"Boss, I may have a solution to your memory loss."

"!!!" Aron instantly gazed at her with open eyes. "How?" he asked with a mixture of hope and disbelief.

"When I was working with the guild, we came across a certain quest," she began to explain. "The quest was from a nearby kingdom hiring adventurers to gather information and locate a specific witch."

"A Witch?" Pethra raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, she has the power to manipulate minds."

"Hmm?" Aron pondered that. "And how is this going to help me?"

"Well, when we tried to locate this witch, we came across rival groups taking the same quest. The witch's last location was in the Great Forest, so they ventured there, but our leader at that time chose not to, fearing the witch's magic, and he was right," she paused, taking a breath.

"A week later, half of the groups came back, and some of them had blank looks on their faces. They didn't talk or react to anything; they just stood there. After a healer examined them, he found out that their memories were wiped out completely."

"..." Aron widened his eyes, catching on to where Scarlett was going. "And if someone can remove memories, then he can bring them back," he said, thinking out loud.

Scarlett nodded. "Exactly! We need to find this witch and let her use her magic on you."

"That's dangerous," Kasumi warned, voicing her concern. "Letting a powerful witch that we don't know use her magic on my master is dangerous."

"I know. I just shared the information that I know; the Boss has the final decision."

Aron lost in his thoughts, thinking about all the possibilities. He glanced to the side, seeing that Freya was still drinking his blood. He couldn't help but wonder if Freya is a vampire or a half-one. He gently stroked her silver hair, sensing that Freya liked it when she began to lower the blood consumption.

"Where can we find this witch?" he asked the red-haired woman who sat across from him in the bath.

Scarlett replied immediately, hiding nothing. "The last location was in the forest that falls under Avaloria kingdom, but that was more than a year ago. As you know, I was….out of the field."

Being a slave for that psychopath left her with deep wounds, like all the girls that shared the same fate. That's why when Aron saved them and broke their collars, all the former slaves instantly felt more secure and trusted him. After all, their lives were destroyed by Vincent, as he didn't like the idea of his slaves having a past, so whenever he could, he'll destroy any ties of his slaves—like family and relatives—leaving no hope of going back.

"We can look for information later about this witch." Feeling a hope of recovering his memories, Aron wouldn't let this lead go cold.

Scarlett nodded and chose to ask Aron for something. "Actually, that leads me to a certain thing I want to ask you, Boss."

"Hmm? What is it?"

Scarlett glanced at Kasumi for a moment; Kasumi nodded slightly, encouraging her.

"Boss, I want to create a faction."

"Elaborate more."

"I want to make a faction for us girls, and I want to ask your permission to use the remaining members of the Rat faction. You may not know this, but they are excellent at gathering information," Scarlett explained.

Aron didn't think for a second before giving his permission. "Go ahead and do as you like, Scarlett. You don't need my permission; I support you girls in anything. But do tell me what you intend to do with this faction?"

Scarlett displayed a small smile, like the girls around her, except Freya—still busy drinking his blood. The werewolf was probably a vampire.

"I want to take over this town. I won't feel safe until I control everything, so that what happened in the past won't happen again." She glanced at Kasumi. "Kasumi is helping me; her knowledge and techniques as an assassin are extremely useful."

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Aron thought about her words. "I see, then you can—"

"Haaah!...That was delicious!" Freya interrupted him, her face was red, and blood was dripping from her mouth.

Freya gently placed her lips on the spot where she had bitten Aron, licking all that blood, then gave it a soft kiss.

She looked into his eyes, her own filled with a mix of love, desire, and a newfound sense of belonging.

"You are mine, Aron," Freya whispered, her voice filled with possessiveness and tenderness. "And I am yours. I can feel your Mark on me; from now on, our souls are forever entwined."

Aron's eyes met Freya's intense gaze, and he could feel the depth of her emotions in her words. There was a sense of possessiveness and belonging.

He gently caressed her cheek, his thumb wiping away the traces of blood from her lips.

"I know; you're already mine."

"AHEM!.." Pethra gazed at Freya with dangerous eyes "Aron, we should find that Witch"

She tried to approach Aron, and the moment she did, Freya immediately locked her eyes on Pethra, warning her not to get close.

"!!!" Pethra instantly felt the threat as Freya's eyes glowed with a blue light. Freya's instinct took over with the sole purpose of protecting her 'Partner'; after a werewolf gives his mark, he'll become extremely protective of that person. And any approach is a threat.

Aron sensed the intense emotion that Freya was giving and gently stroked her silver hair, calming her instantly. Freya closed her eyes as she leaned on Aron's chest, enjoying his touch.

The girls couldn't help but feel that Freya had changed a bit. Especially Scarlett; this new side of Freya left her with mixed feelings.

"We need to move; we've stayed here far too long," Aron declared, and the girls agreed; they were eager to get back to the surface.

"But what should we do with the children?" Honestly, Aron didn't think beyond this point. What should he do after saving the children?

"I think we should deliver them to the cathedral; the priest there will take care of them and return them to their families," Scarlett gave her opinion.

Aron nodded. "I'm thinking of notifying the guild about this; I know a staff member, maybe they will know what to do."

Aron's suggestion resonated with the group, and they all agreed that it was the best course of action to deliver the rescued children to the cathedral.

As for notifying the guild, Aron decided to reach out to Cila and explain to her what happened. And maybe she knows what to do.

"I think it's time to move." Aron stood up, carrying Freya in his arms; she didn't want to be separated from him, now that she thought of Aron as her partner.

"!!!" Pethra, Kasumi, Luna, and Scarlett instantly blushed when Aron stood up, all because… Well, he forgot that he was, as he came to this world.

And the girls turned their faces but kept taking quick glances from time to time with one thought in their minds.

'Huge! As expected of a dragon.'

"Abomination," Raum suddenly commented.

"Hmm?" Aron tilted his head to the side; he noticed that the girls turned their faces away while Raum had a sly smile on his face.

"What's wrong? Why do you all have red faces? Is the water too hot?"

"..." They were all speechless; how would they respond when he doesn't have any idea about his 'exposed lower self'.

"Aron," Raum called.

"Yes?"

"Look down."

'Down?' Aron thought, then he gazed down and understood what Raum meant.

"Oh!… Yeah!... Cough... I think I did something inappropriate. Sorry, girls."

The girls shook their heads rapidly.

Pethra was the first to speak. "N-No, don't worry about it… We don't actually mind. In fact, we–"

Slap!.

Kasumi covered her mouth with a slap. "D-Don't think about it, Master… You did nothing wrong, and you're in good health."

"Health?" Aron was more confused.

Kasumi was so embarrassed as her thoughts went to a not-so-'innocent' path, and she couldn't control her mouth.

"Yes, Master… You're in great health, because your thing—"

Slap!

Luna came to the rescue with a slap to the mouth. "Shhh!... Your thoughts are slipping, Kasumi."

"Hmmm!!" Kasumi nodded with teary eyes, saying to Luna, 'Thank you; you saved me.'

"???" Aron narrowed his eyes and turned his head to Scarlett, who stood up and began approaching him with a flushed face.

"What are they talking about?"

"Don't mind them, Boss; they are just messing around." Scarlett held herself, being a former adventurer. She had some experience dealing with men, not sexually, but she could hold herself and not act foolish when seeing a naked man.

"Go and dry yourself, Boss, and give me Freya. I'll take care of her."

"Grrrr." Freya growled, sensing the approach of someone. She instantly opened her eyes and gazed at Scarlett dangerously as a warning not to get closer.

Scarlett immediately stopped. 'She's changed, so it's true that the werewolves became obsessed after placing the mark.'

Scarlett wasn't angry with the warning from her former cellmate; she understood that Freya now is acting on instinct to protect her 'Partner', and she knew that Freya now is extremely dangerous, and if someone or something approached Aron, she'd probably rip that person apart.

Scarlett displayed a teasing smile. "What's wrong, wet dog? Didn't recognize me?... Haah! After what we suffered together… you threw me away."

"..." Freya kept silent, only gazing at Scarlett. She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them as the blue glow in her eyes faded.

"Hmm?... Torch-head?... I feel tired… just five more minutes, then wake me up."

Sigh.

Scarlett sighed in relief as her friend recognized her, and it looked like Freya regained her self-control.

Seeing that the tension faded, Aron nodded at Scarlett's suggestion and carefully handed Freya over to her. Freya reluctantly allowed Scarlett to take her, her protective instincts still on high alert.

Aron quickly retreated from the bath; Raum, on the other hand, hopped on his shoulder with a mischievous grin on his face, clearly enjoying the embarrassment of the situation.

When Aron and Raum exited the bath, the girls let out a deep sigh of relief, mostly Pethra and Kasumi, who almost let their thoughts slip. While Scarlett glanced at the slippery werewolf in her arm with a small smile and a sad face.

'Glad you found someone that you can hold dear? At least you won't end up like me.'