Chapter 72: 42: Eyes Wide Open – Part 1

Okay, fine, fine! This is fine, I just have to not fall in love with the women I have sex with… which is not that simple. I won't delude myself in thinking that this is easy, that I can separate sex and love like you separate files in folders.

Damn, I actually like Klein. If I didn't already have so many women around me I would certainly be interested in her.

Now that I think about it, is there any kind of women that I don't like?

…

Vanea.

…

Yeah, anyway. Love is uncontrollable and it's rather easy to let it bloom when you get so close and intimate with someone during sex. It's rather easy to separate myself from my sex-friend if I actually do start to love her, but it doesn't mean it won't hurt. For the sake of my own "Sanity", I better not abuse this new power I acquired.

But before things get out of control, I need to set up a rule.

"Ok, first thing! No other man! I will never accept another man having sex with you girls," I say.

They look at each other and shrug.

"We want to see you have sex with someone else," Alissa says.

"Though if you turned bi and wanted to have sex with another man I would gladly watch," Roxanne says with an evil smile.

Hana's voice turns sultry and her fearsome smile makes me tense up, "Oh, yes."

"Not happening," I say flatly and they deflate. "So, you're all fine with this? I'm getting most of the benefits. Do any of you want to have sex with other women?"

"Just Klein," Hana says and then we all look at Roxanne.

She looks down and rubs her horn awkwardly, "Osaria is really hot, but… she scares me a little."

"Same rules that apply to Wolfy also apply to us, then," Ciel says and rests her head on the border of the tub.

"I like Osaria…" Lina shyly says.

Ciel narrows her eyes and mutters, "I'm sure you do…"

Lina bites her tongue playfully, then wades over to Ciel. She starts covering the curvy woman with kisses all over her body. Her delicate little hands knead the large mounds of Ciel, who moans softly in pleasure as she closes her eyes. Lina plants her lips on Ciel's mouth and their tongues search for each other.

Ciel breaks the kiss and stares into Lina's gloomy eyes, "You love me and not just my body, right?" She asks with a little insecurity.

The gloominess disappears into surprise and fear, "Yes! I do, I do, I do, I do!" With each word she gives a kiss on Ciel.

"That was a silly question, Ciel," I say and give her a disappointed pout, making her wince slightly.

"I understand how you feel, but yes, that was silly," Hana says.

"What about you, Aoi, don't you feel jealous?" Alissa asks.

"Kweh?" She turns her head to the sides repeatedly, "Jealous? Dragons, love, who, they, love."

"She's right," Hana says.

"So you don't mind if Wolfy has sex with other women?" Alissa continues.

"Don't, abandon, me, and I, be, happy!"

"Will you leave Wolfy if you find another dragon?"

"I, trust, Wolf, I, not, trust, other."

"So it's about trust? It takes time and knowing someone for you to come love them?" I ask.

She taps her little claws on the water and thinks as she floats towards me slowly. Then she raises her head and tilts it, "Yes? I, want, Wolfy, not, any, other."

My feelings for Aoi are rather confusing. I want to, uh, give her eggs, but I don't really feel the same love I feel for the other girls. Somewhat similar to my need to protect her like how I feel about Lina, but still not the same type of love. The feeling Gify showed me felt awesome but it's only the pleasure of being an apex predator and being able to dominate Aoi, not love.

Her kisses do feel good, though, very stimulating. I'm also… curious about her and how her blowjob would feel. It doesn't help that Alissa corrupted my view on animals. I just wanted to make her happy but now my desires are warped.

"But, can you say that you will never love another?" Alissa asks.

"No, but I, never, abandon, Wolfy, if, Wolfy, never, abandon, me," she finishes with a toothy smile.

I tickle her belly from underwater and she giggles.

"We will never abandon you," I say and pull her closer for a hug. She doesn't try to kiss me and just nuzzles her head on my shoulder.

"Her voice is getting better," Roxanne comments.

"It's less squeaky, she's maturing."

"And it happens most often after she eats something special," Hana says.

"Giant, brain, taste, goood, very, noodly."

Once we finish our bath, most patrons are already finishing their meal. Our stay and meal were already paid for so we just sit to eat. Klein and the others have already left.

The Mainland loves nuts and oils and they also love to put them on everything. So we get nutty bread, garlic bread, not-pita bread, dipping sauces for the bread, and fried cow meat from the Mainland.

"Lacking veggies," I say.

"Elven restaurants are known for that," Ciel says.

"Oh, yes. The restaurants avoid serving veggies because they never taste as good as the elven ones," Roxanne says.

After dinner we retire to our room, the biggest one in the Inn. It's just a bit larger than the rented one in Rabanara, but the bed is certainly not comparable. I switch it with our own bed and we all enjoy some quiet time together.

I pull out the golems and they curiously observe their environment. I think I will have to continue my research on them while on horseback since we spend far too little time stopped for me to research them during our breaks.

I adjust their souls so they can speak with the same level of skill as Aoi, though now I notice they still speak rather raspily. Maybe my "adjustments" are lacking in detail. I may have to look deeper within their souls to find the discrepancies.

Aoi practices [Fly] and the golems repeat their routine of [Telekinesis] while being smothered by the girls. I summon two corgis so it becomes a cuddle orgy of soft happy moans and grunts as the girls gush in happiness.

I start giving everyone a [Massage] and Aoi is the first to fall asleep, and then Gify activates his special touch alongside my massage and nobody wants to leave. I have to pull out the extra beds so Hana and Roxanne can sleep in the same room because the cuddle orgy drained us all of our energy.

Today is the 7th.

From behind the mess of limbs a very happy and innocent little girl wakes me up with a very lewd face.

My [Summoning Magic] increased by 1 (now 13+18). Good to know that elementals still give me some experience in that skill.

"Morning, Mr. Ryder!" Klein comes up to us and gives me a hug. A fruity scent fills my nose as I feel her perky breasts and stiff nipples squish on my chest. Then she gives each girl a hug, Hana getting the longest one, and a pat for Gify and Aoi.

Anton gives a slightly stiff greeting to each of us and Krista seems neutral. They all wear baggy, colorful clothes with small see-through parts; "harem pants" in Earth terminology, Jasmine style. On his chest, Anton only wears a sleeveless shirt that's open in the front, showing everyone his large abs and pecs.

"So, we want to buy some more equipment this morning. How about we meet in here after lunch?" Kleins asks, her long tail bounces like it has a spring on it.

I look at the girls and then nod, "Sure. I think we will look for an elven restaurant for lunch, after that we will come back here."

"Great! See you then!"

The inn is quite expensive, we get a nice charcuterie of cold cuts along with a nutty milk drink spiced with alcohol.

As we eat, Rande comes over with Oura, Nito, and Osaria. Oura looks much more attractive now that her hair is properly brushed, the bags under her eyes are gone, and she is wearing elven clothes that show her faint curves. She's a slender and cute woman who actually looks like Nito's older sister since he's wearing a female high elven "bikini." The male version of the "bikini" is more of a vest, like the one Rande is wearing.

Both elves and wereapes seem to be very proud of exposing their bodies.

"Helios! Morning!" Rande greets us with a dashing smile.

Osaria gives a silent greeting but her eyes linger for a while on Roxanne.

They sit at the opposite table and Rande drops his arms on Oura's and Nito's shoulders. When their food comes, they both feed Rande lovingly while he plays around with their hair.

"It looks nice but it's kind of awkward to eat things like that," I whisper.

"I know, completely impractical and too slow," Alissa says.

"Maybe if we got some practice we would get better at it," Lina says and looks at me with expectant eyes.

"Not in public…" I say softly as my heart melts.

"Okay…"

We take a stroll through town, this is Katasko territory so I keep 4 Shads and a Holly out as safety. Even with the swords at our waists we still bump against far too many people, so we don't wear anything valuable on our person. Elves may be proud, pompous assholes but their hands are light and dexterous.

My vision with the Shads is far too cluttered to be of any use so I just give them the order to attack those who show strong harmful intent towards us. Like drawing a sword or dagger from behind us or trying to take a swing at us.

This town is a very congested place filled with Inns and curiosity shops; its specialty is at being a mix of cultures. The standard and reliable imperial, the mystic from Antano, the obscure from the High Forest, the colorful from Glorampina, and the pragmatic from the Shore of Leaves.

The alchemy coming from Antano is cheap and powerful, but it has a tendency of causing an occasional "side-effect." Like random inflation of certain body parts, your breath starts to smell of ass, the touch of the grass on the skin becoming incredibly tickly, getting water in your boot makes your skin quickly slough off, and a few others.

Imperial is made with precision and reliability. You always know what you are getting but you always pay more for it.

The High Forest doesn't export a lot. It relies mostly on tourism for the sights, magic, food, spas, beauty products, and prostitution. What does come out of it is the mad ramblings of an inventor-mage, similar to what I found in Rabanara, it is interesting but useless.

Glorampina is very fertile but they don't export a lot of food. What they do export, though, is a lot of paint and handcrafted arts.

"Well, these are so similar to the ones in Sommerland that I wonder if the craftsmen actually met," Hana says while looking at a colorful carnival-like mask from Glorampina.

"These are common party masks. The elves in Glorampina like to party a lot," Lina says.

"Oh? Seems like we have more in common than I originally thought."

"They don't like outsiders, though."

"Meh."

The Shore of Leaves fills the niche for medium and low-priced armor and weapons but not much else. Though the price of things here is certainly higher than Rabanara's, so I'm glad that we bought all our equipment there already.

"The prices of elven dresses are too high, we can find better ones in Goloria," Roxanne says while dejectedly dropping a bikini that would look inappropriately small on Hana or Ciel, "Unless things have changed since I was last there."

"I think you are right. This place feels like a tourist trap, everything seems too expensive," I say.

"I think the entire High Forest is a tourist trap," Lina says.

"Well… not recently."

The elven vendors have much more "Charisma," making me wary to barter with them as my mind gets clouded by my desire to stare at them. Inside shops, things are a little worse as the attendants are much more "handsy" and most of the time I'm not sure if it's a man or a woman that's trying to grab my arm. Not to mention the anxiety I felt when the girls were being dragged by an androgynous, half-naked vendor.

I have to work on my jealousy, but I won't get much progress in a single day so it's best for us to not waste any money here.

Next, we go to the hunter's guild. The atmosphere is very similar to Rabanara's, though I feel a hint of pride instead of ruthlessness coming from the other adventurers. The stares got better though; less hungry stares, more curious ones.

The boards have few bounties, most seem to pay less than Rabanara's. But on the other hand, it is filled with escort requests towards the High Forest.

The sickly looking Imperial man working in the disassembling room looks overjoyed when I don't pull out another stinky, poisonous, or venomous bog monster. He gives us 5 gold pieces for the Grey Berserker's body and 1 for the bounty, a good deal.

For lunch we enter an elven restaurant, the building is a large grey tree that has been hollowed out. The furniture is all composed of the wood of the tree and we can even see that certain things, like counters and benches, are still part of the tree trunk itself. The ambiance is the sound of trickling water and bird chirps, actual birds that fly around the building and often land on the shoulders of the waiting staff. Thankfully, we don't see or smell any bird droppings.

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"I will take the… rainbow course," I say to the androgynous silver elf waitress with a perfect smile.

"Foamy pies," Alissa says.

"Fire stick," Roxanne says.

"Wheezing squishes," Hana says.

"Bubbling broths," Ciel says.

"Puffy bulbs," Lina says.

"A-…carei, steak," Aoi says, pronouncing the name of the monster with a little difficulty.

The waitress gasps and turns to Aoi. She blinks repeatedly while her brain tries to process what she just heard.

Full marks to her since she continues smiling perfectly.

"Gih."

The waitress jolts awake and writes down all our dishes, then with a twitching smile she bows graciously and leaves.

The rainbow course is every vegetable they have, one piece of each. From roots, to bulbs, to leafs, to fruits; they have it all and more. I have no idea what I'm eating and I can barely recognize the taste of half of them, I only know that it tastes good. Though, the tastes are so varied and some so strong that my tongue goes numb.

We meet up with Klein and her parents back at the inn. Laertes and Osaria are with them, too.

"Let's go see the street performers!" Klein exclaims.

I look at Ciel and she shrugs, "I only saw a few small ones once," she says.

"Oh, the imperials set up shop in front of the elves. They actually have a competition at this time of the year," Anton says.

Klein nods repeatedly, "They keep trying to up the spectacle every day until it culminates in a party at the Turn of the Year."

"So it's like a festival?" Alissa asks.

"Actually, you could say it is," Osaria smiles towards us, "Though, no elf will ever admit that they have a real rivalry with the imperials."

"Or that they are actually having fun," Laertes comments.

So elves are tsunderes?

We reach the main road and see the six-floor-high mansion of the Lord rising from between the houses as we approach. It's fully composed of white tree bark and shaped like a baroque house. Very impressive.

At a certain point, the stalls turn into street performers. Elven bards, dancers, mimes, jugglers at one side, imperial mages and actors at the other.

"Lady Astrid! I will protect you from this beast that calls himself a man!" Says a human woman dressed in shining, but thin and flexible, plate armor.

"What are you doing, Cassandra?! You dare separate me from my wife?!" Yells a large black-skinned wereape with orange fur. He wears dark robes and his eyes look bloodshot.

"'Beast', huh, a little offensive," Anton comments.

"I don't think they did it with that meaning," Krista says and holds Anton's arm like one holds a log.

He grunts and pouts but continues to watch.

The elven bards start an upbeat song with heavy drums and the dancers imitate marching soldiers.

Cassandra draws her shining, but fake, sword and the wereape pulls out his glaive from his [Item Box].

"Do not approach, beast! I will not allow you to rape Lady Astrid!"

"Cassandra! Please! Don't do this, you don't have to fight for me!" A pale skinned woman wearing a princess dress grabs Cassandra's arm and tries to pull her back.

Cassandra is like a rock and doesn't even flinch at the frail woman's effort. "Lady Astrid, please, this is my duty as a knight. Your family saved me and the only way I can repay that is with my life.

"Don't… Astri~d…!"

With a drum roll, the two enemies dash forward and clash. The moment their weapons touch they clang loudly, with every strike they shine in the afternoon light. A dance of black and white, of silver and darkness.

The elven bards reach a crescendo and the glaive pierces Cassandra's chest as the dancers strike an acrobatic pose. The crowd gasps and goes silent, the only sound is of a startled group of white birds that take flight.

Blood drips in a puddle, every drop a painful pang of the heart.

The elves play a slow and sad ceremonial song of mourning, the dancers bow.

The glaive leaves Cassandra's body and the wereape swings it in the air to remove the blood. A red smoke taints the air and the sunlight darkens to blood red, creating a gloomy atmosphere.

Astrid falls on her knees, catatonic. The wereape spends a few seconds watching the body of Cassandra and the blood pooling beneath her. His head whips back and he roars a wicked laugh, the ground trembles and clouds gather.

He starts to move forward, toward Astrid. Every step slams against the ground, raising a dust cloud that turns darker and darker. His wicked, white smile becomes the only thing visible as his skin turns abyss black and small tendrils extend from his face.

Two loud drum hits come out of the elves that suddenly turn quiet, the dancers suddenly straighten.

"Not, dead, yet!" Cassandra yells and a light comes out of her. She turns around and glares at the wereape, a shining magic tool in her hand.

"YOU SUICIDIAL B-…"

The street goes white as the magic tool disintegrates in an explosion.

The elves start a calm and ethereal song with soft female vocals while the dancers graciously spin in place.

The light disappears, only Astrid remains. Both the wereape and Cassandra vanished, leaving only a black char remaining in their place.

"NOOOOOooo…! Cassandra! I loved yooouu…! Whyyy…!" Astrid cries.

Cassandra's sword reflects the sunlight and catches our attention. Astrid notices it, too, and slow walks towards it, her entire body swaying in pain.

She leans over and grabs Cassandra's darkened sword. She admires it and cleans the sword's char off onto her dress.

Another crescendo comes as the vocals turn increasingly angry, the dancers raise their hands in the air and jump around the street.

Astrid swings the sword repeatedly in anger, with each swing, her anger reduces but her skill increases. Once she's almost exhausted and covered in sweat, her swings are now expert slices. Her face that was so recently distorted in pain now shows only anger and determination.

"I will avenge you, Cassandra. I will hunt down every wicked man or woman in this realm, for today I am a 'Lady' no more!"

Astrid disappears and reappears a second later. Now, she's completely armored with a shining armor just like Cassandra's. She puts on her helmet and raises her dark sword high.

Trumpets blare like the announcement of a nobleman's arrival, the dancers fall to their knees and gaze up into the skies.

"FEAR ME, WICKED. I AM COMING FOR YOU!" She yells and disappears again, this time for good.

One last drum hit and everything goes silent, the dancers drop their heads.

The entire street claps and cheers. Once it dies down the jugglers and mimes come out, they sync their tricks to the upbeat rhythm of the dancing elves.

We make our way through the performers and leave our share of coins in their tip buckets.

A few stalls are selling fried sticks and some simple sweets that we snack on. Later, we drink some tea in an open-air tea shop.

"Say, Hana, how's the new life?" Krista asks.

Her hand falls on my head and she smiles wide, "Couldn't be better. Well, it could be if nothing bad had happened in the first place, but since it did, it couldn't be better," she says.

"You fellowship is a little… interesting," Anton comments with a wry smile.

"Well, yes, we really are quite unusual," Alissa says and smiles towards Klein.

"So, how did such an… unbalanced party form?" Laertes asks, his expression towards us is neutral but I detect a twitch in his mouth.

"He's got a magic dick, duh," Klein says, provoking a choke out of Anton and contained light chuckles out of Krista and Osaria.

"They are all my wives but I won't comment on that," I say with a smile. Lina turns her head to me and she seems to want to speak but hesitates.

"Every once in a while you see adventuring parties with interesting stories, I believe Helios is merely one of those," Osaria says.

Anton frowns, something that barely changes his overall expression, "Wait, what do you mean by that? I would rather not have glory seekers attracting monsters to our caravan."

"No, they aren't that type," Klein says and pouts, her eyes try to stab Hana, "They are the kind that wants to conquer a dungeon for the title."

"It was good to know you," Anton says with a loud chuckle. He delicately takes a sips his tea, his cup looks like a children's size in his huge hand.

"Not trying to be rude, but… we do see that a lot of those types of fellowships disappear inside dungeons," Krista says, she shows concern and her expression is almost a mirror of Klein's.

"I know, I've met the same ones you did," Hana says. "But we do have the track record to back it up."

"We aren't reckless but we are talented. It's a matter of being cautious and playing it smart," Alissa says.

Klein chuckles, "Do you have the 'Intelligence' to compensate for Hana's?"

Hana's eyes turn piercing and her smile threatening, "Watch it, little monkey. I actually got it up to eleven and I'm sure it's going to rise again soon."

"They have the talent, Anton, we held back a tall Grim Giant because of them," Osaria says and her voice turns into a purr, "They made a very good impression on all of us."

"Even I admit that she's right, though it doesn't mean I agree with their ambition," Laertes says and looks away with a shrug.

"We, strong, we, kill, we, get, stronger!" Aoi shows them a toothy smile.

"Gih!"

"Hah! Fine! If even a nature spirit is on your side who am I to doubt you?" Anton opens a wide smile and lifts his tea cup, "To Helios! When you become nobles call me for the wedding!"

Hall of Fame of Patrons.

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

Oracle Maximillian Hübner.

Lord Andrew Meyers.

Lord Hope.

Lord Samuel Lim.

Lord Cody Weigel.

Lord Bill.

Noble Salty Panda.

Manasong

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