaze glued to the ground. Before they arrive at my spot, the quiet girl looks up at me and doesn’t blink even once through their whole path. She’s screaming for help. Internally. It’s hell being an introvert in that kind of situation.

When they reach me, I sigh heavily while shaking my head and crossing arms on my chest.

“What?” Cornelia stares at me confusedly.

I raise my left brow at her and pick up a piece from the exhibition she brought. A short pink one-piece dress meant most likely for human children. While dropping my left and raising my right brow, I use the other hand to pick up a pair of greenish kneesocks patterned in flowers.

“While I agree that she is cute, Sirgia is a woman, not a child. She doesn’t like them,” I berate her.

“But she didn’t say—”

“Sirgia.” I glance at the dwarf girl.

Following my callout, she hesitantly nods her head. I give Cornelia a ‘see?’ look and filter through the stuff she brought, moving those that are normal into Sirgia’s hands, leaving the inappropriate ones hanging on the magician’s arms.

“Go and return those.”

She smiles awkwardly and lowers her head. “I’m sorry. I got into it a bit too much.”

“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.” I nod towards Sirgia.

She then bows to the short girl, apologizes and turns back to place the clothes on their respective shelves.

“Pick some cute panties for her,” I say to Cornelia to lighten her mood a little.

“Thank you,” Sirgia murmurs when the woman moves away enough to not eavesdrop.

“You are welcome.” I brush her hair with a smile.

After we all gather together, none of the girls has any objections towards the design we came up when they were gone. We place orders for three already, for Safi, Emi and Sirgia. She chooses to have the gem in a similar colour to her light, cinnamon brown hair. We choose some simple black leather straps. Those can be changed at any point. For now, I pick two leather collars with bronze badges for our slime girls.

When we pass through the door leading outside, Cornelia slaps her forehead and says that she forgot something. She darts off inside and tells us to wait. I’m left a little surprised. She’s quite the pedant when it comes to her lists and it’s slightly unusual for her to forget things.

「Oh well, everyone can have better or worse days, right?」

On the way back we decide to pay Barren a visit. Having Sirgia with me while negotiating the details of our cooperation will ease up things by a lot. The big man pulls me into a hug and lifts off the ground while laughing as a welcome gesture. He closes his shop and we move to one of the back rooms to discuss things.

I point at our dwarf companion. “This is Sirgia, our chef, I’d like you to go through the details with her.”

She looks between me and the man with uncertainty.

“Hahaha! Don’t be scared, little one! Name’s Barren! Let’s make sure your boss gets the best possible stuff, right?” he laughs so heartily that the whole room almost vibrates.

I give her an approving nod and they get lost in negotiations about various ingredients and supplies. It’s mostly Barren pushing questions at the quiet and unmoved Sirgia. From time to time, she engages in a deeper conversation about some dish or meal. Forty minutes later they reach a consensus and we seal the deal.

Barren brings out two stones with some sigil. I recognize the pattern as the Message spell rune. He hands one to Sirgia and explains that it will make coordinating deliveries easier. With these, they will be able to send telepathic messages to each other, as long as both of them have the stones with them.

After saying our goodbyes, we start heading back home. Sirgia’s talk with Barren was much more detailed than I expected. I thought that she knows a bit of cooking from watching other servants in her previous owner’s mansion, but during the discussion, she seemed like someone who has a lot of knowledge. I decide to touch on the topic.

“You do know a lot about cooking. Weren’t you a crafter before you got captured?”

We walk a few steps in silence before she speaks in a calm tone, without moving her gaze from ahead.

“I always liked cooking. Even since I was a kid. I was curious about it and was taught by my mother even earlier than I started learning our craft.”

A faint smile shows up on her face, but as usual, quickly fades. I swear to myself that one day, I will truly make her smile from the bottom of her heart. Thinking that’s all I’ll get from my question, I dive into my thoughts, but surprisingly, she continues.

“Craftsmanship is the same as cooking,” she says.

“How so?” I ask, trying to find some relation between them in my head.

“In both, you need a lot of experience and just theory won’t make you a great cook or artisan. In both, you buy, gather or prepare ingredients and then follow a tested recipe, step by step. In both, you can experiment on your own or try to mix the experiences of other people to get new results. In both, a supposed failure may actually turn into a masterpiece in someone's eyes.”

She lists a lot of facts I wouldn’t have thought of, but when Sirgia voices them out, everything sounds logical, like it always has been true. From all of this, I get the feeling that she is really in love with her craft. She won’t show any discontent, but I know she would do anything to break free and continue on her path. She’s just too scared and lost after everything that happened to her. It would be enormously stupid to limit her only to cooking. I swear to myself for a second time, now to create a perfect place for her to develop further.

Our little chat about cooking and craftsmanship ends as we reach the mansion. Safi and Emi are already waiting in the main hall. Somehow, the emerald girl holds herself back from launching herself at me, but I can see that she’s on the verge of losing it. I quickly move to them before that happens and present them with the collars.

I first put one on Safi’s neck, because as I’ve been expecting, the moment I finish with Emi’s one, she starts hugging me tightly while jumping up and down. The more composed girl just stands behind and examines the band with her hands, like it’s something very precious. I tell them that those are just placeholders, but they do not care.

Still having most of the day at hand, we begin a thorough checkup of the whole place. And by that, I mean peeking into every possible cabinet, drawer, wardrobe or hole and space. We don’t want any surprises later. Safi and Emi get the lower west wing, Cornelia picks the upper and Sirgia starts bottom east with me.

During our work, I remember that she and Cornelia aren’t yet under my Partners title influence. Even though none of them might ever consider the more inappropriate benefits from it, I would like to be able to sense their presence at least. I strike up a conversation.

“Hey, Sirgia. There’s something I would like to ask.”

“What is it, Master?” She stops looking under the bed and turns to me.

“Would you mind becoming my Partner?”

Her eyes widen a little in surprise and a faint blush appears on her cheeks before she lowers her head, diving into her thoughts.

“Ah! I didn’t mean it in a sexual way! It’s just so I can know if something happens to you straight away. It’s one of my skills.” I desperately try to fix my mistake before she gets more uncomfortable.

“Ah…” she mutters… slightly disappointed? Can’t be, I must have imagined that. She looks up and nods.

Smiling awkwardly I extend my hand to her while invoking the skill. Hopefully, this is enough. Last time I kissed the target, but I can’t do that to her just after this horrible misunderstanding. Sirgia stands up and takes my hand. A second later I feel my mana rushing towards her through my arm and a notification pops up in front of my eyes. Looks like it worked.

She loses her gaze in something in the air too, so I guess people with the system can see their own message. She backs off her hand and starts staring at her arms in confusion.

“Something wrong?” I ask.

She looks up at me. “I feel… weird.” She closes her eyes. “It’s like… I can feel Master in front of me. And not only that… I feel Master’s… happiness? And… worry? Worry… about me? Why is Master worried about me?” Sirgia opens her eyes and glances at me.

「So that’s how Emi could pinpoint my mood during the last time. I’m not the only one able to sense others. I guess that’s fair.」

I pat her head and brush my fingers through her hair. “I was worried you’d hate me for saying strange things.”

She looks to the ground and just shakes her head faintly, most likely denying that possibility. We move back to checking the rooms. Few hours pass and we end the bottom floor, moving onto the top wing. The other girls start their search in the upper area where the VIP room is. Not being able to hold back my curiosity I speak to Sirgia again.

“Erm… Thanks to us being Partners now, I can check your status at any time. Would it be okay for me to have a look at it?”

She tilts her head. I kinda get her. I’m the master here and I can do whatever I want with her, considering that she is a criminal slave with a highest tier slave mark, so me asking about every little thing still has to confuse her a lot. I really hope we can get through that mentality at some point. She nods without much reaction, as usual.

“To make it more fair, catch, here’s a full view of mine. You can check the details of anything.”

I summon my window and push it her way, ‘granting’ her the right to expand any skill or title. At the same time, I navigate to the Partners menu. Since we haven’t done any lewd things, my bonus is naturally at 0/5 from her. As for Bond Type, it says Master/Slave. In the case of slime girls, it was Familiar in the latter part. Sirgia’s one also says Hope, while Safi’s and Emi’s both are still Gratitude. I enter the Status Details section.

「Holy moly… Tier 3 stats are damn high. But let’s start from the top. Hmmm… what is this crossed-out symbol near her Job?」

I tickle that part in the window with my finger and a prompt appears. It says that due to the type of slavery seal, the Job cannot be changed from Slave. What an annoying restriction. But I can understand that. It's meant for criminal slaves. They don't work your typical way, just struggle in mines or serve as meatshields. I’ll see what I can do about this later.

「Looking at titles, they seem normal. Well, besides the Mana Artisan one.」

“What does Mana Artisan do? It says there, that it allows the user to infuse mana into crafted objects, but it’s all vague,” I ask.

“It’s an inherited ability of my bloodline. Our family can use various techniques to imbue mana into artifacts during creation, to change their properties, or at a much higher level, bestow them with strong abilities. Usually, you need someone who knows Enchanting to work alongside a blacksmith or other craftsman to achieve that,” she explains.

“Oooooooh, that’s amazing. Can you give some examples?”

She stops looking around and thinks for a moment. “I once created a shield with a few overlapping layers, connected with mana, so when the owner inserted his own energy into the circuit, they would slide to the sides and create a much bigger cover. It looked like broken shell pieces joined with a greenish mist.”

I play in my mind an image of a small, metal buckler which turns into a tower shield with just a thought.

“Wooah… That must have been hard to create.”

“Not really. It was a low tier artifact,” she states, not changing her expression by even a bit.

I go back to admiring her status, especially all the skills. Her Cooking is very high per this world’s standards. And her class skills are quite developed too. Some of them sound powerful. There are various proficiencies hidden behind Craftsmanship Proficiency, like leatherworking, blacksmithing, metalworking and many others, with their levels around 4-7. The list of her Common Passives is astounding too. I have to scroll to see them all.

When my eyes fall on the Identify skill, my draconic hilt enters my mind. I pull it out of my storage ring and call out to Sirgia.

“Hey, I have this artifact with me, but I don’t know much about it, besides the fact that it’s a blood-bound one. Do you want to check it for me?”

Her eyes fall on the silvery handle and slightly widen, most likely in a surprise of it having no blade. She quickly trots close to me and starts glancing all over it in my hand.

“This thing gives an incredible aura, Master. Just from a simple look, I can say that it’s a work of a real master of their craft.”

For the first time, her eyes get a bit more lively. I extend my arm with it towards her, but just before she grabs the handle I frantically yank it back. She looks up spooked a bit.

“Sorry. I was told that when others touched it, they exploded into a puddle of blood. I got a bit scared,” I apologize explaining my movement.

“As long as Master doesn’t order it to fight against every other person who touches it, it should be fine.”

Reassured by her words, I give her the hilt. She touches it around and takes a peek into the dragon’s maw. After a while, she closes her eyes and starts whispering something. Suddenly, a powerful wave of mana bursts out from the artifact, making everything in this room tremble. Sirgia opens her eyes wide and starts blinking really fast. She loses her balance and falls to the back, but I manage to quickly swoop her into my arms before she hits the floor.

She pants heavily in my embrace while her forehead is sweating profusely. A few seconds later, she regains part of her cool and looks up at me with a fearful expression and incredibly pale face.

“What happened? Are you okay?” I ask worriedly.

She catches her breath and speaks utterly shocked. “This is not a blood-bound artifact… This is a Soul Relic…”

“What?” I furrow my brows at her.

“There is an incredibly powerful... soul imbued into that crystal. My skill... has not only been blocked at its very first stage but... my protection was broken and my mind has been attacked by it. I only survived because... that force didn’t find any malicious intent towards Master.”

She tries to explain it to me while calming down her shivering body.

“This is incredible… Soul Relics are the pinnacle of all artifacts… it’s no work of a master... only legends can achieve this level… and it’s even possible that whoever crafted this Relic, used it to store their own soul inside...”

Sirgia grabs my vest with both of her hands and pulls herself closer to my face with a worried expression.

“You must be careful! Master must have been chosen by it for a reason! Please! You must be on guard, there has to be a purpose for which it has picked you—…”

She loses her consciousness mid-sentence. I stand up with her in my arms and move to my room, shortly mentioning to other girls that I’ll take care of Sirgia until she wakes up.

It was the first time she has addressed me by something other than Master. She must have been really worried for me there. I spend the rest of the evening wiping her body from all the sweat. She is still breathing a little heavily. Even during the night, I lay beside her the whole time, just to be sure that nothing else happens to her.

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