Author's Note:

I've been spending some time in Alek's head lately. Working out his emotional issues, overall arch, and morality. One thing I've found is that Alek is very against harems. He also has issues with the concept of marriage. I of course never intended this story to feature a harem as real life harems suck, and I find fantasy harems to be stupid except in extraordinarily rare cases. So of course i found a perfectly logical way to stick Alek with a harem he doesn't want and a wife he is actually afraid of. It does change the potential ending. Currently Alek has a rather neutral stance with Lady Emixie. The original ending to the book, if not the story, had Alek more aligning himself with her as he slowly gives up what humanity he tries to hold onto. Emixie will have to use trickery to force a harem on him, for good reason, she will be solving some issues he lacks as a noble, this will make the relationship more antagonistic. We'll end that scene with the Demoness pulling insecurities out of his head and foreshadowing his inevitable heel turn against his human controlled kingdom. I had always planned for Alek to collect women of which he had no interest and to have Raiah constantly ribbing him about "his harem". This will give her more fuel to harass him with.

We're 3 chapters away from a defining scene between Alek, Raiah, and Neesha i think. 5 away from saddling Alek with a harem.

"If it doesn't work, I can always write it out when I refactor the book. I'll be looking for opinions.

Hey, thanks for reading.

- Looked up the definition of Harem... Not sure it fits with what I'm writing. Certainly doesn't fit with the Anime/Manga version.-

End of note:

"You bought a chicken?” Alek stared down at the girl. Her skin looked to be a darker shade of purple, her eyes seemed brighter and more focused, and she had definitely lost weight.

"Yes Master." She replied quietly, her eyes on the ground.

"With what money?"

"I sold some fish."

"Okay, how much did you pay?"

"Ten copper rounds."

Alek scratched the back of his head. "You got ripped off. That's an older chicken. You might get an egg every other day, but I suggest eating it by fall."

She looked up into his yellow eyes. "Oh."

"Wait until it's dark, then put it with the other chickens. You can take an egg every other day, but I'm serious about eating the bird before fall."

"Thank you, Master."

"You cost 10 silver. Plus food, clothes, and the items you got last week. Pay that back and you're free. Also, I'm putting you back on breakfast duty. Raiah's cooking sucks."

"Oh. Ah. Yes, Master."

Alek left her to it, whatever it was. He finished watering his plants, washed up, and went inside. Raiah was stretched out on the new couch, practically naked. He sat down in his armchair.

"Well. What do we got?"

"Are you seriously going to make me get up and walk to my desk?" Raiah pouted.

"If I could read your writing, I would have looked for your notes before sitting down."

Raiah let out an overly dramatic sigh as she pulled herself up and sauntered her way over to her desk. She flopped into her chair, opened a drawer, pulled out some papers, put her feet up on the desk, and leaned back in her chair until the front legs lifted off the ground. Alek frowned at her dirty soles on the furniture, but I was hers, so whatever.

"Open a brothel."

"You're joking."

"Actually no." Raiah countered. "Malex runs a fairly reputable place. We could undercut him considerably and make a good income."

"Not interested. I rather like the way his place is run."

"Buy select lumber from the consortium and find buyers in other cities. Saito should be good at picking out quality pieces." Raiah suggested.

"Too much travel and dealing with assholes." Alek countered.

"Harvest pelts from the forest."

"That would be a lot of work for just me. I'm not really a hunter. Maybe if…"

Raiah looked up as Alek froze in thought.

"Put a pin in that one. There might be something there. What's next?"

Raiah made a mark on her sheet. "Rice wine. Your three quarters of a farmer knows how to farm rice and make rice wine. It would take a while to get it going, but the cost is negligible and profit from undercutting the import tariff is reasonable."

"Talk to Mai Fah about getting that set up for next year. Anything else?"

Raiah ran through several other money making schemes. Most of which required large set up costs or specialized labor. Alek noted some for further looking into, but kept coming back to the pelts. He'd have to teach Neesha how to make snares and set traps. If she could do it, there may be something to that one.

***

"You're doing this on purpose."

Emixie's perfect lips twisted into a perfect smile. "Oh?"

"I'm pretty sure you could magically seduce me anytime you felt like it." Alek said, his tone was dry and unamused.

"Of course I could, but where would the fun in that be?" She lifted a very wet and very perfect leg out of the tub and let it hang over the side. She was sporting all her demonic features except the wings today. Her tail also draped over the edge of the tub, its spaded tip making lazy circles. The water wasn't quite bubbly enough to obscure the demoness' perfect form.

"This is not the appropriate room, or attire, for a meeting."

"Either strip and join me, or start your pitch."

She stared at him. His eyes went to the ever present elf in the corner, this time holding a towel over his arm. Fucking elves. Though the man was a good incentive to avoid the demoness' former suggestion. Alek stopped leaning against the wall.

"Pelts, herbs, and maybe some meat from the forest. I've noticed there isn't a lot of hunters or foragers in the Darkmoss and I may have stumbled upon a way to use Tel'ani slaves to decent effect. I'm not sure why everyone but the loggers avoid the forest, other than the ten percent tax, it seems like a figurative gold mine."

"Emmmm." Emixie hummed. "Yes, my understanding is that the forest is a bit spooky. It's definitely a slumbering beast."

"A few slumbering beasts are to be expected I suppose."

Emixie giggled. "No, not a few beasts inside the forest, though I suspect that is also true. I said the forest itself is a slumbering beast. I suggest you don't piss it off."

Alek stared at her. She smirked and cocked an eyebrow.

"Anyway, I've thought up an experiment with the Tel’ani I could run that would serve as a test for discreetly training your army, and make me money. It would of course be illegal, but if you aren't going to prosecute me, then I'm going to try it."

"I will condone this." She said, waving a hand in dismissal and sounding magnanimous.

"Then I guess that concludes our meeting."

"Oh come on now." Emixie pouted. "Come join me, you're not nearly as worked up as you were after our last meeting."

"I have things to do." Alek replied as he made for the exit.

"Like what?" She asked, shifting in her tub so lay on the edge with her ass out of the water.

"Weeding my garden and buying clothes for my slave."

"And that's better than spending time with me?"

Alek bowed. "Good day, my Lady."

"Asshole."

***

"Neesha!"

The girl turned to him with an expression similar to a deer that had just noticed a hunter within spitting distance of it. Except unlike a deer, her hands were covered in blood and fur and one was wrist deep in a raccoon's viscera.

"Finish that and get cleaned up. We're going to town. And bring the sling."

"Okay."

Alek noted the lack of "Master" appended to her answer. A thing she had been dropping more often than not lately. When she was ready and they started heading for the road, he handed her a stone.

"You've been practicing with that, yes."

"Ah, yeah?" It sounded more like a question than an answer.

"Try to hit that tree."

"Umm." She looked from the tree to Alek to Saito who was far behind them cutting wood roofing shakes. "I don't want to hit anyone."

"I'll stand back."

"I ahhh…"

"You're that bad."

The Tel'ani woman sunk into herself, almost looking as meek as the day he'd first met her.

"Spin it vertically then."

"Oh. Okay."

She gave it a try. Aiming for the tree she let loose the stone. Both heads went up, tracking the rock though the air until its upward momentum cesed and it started its trip earthward. Neesha scrambled out of the way, though it would have missed her by several strides.

"Give me that… Alright, you hold the main line in your fingers like this." He showed her how to weave the line though his fingers, then seated a stone. "You build up the force by spinning it. There's no need to fling the damn thing." He twirled the sling around and let one line go. The rock followed a lazy arch and missed the tree by a finger's width.

Neesha's next stone skipped hard off the ground, the one after arched into the air, and the third made it halfway to the tree.

"Better. Try horizontally now."

Her aim was still terrible, but at least she was launching the stones generally in the correct direction.

***

"You're dressing up your slave today, sir?"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Is that a problem?"

"Hmm? No. Of course not."

The older woman circled around Neesha as Alek reclined in a wood rocking chair that had been used so much it creaked ominously under his weight.

"Her shift is filthy. Did you merely wish to replace it or did you want something different."

"Different. Get her some pants. Brown or dark green, with leather reinforcement for the thighs and shins."

The woman glowered at him. "For a slave?"

"For my slave, yes. If that's a problem I can go somewhere else." Alek shot back.

"Fine, your money. Off with the clothes, dog." She started off toward the back shelf mumbling. "Waste of good clothing."

Neesha stripped as told, pulling the dirty shift over her head and dropping it to the floor. Alek watched her with some amusement as she looked at the garment, then at him, then at the back of the woman, all while shifting uncomfortably in her sudden awareness of near nudity. She had changed a lot in the last month. Her skin and hair was darker, her eyes more aware and present. Her legs, arms, face, well everything except her stomach had gotten thicker. Her belly had shrunk considerably. The girl stood straight, moved faster and for longer, and talked more. A lot of change for just a simple change in diet. Were all Tel’ani sick? Would they all change so drastically if they only ate what they themselves could scavenge. He thought of Tai-ee'ee and how weirdly human she seemed.

"Try that." The seamstress grumbled.

Neesha pulled on the pants until she reached her tail.

"Just tuck it in. They're obviously made for a normal person."

"Needs a tunic." Alek added. "Brown or dark green. One of the longer ones, belt around the middle for tools."

"Hmph. Sure."

The woman pulled a dull brown shirt off a shelf. Neesha squirmed into it just before a belt was wrapped around her waist.

"How's the pants feel?" Alek asked.

"Really tight."

"Do you have anything looser?"

"Mm, pants off."

"And boots, high calf."

"Boots?" The woman groaned, snatched the pants and stormed off into the back.

Alek watched Neesha verify that the hem of her shirt fell below her ass before looking back up at him. She narrowed her eyes and put a hand on her hip. It was cute.

"What?"

"The pants aren't going to work."

"Why?"

"No sorry. They'll be fine for you, but not for anyone else. You've changed too much, it would be a waste."

Neesha opened her mouth to ask something as she clearly had no idea what the fuck he was talking about, but didn’t say anything for a moment. "Question."

"What?"

"Is it difficult to learn how to read?"

Alek tilted his head. The question had certainly been a bit off topic. "I don't think so. I was younger when I learned. I remember it being a pain in the ass, but there were things I would have rather been doing. You want to learn?"

"Yes."

"I'll show you the alphabet when we get home." Alek gave her his best evil grin before adding. "Then you can save me the trouble of teaching Saito and Mai Fah."

"Okay boots." The seamstress dropped a couple pairs at Neesha's feet.

"Good boots, calf high." Alek said with a frown.

"Oh come on. You're going to pay more for her outfit than she's worth."

"Fine. Get her a cheap skirt and we'll be done here." Alek got up from the creaking chair.

"What was her problem?" Neesha asked when they were outside and making their way down a back alley between the two major roads.

Alek tapped one of his horns. "I exist. Probably would have kicked me out if she didn't know I was now nobility. There are three tailors in this town and I'm never going back to that one."

The building they entered was just as cluttered with clothing and fabric, but high windows let a pleasant amount of light spill into a room that smelled strongly of leather.

"I'll be with you in a minute." Yelled a male voice from the back.

"Already like this place better." Alek said before a middle aged man wearing a leather apron and drying his hands with an old rag came in from a fabric covered doorway.

"Harbinger?"

"Yeah."

"What can I help you with?"

Alek pushed Neesha forward. "Think of her as my model. I expect to have between three and ten more that I need to outfit for a trip into the Darkmoss. I was going to go with pants, but…"

"Too specific sizing for an unknown group." The man finished.

"Exactly, but fabric catches on everything."

"Hide skirts?"

"I don't know. Decent quality boots though, high calf."

"Yasmine!" The tailor yelled toward the back. "Take the girl's foot size and run to Ryan's. Find a decent high calf and some shoe options." He told a Tel’ani woman similar in appearance to what Neesha had looked like over a month ago before disappearing into the back. Neesha let the girl do her job and turned her attention back to Alek when they were alone again.

"What are we doing?"

"Experimenting with using Tel’ani to make money a little unconventionally."

"And boots helps this how?"

"Propper outfitting. You're useless to yourself, let alone me, if you slice open your foot and can't walk for a week or worse."

"I suppose."

"Pull up your shirt a bit." The man ordered. He started pinning rawhide and pelts in place until the Tel’ani girl came back with several pairs of boots and shoes. "Oh Yasmine, take this girl into the back and get her feet cleaned and nails trimmed."

"Yes Master." The girl replied, pulling Neesha with her.

"I know you said you wanted high calf boots. I have a cheaper solution that should be just as effective if you'll hear me out?"

"I'm listening."

"Go with a shoe and some spats. Unless you specifically need something water resistant."

"Hmmm. Fair point. Use her to model it out, though I want boots for her. Reinforced pants too."

The man nodded and returned to work once Neesha returned. When done he stood back and examined the result. "Well, utilitarian I guess."

"To be fair, I didn't ask for fashion." Alek said in agreement.

Neesha looked down at her skirt… Very barbarian.

"Thoughts?" Alek asked.

"It's a little scratchy."

"We'll get a slip or full skirt to go under it. For now, get out of those." Said the tailor.

Neesha did as told and pushed herself into the pants and boot.

"Better looking."

"Mmm." Alek agreed. "Get her a better tunic or two, and a skirt for home. How does that feel Neesha?"

"The pants are a bit restrictive. And the boots are really stiff."

"The boots are new, they need to be broken in."

"Maybe a looser pair of pants. Her legs are a bit thicker than most Tel’ani." The tailor added. "Yasmine, take down her measurements."

"Yes, Master."

"I'll parade the rest of the Tel’ani through here when I get them. How much do I owe for the outfits?"

***

Alek walked into Cameron's healing house. The man wasn't in the main room, but his cute ass assistant was.

"Hey." Alek said, putting on a cheerful smile. "Cameron have any barrels made?"

She looked up from her paperwork. The confused look on her face was fucking adorable. "Why would he waste time making barrels?"

Alek winced, but he wasn't going to hold that comment against her. "Is he around?"

"He is in the lab and can not be distributed due to volatile chemicals." She looked from him to Neesha. "Is there anything you need? Neither of you look sick nor injured."

"You sell healing potions here?"

"Forty silver. That's the lowest price. No negotiating."

"I'll take one." He started digging out coins as she got up and headed for the back. Alek leaned to the side watching her butt as she disappeared. He looked at Neesha. "What?"

She shrugged. "I didn't say anything."

"You were thinking something."

Neesha tilted her head. "I was wondering what a potion tastes like."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Hrm… They taste like shit. They feel… Well it's hard to describe. Similar to opium I'm told."

"And highly addictive." Cameron's cute assistant added. "That's why most of them taste like shit. It's a half assed attempt to detract from their use."

"Yeah, that." Alek agreed, handing over the coins. "So, is there a place in this town you like for dinner?"

"The Red Roof Inn. Head south down the road. It's on the right side, has a green roof. Supposed to be a joke or something. Torin is an excellent cook." She answered matter of factly.

"Hmmm, sorry if I wasn't clear. Is there a place in this town you like that I could take you for dinner?"

She looked up at him, all professional pleasantness gone. "Not interested. If you have nothing else you need then please be on your way."

"Alright, sorry to bother you."

Alek left with Neesha close behind. "Well that didn't go as well as I'd hoped. Never stayed in one place for more than a month. Suddenly feel like a stupid teenager again." He waited for Neesha to say something, but she didn't. "And the Aasimar concerns me."

"What is an Aasimar?"

"Ah well, you know what a Tiefling is right? An…"

"No."

"What?" Alek asked.

"I don't know what a Tiefling is."

Alek stared at her. What the fuck did she think he was? "What do you think I am?"

She looked into his eyes, then eyed his horns. "I don't know."

"Huh. Okay. A Tiefling is a person, a hornless, whose ancestors either fucked, or were fucked by, a demon. Maybe there's some other way it could happen, but a rather large number of us exhibit succubus traits so… They're just a few physical traits. Supposedly the Freeborn were something like thirty to forty percent Tiefling so I'm assuming my heritage comes from there."

"Raiah is also Tiefling?"

Alek rubbed the back of his neck and stopped in front of the general store. "Raiah is… More demon than human I think. I haven't figured her out yet. And then I'm dealing with another demon that is of course, like everything else, forcing me reevaluate my worldview. I expected her to be more…" Alek paused looking for a word to fit his expectation of Emixie. "Demonic, I guess."

"A demon?"

"Yeah." Alek entered the general store. "Don't worry about it, for now."

Alek picked out a pack and a handaxe that came with a leather sheath that could be attached to a belt. He set them on the counter and considered a collection of knives while waiting on the clerk.

"Is that it?" The man asked in a decidedly unamused tone.

"That's it." Alek told the clerk. "Put those on." He told Neesha.

The clerk leaned down to stare at her as she reached for the axe. "You sure you trust her with that? She looks a little feral."

Alek put a hand on her head and said, "Oh, this one is very obedient." In a tone that implied the clerk should be more concerned with him than the small Tel’ani woman.

"Feral?" Neesha asked more to herself than anyone else. Alek heard her.

"It's the eyes, there's a mirror over there." He pushed her away. "How much do I owe?"

Items paid for, Alek stopped to watch Neesha stare at herself in a polished metal disk. Her finger ran across the flaws in her skin and poked at her cheeks. "My face got fat?"

"That's your jaw muscle."

"Oh." She opened her mouth and pulled her cheek out. Alek leaned inward and examined her molars. Apparently Tel’ani had differently shaped teeth for chewing. News to him.

"My teeth don't hurt anymore."

"Which one?"

"All of them."

"Are you going to buy that?" The clerk asked, his words seeped in annoyance.

"No. We'll be gone." Alek replied. "I need to find a bower. Let's split."

***

"Is Tai-ee'ee here?" Alek asked the frog-faced man as he left Tarson's place.

"Fuck off."

Alek watched the man walk off wondering what the fuck he had done. He turned to find himself face to face with the only woman in Tarson's group, not counting Tai-ee'ee herself. She said nothing, as usual, but hooked a thumb around the building.

Alek nodded to her. "Thanks."

He found her hanging laundry in the back by the river. She must have come out right after turning the corner as there would have been no way to miss her while he walked over the bridge.

"It's been a while, Lord Hero." She said, humor in the tone.

"Did I do something wrong?" Alek asked motioning toward the building behind him.

Tai-ee'ee shrugged. "Someone fixed the problem at the palace, which let the guards patrol the town, which caused problems for the boss. On top of that the new noble hasn't shown him any favor. Tarson is up in the air as to whether we leave now, or stick it out until next spring."

"Oh, shit. Can't say he was providing a valid service."

"A fair point." Tai-ee'ee conceded. "What brings you here specifically to see the maid?"

"I ended up with a Tel’ani slave girl. And I stopped feeding her bread. Well, stopped feeding her anything really."

"And how'd that work?"

"She's a completely different person."

The Tel'ani woman said nothing, merely nodded and continued hanging laundry.

"I offered to free her if she pays me back for how much she costs. I think she'll take me up on that."

"Might check the law on that, but why come to me?"

Alek chewed on his answer for a moment. "Are they all sick?" He asked, staring at the river. "Has every decision I've made about and based on Tel’ani been made without the realization that they're all stupid and lazy because they're sick?"

"Yes, and, likely." Tai-ee'ee answered with little emotion or judgment.

"Shit." Alek responded more to himself.

"Question for you, Lord Hero. Do you think you're human?"

"Technically, I am…"

"No. Maybe better to ask, do you feel human?"

"Humans are very broad. So yes, but mostly no."

"Interesting."

"Why?"

"Just curious. The Hornless annoy me to be perfectly honest. You people. You, Tieflings never seem to know what you are. What side you stand on. Tarson makes his own way, but my boys, and you, are lost. Not certain if you are Hornless or Horned. Not certain you want to be either."

"I have horns, but you use Horned and Hornless to describe people in a way that I'm not sure I follow."

Tai-ee'ee gave him a warm smile. "I like your horns. I like their texture and the way they curve. I like your tail too, though it's a little on the short side." She grinned and gave him an exaggerated wink. "But I'm told size doesn't matter."

"Okay… About the Horned vs Hornless thing though. What does each of those actually mean? Or is it meant literally, like the 'Dogs don't eat bead' quote?"

She shrugged. "That's for you to figure out on your own. I'm not a therapist."

"I suppose not." Alek sighed. "More like the crazy old lady that leaves me with more questions than I came with."

She stared at him. "Did you… just call me… old?"

"Ahhh? I didn't mean it like that."

"Oh no, no, no. You do not do that." She pulled a towel off the line and twirled it.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't calling you old, just referencing a trope."

She snapped the towel out at him, causing it to crack like a whip.

"Yao. Hey, stop."

"Don't you ever call me old boy."

"Hey stop." He backed up as she snapped out at him again. "Hey. Come on. I'm sorry. Crazy lady."

"Crazy maybe. Not old yet." She stopped her pursuit at the property line.

"Holy hells. I still have questions."

She laughed and gave him a wry grin. "Enough pissing and moaning for today. I've got shit to do."

"Humph. We'll tell Tarson he can have my favor if he provides a valid service."

Alek crossed the bridge back into town. What a strange woman.