Previous Chapter
Finn held his thumb against his lower lip as Loki explained the matter of Knossos to him. His guess that Rei had access to future knowledge did seem to have turned out true. By implication, so did Julia. Loki was still scanty on the details of how, which drove his mind to the obvious conclusion. They probably had been members of other familias, then. Enemy familias. Perhaps even familias currently aligned with Evilus? It was hard to say. Whatever their former loyalties, he doubted Loki would defend their secrets if the situation was actually that they were traitors.

"To put it more shortly: Evilus has things arranged so they can almost completely wipe out the Loki familia if we go into Knossos?"

"Yep," Loki said. "That's the main thing, anyways."

"You're sure of the veracity of Rei's claims?" It was always possible she was still a liar.

"I am."

"Hm." Finn thought the matter over seriously. "But they don't know that we know?"

"Rei's wandered through Knossos a bit, but nothing that'd suggest she's got extra knowledge," Loki explained, with a shrug of her shoulders. "It relates to a whole other thing, they'll chalk it up to that."

"A whole other thing?"

"Eh..." Loki trailed off. "Part of the folks set up in Knossos - not Evilus, the people livin' there - were doing some slave trading out of the Dungeon. Rei and Erza killed the ringleaders of the op, and the rest agreed to stop. That's the whole story."

Finn did have to admit to having an intellectual interest in the story. How did they manage to keep adventurers that they'd kidnapped under control? It made sense that stealing someone directly out of the Dungeon would be a good way to quietly 'disappear' a victim, but who would buy an enraged Level 1 as a slave, for example? Perhaps they had some magic items or the like to keep them under control?

At the same time, Loki was obviously not interested in telling him details, and poking at it wouldn't get him anything. "I see. In other words, we have the element of surprise. So far as Evilus is concerned, any intrusion is simply related to a slave trading operation based out of the Dungeon." Loki nodded. "Are you sure of that?"

"Eh..." Loki bounced her head from side to side. "It was months ago that it happened, so if they were suspicious, probably woulda done something by now. Maybe evacuated, even, but their plans look to be on target. Maybe a bit accelerated?" She held up one of the unusual magic stones. "I'm really pissed Freya actually did have something important to say, rather than just yankin' my chain," she said, idly tapping the stone against her desk.

"I can certainly understand that." Finn took a moment to think the matter over, leaning against a wall, crossing his arms. If the defenses of Knossos were so extreme, then they were unlikely to wage a frontal assault, instead preferring to hide away, building their strength. Monsters that cannibalized monsters would only grow stronger, the longer they waited... then they'd release them and let chaos reign. Perhaps worse than that, even. "The Guild is going to be formally requesting we go on an expedition soon," Finn noted. "By history, it'll be all the way down to the 59th Floor."

"Yeah. Shit timing," Loki agreed. "Expedition like that'd take what, a week?"

"Closer to two."

"Nnn." Loki rolled her head back. "We could tell 'em to go screw. Heck, even got good reason to."

"Evilus is unaware that we know so much about their plans. Doing something different now..."

Loki snapped her fingers a few times, clearly having thought of something. "Nah, nah, I got it." Finn raised one eyebrow. "We go on the expedition, then disappear into their little micro-dungeon. They won't be expectin' that!"

"They may not expect it, but from what you've said, there's a vast network of... 'security cameras'?" He didn't know what that word meant, but he grasped the basic idea by context - an inert object that observed the world around it on behalf of an adventurer. "They would learn about our intrusion. Unlike with Rei, there could be no mistake about their motives."

"Right, that's why we gotta be fast, and we gotta do it from inside the Dungeon." Finn thought it over. It did have... likely the best possibility of working, of the ideas he could think of off-hand.

"It's best to consider alternatives, Lady Loki," he pointed out. "Simply falling for the first idea that's attractive is a common failure."

"Tch. You're right, you're right." She rolled in her seat. "Hmm..." She tapped the side of her forehead. "Maybe we could lure 'em out into the Dungeon somehow? If we meet 'em there, Drake's got a trick of his own."

"Oh?" Finn asked. He was aware of most of Drake's magical talents, but he was unaware of whatever Loki was referencing.

"Yeah, you know You and Yours Stance? Move that makes him look like your heart's desire?" Finn nodded. "It kinda works on the Dungeon."

"It..." Finn frowned at that, attempting to understand all the implications.

"Yeah. When the Ishtar familia was trying to kill him in the Dungeon, he managed to get the walls to just crack open, spilling out monsters." He did vaguely recall that from the after action report. "One time, too, he asked the Dungeon to decant a single goblin upside down for him to easily kill."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it got pissed and spat out like two hundred," Loki said, grinning.

"Seems a bit problematic."

"Eh... to me, the way it seems is, Dungeon likes killing adventurers. If he tells it to do something that'll help kill adventurers, the Dungeon's fine with giving the sexiest man alive a nice monster treat. If he tells it to do something else, it gets mad at him and tries to stomp in his head. 'Course, he doesn't toy with it unless he has to, so those're the only two cases."

"Probably wise policy. Hm." Finn steepled his hands. "Go in through the Dungeon so they don't have the traps set up. Lure them out. Let's put those aside for the moment. We know they're planning to involve themselves during Monsterphilia, no?" Loki nodded. "We could simply keep a firm watch in the leadup, finding and eliminating them."

"Would we be able ta tell- goddammit, Cass's in another fucking part of Gekai, on account of Freya."

"Yes. That's definitely unfortunate. She'd likely be able to quickly identify any conspirators." Finn sighed. Without that, finding them would most likely be a needle in a haystack. "Although - if the timing of Monsterphilia changed?" He pointed out. "They would have to push forward their time table, exposing themselves in the process. Ganesha would also be interested in preventing Monsterphilia from being ruined. It's his baby, after all."

"True, true. Good thought. Let's keep 'em coming, though..."

* * *

Given that I, personally, was utterly immune to the vagaries of the desert heat, I definitely had a temptation to push on when Mishram mentioned that it was only a few hours' ride left to Israfan. Particularly given that Cass's presence would definitely be helpful back in Orario. On the other hand, we were keeping Syr out of Orario purely for the possibility that it would serve to help restrict Freya's own behavior. Thus far, it might even have worked, though I was beginning to lean towards the theory that Syr was who she presented herself as - a failed Freya familia member with a screwed up falna and some kind of Skill that let her see people's souls. Not Freya herself.

Rei, of course, was still as adamant as ever that she was definitely Freya. (We discussed it back in Orario, away from prying eyes.) After all, Rei and I both had multiple bodies, who said Freya couldn't? She was a god. Sure, it wasn't exactly the Freya myth, but Syr was literally another name of Freya... well, the argument was basically the same as always, and I didn't exactly think she was wrong anyway.

To me, it was mostly that it was hard to imagine Freya really being so willing to put up with so much of me for so little of Cass. We would wind up having a 'threesome' that lasted for an hour, involved me fucking Syr silly and making her come her brains out, and a handful of the chastest kisses possible between her and Cass, and then she'd come right back for more the next day. Easily explained if Syr was a normal girl who was head over heels and doing the sort of dumb things one expects of a dumb horny eighteen year old. If it was Freya - well, if she was so tolerant of sharing, I really doubt we'd be in this situation in the first place. Loki certainly agreed when I put the idea to her, saying something like, "Yeah, Freya's ego's even bigger than her tits! That reminds me, you should make Rei give me bigger tits, I know you like 'em chesty. These C-cups are too small!"

(I reminded her that Rei was my wife, not my slave, and if she didn't want to give Loki tits then I wasn't going to make her.)

Syr and Cass were enjoying a comically chaste hug - Cass hugging Syr from behind and nuzzling the girl as Syr kept her hands on her knees - when Riveria poked her head into our tent. "Oh, thank the gods, you're not just having very quiet sex," she said, looking over at me. "Can I speak to you?"

"You clearly can. In fact, you're doing so right now." She gave me an annoyed frown. "Alright, alright. Back in a bit."

"Mm, take your time," Syr said, in a tone of voice that she somehow saw a chaste hug from Cass as even better than sex with me, which I suppose could have been a Freya position...

I stepped outside at that point, and she guided me over to her own tent, huffing as she sat down. "How are things back in Orario?"

"Fine. There's a possible Evilus presence, but they haven't done anything yet, and we should be back before they do, unless Loki decides to intentionally trip a trap early."

Riveria's eyelid twitched at that. "Evilus back..." she muttered, shaking her head. "Fine. Ais. What are your intentions towards her?"

"I don't really have any intentions towards her," I said, and she just rolled her eyes in a way that looked physically painful. "I don't. I know she's doing her cute fumbling thing to try to fall for me, but while it'd be nice for me, I'm not actively encouraging it. If she does actually fall for me, then I'll treat her with all the kindness I can muster."

"All the kindness you treat your current wives with, you mean."

"Yes. I have almost died many times on behalf of my wives. Goro very nearly pulped my skull because of Noriko, and I didn't even think of handing her back. To save Haruhime, we went up against the Ishtar familia, who attacked us in the Dungeon and tried to cheat their way to victory in the War Game. I get that you don't like me, but I am honestly doing my best to make sure my wives are all well taken care of and happy. Given your comment on quiet sex, I'm sure you've heard some of that effort."

Riveria's cheeks turned red at that point, her arms crossed in front of her. It actually streamed up to her ears, which was somewhat cute, though I obviously didn't say as much. "Fine, fine." She huffed. "Tch. This would be easier if you were just an obvious cad."

"Or if I was just unmarried?" I prompted.

"I guess that too," Riveria replied. There was a pause. "Ais is very innocent and peculiar. I just don't think that it's appropriate for the two of you to have a relationship, particularly given your significant age gap."

"We... don't really have a relationship," I pointed out. "She trains with Erza and Cass sometimes. We've had a few conversations. But those conversations are mostly her saying, 'I love you' and then me telling her that it didn't count, and then her puffing out her cheeks and trying again but louder. It's not as if I'm flirting."

"That it didn't count?" Riveria asked. "That... that nonsense... is..." Her hands opened and closed as if she were trying to grasp some phantasmal snake in her lap and then strangle it. "I understand that you believe it, but... really. Such a Skill would definitely appear on your status sheet! It's a collective delusion!"

"Ishtar noticed it herself, it's why she tried to snipe me from the Loki familia," I noted. "It's why Lena hit Level Three so soon after joining Loki, it's why four of my wives are Record Breakers and even Noriko has all 999S in everything but Magic at this point."

"Aisha's still leveling at an ordinary pace, and she's joined your little harem!" Riveria was obviously desperate for any counterpoint. I couldn't blame her for feeling protective - I'd probably have been similarly ticked if my daughters were going for a guy who looked like me.

"Aisha's a mature adult who doesn't fall head over heels for a guy off the bat. Also, I made a very bad first impression."

"Hnn." Riveria huffed. Her fingers tapped against her upper arm, as she kept her arms crossed in front of her. "Fine. I don't believe it, but I suppose I can't dissuade you."

"I can give you further evidence, if you like. For one, I got the third body because of a new love confession," I said. I didn't even have to mention it was Loki, since obviously the normal conclusion would be that it was Koriand'r.

It just made Riveria give me a look of utter contempt. "No. I don't want to hear more about this... nonsense. Even if it was true, I wouldn't want to hear about it! Fine. Suppose Ais said she loved you, sincerely, then. What would you do in that case?"

"I would start advancing the relationship at a pace she felt comfortable with. And that might mean not having sex with her for a very long time, if ever - Haruhime puked whenever she saw my body for quite a while, thanks to Ishtar." My fingers did curl into a fist, but of course, I also had the quite recent memory of Rei smothering what was (probably) the goddess herself in her tits as she used (probably) her as a jerkoff aid, so some of the edge was missing. "I can take my time."

"If you mistreat her, I am a Level Six," Riveria said, her eyes narrowing. Then she let out a long exhalation, relaxing as her arms fell away. "We'll be arriving at Lioad before nightfall," she noted. "That means we're nearly halfway done with this journey." There was a long silence before she spoke again. "There's the obvious question of what to do with Syr. From what you've reported, Freya is still active in Orario. I have to question what the point of this was, really." She didn't say it in a tone of voice that suggested that I had done all this for the sake of banging Syr a whole bunch, or collecting foreign sex slaves. She said it in the sense of us having wasted our time.

"It's not like she's actively causing trouble for the familia," I pointed out. "Exactly the opposite, really." Riveria let out a soft sigh of allowance. "Maybe keeping Cass away was the right idea."

"We'll soon find out if the other half of this scheme works," Riveria said, rolling her eyes as she spoke. I let out a soft chuckle of my own.

"I doubt it. I was close to Haruhime well before I actually saved her from death. These women will just be strangers to me."

"Oh? Not so sure that women will simply descend to their knees and kiss your feet for saving them?"

"They'll be grateful," I said. "Overwhelmed. But if all it took was momentary emotion to count as 'love' as far as my powers are concerned, then I could make any woman fall in love with me with the You and Yours Stance Skill. I think love is a bit more than that."

Riveria let out a snort at that. "Perhaps. Alright. Run along. Go make sure Syr isn't cuckolding you," she said.

I just exited the tent, easily slipping over to my own and finding Syr and Cass in exactly the same position. "Oh, you're back, hi," Syr said, in a tone of voice of totally feigned politeness, making it utterly clear she'd rather that I'd spent the rest of the day in Riveria's tent and let her enjoy a long hug with Cass.

"You really like hugging Cass that much?" I asked.

"I like cuddling with the girl I like," Syr redefined. "Do you not cuddle with Cass?"

"He... does..." Cass said.

"Sure. But I also like having sex with her."

"Well, I sadly can't do that, so I have to settle for this. Didn't Haruhime used to struggle with men?" She asked. "Something about puking all the time?"

"She did," I admitted. "Curious where you heard about that." It had just come up in the conversation with Riveria - it would suggest Syr had an adventurer's hearing.

"Drunk men at the Hostess of Fertility. The girl of ethereal, ladylike beauty, who can't help but vomit at your touch, is the white whale of every man in a brothel. Surely I'll be the one to overcome it," she said, rolling her eyes.

I just stepped into the two of them at that point, wrapping both in a hug, earning a faint squeak from Syr of surprise. She glanced at Cass, and seeing the happy smile on Cass's lips - and, presumably, the glowing joy in her soul - Syr just leaned into it instead, kissing at my neck affectionately, wiggling her body against mine, probably trying to entice me to fuck her again. (And, by extension, not to fuck Cass.)

I had two other bodies to screw my wives, though. For the moment, I just wanted to cuddle.

* * *

Rye gulped as the Prettiest Princess squatted down next to him. "This is a nice drawing," she said, smiling at it. He felt his cheeks burn as she did so. It was a picture of her, but he knew it was really bad. It didn't look anything like her! It was just a sort of brown mush drawn with crayons. He was trying really hard but it definitely didn't look good. "Is it of me?"

"Y-yes," Rye said, trying to puff out his chest. He didn't want to look so unconfident in front of the Prettiest Princess. She was nice and really pretty. He could even smell her right now, and it was a very sweet smell. It sort of reminded him of lavender, like they used in funerals to cover up the smell of a dead body, but it was really powerful and nice. "Sorry it's not good."

"No! It's plenty good!" The Prettiest Princess said, smiling warmly. "Yes, it isn't perfect, but drawing is a very hard skill to learn, especially when no one is teaching you! Oh, should I get you a teacher?" She asked, tilting her head, and Rye felt his cheeks glow at the suggestion. A Level Three adventurer, offering to hire a teacher, just to teach him how to draw? He felt even more silly about showing her his drawing now... that'd be really expensive.

"N-no, you don't have to," Rye said, shaking his head hurriedly. "Um. I'm not... that interested in drawing," he explained.

"Okay! Well, if you change your mind, Rye, you can tell me, alright? I can't have kids of my own, but I really do like children, you know? So I want to be a little bit like Mama Maria to you and the other kids."

His lips awkwardly quirked on his mouth. "Thanks," he managed to say, in response. He didn't really want her to be like Mama Maria. He knew enough about sex to know that he wanted to have it with her, even if he only knew how it worked from people talking about it. He'd seen Drake just grab her butt one time, and he knew he really wanted to do that, but he also knew he'd definitely get in trouble and the Prettiest Princess wouldn't like him any more.

"Oh, you know what would be super fun?" Her smile was radiant and so nice and sweet. "If I gave you a piggyback ride! Actually, how about a shoulder ride? I can show you a really amazing view of the city," she said, smiling.

Riding on an adventurer's shoulders was something he'd have said yes to, even if it hadn't been the Prettiest Princess! Even if it had been Drake or somebody else, he would have said yes. "Yes! Thanks, Princess!" He said, and she just smiled at him - maybe a little unhappily at being called Princess? - and hefted him up onto her shoulders easily.

"Oh, can I keep your picture?" She asked.

"A-ahm, oh, s-sure," he stammered out, and watched as she neatly folded it up and placed it into her pocket, before the pair of them left the church, her hands on his calves.

He'd sometimes seen an adventurer just jump off the ground up into the air, so he had sort of expected that the Prettiest Princess would do that. They could jump really high up, and really far. But instead of that, Julia just took a step, planting one foot a bit up off the ground, like she was planting it on a stair that only she could see. Then she did the same thing in front of it, an even higher stair, and Rye just watched in amazement as she literally walked on the air, corkscrewing up like on a spiral staircase, the church soon vanishing. His heart caught in his throat as he stared down at Orario from this huge height, all the people and gods below looking like little ants, the buildings looking like they did on a map.

"Do you like it?" She asked.

He nodded rapidly, then realized she couldn't see him. "Yes! It's really cool, Princess! Thanks a lot!" His hands were on her head at this point, half holding on, half just enjoying the silky, soft feeling of her hair. Her hair was just so nice and wonderful, rich and dark... and right here he could smell her really well... and something felt weird about his thing right then.

"Oop!" She said. "Are you getting an erection?" She asked him.

"A-ah, um, ah?" He sputtered out, his eyes wide as she asked the question.

"It's okay," she told him, gently patting his calf. "It's totally normal for a boy your age to have an erection, I'm not mad at all, okay? I know that boys get them lots. Goshujinsama gets them sometimes even when he's doing totally normal things, like reading a book, or sleeping." He didn't think that he was getting the... erection, from just sitting around. He was pretty sure he was getting the erection because his thing was pressing against the back of the Prettiest Princess's neck and he could smell her and feel her and she was soft and he was suddenly aware that his ankles were right next to her breasts and his cheeks turned scarlet. "And it's okay to get them because you like a girl, too!" She added, smiling as she spoke. "It's just a part of your body, Rye. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Now, you shouldn't just stare at girls, of course," she added, "but you're not staring at me right now, are you?"

"No!" Honestly, he was kind of looking at nothing because he was so close to her. If he was looking at anything, it was the city, though. "I'm not!"

"Good," she said, gently patting his calf. "So, would you like to go see a really good view?" He nodded, forgetting she couldn't see him. "Okay! Let's go!" She started walking up and towards the Tower of Babel, the city below seeming to stretch ever further down, and the momentary distraction of realizing how close he was to her, was replaced completely by the reality of the city stretching down in front of him, the enormity of it. He'd seen the city lots, he'd even seen maps, but now he really saw it, saw the way that you couldn't tell one person from the next. They were just little splotches of color, all the way up here. "Ooo, look at that!" She said, smiling as she twirled around in place, facing away from the Tower of Babel.

She pointed off somewhere, and his gaze naturally followed, as he got to see the Colosseum from above, some kind of monster that he definitely couldn't tell what it was, contained inside. It was big. Huge, even. He could make out that it had four legs and two wings, and that it was kinda red, but he couldn't tell anything else about it. It wasn't flying or anything. Could it fly? If it could fly it could fly up here, but maybe she could shoot it. "Oop oop oop!" She said, reaching up for him and hefting him off her shoulders, holding him in front of her.

He didn't like that he wasn't quite as close to her breasts, though just thinking that made his cheeks red again because of how mean it was, when she was really nice and probably just trying to give him a better view. She turned her head around at that point - he could feel, because of how her body shifted, and he naturally did exactly the same thing, trying to see what she saw. His view was completely blocked by her body, and she was wearing a really pretty cyan dress that clung to her breasts really well, so he didn't really mind that he couldn't see whatever she was looking at. Something in the Tower of Babel? She hefted him up, then, holding him against her chest with both arms for a moment, her boobs pushing into his back, and then holding him against her with one arm, which just about made his heart explode with how close he was. He was pretty sure she was waving at whatever, but he didn't care because of how close these boobs were.

After what felt like forever in heaven, but was really probably like a minute, tops, the Prettiest Princess turned back to him, starting to walk away from the Tower of Babel and gently lifting him back onto her shoulders again. "Sorry about that! I was just saying 'hi' to a metamor of mine and my dad," she explained, smiling.

"A-ah? What's a metamor?"

"Well, imagine that you have a wife, right?" He nodded rapidly. He was imagining she was his wife, even though she was obviously married and Drake was a Level Three Record Breaker anyway so he couldn't possibly measure up. "But what if the wife has a different guy as a husband? Like, she's married to you and this other guy?"

"Um..." he said. He didn't really like that idea very much. Though, wait, was she maybe saying-?

"Well, anyway, the person I was waving at, she has sex with goshujinsama, and goshujinsama has sex with me, so she's my metamor, get it? Even though I definitely would never ever have sex with her," she explained.

"Oh." She wasn't saying that maybe she could be married to him and Drake at the same time. "Okay." He didn't really pay attention to what the Prettiest Princess was saying for the next little bit.

"Aw, cheer up," she said, bouncing him a bit on her shoulders, jarring him out of his slump. "Come on. Where do you want to see from high up, Rye? We can look at anything! Nobody can hide from us! We can go low, we can go high, it's all up to us," she declared.

He didn't really know what he wanted to see. Maybe... "Um. A g-girl's bath?" He didn't know why he said that. Ah! His stupid mouth!

"Ooo, that's bad, Rye. You shouldn't spy on girls without permission! I know it's really sexy as a thought, because you get to see a cute girl naked but she doesn't even know, but you can't act on that kind of fantasy, okay? Maybe one day, when you're married, you and your wife can do sexy roleplay like that, though!" She patted his calf. "Sorry, Rye. I'm not angry for you saying that! I'm happy you feel like you can trust me enough! But it really is wrong, got it?"

"O-okay. Can we see what the monster in the Colosseum is?"

The Prettiest Princess peered in that direction again. "Okay! I'm pretty sure I can handle it even if it attacks us, so don't worry, I'll keep you safe, Rye." He felt another furious flush on his cheeks.

* * *

Lioad was surrounded by a three meter tall wall - it would have been easy enough for pretty much our entire party to simply hop over it, but it kept out the kinds of monsters that idly roamed the wastes of the Kaios desert. We went in through the gates anyway, noting that our business was that we planned to buy some slaves.

As we actually came to the open air slave markets, though, I suddenly had a quite critical realization that probably should have been obvious before. Cass wasn't a very intellectual sort of girl. When the plan was proposed, she would have been thinking about the matter in very vague and airy terms. Now that we were actually there, her entire body language had shifted. The awkward, sweet shyness around Syr was replaced with an instant look of sympathy and determination, the moment we came into sight of the slaves. Syr was looking at her, a smile on her lips, clearly recognizing what was about to happen.

"Can we... free... all of them?" Cass asked, looking at me.

I knew the answer instantly, and I knew therefore that Cass knew the answer, and I could already see the consequences stretching out in front of me. "There could be high Level adventurers here," I pointed out, and she hesitated a moment, but nodded, her eyes casting out across the crowd. She shook her head a moment later. "Not literally here, but in the city."

"High Level adventurers outside Orario are very rare," Syr said, smiling in a way that showed a real delight to her. She was very clearly happy with what was very obviously about to transpire. "A Level Four outside Orario... there might be a few, but Lioad isn't that important, I don't think. Riveria?" She called out to the elf, who looked her way. "Do you think there are any adventurers as strong as Cass in this city?"

Riveria, not really realizing what was happening, let out a small snort and shake of her head. "I doubt it. This isn't-" before she could speak further, Cass simply rushed forward, leaping onto a rooftop and simply disappearing from sight. "What's-?" Riveria asked, looking at me.

"Cass - is a very good person," I said. "Slavery is a very bad thing." I hesitated, then shrugged my shoulders. It was going to happen anyway, so I approached one of the hawkers. "Excuse me, sir," I said, speaking loudly enough to catch his attention. "I'd like to note that slavery is extremely evil, and you should simply liberate your slaves and stop living in sin."

There was a deep belly laugh from the man in question. "That's a funny joke, friend," he said. "But if you're not willing to pay-" I reached out with a strand of Fate and simply yanked him bodily off the stage, sending him skidding across the ground and scattering the people around me.

* * *

Cass watched as Drake reached out with his technique, yanking several more hawkers off the platform where the dozens of slaves were lined up. She knew he was... showing off on purpose, but she also knew that he was doing it because he wanted to, and because he liked her, and knew she wanted to free the slaves. There was a quiet, transcendent joy that came from the slaves, seeing what was happening there. That they were about to be freed, or at least, there was a strong chance of it. Their happiness only grew when the guards tried to rush Drake, who simply weaved around their attacks and disarmed them, breaking their spears or hurling them aside. The market had mostly cleared out, quite quickly. The slaves still stood on the platform, bound there.

Drake recited something, though it had a lot of words Cass didn't understand. "But the soul is still o̵ŕacu҉la̧r; ͏a̢mi҉d  the market's di͟n͟, Li̸s͏t͜ the om͞in̷o͟u͏s̢ ͞st̛e͟rn whisper from the D̶elph̛i͡c cave within,— 'They enslave their children's children who make c҉ǫm̡p͏ro͡m͞i̸s͘e̶ with sin.'" She understood the message well enough, though. Slavery was bad.

At that point, she saw an adventurer emerge from a building, idly cleaning his ear. He had clearly been drawn out at the behest of the city guards, who were busily talking to him. He was a tall, lean male figure, one of the dog-people races. He was also a Level Four, so he might actually hurt Drake, especially if he caught him by surprise.

Cass swooped across rooftops, undetected by anyone, before landing behind him, whisper-quiet. He heard her breathing, turning his head around, and barely had the time to bring up his weapon - a sword - in a defensive movement. "Holy fu-" he got out as she grabbed the weapon. "Shit, supposed to-" she gripped the weapon tight as she could, knowing that her gauntlet was stronger than the blade itself, and there was a creaking noise. He realized the danger to his weapon, trying to grab her wrist with his free hand, which she stopped, grabbing his wrist to hold him - at that point, just rammed his head forward, smashing it against hers, sending them both reeling backwards from the pain. She kept her grip on his sword, though, and he brought up a foot to kick her in the stomach, which she dodged to the side of.

"Fucking- the fu-" He tried simply yanking on the sword, trying to make her lose her balance that way - she did go off the ground, but she simply landed her own feet on his chest and kicked. Combined with the pressure she was putting on his weapon, that was enough to break it, and she landed a few feet away, skidding across the ground as she kept her eyes on him. "This is supposed to be a lazy town," he said. "Not a place where Level Fours come in and break my fucking sword." He looked at the broken thing in his hand. "Fuck it. You win. Free all the slaves you want. I'm not fighting somebody strong as you for these wages."

Cass frowned at that. She supposed that was... good? He left at that point, the guards following after him, desperately begging for his assistance. He just leapt over the town walls in a huff.

* * *

As Erza snapped open the bindings of the slaves with her sword, Riveria approached me. "You know that the familia will probably face negative consequences for this. Mishram, too."

"Well, I couldn't stop Cass, but you could have stopped me," I said.

Riveria hummed at that, taking it as it was. "I figured that Loki had anticipated this," Riveria said. "The familia will at the very least have to pay for Mishram."

In my body back at the Twilight Manor, I did go check with Loki on that subject. "No! I didn't predict that at all!" She started bouncing up and down. "How many slaves?"

"About thirty, I think."

"Thirty!" Loki sat down, letting out a sigh of relief. "Okay, thirty's not too bad, that's more than I sent you with the money for, but-"

"Oh, no, sorry. They weren't all on display yet. Cass caught somebody trying to sneak out with a dozen." Loki twitched. "We'll look around for more."

"Nnguh. Guh. Gah!!" Loki whined, then collapsed on her bed. "Tell Erza she's paying first!" She pointed at me threateningly. "Unless she, uh, undoes what you did!"

"Hey, Erza," I said, hopping onto the platform where Erza had just got done shattering everybody's bindings. "Loki says that you have to help pay for the reparations or whatever for freeing the slaves first."

"I see." Erza hummed, looking down at her hand. "I had been saving that money to free Ryu from her own slavery, but very well." She clasped her hand into a tight fist. "I think Ryu would accept it."

"Yeah, probly," Rei chimed in. "Especially on account of she's not really a slave?"

"Debt slave," I said.

Rei thought about it for a second, then snorted. "Sure, I guess. Not a lot of hot chicks in this batch, gotta say," she noted, looking over the women.

"Ah, thank you, adventurer, for your generosity and kindness," one of the former slaves, an older man - maybe late fifties, early sixties, old but not so old he couldn't stand with a straight back - said. He was the first among them to really talk, the rest being in a sort of stunned silence. "But, we have been taken from our families and had our possessions taken as part of our captivity. If you leave us here, we will surely simply be taken as slaves again, and we cannot leave on our own."

"Oh, right, yeah. You're all free to come along with..." We had brought enough extra camels for maybe a dozen people, but we did have more money than that. "We're headed back to Orario. I can't guarantee you a position in my familia unless you're an attractive woman, though."

Every eye slid to a girl near the edge of the row.

The girl everyone was looking at was a natural target: full breasts, smooth skin, a shapely buxom physique. She was sweating heavily under the afternoon sun, her short hair in tangles around her shoulders as she looked surprise to suddenly become the center of attention. "Ah? Ahem?" She cleared her throat hesitantly. She was obviously dressed up for sale on the strength of her physical assets. The clothes looked like they had gold filigree, so I had to wonder if they were included in her price tag...

"I'm Drake Holt. This is my wife, Erza Scarlet, and another of my wives, Rei Maxwell," I said, pointing to the two. "Another one of them is Cassandra Cain, she's the one who brought this dozen back here," I said, pointing to the group. "You're free now, all of you."

"I... yes, I am Jahanara," she said, giving an uncertain bow. "Thank you for saving me from a life of slavery. I had truly given up hope."

"Do you have family?" I asked her. Her expression became distant. "It's alright," I reassured her, gently patting her shoulder, and she blushed at the touch, smiling nervously and very cutely. I have a weakness for girls who need protection, as Haruhime and Noriko proved, and this girl very clearly wanted protection right now. "Like I said, you can all come to Orario, a city where there aren't wars where you can be taken into slavery. You can apply to the Loki familia."

Back in Orario, I held out my hands in front of my chest. "Tits about this big," I explained, holding my hands out in front of my chest. "Skin something like Lena's, maybe a little darker. Hair to here."

"Ah! Tell her this was all my idea!" Loki demanded. "Tell her I sent you here on a secret mission, just to free her!"

"That sounds a bit unbelievable," I pointed out.

"Agh... you're right. Wait, she's not an Amazon, is she?"

In Lioad: "Are you an Amazon?"

"No," she said, shaking her head.

In Orario: "Nope."

"Okay." Loki took a deep breath, tapping her fingers against her forehead. "Tell her that I, Loki, head of the Loki familia, have heard from you of her..." she trailed off. "Of her... what have you learned about her other than what she looks like?"

"Not a lot. Her family's the sort of thing where you stare into the middle distance."

"Her personal tragedy!" Loki declared. "And I wish to cordially invite her to my familia, to join it as a free woman, if she would allow me the honor- no, the kindness, because it's personal tragedy.

In Lioad: "I have a way of speaking to my goddess, even at great distance," I told her, and she just nodded. I could have told her I had a third head and she probably would have nodded. "She heard about your personal tragedy, and she wants to invite you to her familia as a free woman, if you would allow her the kindness."

"A-ahm, th-thank you, then," she said, fidgeting in place, one hand on her other shoulder's upper arm as she awkwardly fidgeted. "I... I'll do that, then."

Naturally, all the other slaves quickly began to tell their sob stories.

In Orario: "Yes! I'm in, baby!" Loki was fist-pumping. "New set of tits to grope, and nice chocolate ones at that!"

"And the other slaves?" I asked her.

"Eh... tell the rest of 'em that I'll vet their stories back in Orario and consider what to do."

* * *

Mishram couldn't help but be angry at the Loki familia members, as they dragged out over sixty slaves (formerly, so far as they were concerned) from the city. He had not been told this would happen. His name had now been associated with theirs - and it was certainly going to be dragged through the mud all through Kaios as a consequence. Mishram was a common enough name among the desert peoples of Kaios, but still. The real advantage of his position was simply that he was a member of a familia back in Orario, and therefore could just... not come back out.

Even with that, though, it was only the promise of substantial extra payment that led him to lead this absurd caravan. For reasons that were utterly beyond his merely ordinary, Level One mind, they had decided - after robbing at sword point all the most mobile wealth of the city - to actually pay for the camels and water and extra tents they would need. At least the people had the sense not to try to confront them, or do something stupid like kidnap one of the liberated slaves. He was fairly certain they had been overcharged for the trouble they caused, but they seemed not to care.

Whatever the case, Mishram was now setting out to guide the dozens and dozens of powerless slaves out through the sweltering heat of the desert. At least they were Kaios natives, and therefore didn't have to be told that they were not marching through the noonday heat, or through the cold and dark of the deadest night.

* * *

Jahanara hesitated outside of Drake's tent. She had seen his wife Erza, his wife Rei, his wife Cassandra... she knew he was surrounded by beauty already. She suspected he was intimate with his goddess - how else could he so confidently claim to speak for her?

Compared to his other women... surely she could offer him nothing. Indeed, he was of such virtue and character that she was expected to offer him nothing. He did not even say she must join his familia (though she would surely be a fool not to). That was the man who had saved her from a life on her back, being rutted by some fat pig of an old man, as she sure would have otherwise been her fate.

She was unworthy of a man of his stature. She could not even claim her chastity to offer him. Surely he had taken countless women's, in his days, with such a handsome, perfect form... he did not even sweat in the sun! She could only wonder at it. The might of an adventurer.... she fiddled with the nape of the soft robe she was wearing. She wore the clothes she had almost been sold in, beneath it, rather than the more comfortable travel wear she had worn up to this point - she imagined he would like that more.

"Go for it," come a female voice from behind her, making her jump. She spun around, her heart beating hard in her chest, pounding away. The girl in question was Rei - an adventurer, short and blessed (or, if her life was like Jahanara's, cursed) with a curvaceous figure. She had the exotic features of a girl of the far east. "Take off the robe and just beg him to take you. Oh, but, uh, so, not really sure on this, but please don't tell him you love him until after you get a falna. Got it?"

"A-ahm?" Jahanara simply blinked at the words. Love him? Did she? She looked down. Love... was that what she felt? Admiration, attraction, desire, of course. But love? No, that was too presumptuous a word to use. She didn't deserve to claim such a thing. His wives loved him, surely, but they knew him - she had seen only a pinhole into his life. "I don't..."

"Take off the robe, and go in there, and beg him to fuck you," Rei repeated, more seriously this time.

It was then that the tent opened on its own, unbidden, Drake himself standing before her. She could only look up at him, one hand clasping her robe tight against herself. Drake looked momentarily at Rei, then back at Jahanara. "Jahanara," he said. His voice was soft as the smoothest of oils, as if gently rubbed across her skin by a loving caress. "If Rei's putting you up to something, you can just ignore her, she's a horny pervert but she won't do anything really bad."

"A-ah, Rei has put me up to nothing, I shame your wife by my mere presence, I apologize deeply," she said, bowing her head, falling to her knees before him.

"No, look-" he paused at that point, "come inside." Jahanara did as she was bidden. She didn't dare to complain. She worried, instead, that she was imposing, that her momentary choice to apologize had made him do that merely to not create a scene. She found two women already in his tent, of course, naturally. Cassandra Cain, whose swift action had supposedly pushed Drake on to do what he 'ought have done anyway,' and who had fought off the Level Four the city had been paying for protection. And the other, Syr, a supporter, a side follower. Seeing her brought a tiny bloom of hope to her heart - perhaps Jahanara could even be worthy of warming his bed. No, now she was thinking herself better than others, a terrible act that her mother had often warned her against.

Her mother...

Syr let out a sigh as their eyes met. There was an awkward smile on her lips. At last, she spoke up. "I suppose I can understand it, at least a little, if you always respond this way to every rescued damsel," she said.

Jahanara felt her cheeks glow at those words. "I apologize, I am imposing."

"No, no!" Syr said, hurriedly. "Please, stay. Enjoy her to your heart's content, Drake! I'll only hug Cass, promise," she said, raising one hand, pinky finger in the air.

"Ah, my body, yes," Jahanara said, pulling away at her robe, letting her body beneath it be shown him. "I... was already... I..." she felt tears bite at her eyes. It was only a month ago, that her tribe had been attacked, many killed, herself sold into slavery, whereupon she was promptly used by many of her captors. "I have no chastity to give you," she said. "But, if you wish to enjoy my body, then surely you deserve it more than any man who has enjoyed it before now." Tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked up at him, her vision warping. He placed one hand gently on her cheek, wiping the tears away.

"I really don't care about that chastity stuff," he told her, and she simply nodded blankly. "One of my wives is a widow. Another is a former prostitute. These aren't pretty words, they're the truth, okay? I don't think there's anything wrong with having had sex before me." He was squatting down, so that she was looking down at him, a most absurd and inappropriate position - she fell to her knees, making him chuckle. "Look, Jahanara, you don't have to do that. Or this." She reached out for him, then, some impulse deep within her making her fingers find his shirt to clasp it tight. "If you want to, though, I'm perfectly happy to do so. More than happy, you're beautiful. I just don't want you to do it just because you feel you have to. I want it to be because you want to."

So kind and thoughtful. "Yes," she breathed, unable to say anything else. What else could be said? "Yes, I want to. Please, let me know what it is, to be with a virtuous man," she said, her voice warbling pitifully. She surely looked miserable and pathetic. He just kissed at her tears anyway, gently laying her down on the floor. His own wife mere feet away. "Ah, surely, not in front of Cassandra?" She squeaked the words out, feeling insulting even as she finished the thought.

"Cass likes to watch," he reassured her. Cass. So that was how she preferred to be called. "Don't worry. It's sweet of you to think of her, though," Drake told her, one hand sliding down towards her sternum, gently teasing the valley of her breasts. "Haruhime had been through a lot too - she couldn't handle things, at first. Is that the case for you?"

"Handle things?" She asked, confused as to what he meant. Perhaps 'Haruhime' had been brutalized by a client? "My body is uninjured," she told him.

"I meant... well, forget it," he said, and she considered it forgotten, as he leaned down to kiss her on the lips. She felt his turgid length slap against her belly, felt his fingers pull away her bottoms, and she counted herself so fortunate to be given this second chance. A man of such virtue, of such fine character, of such handsome body - she surely did not deserve it. Not even her sufferings could have earned it, by some strange accounting. She promised herself she would do anything he asked of her. He pressed against her sex, pushing in slowly and gingerly as his lips pressed hard against hers. She could only moan into his mouth in delight.

To say he was the man of her dreams was unfair to him - her dreams were far more reasonable. She would have been happy with a strong and competent husband, a man who knew his way around a sword and could ride to war. Instead she was gifted with a man like this... even when he saved her from slavery, he was a poet!

"But the soul is still oracular; amid the market's din / List the ominous stern whisper from the Delphic cave within,— / 'They enslave their children's children who make compromise with sin.'" Those words, so beautiful, so perfect, touched her heart sweetly as surely as any of his actions. That kinship with mankind he felt was transcendent, and she surely was fortunate for it, fresh tears streaming from her cheeks in joy as he filled her up entirely. It was a dangerous day for her, but she would be happy to bear his child, if that was what he so wished. She did not dare imagine that a man like him would simply forget about the possibility of pregnancy.

He broke off the kiss at that point, leaning up, and she was delighted to see as he pulled off his shirt, revealing a muscular, handsome chest, a hot breath escaping her throat at the sight. So gorgeous. The smooth, pale skin was exotic to her eyes (though surely, natural to his), but it only brought her squirming delight as she saw it. A moment later, she realized she ought to reciprocate, moving in a desperate rush to shrug off the absurd little top that had been given her, inwardly thinking she was a fool to even bother with clothes! Obviously nudity was more delightful! He leaned down to kiss her once more, passion in his movements, as his lips pressed against hers, as his tongue invaded her mouth. His hands explored her body, gently cupping her breasts, sliding down her flanks, as her sex welcomed him inside her, as he began to gently thrust.

Then it happened. Joyous. Overwhelming. Her eyes widened as pure bliss hit her, something far greater than even what there had been so far. She moaned and undulated beneath him in delight, every touch of their skin together seeming to carry with it sweetness and desire. Even her bare skin against the tent's floor beneath her brought her a new delight. His tongue pushed its way into her mouth, and it felt even better than his initial penetration had - much less his actual penetration, which was driving her utterly up the wall with pleasure, as he scooped out every inch of her insides.

He broke off the kiss, nibbling at her earlobe softly as he thrust inside her, pumping gently at her body. Every point of contact brought her bliss, and she moaned, twisting her head to one side, in the process seeing where Cass watched her every movement. The foreign girl's cheeks flushed hot as their eyes met, but she gave a tiny, sweet wiggle of the fingers, a wave of gentle kindness.

Even his wives were the kindest sort of people. Of course a man like him would be surrounded by women like that. She would do her best to show just the same sort of love and kindness that he had shown her, to every other woman he had! To his wives! She would wait on them hand and foot! She would thank his goddess for sending this man to her! She would kiss the goddess's feet! She would do anything she could for him, for his wives, for his goddess - and she knew that would be too little to repay her debts!

"Oh, another one..." Syr mumbled, her voice annoyed and low. Cass gently tapped the side of her head. "Sorry," she said, huffing and then turning her gaze back to Cass, just hugging the other girl tight. "You're so nice, Cass."

She should say the same to him. "I, thank, you," she panted out, as he thrust inside her, as his fingers teased her breasts with a skill unimaginable to the her who had never been with a man, much less the her who had her breasts treated like playthings by a dozen men. Only pleasure was earned by his touch. Her breath was hot in the air, as she rolled about beneath him. "You are, too good, for me!" She squealed out the last word, an earth-shatteringly powerful bliss hitting her in the midst of the pleasure she had already experienced, as his tongue gingerly slid across her skin, tasting her like she was the most delicious being in the world.

She simply descended into pure bliss, as he pleasured her, as he touched her, as he played with her naked body as he pleased. She did not complain. Every touch was astounding. Sometimes he would slow inside her, and it would just become achingly sweet. Sometimes he would gently twist her body this way or that, and she did her best to help him along - though, given her pleasure, she mostly bonelessly flopped about. Sometimes he would whisper sweet nothings in her ear. "You're very cute like this." "You have a beautiful body." Most blissful of all, though, was, "I hope I can do this every day." She could only mewl in delight, fingers trailing across his back, trying to hold him against her, trying to express that she wanted that too, that she would follow him into the Dungeon merely that he might relieve himself on expedition, that she would do anything for him, anything. "You're enjoying yourself, huh?"

She was enjoying herself, but that wasn't it at all. She didn't want him to think her so shallow... She willed herself to speak, to backtalk him, her mouth finally, slowly, achingly obeying her commands to speak. "I am, happy, you, like, me," she got out, before the pleasure overwhelmed her again, her sex squeezing down on his cock as she twitched and writhed beneath him. He just chuckled softly at that, kissing her fiercely on the lips and going right back to making love to her.

In the end, he spilled his seed inside her what felt like an eternity later, countless orgasms having come and gone, when he finally pulled his hard cock out of her slick sex, his seed deposited inside her. Her hand went to her belly. She could very well be pregnant.

Even if this was the only time...

Even if she would have to raise the child all on her own...

She was happy to do it. "Thank you," she told him, tears twinkling out of her eyes as she blinked.

"Any time," he said, gently caressing her cheek. "Cass," he started, stepping towards his wife and Syr. Jahanara simply let her eyes close, drifting off to a blissful slumber at that point, naked, Drake's cum leaking out of her.

Next Chapter