Obligatory Harem Shenanigans

Chapter 69

After a few weeks of leisurely travel, the hero's of Stromholt were close to their objective. All of the landmarks were lining up correctly with the map a simple soldier had provided them with. Reiner rode in the lead but sat uncomfortably on his mount, heavy sword at his hip ready for anything.

He'd grown up in an orphanage, unaware of his grand destiny as befitted a hero. This made riding skills a recent acquisition on his part, particularly as he'd never much cared for horses before. Despite that, he rode a majestic white steed of the highest quality, not that he would be able to tell if it wasn't.

With the likely ruin not far away, he should have picked up the pace. Instead, he kept it easy and made a point of not looking around him, just dead ahead. He could feel a kind of tension in the air, but it wasn't one of an impending threat.

Lilian rode just behind Reiner in the party order, as was her privilege as a cleric of Stromholt. Andrea and Mina came next, with Mira taking up the tail end if one discounted the demi following them on foot. Lilian automatically did, barely registering its presence.

"Mina, how is it you've become so filthy? Honestly, even the demi is more hygienic than you, and its… well, a demi," Andrea said with a haughty tilt of her chin. She was striking with vibrant red hair and green eyes, but her attire wasn't the least bit practical for riding. However, it refused to allow the wind-blown sand to dirty it, a mark of her noble lineage as much as her attitude.

"Easy Andrea," Reiner chided gently, barely registering the jib between the ladies. He was accustomed to putting out sparks before they ignited into conflict to the point of numbness. Nevertheless, he still managed not to look back even as he felt a strong pull to do so. Instead, he kept his eyes on their destination, a looming wall of colorfully banded stone.

"Reiner, I sense magic ahead. I'm not sure we should trust the map or the man who gave it to us," Mira said, already sounding resigned to being ignored. She'd voiced similar thoughts before, only to receive identical glares as she was now from the two women riding in front of her. To question the wisdom of the hero was not allowed.

"I don't trust him, but we should look into this anyway," Reiner replied, his tone tried. Mira almost said something more, lifting a hand with a concerned look. The entire party winced, Reiner struggling but eventually losing a fight with himself and his hand going to his sword's hilt. A moment later, they all straightened, sitting confidently in their saddles as if they hadn't spoken.

Hetcha, the rabbit-like demi-humans ears perked up, and she scented the breeze blowing from the valley. She looked curiously at Mira, who refused to look at her before sighing and turning her attention to Reiner.

"I smell grass and water. Too much for this place. It's unnatural," Hetcha said bluntly. She recoiled a moment later as a convulsive spark of power coursed through her, almost sending her to her knees. Mina glared, pissed that the creature had dared address the hero directly.

Reiner stopped abruptly, turning to look at what had happened. He took in Hetcha's state, but no emotion crossed his face. A moment later, as he looked at the other women, a soft smile pulled at his lips along with a sympathetic expression.

"I know this isn't ideal, but it's a hero's job to investigate things like this. I promise to keep all of you safe no matter what we end up facing within," Reiner said, hand on his sword as he spoke. All three young women smiled and nodded in reply. Mira, though, cast a furtive glance at Hetcha.

"Reiner, would it be alright if I took over monitoring the demi?" Mira asked, hesitant. Mina and Andrea looked at her with open confusion. She'd never asked for that duty and, if anything, actively avoided it before.

"Why now?" Mina demanded. She didn't care for the task, but she was reluctant to relinquish a duty Reiner had given her.

"Mina, don't be harsh," Reiner chided with a rueful smile. His eyes were cold despite the way his lips curved.

"We're all doing our best. It's just taken Mira a little longer to come around about this. Right, Mira?" Reiner asked. Mira nodded, pretending not to be able to see the suspicion clearly written in his eyes. He gestured, and with a pout, Mina relinquished the key that controlled the slave collar to Mira.

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"Just so everyone feels comfortable, show them you can use it properly," Reiner added. Mira's eyes went round, and so did Mina and Andrea's. He usually didn't care if or when they disciplined the demi. He would even suggest they be lenient sometimes.

Mina didn't say a word, just nodded as she took the key and looked toward the demi. Blue energy crackled around the key and a moment later was mirrored by the collar. A discipline command had been issued, and Hetcha let out a surprised yelp before collapsing to the ground and writhing in pain.

"Enough," Reiner said quickly. His expression remained placid, but his hand fell heavily on Mira's shoulder. She eased up, and the blue energy vanished. Reiner gave her an approving smile but turned away quickly. Hetcha got to her feet, and the party continued onward.

The solid wall of stone they'd noted in the distance rapidly approached, and finally, at midday, they found themselves at the entrance to what seemed like a natural labyrinth. But, even with the strangely detailed map at their disposal, the stone maze they found themselves facing was not easily traversed.

Reaching the midway point by nightfall, they made a camp and settled in for a restful night. The young ladies slept in a reasonable arrangement around the fire instead of crowding around Reiner despite the adoring glances they typically sent his way throughout the day.

In the morning, they reached the end of the maze and found themselves looking at a startlingly lush valley. After spending days in the desert, just the sight of the small lake would have made it seem like an oasis, but the greenery made it feel like paradise.

"Maybe we judged our nameless friend a little too harshly," Reiner said wryly. As they'd been told, there was a farm in the valley right where the map indicated it would be.

"Stromholt sends tests in many forms," Lillian offered. Behind her, Mina and Andrea both rolled their eyes. Lilian had been the least pleased about accepting the request in earnest instead of just pocketing the money and light stone. Instead, she preferred taking the assignments they received from the church and ignoring all others.

When they arrived at the house, they found it empty but well provisioned with no indication of what had happened to the occupants. With the sheep and other animals all grazing placidly nearby, it was clear they hadn't taken them to another pasture.

"It seems we're too late to help them," Mina offered as she looked curiously at the house's interior.

"And that we underestimated them. Perhaps they had minor noble lineage. This house is too fine by far," Andrea said but in a dismissive tone.

"It reminds me of home a little," Mina offered. No one took an interest in her statement as they were all busy with their own searches of the residence.

"We'll see if we can locate the mine, but we'll spend the night here and leave in the morning. No sense in going in at night even with a light stone," Reiner offered. Mina nodded with particular enthusiasm. There was a large wooden tub that could be used for a bath, and she was ecstatic at the chance to be sand-free again.

With a detailed map, it wasn't hard to find the mine entrance that had been mentioned. What took far too long was getting Lillian to leave the pagan temple they'd encountered on the way. It was an oddly simple thing, little artwork, statues that were only a crude suggestion of a male form. Really, it was almost impossible to tell who it was supposed to be dedicated to.

Despite that, it had taken Reiner lifting her bodily over his shoulder to get the ordinarily docile cleric to leave. She'd been intent on destroying everything in sight with her morning star. A task that proved difficult at best as everything was carved into actual stone.

"Heh, looks like our farm boy really wasn't shady," Mina said once they were back at the farm. Tired from her rampage Lillian was already asleep in one of the rooms upstairs.

"Please, it beggars belief that farmers could survive living next to a dungeon, let alone map it," Andrea replied haughtily. Lillian had said something similar, but that was expected. As a cleric, she tended to have a black and white view of the world. Things that agreed with her being white and everything else being black.

"It's probably weak," Mina retorted.

"We'll find out in the morning. I'm curious to see how docile this dungeon actually is," Reiner broke in before a fight could start. Chastised, no matter how gently, both Mina and Andrea pouted before turning in for the night.

When the group awoke, it was to the sound of Mira crying. She clutched her stomach before running for the outhouse. Lillian, as the party's healer, checked on her before returning with a grim expression.

"She thinks the peaches we bought a few weeks back turned," Lillian said, clearly annoyed. Unfortunately, her healing abilities were limited and didn't cover disease.

"You're joking," Andrea said, clearly disgusted.

"Well, it's not like she really helps anyway. We can do the initial survey without her," Mina offered.

"I don't think it would be right to leave without her," Reiner said. It earned him touched but slightly pitying looks from the ladies.

"Mina has a point. We don't know how long it will take for her to feel better," Andrea offered. The two exchanged a look, a temporary truce established.

"She'd be alone if something happened," Reiner objected.

"We could leave the demi with her as protection. It shouldn't be around when you're doing hero's work anyway," Lillian suggested. Andrea and Mina both raised an eyebrow at that. It was clear the cleric didn't like demi-humans in general, but Hetcha was a strong fighter. She was usually the unacknowledged sixth member of the party.

"I'll talk to her and see how she feels about it," Reiner said finally. Once he was gone, all three women shared a knowing nod. They would get their way.

"Alright, you three win. She said she didn't want to slow us down," Reiner said when he returned. So, after double-checking their supplies and ditching the suspect peaches, they were on their way.