I'm going to stop here and take my time writing the next several chapters, because the next arc is really the main part of the story. I don't think it'll be more than 2 weeks before I startposting again, but we'll see.
----------------------------------------
It's been several months since Aoi started building our army. I think their number is somewhere in the thousands now, though I'm not completely sure. They've grown so large that they had to split up, with one of Aoi's slaves leading each division. Our network of roads has been completed in about half of the Great Wilds, which makes us the size of a large European nation, or maybe one of the States. I think it's very impressive.
Even if we have an army, they still have the potential to be wiped out by a single group of mages, so I'm mostly going to be using them for defense against monsters. In the future, I hope to equip them with guns and stuff. I heard the dwarves have steam guns, so it would be nice if I could get a few of them to help me develop sniper rifles or something in order to combat mages.
I've been swamped with work, since I need to go between all of the villages and get them to agree to trade, mutual defense, things like that. Elven is gradually becoming the predominant language, but there's still no unified writing system, so I need to explain everything to each village personally. It's really tiring. The whole thing is starting to look like a proper nation though. The resources are being traded between the villages with differing specialties, and the overall technology is almost at the level of the elves, though not every village is fully renovated yet. The various villages no longer feel competitive towards each other. I might have to implement a proper government and market system soon.
Today, I'm going back to Irilyn as a sort of vacation. The monster food here has a nice salty taste, but it really sucks eating that all the time. Some of the villages grow crops, but they're extremely bitter. Therefore, I'm going to go to Irilyn for a few days. I saved a bunch of parts from some of the monsters that were hunted by Aoi, so I should be good on money if I turn those into the Guild. Aoi gave me a magic bracelet that can disguise me as an elf. I was afraid of the answer, so I didn't ask where she got it, but it’s really convenient since I don’t have to dye my hair again or risk getting exposed.
Vesra-chan is going to fly me there, but she's not going to come with me since there's only one bracelet and we don't want a repeat of last time. Plus, being with Vesra-chan is really creepy. For example, she took the scraps of my shirt from that time and made it into panties, though I didn't notice for a while. I mean, it was a little endearing, but more than that, it was disturbing. I burned them as soon as I found out.
Another time, I went to go see the new town hall that Vesra-chan was building for herself, and there were taxidermies of monsters everywhere. That's not the weird part though. When I complimented her on the taxidermies, she said something like 'Yes! I'll be sure to make Hisenaga-sama's just as wonderful!' That's strange, right? I'm not going crazy right? They're the strange ones, right?!
Anyways, I arrived at the Guild without any problems. The actual trip was very uneventful since it was just Vesra-chan panting really heavily while I held onto her on the back of the Griffin. The guard was different from last time, but I had a guild card, so there was no questioning like before.
When I enter the Guild, a lot of people start pointing and laughing, presumably because of the incident last time. But when I dump the contents of my sack onto the reception counter, no one is laughing. The receptionist has her eyes wide open but keeps smiling. It looks really strange.
The various creature parts total up to 500 gold. The gold even filled up the sack that I just emptied.
"Sir, if you had properly taken the requests for all of these, you could be ranked B- ! I'm sure if you talk to the Guildmaster, she can make an exception this one time."
"Ahh, it sounds troublesome for some monsters I just hunted on the side, but for you, I'll do it."
I give the receptionist a wink and smile at her. She blushes a little bit and breaks eye contact.
"I-I understand. I'll bring the Guildmaster over right away!"
A few moments later, she comes back with Myra. What the hell, she’s the Guildmaster? Uugghh, I'm starting to get nervous. I won't let it show on my face though.
"Ah, Onee-chan~, how have you been? Are you impressed? Though this much is nothing to Onee-chan, huh?"
"Don't tell me this is what you've been doing for the past few months, boy."
"Of course not! This is just some trash I picked up during my travels. Hey, can you hurry and rank me up? I'm really busy."
That's a complete lie, but I want to get out of here as soon as possible.
"It's unfortunate you're in a rush boy, but if you want me to make an exception for your rank-up, then you'll need to have a match against me."
Shit!
"Hoh? If it's like that, then I'll make some time. I also want to try playing with Onee-chan!"
I lean forward a bit when I say that with a childish vigor. Myra even flinches.
"You know what, that won't be necessary. Here, give me your guild card."
"Aww, too bad. Maybe another time then, O-NE-E-chan~!"
I leave the Guild slowly, with confidence in my step. As soon as I get out the door though, I heave a big sigh. I want to leave this place as soon as possible, but I can't until Vesra-chan comes to pick me up in 3 days. Well, I might as well enjoy the hotels and food here.
Ahhh, this place is heaven! Compared to those human villages, no, compared to my old world, the food here is god-like! It's almost as good as Saya's food, to be honest. Damn, now I don't want to leave. Maybe I should just stay here for another week. Vesra-chan will probably just leave after a while right? I can just walk back to the village when I feel like going back.
It's been 5 hours since the scheduled time for Vesra-chan to meet me outside the town. I'm going to stay inside my room for the whole day, then start go explore some more restaurants, and maybe a brothel. Kukukuh, Vesra-chan must have given up by-... huh? Who the hell is knocking on my door at this hour?
I open the door just a crack and see Vesra-chan standing there. Her face brightens up a bit when she sees me. I close the door slowly, and lock it.
"Wait, Hisenaga-sama! Why did you close the door? Are you abandoning me? Hisenaga-sama?”
“H-haha. I decided to stay here for a bit longer, so just head back by yourself, Vesra-chan.”
“I WON'T LET YOU DO THAT, HISENAGA-SAMA! WE'LL BE TOGETHER FOREVER!"
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
I walk over to the the window. This room is three stories up. If I survive, I can make a nice getaway, and if I die, it's still better than the present situation. The only problem is if I become a cripple, and remain under Vesra-chan's 'care' for the rest of my life. There's no foliage, but it's still dirt. I can't tell if it’s loose dirt or packed dirt from this distance.
Vesra-chan’s banging is getting louder. Shit, I don't have much time. At this rate, would it be better to dive headfirst and just go for death? There's still a small chance of becoming a cripple though...
Damn, I'm too late! Vesra-chan is standing in the doorway with a manic expression on her face. I decide to jump as is and hope I survive. I jump immediately, but Besra-chan manages to catch my waist mid-air and pull me back in.
"Oh no Hisenaga-sama! Were you so lonely that you tried to commit suicide? Don't worry, I'll make sure that I NEVER LEAVE YOUR SIDE AGAIN!"
Vesra-chan is petting my head, and I feel like crying. What did I do to deserve this shit? Vesra-chan takes my hand and guides me out the town towards where the Griffin is waiting. At this point, I've already given up, and I lifelessly let her lead me around. She didn't dye her hair, so she has to rely on her hood and the night to conceal her as we walk through the streets and out the gate. Not that it matters. Nothing matters...
Oh look, it's Myra, another potential yandere harem member. I don't know if yandere is the right word for her though. She's more like a molester than anything else. Ah, she's saying something.
"I knew it!"
Nn? Did she realize that we're human?
"Vesra is a human, and what's more, boy, you..."
Here it comes.
"You're a slave magician, aren't you? I knew Vesra was acting abnormally, and you have a Griffin too? No wonder you got so many monster drops so easily, when you're using a blacklisted magic!"
Slave magic is banned? Then are slaves just kept in line the normal way? Wait, that's not important right now. I just realized something. Right now, Vesra-chan is calm, but I remember before she got angry at Myra quite easily.
I dive into Myra's arms and bury my head in her chest. This is just acting, okay? I'm not enjoying it, not one bit. Her breasts aren't soft at all. It doesn't feel like heaven either.
"Onee-chan! I reawwy missed you!"
Something wet drips onto my head. Blood is coming out of Myra's nose like a faucet, and her breathing is becoming labored. She swipes her arms trying to hug me, but I'm already out of the way, back by Vesra-chan's side.
"C-come here boy! Onee-chan wants to play with you, so just stay still!"
"You dirty woman! How dare you defile the innocent Hisenaga-sama with your sinister charms!"
"Defile? If you think this is defiling, then just wait until you see what I'll do later!"
A shiver involuntarily runs through my body, but I'm pleased that my plan worked. That's right, I've always been trying to maintain good relations between harem members, but by comparison, it’s far easier to get them to turn on each other! Like this, I can get these sick fucks to leave me alone!
Did I make a miscalculation again? Right now, Myra is using wind magic to follow us back to Rukerford, which is becoming something of the capital of my budding nation. Why did she join our group? Maybe my roleplay earlier was too much for her, so now she's going to follow me around? She still thinks I'm a powerful elf with slave magic though. No doubt, the moment that she finds out that's a lie, my body will be in danger. It looks like I'm going to be an elf around her from now on...
I'm sitting in front of Vesra-chan in order to give the illusion that I'm the one controlling the Griffin. Vesra-chan is holding onto me so that I don't fall off. I can enjoy it since I can't see her face, which I'm sure is really scary right now.
When we land in the town square, Aoi is waiting for us there. She looked really pissed, but once she sees Myra, she reverts to her demure act. Does she do this around all strangers? Why did she taunt me the first time we met then?
"Hisenaga-san, my soldiers have reported some humans and a few beast-kin traveling towards Tikral Village. They'll reach there in a few hours."
Aoi bows toward me while she speaks. Urgh, I'm not used to her demure act yet. She's at an angle where I can see her tits... no, that's not what I wanted to say. She's at an angle where I can see her wicked smile, while others can't. Vesra-chan is glaring at Aoi like always, and Myra just looks curios.
"L-let's go over there to meet them when they arrive. Please have your army on standby just in case."
"Of, course, Hisenaga-sama."
Since there are several of us, we travel by Aoi's moving barrier again. Myra looks impressed. It takes us a bit more time than usual since we're going by land, a little less than 3 hours. I hope we're not too late to greet the people coming. The fact they they came to Tikral directly without passing through any of the surrounding villages means they must have cut through the Griffin infested lands, which means they must be quite powerful. I hope they don't have any ill intentions.
"Hey, Aoi, what's a beast-kin?"
"You don't know? They’re half-beastman half-human. Their appearance mostly human except for their ears and tail."
Yes!!! It's here! my harem will have a catgirl! My harem... Ah, it'll be another yandere right? I still want to see one though! Myra is saying something, but I'm in my own world right now, thinking about catgirls.
"Boy, is this your retainer?"
Aoi responds in my place, which snaps me out of it.
"I guess you could say I'm his... ‘personal 'servant'?"
Who's my closest servant, you shitty woman?! Myra looks even more intrigued than before.
"Heee, as expected from a B- ranked adventurer, you really know how to pick them, huh boy?"
Aoi seems to have realized that Myra thinks I’m an elf based on what was said and the fact that I haven't taken the disguise bracelet off yet. This is bad. She’s most likely going to use this as leverage against me.
"Aoi wait, it's not what you…”
I let my voice trail off because Vesra-chan, Myra, and Aoi all look towards the forest at the same time. A few moments later, a large group of people emerge from the forest. Near the front group is a catgirl with beautiful mid-length red hair, and her sizes are... Wait a minute! I'd recognize those sizes anywhere! The bust might be a little different, but without a doubt, those are Saya's sizes. Sure enough, once they’re closer, I can make out the girl's face, and it’s exactly the same.
I raise my arm and call out to her.