Novels2Search
A Tower Of Dreams
Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

"As I've said all forty seven times you've tried to challenge me before, Mika, it's a hundred years too early for you to think of defeating me, boy. Oi, you've already eaten a third, so pass us the beef carpaccio, don't go eating it all by yourself, Arata."

I pouted and did as told, feeling somewhat disappointed that my diabolical attempt to take at least half the appetizer for myself had been utterly foiled midway by my meddlesome great grandfather.

"Putting on a cute pout won't get you any of our portion, besides, Arata, it's the antipasto, there's plenty more to eat after this, while it is certainly delicious, no need for any of that greed.

I'm quite certain that I ordered enough to fill your belly, and just so you know, while we were on the way here, I was paying attention when you said you can eat an entire family size pizza by yourself. So be a good girl and wait for the insalata caprese."

After a moment of trying to appeal to Taizou, I gave up on acting cute and slumped forward onto the table, overwhelemed with the disappointment that my trump card had no effect.

"Can't I just have a little more? Pretty please? It's sooo good. Taizou, why didn't you tell me any earlier that you knew the owner of an italian restaurant that makes amazingly good food in the area for such a long time?"

In response to my question, my great grandfather looked around quickly, as if making sure nobody was close enough to overhear him speak, before replying very quietly in a serious tone.

"Because the owner has a serious fetish for young widows with broken hearts.. I don't think I need to explain the reason any further, right, Arata?"

Feeling somewhat surprised by the unexpected and unusually serious reply from the old man, I absentmindedly took a sip of my wine, as I spent a moment thinking it over.

'So.. The old goblin was worried that I'd come here alone, and might end up getting seduced by the owner if he found out that I had lost Misha.

Well, he is pretty good looking, and my sense of self wasn't as strong in the past few years as well.. I don't know whether or not I would get seduced.

While Misha and I were never able to get married due to the incident.. Still, I was practically widowed that day, so there's really not much of a difference at all. So if the guy really does have such a fetish, he probably would hit on me..'

I shook my head to clear the increasingly strange thoughts, and went back to staring enviously at my Mika and Taizou as they devoured the remaining carpaccio with great relish.

"It's definitely a good appetizer alright.. It's making me hungrier watching you two eat it.. ..When's that salad gonna arrive?"

"That's why it's called an appetizer, obviously, it makes you hungrier to see other people eating it. Has becoming a hentai heroine knocked common sense out of your head, Arata?"

With a raised eyebrow, I gave my great grandfather a very inquisitive look in response to his odd comment, while trying to ignore the desire to snatch the plate back from my family.

"What kind of person do you think I am? Do you think I, Kaigai Taizou, your esteemed ancestor, would stoop so low as to lie to my own adorable great granddaughter? Do you really think I would I lie to you?"

I grinned and took advantage of the opportunity, casually replying while trying to keep myself from breaking out into a fit of giggles as I spoke.

"More than Loki would lie to the Aesir, you old goat."

As Taizou sputtered and nearly choked in surprise, I deftly snatched a piece of the carpaccio off his plate, and quickly stuffed it into my mouth with a satisfied smile.

"You damn vixen, you've been plotting this diabolical moment to snitch my portion of the carpaccio off my plate the entire time, haven't you?"

I shrugged and gave my great grandfather the most innocent smile within my ability to muster, before giving up in the face of his serious stare.

"Haven't been plotting it, you just set yourself up perfectly for that. Whether or not I've actually become a hentai heroine, it doesn't change that I know a good opportunity when I see it."

"Damn.. Unexpectedly, a weird old man like me has managed to accidentally corrupt my adorable descendant's pure and innocent heart into becoming a schemer.. Alas, my lineage.. It's all become a bunch of weirdoes.."

He trailed off as a waiter arrived, who began laying out the beautiful sight of our salads and risotto in front of us. I smiled at the waiter, while resisting the urge to immediately dig in.

After a moment, as the waiter stepped away, the unusually quiet Mika paused his eating of the carpaccio to speak up, while giving me an odd look with a raised eyebrow.

"We get it from our greatly esteemed ancestor. After all, your son was a trap, our father, your grandson, was also a trap. And I'd be a trap just like them if I didn't decide to seriously hit the gym.

Also.. Sis, just eat without worrying about appearances if you're that hungry, staring at the food like that with your yellow eyes gives you a surprisingly predatory look."

I shrugged and took another sip from my glass of spumante wine, before starting to eat the salad, while watching Taizou put on an overly dramatic hurt expression for a brief moment.

"Mika, how could you say such a thing! I'm.. I'm.. Ah fuck it, pretending to be offended by that would be really boring, since the two of you are used to that kind of thing.

So, Arata, I'll get serious and stop goofing around for a bit. As we said that we'll be giving you a checkup, I might as well ask a few questions during dinner.

Though the neural damage from the Berkeley Incident is long gone, and your sense of self has been stable, have the changes happening in your body altered your self perception? For example, making you feel less like yourself?"

Taizou's sudden shift from playfulness to asking a serious question took me by surprise, and I began thinking about it as I took a bite of the salad.

'My self perception, huh.. I don't feel any less like myself, even though I'm told that my brain has changed, I don't feel different.. Actually, I do. I've been feeling abnormally horny, and also prettier, I guess.

While, I've definitely been more conscious about my rear and lower back, but that's just due to my tails, and because the base of my tails is lewdly sensitive.. But I guess getting spanked by the elves was also pretty nice..'

I shook my head to clear the thoughts that were rapidly going wayward, as I came to my conclusion, I gave my great grandfather my somewhat embarrassed reply.

"Not really? I'm stable, but, well, there's a few differences, I guess.. Like, having tails feel natural to me, and well.. I'm sure you saw the results of the hormonal test.

Otherwise, I doubt you'd be calling me a hentai heroine just because of the mark that's appeared below my navel."

"Well, you're right about that. Half the reason I've been calling you a hentai heroine is because of your very intriguing physiological response to powerful magnetic fields. It's very much something you could only expect out of a hentai heroine's body.

Lewd body aside, since it's not important at the moment.. What is important, is that you have not forgotten the training you have been given, and did not panic in the face of such an abnormal crisis. Congratulations, Arata, you've passed the test."

I cocked my head to the side, unsure of what he meant by his confusing comment about a test, and gestured for him to continue speaking.

"Could you just plainly say what you're trying to say, instead of saying things in a weird round about way that doesn't really make any sense, Taizou? Also, this salad is pretty damn good."

Without caring for the mood, Mika commented, while grabbing his plate of salad, mercilessly tearing apart the oddly dramatic atmosphere Taizou was creating.

"Gramps is just trying to say he's glad that you're not having any mental issues as a result of what's happened with your brain, like personality drift, for example. Or plain old mental instability.

He's just saying it in a really round about way because he thinks admitting that he was actually seriously worried about your health would be inconsistent with his attempts at looking cool."

Taizou gave Mika a grudging look, dropped his face into his hands, sighed, and then finally stuffed his mouth with salad, before replying a minute later.

"Seriously Mika, why do you have to ruin my cool lines like that? You're being a bigger wet blanket than Arata is when she's feeling grouchy. Can't you act more like your older sister and humor an old man a bit?"

"I'm not sure if that's an compliment or an insult, you old goat, but it is nice to hear that you were worried about me. And Mika, don't get all grouchy and sulky about having lost to Taizou again. Cheer up already."

Mika gave a quiet and surprisingly cute sound in response, and I couldn't help but giggle as his expression turned more sour than anything I had ever tasted.

"Fine, I get it. I'll be good. While I won't admit defeat to our pesky Gramps of all people, there's unfortunately no way I can win against you, sis. You're too fragile to duke it out, so I can only admit defeat."

As I heard my younger brother's comment, I turned my head to stare at him, unblinking while I continued to eat, until he began to sweat in his seat.

"..It's not like I've actually thought about fighting out any arguments with my beautiful sister, who's got less than half my body mass, and never learned anything more than basic self-defense.. So don't be giving me that kind of scary look, sis."

My younger brother who had been behaving suspiciously quickly bailed on the increasingly awkward situation, and hurriedly dug into the food without saying anything further.

"Now that I've heard this, I simply can't let it go, Mika. Let me tell you, as a man, there's only one proper way to defeat a hentai heroine, and that is to subjugate her in the be-"

"Mika, it appears to me that our esteemed ancestor is expressing his great desire to consume a Danaka Yoruk flavor snack bar, now isn't that right?"

I cut off Taizou's attempt at making mischief before he could finish, reached into my blouse pocket, pulled out the crime against humanity, and waved it menacingly at my great grandfather.

"..Okay, I give, I give, I won't make another comment about your having become a splendid hentai heroine, so please put that dangerous thing away before someone gets sent to the emergency room, Arata."

Relishing in the feeling of having finally acquired a means to put a cork in the stream of the mischief Taizou directed at me, I took a victorious bite of delightfully creamy basil and asparagus risotto.

"By the way, Arata, I don't think we ever mentioned to you that Mika here has been going out with your precious Dana's younger sister for almost six months now, now did we?"

My attention was immediately caught halfway into Taizou's comment, and as Taizou broke out into a mischievous smile worthy of Loki, Mika began choking on his food.

"Ehh, seriously? Mika and Chris have been going out? Heeey, the two of you definitely never told me anything about that juicy bit of info, tell me more! You've been keeping it secret from Dana too, haven't you?"

I perked up even further, feeling as though my tails would be wagging with excitement at the interesting news that my great grandfather had just casually divulged to me.

"Well, no, I haven't told Dana either, I had figured Mika would've told Dana by now, and that she'd tell you, but their not having told you two troublsome girls is pretty understandable though.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Your kind and considerate little brother would rather not show off his cute girlfriend in front of you, since showing off his happy relationship with Chris would kind of be a pretty damn cruel thing to do."

I shook my head, sighed, before shrugging and smiling at my younger brother, who had hidden his face in his hands out of what I assumed to be embarrassment.

"Really now, I'm not such a petty girl that I'd be bothered by the fact that my younger brother has gotten together with my best friend's sister. Rather, it's something to celebrate isn't it?

Seriously, Mika, why'd the two of you never tell us? I'm feeling kinda upset about this, do you really have so little faith in your reliable elder sister?"

As Mika lifted his face out of his hands, Taizou immediately interjected, while making a face as if I had just said something unbelievably weird.

"Arata, though you are Mika's older sister, while do have surprisingly good instincts, and sometimes intelligence, calling yourself reliable.. Is a bit much, don't you think?"

Feeling somewhat taken aback by his comment, I looked towards my brother for support, only to find him vigorously nodding wholeheartedly in agreement.

"You couldn't be more right, Taizou! While Arata may be admirable, she's anything but reliable. Arata being reliable is like.. Ah, it looks like the main course is here, so we should probably get eating the food that's already arrived.

I gave my brother a piercing stare, to which he simply replied with a casual smile, and I broke out into a pout and puffed out my cheek.

"That's a pretty horrible thing to say about me, you two, I'm very much a young and delicate maiden who has tender feelings, you know?"

Mika held up one finger as the waiter delivered the lamb chops and another salad to our table, waiting until he had left before he gave me grin, and spoke.

"Sis, you're about as delicate as a dreadnaught. I don't know of any delicate young maidens who have broken a leg, and run home on it while panicking that she's going to miss an episode of a lewd anime that's pratically a hentai."

"Oi, that was a perfectly normal romance series, Mika. And it was only a very minor fracture, don't make it sound like I'm some kind of monster that doesn't know the meaning of pain."

He simply rolled his eyes in response to my reply, leaving me with the desire to reach over and smack him over the head as I grabbed my portion of the freshly delivered food.

"Arata, you silly girl, there's no way that Mika was insinuating that you're some kind of monster that doesn't feel pain. He was simply discreetly calling you an incredible pervert."

I continued to pout as I cut off a piece of lamb, taking a bite to taste the savory dish, while poking the side of my younger brother's leg with my foot as I grabbed my glass of wine.

"While I may possibly be a lewd girl, I don't want to be called a pervert by two people who're at the very least as lewd as I am, if not far more so."

"As if anyone at this table could be perverted as you, sis, you've already gone beyond the limits of humanity. We are but fireflies before the bright moon, how could we ever hope to compare ourselves with you?"

As my family's teasing continued, I shook my head, downed the wine that remained in the glass, and poured myself another, replying while continuing to enjoy my meal.

"Says the guy who was nicknamed the harem princess, and also real futa, during highschool, and was even voted the most beautiful girl in his school for three years in a row."

"Oi, you two, don't you dare start fighting at the dinner table. While settling any disputes in bed may be the greatest tradition known to man, the second greatest tradition, is to settle all differences with a drinking contest.

So instead of bickering, just drink away your stress and irriation, and prove to each other which of you two siblings is the one that actually wears the pants in your relationship!"

With Taizou's interjection, the battlelines were set, as my brother downed the contents of his glass, refilled it, and gave me a challenging look as he dug into his portion of lamb.

"Bring it on, do your best, sis, because there's no way I could lose to you of all people in a drinking contest of all things. We're drinking to my victory tonight, so prepare yourself for that, Arata."

Before I knew it, I found myself waking up to the gentle, bright, and beautiful light of the dawn, leaving me feeling somewhat confused by the sight.

"Huh? I don't remember my room facing the dawn before.. What was I doing.. Oh. Right. Dinner, there was that caprino cheese, and fruit salad.. And.. And I can't remember anything that happened after that beyond continuing the drinking contest."

As I abruptly sat up, I felt the increasingly familiar bounce of my chest, the shifting of my tails, and my muddled confusion vanished as I finally realized what had happened to me.

"Oh.. When did I log in? Why did I log in? What did I do while drunk last night? And fuck me, I still feel irritatingly horny for some reason.. Oh, right, Raynolia did say yesterday that I was going into heat, or something like that."

I stretched out my arms and tails, before clambering out of the bed. As I ran my fingers through my hair, I came to the most serious and difficult problem I had encountered with my new body.

"How the hell am I supposed to put on this stupidly skimpy top? Last time I logged in, I woke up with my clothes already on me, and Raynolia said something about being dressed because of a card and me being an outsider.. Which makes no sense at all.

So, how should I make sense of this situation? Yesterday I got knocked out by Raynolia after the titan.. Erik, startled me. Then sometime later, after getting egged on by Taizou, a serious drinking contest, then I woke up nude here..

Yeah. I don't see how this helps anything, besides knowing that one of the elves stripped me and left my clothes on this table."

As I turned my attention away from the confusing top to the rest of the garments, my eyes dropped to my arms, and the gauntlets that hadn't been taken off unlike everything else.

"Now that I think about it, why bridal gauntlets? I don't see how they're supposed to come off.. Are they even supposed to come off? Doesn't seem like it. Well, whatever.

Now.. As for whatever this is. A bikini's bottom? Breechcloth? Last year, when I was visiting egypt with the old goat.. What was it that those dancers were wearing?

A bed.. bedlay.. Bedlah I think it was? This kind of resembles that, so I guess this is a mini-bedlah, maybe?"

While continuing talking to the wall, I finished tying on the lower half of my clothes, and picked up the gold anklets adorned with small chimes.

The next moment, I nearly jumped with a yelp of surprise as a floating translucent blue panel suddenly appeared in front of me without any warning.

I sat down on the bed, breathing deeply, my ears flattened back from agitation, running my fingers through the bristling fur of my tails as I calmed my racing heart as I heard an androgynous voice begin to speak.

"Player Aragami! We are now introducing a special one time opportunity for all players. You have the chance to change a title displayed on your Arcana. Do you wish to do so?"

With a shrug, I reached out and pressed the yes button, and a massive card manifested before my eyes in a blinding flash of painfully bright golden light.

As my vision cleared, I found myself facing a life size picture of my avatar, eyes closed, hands bound to a pole behind her head, legs shackled and spread wide.

"Player Aragami, at the top of your Arcana's Card, is your current individual title, Fox of Fertility, which you may change. You have several alternative individual titles to choose from.

Your Arcana's title, displayed below the Arcana's Number, The Fool of Bountiful Harvest, cannot be changed."

I blinked as the translucent floating interface changed, my tails began fidgeting, and my jaw dropped as I began reading the displayed choices.

"Slutty Vixen, All Looks No Brains, Easy Submissive Bitch, Sex Slave In Training, Exhibitionist In Training, Secondhand Harlot, Elven Plaything, Used Horny Foxgirl, Masochistic Bitch.. What part of this isn't blatant over the top harassment?"

"Your available titles, your default clothing, and your Arcana's illustration is the result of in depth analysis of your actions, behavior, and confirmed preferences.

This is not in any way, shape, or form, harassment by an AI. If you wish to opt out of this special one time only opportunity to change your title, please press the cancel button and stop wasting my time."

With a deadpan expression, I mashed the cancel button as hard as I could, causing both the card and the floating blue interface to vanish.

'I'm actually being bullied by an AI that's not Chive.. Why do all the AIs I encounter these days seem to have horrible personalities? Is this some kind of strange curse or what?

Not to mention that card.. Thing, whatever it was, it was pretty damn lewd despite the fact that I was fully clothed in the picture.. Well, this outfit is lewd in general so that hardly changes things.'

As the exasperating AI seemed to have disappeared, I sighed, slid the anklets up until they sat comfortably around my ankles, and once again picked up the confusing top.

I tried not to make a face as the room's door suddenly opened wide, and I sighed as Raynolia, whose gaze flicked directly down to my currently uncovered bust, paused in the middle of stepping into the room.

"Good morning Arata.. Ah.. Did you just wake up? Sorry, uhm, I thought you'd be dressed already.. I'll be back in a minute after you're done getting your clothes on."

Raynolia's abnormally considerate and normal response for having walked in on me in the middle of dressing, left me feeling completely befuddled as the elf backed out of the room and closed the door behind him.

'He's an elf that had absolutely no qualms about casually fondling my ass and spanking me within the first few minutes of meeting each other for the first time, and even behaved like it was perfectly normal..

So why is he acting so normally? ..Or is he acting abnormally? Uhm.. Huh? Which is it, normal behavior for a guy, or strange behavior for an elf? Suddenly nothing's making sense other than that an AI was bullying me a few minutes ago.'

My brain began to overheat as I failed to process the meaning of the elf's unusually normal reaction to having had walked in on me while I was dressing.

I gave up trying to comprehend why there was an inexplicably vast difference between my memory of his usual weird behavior and the experience I just had, resuming dressing myself.

As I adjusted the snugly form fitting cloth that only partially covered my breasts, my thoughts began to wander as I looked down at my half exposed chest.

'Now that I think about it, how'd it stay on so well yesterday? Even though ir runs vertically and barely covers more than half of them, it's surprising that I wasn't having wardrobe malfunctions..

Actually, can it even be called a wardrobe malfunction if it's an outfit that's this skimpy and looks like it might release their hold on my breasts just from walking normally?'

I stared down inqusitively for a long moment, shrugged, donned the headdress that remained, and stepped outside the room as I began my search for Raynolia.

My tails began to wag and my ears perked up with curiousity and a strange feeling of excitement as I breathed in a mysterious scent, and I found myself feeling drawn towards the source as if it were the delightfully fragrant aroma of fresh garlic and ginger cooking in oil.

'Something smells really damn great, I wonder, are the elves roasting some kind of spice unique to the this virtual world? I've never smelled anything quite like this before, but it's really.. Nice.'

I peeked into the kitchen as I looked around, only to find that it was empty other than a covered bowl emmanating a delicious fragrance, but not the scent I was looking for.

With an excited twitch of my ears, I took as deep a breath aroma as I could, following the trail of the irresistably seductive and mysterious scent out the door, my feelings of excitement suddenly rampaging out of control as I laid my eyes upon the source.

My ears perked up to their limit, my tails slowing their wagging, my heart racing, and, with a small wiggle of my rear, as I took another deep breath, I pounced on the elf with a mix of both a tackle and a hug.

"I've successfully caught me a Raynolia! And uhm.. Hey, uhh, Raynolia.. I'm not sure how to ask this, but why do you smell so.. So.. Is this some kind of perfume? It's really.. Amazing.."

The elf beneath me groaned while I began happily rubbing my cheek against his abdomen, and as I slid my hand down into Raynolia's pants, I began to realize that something was very wrong about the situation.

"..Huh? Wait, what? What the hell am I doing?"

I scrambled backwards off the elf with embarrassment as my actions registered, and I partially hid my face in my hands as Raynolia sat up, looking both amused and annoyed as he sighed.

"Simmer down, you overly excited vixen. While it's understandable that you're aggressively affectionate since you're in season, could you not tackle an elf to the ground like that?"

With an embarrassed nod, I dropped my hands down away from my face as I apologized to the elf, while I tried to ignore the rapidly intesifying desire to push Raynolia back down and mount him.

"Sorry, Raynolia.. I'm.. Really sorry for doing that, I shouldn't have pounced on you like that.. And.. And.. Fuck, I'm really tempted to go lot further than simply pushing you down like that.."

My desire for the elf flared even hotter than before, prompting me to squeeze my thighs together in an attempt to bring my desires under control, as the elf reached out and began scratching the underside of my chin.

"You've been trained and disciplined fairly well, haven't you, girl? Raise your chin a little further, just like that, good girl. You're quite the obedient vixen, aren't you?

If you can behave yourself, Arata, I'll give you plenty of what you're desiring as a reward some time later today, alright?"

Without hesitation, I happily nodded, tails wagging as quickly as they could, my heart continuing to race as the arousal, excitement, and budding anticipation began to blend together nearly overwhelemed my self control.

Raynolia seemed somewhat relieved by my response, and he smiled as I gave myself to the delightfully blissful pleasure of having him gently scratch the underside of my chin.

"For now, be a good girl and stay around the house, okay? Don't go into the forest, there's been signs of wandering Lausang Svanni in the nearby regions of the forest.

And if, though it is unlikely, if they come into the vicinity of the house, remember that your spear, Gungnaegg, the Wavering Edge, is beneath the bed you slept in, alright?"

I gave the elf a crisp salute and a grin in reply, letting my previously perked up ears relax while I spoke, as I unabashedly let my tails continue to wag happily in front of him.

"Aye aye, Raynolia. This trusty, well behaved, obedient, and very rewardable foxgirl will properly guard you and your fiance's house from any of those wandering whatcha macallits!"

Raynolia simply chuckled as he retracted his hand, before climbing up to his feet and dusting himself off. As he did, I resisted the strange urge to rub my face against his thighs.

"Now then, I'll be seeing you a while later today. Remember to behave, and make sure to properly listen to Luci if she gets back before me, and you'll be getting plenty of rewarding. Stay safe, your breakfast is in the bowl on the table."

The elf waved, and immediately took off with quick and long strides, as if he were worrying that he was going to be seriously late for an appointment with his fiance.

"He.. I can't tell, was Raynolia just running away from me, or did he have some really important business that he needed to take care of? It's not like I would do anything to run away from to him..

..Well, actually, I did glomp him and stick my hand down his pants the moment I saw him.. And the other day, he did say something about foxgirls spending half the day mating or something like that, didn't he?"

As my feelings of excitement and arousal began to calm with the absence of Raynolia's presence, my anticipation for the elf's return only grew as my mind started to wander into dangerous territory.

'Half a day, huh.. Does this mean that the rewarding Raynolia said he's going to be giving me, is half a day in bed with him? ..Probably not, though that would be amazing.. I think.'

I climbed up off the soft grass, and entered back inside the house, making my way back to the kitchen as I continued to think about the plentiful amount of rewarding I desired from the elf.

'Well, I guess getting turned into a horny foxgirl isn't at all bad if it means I'll be able to spend quality time with a damn sexy elven stud like Raynolia..'

My ears flattened back as I shook my head in an attempt to drag my mind back from the gutter. As I sat down and uncovered the food that had been left out for me by the elves, I licked my lips.

"Let's not think about what happens in the bedroom for now, food should be my first and foremost priority, no matter how delicious that elf looks and smells..

Warm and fruity oatmeal, huh.. It's been like, what, four and a half years since I last had any? Back when I was still Tae, spending my time together with Misha and Dana.. Really, those were the days.."

I picked up the small wooden spoon and took a bite of the sweet and creamy warmth that was the oatmeal, as I began to reminisce about the days long gone.