All in all, the room was far better than the ones we received at Neyalin’s inn. The metal bath was fit for a human, but not a draconian. Speaking of which, Ayuseya had to bend a little in order to get inside, the frame of the door was a bit too low for her. The same happened back in Perto. Every building here was built only for human-sized species like elves, el’doraws, nekatars, and dwarfs. The big draconians weren’t meant to step inside these places, then again, I didn’t see any of them on the street. One could say that Ayuseya was a rarity here. That or there simply weren’t any of them wandering around the streets at this hour and around this place.

Stretching my arms, I walked over to one of the beds and tested its bounciness. It was concluded that mine was far better.

“When we go to bed, remind me to absorb these things and replace them with the one we slept in last night.” I said and turned to look at the girls.

“Why?” asked Nanya furrowing her brow.

“I like that one more, besides… this one is too small for Ayuseya. She will be a bit uncomfortable in it.” I pointed at the edge of the bed.

It stopped at 2 meters. The same went for the other bed in this room. If my wife was to sleep in any of these beds, she would certainly be uncomfortable. I, on the other hand, could manage somehow.

“We don’t have anything to unpack. Should we go eat something and then go take a bath at the local bathhouse?” asked Nanya.

“Tamara won’t be able to enter with us.” pointed out Shanteya.

“Tamara stay and guard panties!” shouted the cat.

In that moment, all of them squinted their eyes at me.

“What?” I asked furrowing my brow.

“Don’t you dare use that spell!” warned Nanya.

“How could I use it? You three aren’t even in my Dungeon Territory!” I complained.

The look in their eyes told me they didn’t believe me.

“Fine! I’ll PROVE it! Colly Tos!” I said and when nothing appeared in front of me, I smiled and took a triumphant pose. “See! Nothing happened!”

With a blush on her cheeks, Nanya walked over to me and took something from on top of my hood. I blinked surprised when she did that and looked at her hand. She was holding a pair of pink panties with a small ribbon on them.

“Aren’t those…” I pointed out and furrowed my brow.

“You and your broken spells!” she grumbled and then turned around.

While she put them on, I looked at the others, who quietly shook their heads disapprovingly.

“I swear to God, I didn’t mean it!” I defended myself.

“It’s alright, Illsy. We understand that as a man, you have certain… hobbies?” said Ayuseya with a forced smile.

“My hobby isn’t magically stealing panties with Colly Tos!” I complained, and the pink pair appeared above me once more, slowly floating down into my right hand.

“You idiot… I just put them on.” grumbled the demoness.

“Sorry?” I handed them over.

“You see? A man’s nature always reveals itself!” the draconian giggled.

“Stupid, broken, useless skill…” I grumbled to myself.

“This must just mean that Master really loves Nanya.” giggled Shanteya.

When she said this, Ayuseya looked down for a moment.

“Or my panties…” the demoness squinted her eyes at me after she was done.

“Technically, the spell that shall not be named is described as being a targeted spell…” I said in my defense.

“Technically, not practically.” pointed out the el’doraw.

“How about that bath?” asked Ayuseya afterwards, trying to change the subject.

“Then Tamara guards?” asked the kitten.

“Yes, then we will wash you up in this tub!” said Nanya with a grin.

Flattening her ears, the nekatar looked at it and then at her and shook her furry head fast. She clearly didn’t like the idea of a ‘bath’.

“Relax, Tamara. It’s not going to bite.” I smiled and patted her head.

“Mew! But water is wet…” she complained.

That was a… valid argument?

“How cute.” Ayuseya giggled.

“Then it’s settled! Let’s go and see what we can find to stuff our stomachs with!” I declared.

“You, a cow.” smirked Nanya and slapped my bottom.

“Hey!” I complained, but the others just giggled and walked past me.

With a sigh, I closed the door behind us. After locking it, I put away the key and followed them downstairs. This place served only booze, so for food, we went to a nearby restaurant. It wasn’t that far from us, but the waiter at the door stopped us before we could enter.

“I’m sorry, but we don’t serve…” he gulped and looked up at Ayuseya “draconians and nekatars.”

I raised an eyebrow at him.

“On account of what reason?” I asked.

“The boss doesn’t want us to.” he explained.

“Sigh, let’s go somewhere else. You can tell your boss that I’m not going to recommend this place!” I said and then tossed him a silverette.

“Sir?” the boy looked at the coin confused.

We said nothing and kept walking.

A few steps away, Nanya asked me “Why did you give a coin for nothing?”

“In a city like this, tossing a coin at a random stranger can only mean one thing: that you are rich. If I threw a goldiette, then I would have hinted we are nobles, if it was a copperette, then just average folk with coins to spend. However, a silverette means we are wealthy adventurers. Greedy enough not to give a goldiette, rich enough not to care about a silverette.” I smirked.

“And what will this lead to?” asked Ayuseya a bit confused.

“Two things basically. Either the boy will keep this a secret and next time he sees us, he will be awfully polite and friendly with us. In case we will need any sort of info, he might be willing to provide it for us. After all, a waiter at a fancy restaurant can hear some interesting things from time to time. The other option is that he will show it to his boss, and he will rethink his strategy a bit. After all, a merchant’s instinct is to first make the coin, then bother about politics. Thus, he might be willing to change his policy on what sort of clientele to serve.” I explained.

“In other words, you wasted a silverette on a whim, thinking it will serve some future purpose, right?” asked Nanya raising an eyebrow.

“Urk… Can’t I just act cool and smart for a minute?” I squinted my eyes at her.

“Maaaybe?” she giggled and kissed my cheek. “I would love a dumb Illsy just as much as I would a smart one.”

I sighed and let it pass. Little did I know, that my ‘whim’ was actually going to change something.

[Waiter’s point of view]

He tossed me a coin. Just like that, without asking anything for it! I couldn’t tell if that man was an arrogant bastard or just some rich fellow with an overgenerous heart. Well, I wasn’t the smartest lad in me family, but I knew one thing and that was to never take the generosity of a man in vain!

I hid the coin in the pockets of me pants and pretended like nothing ever happened, but if that man were to ever pass by and ask me anything, I would see no reason not to answer truthfully.

Hm, maybe if I will ever open me own place, I’ll let everyone in! Yeah, that sounds good! I think I’ll treat this silverette as a lucky coin. I thought and for the first time in me life, I actually wanted to do something more.

[Illsyore’s point of view]

We found a small restaurant that took all of us in after walking for who knew how far. I was this close to actually building the whole thing from the ground up only made out of pure gold and platinum just to annoy all those human ingrates.

The place we dined at wasn’t a fancy one, for certain, but it made a decent soup and steak. They even served Tamara some fish, which she wolfed down in mere seconds.

It appeared as though the draconians were mostly seen as enemies around these parts, as for the nekatars, they had two separate statuses: slave or free. The latter didn’t offer them full rights though. They could be set free, true, but they weren’t treated equally, which pissed me off… a lot.

One of them even had the guts of telling me the following words:

“But they don’t look like us? They are beasts, so we must teach them their place. Man is superior to any beast, after all!”

The man declared it like he was proud of it. If Ayuseya and Nanya weren’t there, I would have punched him all the way to the palace. The idea that a king could rule a country with such prejudice and discrimination sickened me.

That was why when I found the small restaurant that served all the species there, I decided to give them a big tip. The meal was 3 silverettes and 4 copperettes, but I paid 4 goldiettes. The owner thanked me in tears. That money would have been enough to help him pay the taxes and renovate a little.

The food was good too, so I had no complains about it.

After a good meal, we took a walk through the city. We looked around and checked out any store we found interesting. It was a big city, but not as big as the ones on Earth. To be honest, not all of the things I saw pleased me, and the girls didn’t buy anything either. There were some nice-looking ladies, but when I saw them dragging slaves behind them, which were clearly barely fed and even overworked, like quickly turned into disgust.

Surprisingly, there weren’t any beggars on the streets. When I asked about this, the one to answer was the draconian princess.

“In countries that rely on slavery, if you become a beggar, then you are immediately taken as a slave by the state and sold to government-owned markets. Not owning a home does not necessarily mean that you are a beggar. As long as you still have money to pay the most minimum of taxes, you can live as a free man. Here, it should be a one-month fee of one silverettes. For us, who have just arrived in this city, we are not obligated to pay anything until the end of the month or if a knight requests it.”

Her explanation was long and spoken with the dignified tone suited for her rank, but it revealed the ugly way the system treated the poor people. To be honest, I knew how democracy and communism treated them, but so far, I had yet to see a system that sided with the poor people just as much as it did with the rich ones. This was one of the things that annoyed me. I saw the problem, but I had no idea how to fix it… but most importantly, was I the right one to fix it?

In the end, any change that took place in any sort of system happened with the people who belonged to the system. As an outsider, I didn’t believe my opinion really matter.

By the time we reached the bathhouse, I pretty much saw what the capital looked like, at least in this area. The streets were mostly clean, but the side alleys were filled with garbage. I was told they usually didn’t stay like that for long because the local elves and el’doraws had sensitive noses. Humans more or less could live with it under theirs.

There were no beggars, true, but there were many slaves and guards patrolling the place. The crime rate was probably low because of this, but I highly doubted there wasn’t any sort of mafia around here. No matter the world or location, it was highly unlikely that one wouldn’t find any sort of organized crime running in the shadows. Bucket Head, for example, could be seen as having formed the beginning of an extortion or bandit group. The plan was easy for him. At the guild, he could spot potential targets and determine their approximate strength, a thing on which he obviously failed with me, and once he forced them out of town, he was free to hunt them down.

As for the nobles and rich folk, they could do pretty much whatever they wanted around here as long as they had the proper connections to back them up, like the dude I ‘gently’ pushed out of my way.

Long story short, it was a city with many problems, but which only the king and the people living here could fix.

While I kept thinking about this sort of stuff, we finally arrived at the bathhouse. It was a fairly large building from where many men and women entered and left. When I saw it, I instantly remembered the bathhouse at the Fellyore Academy in the Student Dormitory, the one where I caught the old geezer Tuberculus trying to sneak a peek at the lovely girls inside.

“We’ll leave you here, Illsy. We’ll see you back at the inn?” Nanya asked.

I shrugged “Sure. I’ll see if I can find a map or something… Here’s the key.”

She absorbed the key for safe keeping.

“Just don’t get into trouble, alright?”

“I won’t!” I waved and left.

Walking down the street, I passed by the bathhouse, and at the first intersection, I turned left. I continued to walk forward, turned right, then took a left, and basically moved in a zig-zag pattern. At one point, some guy in leather armor went flying past me and landed face first on the ground.

I blinked surprised.

He groaned and said something in Kalish. It could have been a swear or some strange curse word, but I couldn’t tell.

With a bruised cheek, he walked away.

“What was that all about?” I wondered and looked to my left.

Up on the sign board, I read… I read nothing cause I had no idea how to read those chicken scribbles.

“One way to find out…” I said and stepped into the shop.

The place was filled with maps from top to bottom, very neatly drawn and filled with details. They were all maps of this continent and even some of Allasn and Thorya. I was quite impressed, so I took a quick look at some of them, of course, I had no idea how to read them.

Suddenly, I felt someone behind me and turned around. There was a man in his thirties looking at me with sharp brown eyes and hands behind his back. He had a short mustache and short cut, black hair.

“Hello?” I said and forced a smile.

He spoke in gibberish.

“Sorry, I can’t understand… I will leave and maybe return with a translator. I’m interested in your maps…” I smiled and turned to leave.

“Wait.” he suddenly said in Shorayan.

“You know my language?” I asked him surprised.

“What sort of cartographer do you think I am? My name is Cairen Talcaea!” he said proudly.

“I’m Illsyore, nice to meet you.” I nodded and offered my hand.

He looked at me and then at my hand.

“I’m not going to kiss your hand. Are you mad?” he said.

“Erm… Sorry, an old custom… And it’s not kissing but shaking.” I smiled awkwardly.

“Oh! I see. Weird custom. What you do if the other just took a dump?” he asked curiously.

“I pray to the gods he washed his hands?” I smiled.

“Ha! And here I thought I was the only one who did that!” he smiled and then shook my hand before I pulled back.

“Hand washing is not a custom of these parts, I presume?”

“Unfortunately, not.” he shook his head.

“Well, about your maps. Can I buy some?” I asked.

“Some?” he squinted his eyes at me.

“Yes.” I nodded.

“They are not cheap.” he warned me.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“I can pay.” I replied.

“Very well. What would you like a map of? Recently discovered dungeons? I can map out an entire floor if you walk me through it only once! How about some maps of the capital cities? Or the whole world?” he grinned and then pointed at the biggest map there, one with the three continents.

“I would like one map of each capital you have, that big map of the whole world, one in detail about each continent, and I think that’s about it.” I told him.

“Good! Good!” he smiled and quickly went to get the maps I requested.

While he did that, I made a quick pit stop at the local gold mountain, location Inner Mind. From there I picked up a few gold bars and turned them into some of those fancy balls with drawings on them. I already had the model, so making a few more didn’t bother me. This time, I tried to make the balls tell a story about a vulture who soared through the skies and became a star, then return to the surface as a man. Easy and simple way to increase the price for a useless piece of metal.

Once I was done, I came out and prepared the spheres as payment. There were three of them, but I also made a flat disc of gold to offer first. I planned to use it first to let him know that I wished to trade with gold, then I could haggle with the spheres. Those maps couldn’t be very expensive, right?

“There!” Cairen said after he rolled the last map and placed it on a stack of 26 others.

“How much?” I asked.

“All of these? 146 Goldiettes!” he smirked.

I might need more spheres… I thought then placed the disc on the counter.

“How much would this be worth?” I asked him.

“Hm? You will pay in trade? Well… Let’s see… That’s about 12 Goldiettes, maybe 14?” he said.

It was a lot, to be honest.

“And this?” I then placed the sphere on the table.

“Hm? Oh my! What is this? Such fine inscriptions! Is this a story? These details are extraordinary! Where did you get it, if I may ask?” he looked at me with curious eyes.

“Erm… Found it in a dungeon.” I said with an awkward smile.

“Interesting! This here would be worth about 60 goldiettes!” he nodded.

“Well then, here are the other two. Do we have a deal for the maps?” I asked with a smile as I placed them on his counter.

“More of them? But with the disk, it will be over the price I requested! I can’t take them…” he said shaking his head.

“Take them, I don’t mind.” I smiled and took the maps from the counter.

Those pieces of paper were far more important than some spheres I made in the blink of an eye. In a way, I felt like I was cheating, but he set the price himself, so win-win?

“Very well, if you insist.” he nodded and took the spheres and disk from the counter, stashing them in a Storage Crystal he carried around his neck.

“By the way, what was that all about? With the man who was tossed outside earlier?” I asked him.

“Oh, that?” he furrowed his brow “He came her asking for a map like you, but he made fun of my name. Around these parts, Talcaea is also a woman’s name.”

“Well, then we have something in common, Illsyore is also a woman’s name. Anyway, thank you again for the maps. I hope we will meet again sometimes, mister Cairen!” I told him with a smile.

“Of course! Anytime! For good customers, my shop is always open! And if you ever need to map out a dungeon, I’m the man to call!” he laughed.

“I’ll keep that in mind!” I then left the store and absorbed the map.

There was one thing I wanted to ask him about, but it sort of skipped my mind.

As soon as I turned left, I bumped into someone.

“Ugh! Watch where you’re going, lad!” the old man told me.

“I apologize!” I said and quickly pulled him up.

He was past his 70s and wore a long white robe, which didn’t get dirty at all even after falling on the ground. To make things a bit weirder, he didn’t speak in Kalish, but in Shorayan.

“Hm? Are you…” the man stared at me for a moment “A cabbage?” and tilted his head to the right.

My eye twitched, and with a forced smile, I answered him “No. Do I look like a cabbage to you?”

“Good point!” he snapped his fingers.

Looking left and right to see if there was anyone around, he put his hand around my neck, and asked me “Do you want to see something nice, young man? Hehe.” he smiled like a pervert.

“It depends…” I squinted my eyes at him and wondered if I should simply run away.

“GOOD!” he slapped my back and despite my strength, I landed face first in the ground.

“Ugh!” I groaned.

Strong little old man… I thought as I got up.

“Come on, laddy! Don’t just stand there like an ol’ geezer!” he scolded me.

“Aren’t you the old geezer?” I asked as I walked up to him.

“Pathooi!” he spat. “Details!” he waved it off.

I squinted my eyes at him, but decided to follow him either way. What harm could it do?

“You remind of my old days, back when I could still charm a lady and not creep her out with me smile!” he said.

“Aren’t they a bit too young for you?” I asked him with a raised eyebrow.

“When you are a 78 years-old human hitting on a 348 years-old elf, it’s the other way around.” he smirked.

“True, but how old you look counts.” I nodded.

“Bah! Details! The true women don’t go for the looks, but the heart!” he smiled.

“Sounds like a fairy tale.” I told him.

“It depends.” he stopped and looked back at me “Maybe others just filled your head with the idea of a fairy tale when they themselves were too afraid to look at the real world. Pride, greed, and ego can be strong barriers when one is told to express himself.”

“I don’t understand.”

His words were rather confusing, I had to admit.

“There’s nothing to understand.” he shook his head “It’s simple.” he shrugged “The way someone grows up most of the times determines the fairy tales they have stuck between their ears. Instead of growing their own thoughts, they listen to the ideas of others and then fail to gaze upon the world they can build by themselves.” he smiled.

“You mean preconceptions? Fears? Stuff like that?” I asked him.

He nodded.

“It’s much easier to live in a world where you already know the rules then to try to test the world to write new ones… just for yourself.” he smirked.

I looked down for a moment as I thought about this. To be honest, I could believe these words, but I had no idea why he was telling me all of this.

“You still don’t understand?” he asked me.

“No…” I shook my head.

“This lad! This!” he said and then went behind an elf woman who was walking past by us and groped her breasts.

“Hey! What are you… Ahn~!” the woman collapsed on the ground with her cheeks red and shivering a bit.

“Boobies!” the old man smiled.

My train of thought just went… it broke.

“You youngsters don’t know the joys of fine breasts! If you did, you would understand what it means to properly grope them, to appease them, to massage them, and how to properly treat them.” he smirked and patted the woman’s head.

She glared at him and then slapped him as hard as she could.

The old man went flying into the sky and landed on a pile of garbage not that far away from me.

“Hmph! Perverts!” the woman stormed off, glaring at me.

“What just happened?” I asked myself as I looked back at the old man.

He was laughing.

“Oh yes, you must never do that to anyone else BUT your woman!” he pointed up at the sky.

“I’m just going to go now and pretend like this never happened. I don’t want to go to jail for being associated with you.” I nodded firmly and stepped away.

“Wait!” the old man grabbed my hand.

“What?” I asked looking back at him.

“Do an old man a favor and just listen, will you?” he smiled.

I squinted my eyes at him.

“Sigh…” and that was how I gave up without a fight.

“Good! Now, follow me!” he declared and began to walk.

He stopped after a few steps and took out a half-eaten fish from his robe. After tossing it back in the garbage pile, he continued to walk calmly. A bit wary, I followed him, but kept an open eye for guards. Who knew what this old pervert could lead me into?

At one point, he stopped and asked me “Do you know what’s better?”

“Erm… Pie?” I replied.

“That’s tasty, but no. I’m talking about breasts! Big or small? Round or mushy? Perky or droopy? So many variations! So many beautiful combinations!” he smiled.

“Why are you asking me this?” I squinted my eyes at him.

“Well, which do you prefer?” he asked me.

“Erm… no preference, I think.” I shrugged.

“You lie!” he pointed at me.

“How?” I raised an eyebrow at him.

“No matter what, a man will ALWAYS have a preference! That exquisite masterpiece he wishes to hold between his fingers and then squeeze it or play with it! Big breasts have their charm, and it is said that small ones represent justice!” he smirked.

“How can… You don’t make any sense.” I told him.

Truth be told, I never did understand why people were going bananas over the size, shape, and everything else. True, I did prefer big breasts over small ones and from animes and manga, I knew there were many weird preferences out there, but to say I identified myself with one was a bit stretching it. Besides, I had two wives and an el’doraw. My three preferences were set in stone.

“I do, you are just a bit of a fool who doesn’t wish to recognize it! At least, you aren’t like other fools who fear to act…” he shrugged.

“You don’t know anything about me.” I squinted my eyes at him.

“Bah, who needs to? But come on, we’re not that far now!” he smirked.

I had a bad feeling about this.

We arrived at some back alley, where he climbed a big pile of garbage. My keen senses detected a lot of people behind the wall, mostly women. I gulped and followed him, raising my Magic Armor to the max so the filth didn’t touch me.

“Here! Here! But keep quiet!” he urged me.

“What?” I squinted my eyes at him and then looked at what he was pointing.

“It’s Heaven, I tell you! Heaven!” he said.

What we were looking at was a small window at the bathhouse. Before me laid a forest of gorgeous fruits just ripe to be plucked. Some were big, others were small, and the prunes were immediately deleted from my memory. Among them, I saw three voluptuous bodies soaked in water. Cheerful smiles were on their lips, and among all of them, they were the most beautiful of all the flowers there. As for their glorious mountains, I could only gulp and be forced to admire their serenity and divinity.

“Peeking at naked women is always the best! Hehehe!” the perverted old man said while wiping a trail of blood from his nose.

Indeed, we were currently peeking at the women in the bathhouse, and among them were Nanya, Shanteya, and Ayuseya. They were all beautiful, charming, and stunning. But out of all three of them, I only got to be invited to bed by Nanya.

“You know, a true gentleman never forces himself upon a lady, no matter how beautiful she is. However, if she tempts him, giggles at his touches, and embraces him when he is daring, only a fool would pull back from her and deny her pleasure.” said the old man.

“But only if the two love each other…” I added to his words.

“That’s why they have breasts, lad! If you give them a gentle grope, the woman will speak out her heart, and you will also know yours! Before you will proceed any further, you will know if she had conquered your heart!” he told me.

I shook my head at his nonsense “They have breasts because they need them to feed their babies. That’s basic biology.” I raised an eyebrow at him.

“They enchant the eyes, feed the young, temp the beast inside the man, and most importantly, they offer the feel of divinity to a woman as a whole!” he smiled and patted my back.

“True, but… That’s just perverted talk! In some places, it’s called sexual assault!” I shook my head.

“I stand my ground! Big or small, breasts are a divine treasure!” the old man laugh rather loudly.

“Illsy?” the voice that called felt oddly familiar.

When I turned my head, slowly, I saw Nanya standing on the other side of the window, covering her chest. I gulped.

“This is not what it looks like.” I told her.

“Mhm…” she smiled.

“Yup… I’m dead.” I nodded, and a single punch hit me in the face so hard, I flew out of town.

To be honest, I have no idea what happened to that old man, but I’m sure he managed to escape somehow. Old perverts have that sort of skill. [Old Senilus Perviticus Disappearicus]

[Ayuseya’s point of view]

“I can’t believe that idiot!” said Nanya.

“Master simply wished to peek at us, no harm done.” giggled Shanteya.

“I won’t accept it! He can peek at me if he wants to, but Ayuseya and the other women are out of the question! Besides, he was talking to himself like some sort of madman.” Nanya shrugged and got back in the water.

The other women around us could finally relax after the pervert was gone. They probably didn’t notice who it was, since Nanya was the first to hear him and jump into action right away. Thanks to her, the others didn’t see Illsy up there, alone.

“Why am I out of the question?” I asked Nanya with a bit of tremble to my voice.

“Well…” she blinked surprised “You don’t want him to look at you that way, right?” she asked.

“Why?” I asked her, furrowing my brow.

Shanteya and Nanya both looked at each other.

“Well, you were more or less a victim of this marriage. Yes, Illsy did save you and is a good guy and major pervert, but we never thought that you were thinking about… well… you know.” Nanya tried to form her words, but she stuttered.

“Because I’m a princess?” I asked them.

“That and… We never thought you had any interest in him as a man.” she said.

“But I do…” I squinted my eyes at them.

Indeed, I wasn’t one to properly express my desire to go after him, but I thought I made it clear that I do hold feeling for him. My heart belonged to Illsy, and I wouldn’t mind being his second wife after Nanya, however, it seemed as though I wasn’t clear enough.

Looking down, I clenched my fists under the water. I knew what I was feeling, and I didn’t want to be left behind by either of them. Why should I even be left behind? I was one of his wives, so I had just as much of an equal right to go after him as they did.

Shanteya touched my arm, and with a smile, she told me “You don’t need to rush these things.”

I looked at her, then at Nanya. They were both thinking the same thing, that I was rushing it.

“What if it’s not like that?” I asked, but my voice was weak.

“Remember how I told you that demons can be very possessive about their mates?” asked Nanya, tilting her head to the left.

“Yes?” I asked furrowing her brow.

“Although Illsy made it clear that he loves us all equally, he is a man, after all. I don’t mind him loving other women, but when those women desire his body… then I might get a bit… jealous.” she glared at me.

It was a threat. If I stepped too close to Illsy, Nanya was willing to attack me to keep him away from me.

I gulped and looked down, avoiding her gaze.

“That’s what I thought. You are not ready yet, little dragon. Don’t rush it when you yourself aren’t willing to fight for him. Unlike the el’doraw here, our kinds choose mates, which we claim as OURS. If you aren’t ready to state your claim on him in front of others, then you better step aside or wait until you are strong enough to do it.” she sighed and then leaned closer.

She lifted my chin up, and I looked into her black eyes.

“Don’t cry, Ayuseya. It’s not your fault… it’s simply not time yet.” she smiled and then hugged me.

Am I crying? I can’t tell… I thought.

“When you make up your mind, and your heart is as clear as day about this. When there’s no doubt, no fear, no worry about it, I won’t mind you having him for a night or two.” she smiled and then went back to her spot. “We’re not children. This isn’t a game, princess.” she looked into my eyes “If you want him, you state it clearly, but first to yourself and then to him. Once your heart is clear, you can just hope his is as well. If not, you will wait for his. It’s that simple.” she smiled.

I gulped and looked down.

Was I so indecisive? No… am I so indecisive about this? I love Illsy, right? Or am I just forcing myself to do so because I feel indebted to him… Do I feel the need to repay him somehow? I thought while looking at my reflection in the water.

“Well, a good way to find out is to ask yourself this…” I looked up at Nanya when she spoke “Can you imagine him looking at you naked and you wanting his hungry gaze to savor your body? Can you imagine yourself being touched by another man besides him? Are you willing to let another woman, a stranger take him away from you? Can you let yourself give up on him even if he says no to your love the first time? Do you desire and see no problem in carrying his child?” she showed me a small smirk.

I understood in that moment that for her, those questions have been already answered, but for me, they were in debate, and I had no idea how to get out of it.

My gaze slowly fell back at my reflection in the water. Nanya’s words echoed in my mind, but my heart felt empty. I couldn’t tell the difference between duty, desire, and debt.

It’s not fair… I thought and then closed my eyes for a moment.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll get out early…” I told the two as I got up.

“We barely got in?” Nanya said raising an eyebrow.

“I know we stayed in line and even waited for them to replace the water, but I can’t stay any longer… I need to clear my head, to think things through.” I told her and showed her smile, but my pain was reflected in my eyes.

“Very well… I won’t stop you, just don’t get lost out there.” she leaned back and closed her eyes.

“Thank you…” I said and got out.

I wanted to get changed and get out of there quickly. As I stepped out of the bathhouse, I would try hard to stop the tears from soaking my cheeks.

[Nanya’s point of view]

“Was I too harsh?” I asked and let out a sigh, but refused to dunk my head under the water.

“Maybe.” Shanteya told me.

“I simply don’t trust her…” I confessed and looked up at the ceiling.

“Why?”

“She’s a princess… She was raised differently than us, so I can’t really tell if she has the best of intentions for Illsy or not. Unlike us, she could very well return to her kingdom and rule it as a Queen. You and I, we are bound to Illsy for life from now on. I’m aware of this, and I’m willing to protect my husband with my life if I have to, but she… I never saw the resolution in her to go this far. I never saw her desire to go after him, her conviction to stay by his side and the strength of heart to not let anyone else have him.” I said.

“You think she doesn’t have this resolution and conviction you speak of?” Shanteya asked me with a calm tone of voice.

“Hm…” I crossed my arms “Let me put it this way. If you saw a wench approaching Illsy and knew well she had evil intentions, what would happen to her?” I asked.

“Let’s just say, I would need to apologize to Illsy for staining my clothes with a stranger’s blood.” she smiled calmly.

“Well, you are a former assassin… but yes, and I would have just broken her legs a couple of times.” I shrugged.

“Men do often say that women are scary.” Shanteya giggled.

“Yes, mother once told me that we women are like predators, and the men are like lambs. Even if they are strong as a bear, to us, they are lambs, that’s why you must make sure to eliminate any and all other predators aiming for your prey.” I laughed.

“Interesting way of putting it, but you have nothing to fear from me.” Shanteya looked down.

“Why do you think so?” I asked.

“Nanya, I am not an idiot. I can tell.” she showed me a pained smile.

“What do you mean?” I furrowed my brow.

“Unlike you and Ayuseya, I am… dirty, unclean.”

“Illsy doesn’t care about that.” I stated.

“On the outside, no… He will always state that he doesn’t care about it, but on the inside, it’s another matter. Maybe even he doesn’t realize it, but the fact that he kept me as simply his slave is proof of this.” she sighed and then looked into my eyes “It’s not about the power of his buff, Nanya. It’s about the way he truly feels about me. You and Ayuseya, he loves, but I am loved in another way. I am loved as a friend… a companion, but not a wife, a lover.” she showed me a pained smile.

“That’s not true.” I tried to say, but even I was doubting my own words.

“A simple question makes the entire difference… and asking me has been proven to be his most difficult of trials. I’m not going to be the one to ask him to make me his wife because in his eyes, I am not.” she shook her head “Deep inside, he waits for me to say that I wish to be free. Once that happens, there’s no way for him to regret it.”

“Why would he regret it?” I asked a bit confused.

“In everyone’s eyes, a woman who was touched by another man is a dirty woman… that’s a truth everyone’s hearts declare. No one wants handed down goods.” she looked down at her reflection in the water, but she didn’t cry.

“Shanteya… that’s not true.” I said it again, but this time, I embraced the woman. “He’s just an idiot who needs a bit of time… and if he doesn’t… ask him to release you. If Illsy can’t love you, then I’m certain someone will.” I told her.

In that moment, I heard her whimper.

“But what if I want Illsy, and I don’t want another man? What if I want only him?” she began to cry.

The strong assassin woman could finally weep, all because of an idiot pervert we all loved and deeply cared about. Yet, one thing remained true… these sort of things had their own manner of solving themselves, and sometimes it took time even when you bluntly stated them into their face.

[Illsyore’s point of view]

I landed in a bush and scared a pack of wild wolves…

Good thing I had my Magic Armor up, otherwise, I would have been walking with a blackened eye and a couple of broken ribs. On another note, I had no regrets about the divine scenery I was granted sight to. Unfortunately, that old pervert had to see it too.

Why should my beloved Nanya and Ayuseya be glared upon by an old man who could barely keep it up?

It was inconceivable, but before I could complain any further, I had to return to the city. With a light step, I began to run back. Big was the surprise of the guards when they saw me.

They asked me something in their language, but I couldn’t understand their words.

“I don’t understand what any of you are saying, can I just go through?” I asked.

The two of them looked at each other and then back at me. I had no idea if they were letting me go past, so I tried my luck, if they pushed me back, I could always jump in. Fortunately, they didn’t stop me. Then again, if I were to explain to the guards that I got punched in the face by my own wife for trying to sneak a peak at the naked women in the bathhouse, they would most likely try to arrest me.

After walking for a bit, I was greeted by someone.

“Illsy…” Ayuseya said.

“What are you doing here?” I asked surprised.

“I wish…” she looked down and then to her left. “I…” she looked back at me and stopped, looking back down again.

“Come on, say it. What’s on your mind? You’re my wife after all!” I showed her a bright smile.

She bit her bottom lip and looked into my eyes. After gulping once, she finally gathered the courage to speak up.

“I want to talk to you… in private.”

“Alright… Should we go back to the inn?” I asked.

“No.” she shook her head and then clenching her fists, she bowed and asked “Can you please take me outside of the city and make a room for us there?”

“Sure…” I was a bit taken aback, since I had no idea where all of this was coming from, but if she wanted to have an honest talk with me, who was I to deny her this?