“So, Lady Elexis, now that we have access to our old fishing ports... what’s our next move?”

Brand, a rather grizzled manticore, was prodding Elexis for her thoughts on their current plans. In the span of a week, they had partially avenged her slain siblings, progeny and attendants, and gained a steady foothold by recapturing the port of Autumn. With this, they now had a guaranteed source to keep their army fed and a better chance at reaching out for help. Moreover, thanks almost entirely to the bounties of fish, they were eating like royalty comparatively to the past year or so. Unfortunately, Elexis was nearly unresponsive as she stared at the meal, the fresh taste of revenge possibly souring her mood still.

"Elexis?"

Brand prodded once more, coming to stand next to her. Nudging Elexis's shoulder lightly, the manticore managed to rouse her from her thoughts.

"Ah, my apologies, where were we?"

Elexis picked up the conversation as if she'd not heard Brand's last question. Turning around with a sigh, Brand made his way back to his place, leaning against a fireplace as he asked once more.

"Our next move, Lady Elexis. Last we discussed, it was about re-establishing which clans would lend aid, now that we communicate our survival?"

Elexis leaned each way in her chair, adjusting her position before answering.

"Our next move is to take hunting parties to gather pelt and meat. We need to harvest what we can; we aren't prepared for the winter like before. Doubtless, us being on the coast will make it any easier."

Elexis struggled to find a direct move they would make aside from that, as she thought.

"We can't keep skirmishing along a specific line with them. We are on a peninsula, we won't win if it becomes protracted, and we'll never receive aid from the Empire north nor... nor our sister clan in Shinrin if that becomes the case. So yes, we need to establish an alliance with whatever Clan we are able for now."

Elexis said as she began to prod at the meal atop her plate finally.

"I do remember you and Juro cursing up a storm about how spiteful his parents were. Are you sure they wouldn't be so fickle as to abandon support with Juro's death?"

Elexis shot a look of disdain before it quickly faded, replaced with a frown.

"My apologies, I felt a prod from that somehow. I know that was against his family, I guess, I don't want to think about that possibility... But, no, it is safe to assume they would lend some form of support for now. They still have blood here in Kiyomi and Danae, as much as they wouldn't want to admit so... That's all we can do for now. Anything else would be prattle."

Elexis finished her sentence with a loud crack, breaking open a large River Crawler claw and exposing the meat and its aroma to the room. Coupled with the atmosphere of the nearly empty dining hall, the warm crackle of a fireplace, the sweet aroma, it added to the atmosphere.

"Hunting River crawlers were an old past-time for Juro. Kiyomi grew up stuffing her cheeks as much as she wanted since these things never cease breeding year-round. I imagine if she were here, she'd be eating alongside us happily, considering these make up most of our food reserves now."

"That she would've, Elexis... What about Danae? She doesn't have a taste for them?"

Brand asked, deciding to follow Elexis's lead and distract from their plans himself. Shaking her head, Elexis swallowed a piece of the tender flesh before letting out a strained gasp.

"No, Danae can't stand them. She won't partake unless she has to; she sees them as overgrown insects... that being said, would you join me?"

Elexis asked sheepishly as she motioned to one of the closest chairs to her own.

"I take it, with this invitation, the Lady wishes for me to join in her chambers later as well?"

Brand asked, his arms out to either side as he shrugged, then feigning exhaustion as he took the offer for a seat.

"Tch, Brand, cut the act; you've been one of my attendants for well on a decade now. I know you aren't tired, nor are you dreading any of our other moments together, considering YOU propose so more often than not."

Elexis rolled her eyes at the act, Brand having already seen to her on more occasions than she could count. Looking back to Brand, Elexis smiled warmly, handing brand a portion of the claw and breaking her own free as he took hold.

"Yes, Brand, I want you in my chambers tonight, happy with yourself?"

Elexis was now poorly attempting to stifle a smile.

"It's fine to drop the formalities then?"

Brand asked, prompting a nod from Elexis.

"Well, to answer your question, yes, Elexis. I fairly appreciate a woman calling me to her bed rather than the other way around. It gets tiring, you know."

Giving a rather coy smile, drawing a laugh from Elexis. Content with his meal, the Manticore took a bite from the steaming claw, savoring its taste. As the night continued, the Lady and her attendant found themselves moving on, putting a sweet end to the first warm week they had known in a long time.

----------------------------------------

“Aaaahh, so gooood~.”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

I was barely able to hold in my happiness. Thanks to Lorn, we were currently enjoying a type of shellfish I hadn't enjoyed in some time. Rather large compared to its Earth counterpart, the River Crawler was apparently a type of shellfish you could find in almost any marsh, river, delta, or even the ocean at large. Meaning any place near water would always have one of these rather wholesome meals on multiple legs lumbering around in droves.

Gods, this almost makes me eager to go out and hunt if I get to eat this all the time.~

The flesh tasted as if it were seared just for a moment, trapping the flavor in as they were cooked further. Paired with the greens with their citrus covering, it was a match that ushered in feelings of warmth and home; it was a truly heartwarming meal.

"With that reaction, Hatsumi definitely hasn't exposed you to that many things available outside of town, I take it?"

Lorn asked curiously, cracking the leg placed upon her own plate.

"Nuh-uh, we've gone over some berries, herbs, and a wild vegetable or two, but that's the extent."

"I'll have to talk with her on it, and it won't do for you to know what you can eat if you can't very well cook it... You wouldn't happen to know why, would you? There isn't a particular imp whispering words' of cart food into her ears, is there?"

Lorn asked, smiling mischievously as she looked at me.

"I have no idea what you mean; Mama wouldn't do that."

I attempted to break eye contact, choosing instead to look away as I bit down on the meat of the Crawler leg.

"Haha, Kiyomi, I can't say anything of it personally. But it would do you good to put a stop to the cart food for now. It's understandable for time reasons right now, but you won't have them in the wilds. It will get easier the earlier you learn."

Lorn said, contained her mischievous smile and appeared content with the food now beginning to settle as she took a bite of salad.

"Sho-we- mnf-"

In my excitement, I attempted to move forward on the lesson with a full mouth. Finally, gulping my food down, I was able to breathe and speak clearly.

"Fwaaa~ So, the lesson. I looked at different sub-species I could choose."

Lorn looked up as she continued to eat, motioning for me to continue. While she was still eating, plate in her lap, she was clearly listening.

"Well, it gave me visions? Glimpses of what I would look like... is that exactly normal?"

Lorn held up a fork as if to say 'give me a minute' before swallowing.

"The system will give you a rough idea; it won't necessarily be a one-to-one of what you will directly look like in the future. Instead, it's a prediction based on your current self."

Lorn said before taking another bite.

"It also suggested against Imp as well. So... safe to say I should avoid that one?"

Lorn nodded at my question as she continued with her eating.

"The others I saw, well, they all looked like what I expected. Hellknight, Succubus, Manticore, and Oni. They all looked like they'd be a good fit in one way or another."

I took another bite of my own food.

"The system showed its own version of descriptions?"

Lorn asked, coaxing a nod from me in response as I ate.

"If that's the case, I won't bother with the book anymore. Explain to me what it says."

Moving on with analyzing my choices, I explained to Lorn each of the descriptions, and even looked at each preview again and described each to my best ability. Managing to clean our plates in the time it took us to go over the four that weren't eliminated from selection; our conversations were going uninterrupted as time passed. No more nervousness, no more vomiting or eating, just back and forth conversation and debates on the drawbacks and benefits.

Going over Hellknight first, we agreed that this would be the best choice if I were to make my living as a normal adventurer. The resilience to the elements, lack of coverage needed for the feet outside of horseshoes, and lack of active drawbacks directly encouraged it as a choice. If push came to shover, I would pick Hellknight. That being said, that was if I'd never amounted to anything by that time. Once I had a developed style, Lorn said it would be easier to help direct me. As time went on, Mother, Lorn, and Callum would be able to guide me.

The succubus was explained further by Lorn than either the system or what she said the book would describe. Succubi were more often than not an adventurer or mercenary. The reason for this was for them to make greater use of their power; it was best they were in an environment where they had a plentiful source of mana to intake. In this case, it would be drawn from their previous kills or allies that didn't use their mana to begin with. The other issue with Succubi was that while they could intake or output as much mana as they please, they cannot produce mana passively. That would mean I would always need someone to support me, especially since I will eventually start bleeding mana passively. However, the primary benefit would be the ability to intake as much mana as I could in one sitting. Meaning I could take in enough mana to sustain a dozen individuals as long as I had a source. My take away from it was not as pleasant, though. It was confirmed that they didn't need to perform... intimate acts... but their mating habits, physiology, and abilities all predisposed succubi to be extremely... social. Lorn suggested it primarily with my long-term health in mind, but I was shying away from it.

Manticore would have benefitted me poorly. Unfortunately, it would stunt my ability to grow outside of its niche of abilities. Especially considering the tail was a rather weak appendage, usually crippling an individual the moment it was hit thanks to its direct link to the spine. I would have been stuck hunting small game monster and megafauna, placed as a bodyguard, or directed to specific mercenary work. Lorn suggested this choice dead last, even behind Hellknight.

Our discussion on Oni was interesting. Just like Hellknight, Oni was still beholden to our mana-veins; there was a significant boon that made up for it. The excess strength that Oni found themselves would make me a terrifying force to wield. Considering my already inhuman strength, the rise in strength through becoming an Oni would bring me well into the twenties stats-wise; at least that was Lorn's speculation. Food wouldn't have been an issue; as long as I shot for slightly larger game hunt-wise, I would have made the money to counterbalance food intake. What the system did not describe was that Oni favored cooler climates. While we were fine here in Damus, if we were to head further north, we would be getting too close to the planet's equator for me to maintain my health without a significant amount of food or water on hand. The only other drawback related to it was the risk I put others at with the heightened strength. While I would excel at fighting or hunting, I would be at odds with many day-to-day tasks. Just handling a cup would require a significant amount of self-control, apparently. Hundreds of years prior, Lorn had known an individual with a strength of twenty-one, and he struggled to simply hold a cup without crushing it or even a partner without worrying about constantly harming them.

If I coupled that with my night-terrors and... fuck me... no-one ever wants to admit it... Doctors were right. Couple it with PTSD... I need to get over my other issues if I don't want to hurt Mama or even Beryl and Vaughn... the last thing I need is getting combative in my sleep.

"Hey, Kiyomi."

Lorn called for my attention, pulling me from my thoughts

"Hmm?"

"Kiyomi, deciding on it is not something that needs to happen anytime soon. By the time you need to decide, you'll be a grown woman. So don't worry about it right now. You have your childhood to enjoy and some catching up to do."

Lorn stood as she spoke.

"It's actually late afternoon now, and I have an appointment with Gregor. Want to give Vaughn your company?"

"But-Miss Lorn, it's just barely after one..."

Looking outside, the sun was nowhere within view of the windows, and the shadow of the overhanging roof clearly showed that the sun was directly overhead.

"As far as your mother knows, it was late afternoon when we stopped, okay?~"

Lorn's new tone and her closed-eye grin sent the message home. She was giving me clear permission to accompany her and play hookie.

"Now that you mention it, it is getting kind of late, Miss Lorn."

"Good girl, now let's go see the grumpy engineer."