We're Glad you Made it back Alive

Waking up, Kris wasn't able to move, as the women on each side of him had their arms locked onto his. Looking through the window, he could tell it was already mid-day. I'd like to stay like this, but we should start heading back. Plus, I'm starving...

Gently shaking the other two awake, they each gave him a kiss before wiping their eyes and rolling off the bed together.

Paddy was still asleep on the couch, snoring softly.

“Paddy, come on, let's get some breakfast,” Kris said, gently tapping her.

Paddy had no reaction.

Kris gave her a kiss, which instantly woke her up in surprise.

“I thought you were kissing me in my dream...” she said, blushing a bit.

Kris chuckled, “I sorta did.”

After a large breakfast, they headed out to find the old man carriage driver, but he was nowhere to be seen in the area around the Dungeon entrance.

“Wait...didn't Corinne say to visit the Guild after we were done?” Mibu said.

Kris strained his brain. “I kind of forget. I guess it wouldn't hurt to wait there anyway.”

Walking over, they headed inside. This time there was a few other people milling about, and the lady from before was at the desk. When they entered, she smiled and beckoned them over.

“Oh, I'm so glad you made it back okay...” she trailed off, seeing Paddy's damaged armor. “Well, you're all alive, that's good.”

Kris nodded. “Yeah, we got to the fifth level, but turned around there.”

The lady nodded, “That's excellent for your first attempt. Here, come over and I'll give you your reward.”

Kris raised an eyebrow as she followed her. “We get a reward? I thought what we got in the Dungeon was our reward.”

The lady smiled, “It is, this is just something the Guild gives to each party after their first time back. Just think of it as a 'we're glad you made it back alive' gift.” She handed over a paper with the Guild stamp on it.

'Please credit the bearer one night stay at the Baverne Hot Spring Resort'...Hot Spring Resort!?

“Wow, I've never been to a Hot Springs! Have you?” Mibu asked Kris.

“Yeah, they had them in...where I'm from.”

“I've never been to one either,” Celica confirmed.

“We had them in the mountains, I always like to soak in them before bed,” Paddy said, holding her cheeks.

They then headed out of the Dungeon village, taking the short walk up the road to Baverne proper. The town looked similar to Coburn, with the layout even seeming similar, so following the map marker the Guild lady had given them, they found it relatively easy. The building was a large inn near the outer wall, much fancier than John's place or any of the other inn's they had stayed at.

Heading inside, a tall, older looking half-elf man welcomed them. “Hello, and welcome to our resort, do you...” he trailed off seeing the paper in Kris's hand. “From the guild?”

Kris nodded and handed the paper over.

The man read over the paper in confirmation, before stamping it and putting it away. “Right this way.”

The man led them down a hall to the side, before unlocking a door. Beckoning them inside, the others were in awe at the gleaming, upscale room.

There was a large living area with four couches, a large bath at the back behind glass windows, and each side had a separate bedroom with two beds each.

The man walked over to the bath, opening another door on the far side. Behind it was a small spring, steam rising from it, with a tall wooden wall around it. “This is one of our spring rooms. You can use it at any time, we just ask that you wash first before going in,” he explained.

Kris looked down, still wearing the dirty clothes he had worn in the Dungeon under his armor, and nodded.

“Let me know if you need any food brought, otherwise enjoy your stay,” the man finished, before walking out and closing the door.

They set down their bags, and Mibu and Celica immediately ran outside, looking at the hot springs.

“Wow, this is so cool! Let's get in right away,” she said, starting to strip.

Celica grabbed her shirt and shook her head. “Look at this.”

There was a sign on the wall that read:

Rules

* Please wash before entering spring.

* Please do not jump into the spring.

* Please do not engage in sex in the spring.

“What!?” Mibu shouted angrily. “No sex!?”

Kris, who had walked out to join them, looked over at the walls and tried to calm her. “Shhh, the neighboring rooms might hear. That's normal policy for these types of places. They don't want us making a mess of their main attraction.”

Mibu seemed like she was about to argue, but then blushed and nodded. We would make a mess of it.

Kris went to go back into the room. “I'll go get some food, you three can wash and go in the spring if you want.

“What do you mean? You're getting in with us!” Mibu said, making it seem like he had no choice.

Kris shook his head. “It says no sex, and I know how you are...”

“That's just the spring though! It didn't say anything about the bath or the rest of the room,” Mibu said, fluttering her eyes and inching towards him.

As Kris started to slowly back away, he ran into something. Paddy had blocked his exit, causing him to run headlong into her breasts.

“You too, Paddy!?” Kris said.

Paddy blushed and poked her fingers together.

Kris sighed in defeat. “Fine, fine, let's do this...”

Kris was immediately attacked by the other three. They stripped him of his clothes before he could protest, and started rubbing soap all over his body, including his nether region. After a few moments, he was starting to get excited below.

“Hey, come on, you need to strip too!” he teased the others.

They all blushed, before acquiescing. This is totally a isekai-harem-fantasy event now, right?

Mibu finished first. “Me, me!” she said.

Kris started soaping her down. As had been the case with him, there were several dirt streaks on Mibu's fair skin he was careful to scrub off. He, also as had been done to him, made sure to wash her nether region and breasts as well.

Mibu grabbed Kri's member, blushing heavily. “Kris...please...”

Kris couldn't hold back any longer, picking Mibu up and inserting his shaft into her. Pressing her against the wall, he rammed himself into her as fast and hard as he could.

Mibu was moaning loudly, unable to keep her voice down as she held onto Kris, barely maintaining her grip.

After a minute, Kris came into her with one final thrust. Mibu pressed her lips to his, making out with him as he emptied himself inside her.

After a minute of kissing, Kris heard a soft throat-clearing sound. He looked over to see Celica blushing, and spinning her shoulders back and forth in nervousness.

“Sorry Celica...” Mibu said with a shy smile.

Celica shook her head. “It's okay.”

“Why are you still clothed though!?” Mibu asked as she and Kris disconnected.

Celica blushed, as she was still wearing her camisole and shorts she normally had on under her cloak. “I'm...”

Mibu pulled off her shirt and bra while Paddy took off her shorts and undergarment.

Trying to cover herself, Kris walked over to her.

“I've already seen you naked,” Kris said, giving her a kiss.

Celica seemed to soften a bit.

“Do I look like I don't get excited by you?” Kris added, looking at his already-erect member.

Celica trembled a bit, before jumping up onto him.

Kris held her in his arms, lowering her onto his shaft.

Celica gave an 'eep' in surprise, before shivering slightly at the pleasure, and wrapping her arms around his neck.

Kris grabbed her slim waist, sliding her up and down while she shrieked, unable to contain her voice from being let out.

After a few moments of this, she pressed herself against his chest, her nipples rubbing against him.

Kris couldn't handle the sensations any longer, and squeezed her tight as he released into her.

Celica hung off him, a satisfied look on her face. “This is the best...”

Mibu nodded vigorously in agreement.

Setting Celica down, Kris looked over at Paddy.

Paddy had washed herself while the others were having sex, and was about to walk outside.

Mibu and Celica grabbed her arms, and tried to pull her back, although it only resulted in her stopping and looking at them.

Kris walked over too, wrapping his arms around her and grabbing her breasts, causing Paddy to give a 'yip' in surprise.

“Wha-...you still have energy for me?” Paddy said, blushing.

Kris nodded, “For you, always,” he said, although only half-convincingly with his heavy panting.

Paddy seemed unsure for a moment, then turned around and grabbed him up, making out with him. Going over and sitting on the side of the tub, she sat him down in her lap and squeezed him tightly to her breasts.

Kris aligned himself with Paddy, and started thrusting, his shaft sliding in and out of her as his hips kept clapping with Paddy's thighs.

Paddy tilted his head up, leaning down to make out with him again. After a minute of this, Kris started releasing into her, more and more coming out with each thrust.

Paddy seemed to have a weight lifted off her shoulders, as she lovingly held Kris into her chest. Kris hugged her back.

After giving them a minute, Mibu and Celica dumped some water over them.

“Come on, come on, let's get in the spring now!” Mibu said excitedly.

Heading out into the spring area, they all slowly slipped in to the steaming water.

“Ahhh...this is...great...” Mibu said, holding her head back and relaxing.

Celica agreed, submersing herself down to her neck

Paddy was only able to get herself slightly submerged, her breasts still mostly out of the water, looking a bit embarrassed.

Kris pulled her towards the other side. “Since these are made for everyone to use, it's usually deeper the farther you go.”

Paddy smiled and followed after him, until she was able to sit with it up to her neck.

After a few minutes of relaxing, Mibu started doggy-paddling across the spring.

“Hey, you're not supposed to do that...” Kris said, opening an eye from his relaxation to look at her.

Mibu seemed confused. “Really? It wasn't on the list of rules.”

Oh, I guess it wasn't, though it was normally in my world.

Mibu playfully stuck out her tongue at his lack of response, and continued paddling across to the other side.

Celica wanted to go over to the other side with them, but she was on her tippy-toes with how deep it was getting. Paddy, noticing this, picked her up and sat her down in her lap so she could sit normally with her head above the water.

While surprised for a moment, Celica then blushed and looked at Paddy, “Thanks.”

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Paddy blushed a bit back.

Kris felt a sense of happiness at the wholesome display.

Mibu paddled over, putting her cheek next to Paddy's. “Hey, I want in on this too!”

After relaxing in the springs for an hour, Kris got out. “Okay, now I'm going to get some food and drinks for us.”

“You don't want us to come?” asked Mibu.

Kris smiled, “Just enjoy yourselves.”

This earned a round of blushing, as Kris left and went to get dressed, putting on his normal pajamas (when he actually managed to wear them) and headed towards the front desk.

As he got out to the main area, Kris saw the half-elf man was doing some paperwork at his desk, before looking up and giving Kris a welcoming smile. “Enjoying the springs, sir?”

Kris smiled a bit nervously and nodded. “Yes. Um...we were wondering if we could get some dinner?”

The man nodded, “Your stay includes dinner for each person, which today is steak and roasted sprouts, and a bottle of wine per room. Of course, you can always purchase more, if you'd like.”

“That sounds great. We'll start with that for now and get more if needed.”

“Very good, sir,” the man replied, before standing up and heading to the kitchen.

As Kris was waiting at the desk, he leaned back against it, thinking about their trip. We should probably not come back until we're at least a couple ranks higher. And make sure we bring more food next time. He also thought about the nice room they were staying in. After the luxurious spring and room we're staying in this is probably where I should say 'let's buy a house!', but...there's no way we're affording that anytime soon... Kris shook his head. No, just focus on the loan and ranking up for now. Then we can worry about getting a house, and expanding the harem... He thought about the three beauties he had made love to just a bit earlier, I'll need to be more selective in the future. Luckily the three of them seem to get along well, but every new girl is going to be a balancing act, and if they don't fit in...well, I'm not risking angering any of them.

As he was deep in thought, the man came back, pushing a cart with a large covered platter and a tray with a wine bottle and glasses. “Oh, sir, you didn't need to wait, I was going to bring it to your room.”

Kris shook his head, “That's okay, I'll take it.”

The man nodded and handed the cart off, and Kris pushed it down the hall to the room.

As he opened the door, he saw his three partners sitting on the couches in their pajamas, talking and giggling about something.

No, I can't just do the minimum to not anger them...I need to keep them this happy at a minimum.

A big grin coming over his face, he pushed the cart over.

“Why are you so happy?” Mibu said, giggling.

Kris kissed her, “Because we're the best pack in the world.”

Mibu hugged him as he sat down, “Of course we are!” she confirmed, before starting to sniff. “Is this...!?”

“Yup!” Kris said, taking the top off the platter.

Mibu and Paddy salivated as they saw the steaming steak.

Celica grabbed her stomach.

“Don't make yourself sick Celica, I'm sure one of the others won't mind eating the rest,” Kris said.

Celica blushed and nodded, before grabbing her plate as well.

The four of them ate dinner and drank some of the wine, before lying back on the couches after they had finished.

“That was almost as good as the steakhouse in Coburn,” Mibu attested.

“That's pretty high praise,” Kris replied. “Although I agree.”

Paddy was finishing off the rest of Celica's steak, having traded some of her roasted sprouts for it. Celica was sipping on her wine, staring straight at Kris.

“What's wrong?” Kris asked, raising an eyebrow.

Celica blushed. “Sorry, I just...I was just imagining...”

“She wants to mate more,” Mibu explained, crossing her arms and nodding. “So do I for that matter.”

Paddy, who had just taken a big drink of wine, blushed and nodded.

Kris sighed, before smiling. “Alright, just let me finish my glass first.”

After an intense night of passionate love-making, the four of them were woken up (having moved two beds together to share) by a knock at the door.

Kris didn't want to open his eyes. Between the wine and the sex, he was barely able to wrap his head or body around the idea of getting out of bed.

Another knock came at the door, followed by a voice. “Sir, the check-out time is in fifteen minutes, unless you'd like to purchase another night. It would be ten silver for a short-notice extension.”

What!? Kris quickly shouted back, “No thanks! We'll be out shortly!”

“Very good, sir,” the man on the outside replied back.

The others, slowly waking up due to the shouting, looked at Kris.

“What's wrong?” Mibu asked, wiping her eyes. “What did he say?”

Kris was hastily throwing on the first set of clothes he found. “If we're not out in fifteen minutes we're gonna lose a third of our Dungeon earnings.”

The other three looked at each other, before jumping of bed and quickly getting ready.

Thirteen minutes later, they were outside the resort.

Phew...

As they were about to start walking, the old man who had taken them there rolled up with his carriage. “The nice guild lady said you might need a ride,” he said, giving a puff of his pipe.

Thanking him, they packed up their belongings and got in.

A Talk Over Fish

The first day of travel was mostly uneventful. The four of them were exhausted from the previous night (and the trip in general) so they were mostly napping or watching out the window.

Around mid-day, Paddy picked up her sack and searched through it, before getting a sad look and placing it back down.

Kris, who was the only other one awake (Mibu and Celica had both nodded off), stopped looking at the passing countryside and looked over at her. “What's wrong? Did you forget something?” he asked in a low voice.

Paddy shook her head. “No, I just...” she paused and blushed before continuing, “...I wanted a snack, but I'm out of fish.”

Kris thought for a moment. Fish... before looking back outside. Flowing just a couple meters from the road they were on was a small brook. “You think there's fish in there?”

Paddy nodded. “Yes, there should be river trout, although they might be a bit small,” she explained confidently.

Kris held his hand out and motioned to the carriage driver to stop.

While Celica stayed asleep, Mibu woke up, looking at him sleepily. “Are we back already?”

Kris chuckled softly, “No, Paddy and I are just going to get some fish. You can keep napping if you want.”

Mibu nodded and laid back down, while Kris and Paddy left the carriage.

Kris explained to the driver, “We're gonna catch some lunch real quick, then we can keep going.”

The carriage driver lit his pipe and nodded. “S'fine, we've been making good time.”

Walking over to the stream, Kris and Paddy took off their shoes and rolled up their pants, wading into the stream. They didn't have any rods, so they were catching by hand.

After just a minute, Paddy had already knocked out a couple fish onto the bank. 'Knocked out' and not caught, as instead of grabbing them she batted them with her hands right out of the stream.

Kris tried to match her, but the fish just seemed to slip away, and he only ended up splashing water in his face.

Paddy giggled seeing this. “Try grabbing them by the tail. The scales are slippery but you can get a good grip on that,” she explained as she reached in and grabbed one, pinching it at the tail as the fish tried to flop out of her hand.

Kris followed her instructions, and after a few attempts, managed to grab one by the tail, grinning at Paddy.

Paddy hesitated for a moment, then waded over and picked up Kris, giving him a forceful smooch on the lips.

“Mmm...mmm...Paddy, I'm gonna lose the fish!” Kris chuckled, before throwing it on the stack with hers.

“Sorry...” Paddy said, putting him down.

Kris shook his head. “You don't need to be sorry, it's not like I don't want to kiss you.”

While Paddy caught a few more fish, Kris started a small fire and grabbed some sticks to start skewering the fish on.

As they started cooking, Paddy sat down across from him.

“Why are you sitting over there?” Kris chuckled, getting up and walking around to her. Sitting down, he wrapped an arm around her.

Paddy blushed but smiled, wrapping an arm around him and squishing their bodies together.

As they sat there watching the fish cook, Kris asked, “Do you like being with us, Paddy?”

Paddy seemed confused at the question, before replying, “Um...yes? Of course. You're so nice, and I like Mibu and Celica...”

“Do you like me?” Kris asked, smiling at her teasingly.

Paddy blushed and nodded. “Yes.”

Kris seemed to hesitate for a moment, then pulled up his status screen. “Don't freak out, just let me explain...”

Paddy seemed confused again, but nodded, “O-okay...”

After a few moments, he pulled up Paddy's slave contract, before terminating it.

Paddy's eyes went wide. “You...you...”

“Paddy, umm...” Kris blushed, “I realized while we were in the Dungeon that I...love you. I couldn't live with myself keeping you as a slave, I want us to be equal partners.”

Paddy's whole face went red. “Like Mibu?”

Kris smiled. “Yes, but I've told you before, please don't compare yourself to Mibu. Just be the Paddy I fell in love with, nibbling on fish and roaring at enemies when you get angry.”

Paddy hesitated for a moment, then jumped onto Kris, pushing him down and making out with him. “I...l-...l-...love you too,” she finally got out, giving a huge, blushing smile.

Kris kissed her again.

Paddy was tearing up a bit, so Kris wiped them away. “So you'll stay with me?”

Paddy just wrapped her around him, crying into this chest.

“I'll take that as a yes.”

After embracing for a bit, the crackle from the fire alerted them that their fish were done, so they untangled themselves and started munching on them.

“This is actually pretty good for just cooking over a fire,” Kris said, taking another bite.

“This is my favorite way to have them, actually,” Paddy said, grabbing another.

Mibu and Celica eventually came out, having been waken by the smell, and ate some, too. They gave one to the carriage driver as well, who gave them a nod before stripping off a piece.

After they finished, they got back into the carriage. Paddy was sitting very close to Kris, her chest digging into his side.

Mibu narrowed her eyes, “Did something happen? Did you two mate while you were catching fish?”

“How would we catch fish like that!?” Kris replied, before sighing.

Kris explained he had terminated the slave contract, which caused Mibu to jump over and hug Paddy in celebration. “Yayyy, I'm so glad,” she cried out in glee, rubbing her cheek on Paddy's. “I figured you would stay with us...”

Paddy blushed and smiled. “I'm not letting you go.”

Kris poked both of their cheeks. “You're supposed to say that to me!”

Paddy and Mibu looked at each other, before jumping on Kris, snuggling against him.

Celica, who had been a bit confused about the whole thing, just blinked a few times, before jumping on top of the pile of bodies.

Upgrading Gear, Upgrading Feelings

The next day, they arrived at Coburn a little after mid-day.

After dropping their stuff off in their room at John's inn, they all had different things to attend too.

“I'm going to deposit some of our earnings with the Guild,” Kris explained, holding up his coin purse.

“I was going to get my armor repaired,” Paddy said, looking over at her mangled breastplate.

“I'm...getting some new clothes...” Celica said, blushing.

“I'm gonna say hi to the Alchemist!” Mibu explained.

Kris raised an eyebrow at her, “Are you friends with her now?”

Mibu nodded. “Yeah, I stop by to get contraceptive medicine so often, we ended up getting to know each other.”

Kris blushed a bit, “Ah...”

At the Guild, Kris walked in, and saw Corinne at her normal spot behind. After being away for a while, that's a comforting sight...

Corinne, for her part, smiled at him as he walked up. “I'm glad to see you back in one piece. Is everyone okay?”

Kris nodded. “Yeah. We had a couple...injuries, but nothing Mibu couldn't Heal.” Kris thought Corinne gave a small sigh of relief.

“That's good to hear. Are you already picking up a new request?” she asked.

Kris shook his head. “No, probably will tomorrow. I just need to deposit some of the silver we got.”

Corinne nodded, taking the silver from him and heading to the back.

Kris stood there, considering their financial situation. So we have about fifty silver in the bank, and another fifteen or so on hand, although with repairs and some upgrades that will get used up. We're good for the next payment though, so...

His thoughts trailed off as Corinne sat back down. He looked at her for a moment as he tried to regain his train of thought, until she looked back.

“What's wrong?” she asked, giving him her normal smile.

Kris blushed a bit. “Sorry, was just thinking...”

Corinne looked at him curiously. “About...”

Actually...Corinne might know. “Do you own a house? Or do you rent?”

Corinne nodded, giving a knowing smile. “I own a small place in town. With how long elves live, renting long-term is a bit...laughable.”

Oh...that makes sense. “Do you happen to know how much houses cost?”

“Yes. For one you'll need, probably at least fifty gold.”

“For...” Kris trailed off, as he realized what she meant, and blushed a bit.

This earned a giggle from Corinne. “

Paddy took her armor to the blacksmith, setting it down on the table.

“Oi, missy, what did you do to this?” the blacksmith asked, picking up her chest armor and inspecting it.

“Can you repair it?” Paddy asked nervously.

“'Course I can, but it's not worth it. With how much this will take, it'd be cheaper to just buy new armor,” he explained, setting it down. He pointed to a set of steel armor next to him. “I can easily size up this set for a bearkin, if you want. It'll be a good upgrade from this.”

“Errr...I...”

The blacksmith, having helped her several times before, nodded, “Yeah, yeah, I know you gotta talk with your...” he trailed off as he looked at her hand, which did not have a slave crest on it. “Uh, your...boyfriend?”

Paddy blushed then nodded.

“Tell 'im I'll knock a couple silver off if he trades in your old one. I can use this for scrap, at least,” he said.

Paddy got out a coinpurse, looking into it. It was more money than she'd ever held. Kris said this was my share, and I could do what I want. But...I just want to be able to protect him. Digging through the purse, she grabbed out some coins, setting enough silver down for the steel armor, minus two for the trade-in.

The blacksmith looked up at her and grinned. “Well why didn't you just say you had enough!?” He said, sliding the coins over to himself. “I already got your sizes written down, so come back in two days and I'll have if fitted.”

Paddy nodded. Walking out the door, she couldn't suppress a smile. Until her stomach growled. I'm gonna get some fish, too...

Celica was at the clothing store. Most of her wardrobe was just pajamas and clothes she wore under her cloak. But, now...I need to get stuff to impress him, she thought, while thinking of Kris.

The nice lady who had measured her recommended getting dark colors, like black, to match her hair, or purple, to match her pupil.

Standing in the mirror wearing a purple dress, she blushed. Do I really look good in this!? She tried to think of how Kris would react. Wait, he was into me while I was just in my underclothes. If I have something super pretty on, that'll definitely upgrade his feelings for me, right!? He'll be all over me! She blushed, thinking about Kris's strong, firm hands holding her.

“Oh, you look wonderful in that, dearie,” a voice behind her said.

Celica leaped in surprise, turning around to the see the old lady from before.

“He is sure to love that,” she added, gently grabbing her shoulders and twirling her around to face the mirror again.

Celica blushed and nodded in agreement.

The old lady leaned over to whisper, “We have some lingerie in that color that would match perfectly, if you're interested...”

Celica's face started radiating like the sun, but nodded and replied in a small voice “Yes...”

Mibu had just left the Alchemist, having gotten some of the contraceptive medicine. Kris had given her some money, as well, although had asked her not to get any stamina potions. While Mibu was disappointed he had seen through her plan, she instead planned to get something else to share later.

As she was walking to her destination, she rain into Misty, who was heading towards the bathhouse.

“Oh, Mibu! Good to see you! How was the Dungeon?” she asked.

“Um, we got to the fifth floor before turning back,” Mibu replied.

Misty made a 'not bad' expression. “That's pretty good for just the three of you.”

Mibu shook her head, “Actually, there's four of us now.”

Misty sighed. “Did Kris buy another slave?”

“No, she actually...” Mibu explained the situation around meeting Celica.

Misty's eyes went wide in surprise. “Wow, I didn't expect Kris to just attract woman like that. Next thing you know there'll be a dozen.”

Mibu's eyes shone. “Really? You think so?”

Misty put her fingers to her forehead, “You and your 'pack' nonsense. Well, this seems like a special case, I doubt it will be that easy in the future.”

Mibu wasn't convinced Kris couldn't easily attract more women. “I dunno...”

Misty shook her head, “Well, anyways, do you wanna come bathe with me?”

Mibu shook her head. “I think we're gonna get dinner together, and I wanted to get something to surprise them with...”

Misty rolled her eyes teasingly before smiling at her. “Alright, but you're coming with me next time.”

“Of course!”

After reconvening at the inn, they went out the tavern area, and ordered the special of the day, pot roast with potatoes.

When she sat down a big pot for them on the table, Frieda gave a large grin. “I missed you all! I threw in a few extra pieces of roast for ya, I was so happy to see ya back.”

“Thanks Freida,” Kris smiled back.

Everyone started ladling themselves some food. After just twenty minutes, they had devoured the entire pot.

As they all leaned back in their chairs, taking gulps of beer to wash down their dinner, Mibu said, “Oh yeah, I got something for everyone! It's...well, you'll see...” she trailed off with a smile.

Kris had a bad feeling that Mibu had bought something ridiculous again, but decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.

After they finished, they headed back to their room.

Once inside, Mibu sat them down on the couches, before going into one of the bedrooms.

Kris looked at Celica and Paddy, who both shrugged.

Returning, she produced a box from behind her back and sat it down on the table. Lifting off the top, she revealed several, what looked like, steamed buns.

“They're sweet pies! My mother used to make them for dessert,” Mibu explained.

Everyone grabbed one.

“Wow, this is really good,” Kris said, taking another huge bite.

Paddy had already downed hers, licking her lips.

Celica was taking a small bite, “I've never had something this sweet before.”

Mibu blushed a bit, smiling. “I'm glad you like them! I wanna make them myself when we have a proper kitchen.”

Kris nodded, and decided this was a good time to broach the subject. “About that...I think after....well, I don't wanna get ahead of myself...”

As he was stumbling around, Mibu asked, “You wanna get a house, right!?”

Kris blushed. “Yeah...after we get the loan paid off, we should start saving up for one. If everyone agrees...” he looked at the other two.

They both quickly nodded.

Celica though, also asked, “We'll need a big house though, won't we?”

Mibu seemed confused, “Why do we need a big one?”

Kris answered, “I mean, there's four of us, and maybe more in the future...”

Paddy responded, “It'd be nice to have my own room to nap in.”

Celica added, “I'd like to have my own bedroom, too.”

Mibu was about to object, but Kris stopped her. “I know what you're going to say, but I think some people will want to sleep on their on their own occasionally. Or even just have their own room to keep their things in. Wouldn't you like to have a room to read and keep your books in?”

Mibu thought for a moment. “Okay. But I really don't mind sleeping with everyone!”

Celica rolled her eyes while Paddy just smiled shyly.

“Well, it's gonna be a while until we get there anyway,” Kris explained. “I talked a bit with Corinne, and she thinks we'll probably need at least fifty gold to get a house the size we want.”

The other threes eyes went wide.

Celica was confused. “Fifty gold!? That's ridiculous. Houses in our village weren't even close to that.”

“That was your village in the woods though. It's going to be more expensive in Coburn, since it's a fair-sized town.”

Celica nodded, thinking again.

“Do you not wanna live somewhere else?” Paddy asked.

Kris shrugged, “I mean, our work, the people we know, everything is basically here.”

Paddy nodded, before blushing. “I'm good with wherever you choose.”

Mibu and Celica both nodded.

Kris blushed at the weight of their trust. Alright, guess we're doing this.