Chapter 22 Discussing concerns
“Hi Pearson, we need to see the Master urgent. Again!” His face blanched, and he immediately led us to a private room, where Ruth soon joined us. “Mark Dear, we sure do tend to meet far too often for a Second Mother, and Son, not that I’m complaining.” She giggled. “Sorry Mom, but things are,…troubling again.” So saying, I dumped the second strange creature out on the examination table. “This one is different, it used some magic control to make Beasts attack us. They all had Glowing eyes, colored red. Once is a Fluke, Twice is a coincidence, if this happens a third time, it’s a pattern. Twice now, some creature that has no business here, has actively used local beasts to attack my territory. If it’s just us, that stinks of treason, and jealousy, if it’s happening elsewhere in the Nation, then it’s an invasion. Either way, we need to inform the right people soonest.” Ruth’s face was now grim, she nodded once. “You inform the former Mayors. You have a message stone, they’ll keep things calm while we investigate. I’ll send a message to the other guilds, both in North Haven, and the Capitol so they can have more vigilance. Sadly, I think this means you’ve got to take those things direct to the Capitol. I’ll inform you where to take it soon as I get a response. For now though, store that, and drop the beasts. Need to make it look simply odd for now.”
I did exactly as instructed. “We’ll head out then, I think I’m going to be keeping the boys for a while longer. Easier to protect them here. Which means, the laundry is going to be a problem. I’ll need to find a helper or two for that.” Ruth’s expression perked up at that. “I know you’re trying to be more inclusive of non human wives,..(Grinning like a cat she continued) as it happens, there’s a rather lovely demon girl, bout your age, who’s become a Bond servant for whatever reason. Her specialty is being a laundress, which usually means no sale. OH, and I believe there’s another laundress too, she’s probably much older, but hard to tell with her type, she’s a scale kin. They live for a LONG time, and are fiercely protective of little ones. I think that should be your direction, even if you don’t take them as wives.” Grinning at me the whole time, we walked out of the hall, one and a half Platinum richer.
As much as I didn’t like her approach, I knew she was right. Two laundresses as indentured servants especially with how things have been going, just plain made sense. I found the traveling slave merchant that was currently in town. He was different than the previous one, but the same company. “Excuse me, I understand you have two Laundress bonds currently.”
He was much less greedy in his actions than previous merchants, but still, he wasn’t going to give me slack. “Indeed we do, do you have a preference?” I grinned. “I’m not going to simply drop coin, and not talk to them. Also, I need to know their individual bond prices.” Nodding, he stepped inside the wagon, and returned with both women. “This Demon Lass is Senna, her bond is at 50 silvers. While Mona the Scalekin is set at 60 silvers.” Inwardly I chuckled. “Well ladies, if you accept to sign on with me, as with all my employees, you get a gold piece as signing bonus, which I will provide prior to your bond being sold. Further, I’m a bit weird, providing all my current wives agree, which Marie can attest, they most likely will, you can also become wives. That’s up to you naturally. There’s a bunch of children, and entire orphanage, plus two of my own though their both undines, and thus have no clothes. The rest though, are a massive laundry amount, and we desperately need the help, not only to do the work, but teaching the children to do it correctly as well.” Both eyes sparkling, they immediately said yes collectively. “Is that yes to hiring on, or yes to both?” They simply both said “Yes” again. Grinning, I handed each one a Gold, which they used to buy their own bonds, the merchant flustered certified the bonds as paid, and returned their change.
“Looks like a busy night tonight.” Marie said. Mona and Senna blushed, in Senna’s case, she turned a darker purple, and her tail whipped in embarrassment, while Mona’s scales seemed to glisten instead, and her tail smashed the ground. “Is that the scale kin version of blushing? The Glistening?” She nodded. “It’s a hold over defense mechanism, or so it’s believed. Makes us harder to hold onto. So is two women a busy night?” I laughed. “Two, for starters, you’d be three and four in terms of new wives today. Second, I intend to please all my wives, like always. Including my two Undine wives, who can now join us in the bedroom. Their daughters look around twelve now, and can sleep alone, though I am working on placing a special roof over the pond, it’s a ways off.”
“Um,…” A somewhat timid Senna spoke out. “How many wives do you already have? I’ll admit, I was more focused on the fact there were children to care for already. I can’t wait to meet them! Still, I am curious how many sisters I’ll have now.” Maries spoke out instead of me. “WELL, there’s Me, Veronica, Harmony, Penelopy, Theresa, Wripple, Spashta, Grace,Kora, Rose, Marina, Then the new ones, Vera the Harpy, and Fiona the Elf, and I can’t forget Alian, she’s a lovely fox kin, and the third princess also, soon the two of you will be official. Silver rings till after, then the Gold rings like this. SO, all in all, that’s 17 counting the two of you. Trust me though, you’ll love the whole thing. You’ll be exhausted tonight, by the time our Mark is done with you. Same with all of us, though admittedly, I and now Marina take the longest. I’m a double S Quester, and Marina could be soon I expect. Higher endurance for both of us, but we can’t hold a candle to Mark.” Mona, and Senna were both stunned. “”17!”” I grinned sheepishly. “To be fair, I love them all, and I’m sure I will love you also.”
Unsurprisingly, all the women simple said “YES!” Thus with my traditional line, I placed a Silver Ring on each of their fingers, and they promptly stole their first kisses. Grace came up then, “Hey, can I get some of that too?” Senna and Mona backed away, thinking she was wanting me, but she shook her head. “I mean from you two, unless that’s not something you’re comfortable with.” The four newcomers all looked at me. “Hey, they’re your lips, and bodies. I truly enjoy having you myself, but playing with your fellow wives is your choice to make, not mine. Your happiness is what matters on that front, though I’ll openly admit, I love seeing it with those who like it.” The next thing I knew, there was a make out session between all my wives, aside from Spashta, and Wripple who were stuck in the pond, but little Katy had come out to see, and then immediately turned around to tell her favorite moms, with a happy giggle.
“Sometimes, I worry for my girl’s expectations in the future.” Zack came up to me then. “I wouldn’t worry too much Mark, the truth about how breeding actually works, is going to spread like wildfire soon enough. She’ll find a Man who will treat her like you do yours. I’m certain of it. Heck, she’s got a big brother now who’s an example, and I think the older boys from the Orphanage are also learning to be like you. As to that, maybe we can get some Combat instructor out here, so everyone can get a few levels stored up. Let the younger ones take the final hit when we can, but train them up to protect themselves, and their future wives.” I nodded. “I can do that!” Mona spoke out. “Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather protect our children myself, but I understand teaching them to defend themselves is still me protecting them. So, I can teach combat. I used to be a C rank Quester myself, even if I don’t hold a candle to you, and Marie, I know a thing or two.” I smiled, picked her up with a fierce kiss, and swung her around happily. “That’s perfect, especially when it comes to laundry. If you’re their combat instructor, there’s no way they’ll ignore you when you tell them to get busy with the wash!” She eagerly returned my previous kiss. “Consider it done Mark, husband.” She was proud, and unafraid to state her claim, and I loved it. “Let me know what you want for weapons, either Marina, or her Dad can make just about anything.”
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We eventually got to bed, and with much exertion, everyone had their first time, and both Vera, and Fiona were certified Pregnant that night to their excitement, and delight. Even if they lacked the energy to truly celebrate. “Mark?” Mona asked. I hummed at her to continue. “You said you knew they’re pregnant, but,…Vera is a Harpy, that’s impossible isn’t it? I hope it’s true, because I wanted children of my own too, and being scale kin, I am also an egg layer, so maybe this egg can be fertile?” I smiled, and pulled her back onto me, toggling the pregnancy back on, I used my hands to move her body. She truly enjoyed the experience, and didn’t complain as I unloaded into her again. Sure enough, she was tagged as Pregnant.
I toggled it back off, and told her. “It’s done now. You’ll have your own little one as soon as that egg of yours hatches. I have a Perk for that, certain pregnancy, it ignores species boundaries, and even outright infertility. Then I have another one, that lets me turn it off completely till I want it on again.” Being a combatant, she had a self evaluation, and was able to confirm my words, her teary eyes, and beaming smile were followed by another fierce kiss, and we all embraced together, on my Massive bed. Glad I had planned ahead, and made a bed larger than any I had ever seen in my life.
It literally was a BED ROOM. It was built higher than the rest of the house, and the entire floor was solid mattress. There was a massive fitted sheet for it, but all the rest of the bedding was just normal blankets, and sheets used individually, with the Tub for the Undines in a corner that had actually been added onto the outside of the room. Fiona had spent quite some time with the Undines during the day, and tonight, she had taken some experiences with them as well.
The next morning, before I was even out of bed, the message stone went off. Ruth had just gotten the reply from above, and unsurprisingly, they decided it was too urgent to wait, so I was to take the corpses immediately to meet with the researcher chosen by the Royal Family for this purpose, and luckily he was connected to the Guild, so we could simply meet in the Capitol’s Guild Branch. I nudged Marie, and Marina. “We’ve got to run to the Capitol. I’m taking you with me Marina, because you need to take a Rank up test. I’m guessing you’re B, or maybe A now, we’ll see, but the test can’t be done here, due to our familial connection with Ruth. Let’s sneak out, and help Theresa and her sisters with breakfast, eat real quick, and head out. If we’re fast enough, maybe we can be back tomorrow mid day.” Marina grumbled a little, but agreed. Slipping out of the pile of flesh, and getting cleaned, and dressed to help with cooking.
We managed, barely to eat, and leave prior to anyone else getting up. Theresa, and her sisters waving us off, we passed by Ruth, who nodded, silently telling me she’d look after everyone while I was out, and explain the urgency of the issue, even if they couldn’t know details. Marina happily leapt into my arms for a high speed princess carry. “Glad I leveled up, I can handle this a lot better now, hope my tail doesn’t bruise your legs by the time we’re there.” She giggled, and I noticed she wasn’t wearing anything under her skirt, because I could see it plainly. Marie noticed too, and was torn between a smirk, at her lewdness, and a pout for not being the one in her position. “On the way back, I want a full naked princess carry,…at least for a half mile.” I grinned. “Well why don’t you give a kiss to seal the deal?” I indicated with my eyes that it wasn’t me she should kiss, and she clearly got the hint, kissing Marina, where she wasn’t expecting to be Kissed causing a squeak of surprise, then a grin. “Fair I guess, if that’s how you’re paying for it.” The two giggled in naughty mirth.
It was early evening by the time we reached the capitol, to the absolute consternation of the man we were meant to see. “I honestly expected you tomorrow, or even the next day, that remote town isn’t close by any stretch.” We smiled with our wind ruffled appearances. “We run VERY fast. Multi S Questers here. We need a Private Room to unload our cargo.” He was confused as to where our Cargo was, but unquestioning as he brought us to the private room. The two corpses dropped onto the table. “Can you take it from here? Marina needs her rank up test while we’re here.” The stunned man simply nodded. Just before we left the room though. “Sir Knight, I’ll inform you directly if there seems to be any issue with your land specifically, or if it’s a national threat. Kind’s orders either way.” I nodded back.
Marina’s rank up test was a little more dragged out than ours was, but in the end, the Tester confirmed she was a Solid A rank, and possibly S though the Master was too busy at the moment. We nodded, and left happy with our errands completed. We found an eatery and had a rather bland if filling meal, and then went to the Inn we had used previously. We only played lightly that night, wanting the girls to be well rested for the return trip.
We didn’t waste any time as we made our escape from the Capitol, and any troubles they might wasn’t to stick us with, but not fast enough. The Master caught us, and insisted on testing Marina himself. “Seriously?! After the last time you upset the King, you’re meddling again?” He blanched a little, not expecting I was still upset at him. “To be clear, this is also my Wife, and thus she already has enough BS about nobility. IF YOU EVEN THINK of suggesting the King test her too, I’ll demand your removal, consequences be damned!” Marina did manage to acquire S rank status, but only barely, avoiding the Royal involvement. Shaking our heads in disgust at his meddling, we left at once, and got well out of sight before Marie called a halt. I was confused for all of two seconds, as she immediately began stripping. Marina giggled, and stood on her own feet. “I’ll keep up as best I can for the Mile.” She took Marie’s clothes, and Marie leapt into my arms. Grinning like a fool, I moved on, not quite as fast, but Marina had improved her speed quite a lot. The Mile wasn’t even all that long, only about a Minute. Marie was grinning, and embarrassed at herself, but still kissed me while still in my arms, and Marina retaliated on the Kiss from the day prior, causing Marie to squeak in surprise. Once she stood on her own feet, she kissed Marina properly, then got dressed. Such thirsty girls I had, and I couldn’t be happier. With the changing of the wives, we moved on at full speed. Arriving back home at lunch time. I noticed in passing that there was a Sign proudly declaring North Haven on the one town, and South Haven when we got home. The Names were accepted readily enough.
Work on the Glass Manufacture building had clearly completed. I was stunned, apparently having the status of a Local Lord, who actually gave a damn, and worked for a living just like them, paid dividends. Wagons of supplies had already been delivered, and I took some time before Lunch to sort everything. Then after lunch, Marina and I, along with Harmony fired up the facility. We had enough sheets to make the greenhouse roof over the pond by the time Dinner came around, and only had to wait for them to slowly cool. After dinner, we move the cooled sheets of glass out, and put in another batch, enough to complete the structure entirely once cooled. Another night of newlywed passion, and I was up after breakfast placing the glass onto the roof of the greenhouse structure. The pool house structure had also been completed up to the point the crafters were capable. Harmony and I spent the rest of that day laying the glazed bricks in the pattern I had envisioned.
It took another day and a half to complete the work on the pool house, and pipes, adding the water heaters with the materials that finally showed up, and the water tower filter. Everything was finally completed. I even designed a diving board with proper bounce for the pool. It took another four days to fill the pool all the way. Marina didn’t waste any time either, making glass for all the windows in the house. Soon all the oiled hides had been exchanged for actual glass windows. Everyone loved the new bathing facilities, as well as the toilet, and the sinks in the restroom, and kitchen, as well as the laundry room which I had altered to include the large wash sinks, as well as the cauldrons typically employed. Mona and Senna were overjoyed at the convenience of the additions, and the kids, boys and girls alike, and even my parents, all three of them were ecstatic about the method of showering in hot water to clean off, and the bath for soaking when you had the time.
Things were shaping up quite nicely on the home front, and thus it was high time to begin on the Foundry, and public water/sewer projects. That, or for the other shoe to drop.