"Well, what do we have here~?"

Jiko Ai chuckled to herself as her eyes looked at the unconscious body in front of her.

Xie Zu, a disciple from the Xie clan. No grimoire in sight, and most definitely no beasts belonging to her.

Two of the Worker Bees who were watching the unconscious woman were holding two scrolls and a single small crystal that were looted from where Xie Zu was being... pampered, for a certain definition of it, by Jiko Ai's created alraunes when she was fighting against the two Xie clan's elders.

'So these are the famous contract scrolls and contract crystals from the novel, or more correctly, this world now?' the Narcissism was looking both amused and mystified as she held the items, letting her monstrous body's eyes keep looking at Xie Zu.

She had to admit, the level of finesse these items had in them was astounding, even if these items would most likely be the 'trashiest' ones she, Kasumi Ai and Mei Wu might see once they got strong enough and got their own resources to survive and live in comfort. Currently, Jiko Ai felt that the scrolls and crystal were just too pretty and fancy to be 'trashy' in her opinion.

"Thanks a lot for the gift, I suppose." she smirked slightly, shaking her head from sheer amusement as she held the summoning crystal with two fingers.

She wasn't even a Holy Beast, let alone a Mythical Beast, so she naturally couldn't contract a Grimoire. But, she was certainly sapient enough to use the contract crystals as a way to contract a beast and summon it.

Oh, Jiko Ai was certain that Kasumi Ai would feel the same, and find it a most awesome idea, to get her own loyal, strong beast, and the many ways it could be used to break the wills of their enemies...

But, that was for later, when they meet an enemy. For now, that line of thought isn't needed.

"Please let these amazing tools stay here for now." she told the few Worker Bees that were still there as she put the scrolls and crystal in the corner.

And then the Narcissism focused on what she was planning to do from the start as she fully paid attention to the prisoner in the Queen Bee's home.

"Now, I can at least do what I planned with you, trash." Jiko Ai didn't hesitate as she moved her vines, with control that could only belong to someone casually moving their own limbs.

The numerous vines wrap around the torso of the unconscious woman, Xie Zu's arms and legs are not excluded as the alraune ensures her vines were tightly wrapped around the human woman.

"Frankly, I am a bit disappointed." even as her smile didn't leave her face, Jiko Ai spoke despite knowing that there won't be any reply. "I'm really interested in making you so utterly terrified of me and having you regret what you might have done to my love."

And that was the truth, really. The urge to destroy everything this woman held dear was immense. There were so many ideas, so many ideas to try on this woman, and surprisingly most of them weren't really made by Jiko Ai if the alter ego was honest. They were ideas that Kasumi Ai had and pondered about in her previous life, mostly when she was really, really bored and curious after reading some novel or watching some series.

Which is why the Narcissism was slightly disappointed since time constraints wouldn't allow her to indulge in her more violent thoughts.

"But, a lady must deal with it, I suppose~" with a chuckle, she commanded more vines to stab Xie Zu's body, but while she would have preferred to make the woman squirm in terror, that probably won't be nice since Kasumi Ai and Mei Wu were enjoying themselves, from what she can sense through her link to Kasumi Ai, and it would be rude for Jiko Ai to basically let her lust and cruelty be visible that much at the moment, even if she did her best to minimize the emotions sent through the link.

So instead of waking the fragile human up, the Narcissism injected her with a sleep-inducing poison, and a healing nectar. Xie Zu's body will always be full to the brim with energy, yet the woman will never wake up unless an extreme sensation of pain flooded her body.

Jiko Ai's grin became wider, and with a simple command, another vine pierced the supple flesh.

And power started to enter the alraune's body. A torrent of power and pleasure almost flooding the Narcissism's body, making her breath deeply and harshly, and only because Jiko Ai's current body was that of a Normal-ranked alraune.

"As expected, this taste is quite different than that guy's Qi." shuddering, she mumbled to herself, her mind easily capable of dealing with such a 'low' level of Qi. Her monstrous lower half was already making a face like it just climaxed, yet her human face only looked extremely aroused and blushing.

Xie Zu's Qi, while clearly far inferior to that of Mei Wu's, was still the Qi of a warrior, and thus it was no doubt far more potent than any mortal person's Qi.

Even if it wasn't any better than the Qi of that guy that Kasumi Ai drained, it felt more... soft, somehow. Was it because of yin and yang? Men are sturdy while women were soft?

Regardless, the taste of Xie Zu's Qi wasn't bad, quite tasty even.

The human woman shuddered, whimpering for a moment, almost looking like she would wake up, before staying silent.

"Whoops, I may have given her too much healing nectar." shrugging, the alraune simply increased the dosage of the sleep-inducing poison just a tiny bit.

With the healing nectar running in the woman's veins, there will be no side-effects at all.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Ahh~ It really is nice, being an alraune." with such sensation of euphoria, the Narcissism continued draining the human-energy battery under her grasp.

A part of her wondered how Mei Wu and Kasumi Ai were right now. Shame that she wasn't strong enough to feel that idiot's emotions so clearly while taking over a clone's body and enjoying this small dessert. Hm, something to train later.

----------------------------------------

"Wu-chan, I will be honest. You're an idiot. Even if you were my loveable idiot."

Surprisingly, Mei Wu doesn't find it in her to argue as the feeling of annoyance and compassion emanating from her lover was clear as day. She the pink-haired woman was certain that even without her Qi-sensing, she would easily feel the same.

It was... it wasn't that much of a talk really, since Jiko Ai left them alone. It was Mei Wu talking for the most part, and Kasumi Ai listening, honestly.

And Mei Wu, after calming down from the sheer embarrassment the Narcissism inflicted on her and Kasumi Ai, just decided to use the moment of tranquility to talk about the debt that she felt she owed to the one person who changed her world.

For Mei Wu, that would be a completely honest and correct phrasing. Kasumi Ai changed her life.

A life of being oppressed and stepped upon, all changed due to an alraune simply wanting to talk with her instead of killing or enslaving her.

Living a life where the strongest rules while the weak are crushed. While she, was one of the weak that were slaving just to survive.

Mei Wu had no delusion that her life in the Xie clan was still a hundred- maybe a thousand times better than when she was scraping by in the streets. That was what she truly believed. Yet, the difference between a life fitting for a trash and that of a lesser trash were very much the same regardless.

It's still the life of a worthless creature. It was simply the standards that changed. Mei Wu simply became worthless (or at best, a good worker to do the duties the stronger ones felt was beneath them) as a warrior in the clan, instead of being worthless as a useless and miserable orphan.

Did it really change her life? Not at all. If anything, it felt as if she would have been better off if she still lived on the streets. At least, that's how she sometimes thought before realizing that having even an ounce of power and protection is better than none. That was why she craved to have a better life even if she tried to ignore that thought so forcefully, knowing that to attempt and ask for more will result in her own death in the best case scenario.

That was why when Mei Wu ended up having to deal with the alraune that felt more like a kind human to her, instead of a brutal and violent self-absorbed beast, it was such an absurd situation that she just couldn't comprehend how to react.

Yet, it changed. For the better.

Kasumi Ai changed Mei Wu's life. She gave her friendship, love, power. She gave her hope.

... How can Mei Wu reject that? How can she refuse such a strong desire that kept growing in her heart to pay back her savior, her lover and most importantly, the only one she could truly call the first friend she ever had since being dragged into the culture of the warriors and the march to the peak?

Mei Wu just couldn't. She just couldn't muster any real power in herself to deny that part of herself. She just couldn't find it in herself to deny her Ai'er if the alraune wished for it. Not when the alraune herself wasn't even trying to treat Mei Wu like trash and was in fact doing her best to treat her as a person and a partner, pervy humor and attitude aside.

No matter how hypocritical and confusing it is, she just couldn't throw away the principles she lived by for decades. To pay for what Kasumi Ai did to her, and what the alraune gave to her, even sacrificing her life won't be enough to pay it. Even having nine generations of her descendants, if Mei Wu ended up having any, to serve Kasumi Ai as best as they can, that still will not be enough.

Even when she knew that her friend didn't want their relationship to be that complicated or imbalanced by some vague sense of debt that the alraune herself didn't want to exist. The debt Mei Wu felt she owed to her lover was that large, the human woman believed.

So the fact that Kasumi Ai was clearly not amused by the explanation, yet she understood Mei Wu's point of view? Even when Kasumi Ai made it clear that she thought some of the things that the culture of the warriors, and maybe how the world works, were ridiculous?

(Did dual cultivation also help with that, Mei Wu inwardly pondered. Did the act of connecting to each other in that spiritual sense result in such an easy acceptance? It was probable. She would discuss that later when after they decided on what to do.)

That just made Kasumi Ai all the more attractive and loveable to Mei Wu.

As she took calming breaths, her body still shuddering from the near one-sided discussion, Mei Wu chuckled at the blunt admission from the alraune's mouth.

There was no judgement there, even though the alraune clearly wasn't too pleased by Mei Wu's belief that she has a debt to pay. Kasumi Ai was always a bizarre one since the moment Mei Wu met her.

(Mei Wu ignored the feeling that Kasumi Ai won't give a damn about others being indebted to her, and that it's only because the two are friends first and foremost that the alraune was this bothered by it. Then again, being friends with someone would result in such attitude, Mei Wu thought.)

"Only you will listen to me talking about how much I feel indebted to you and tell me that I'm an idiot, Ai'er." the pink-haired woman wiped some of her tears away as she smiled.

"Because you are. I never asked you to feel indebted to me. At least not seriously, I think." the alraune huffed, crossing her arms as her mostrous, rafflessia-looking half made what felt like a mocking sound.

That looked both oddly adorable and creepy, Mei Wu thought.

She was... well, she wasn't truly completely relaxed. She still wasn't certain on how to deal with Jiko Ai yet, even though she already assured herself that she was prepared to deal with that lustful and hungry mass of her lover's instincts.

Or at least, she tried to tell herself that. Heaven knows how one determining to do one thing and actually doing it are completely different things.

She will only have to pray when her... date with Jiko Ai comes, she supposed.

Her thoughts were put to a halt when she heard Kasumi Ai speak.

"And since we are talking about us occasionally being a bunch of idiots..."

Mei Wu could almost feel the tiredness and amusement in her lover's tone. She could almost feel that something weird is entering the green-haired beast woman's mind, but the human woman couldn't predict what it is. Being able to sense one's mood and emotions can do so much after all.

She had no time to react when she found herself lifted from the ground as two delicate yet powerful arms held her like a princess. Thank the heavens that Mei Wu was a superhuman, or that would have given her a whiplash.

"A-ah..." she stammered as she saw the soft expression on Kasumi Ai's face, her face heating up.

"You're looking rather tired. You should relax now. Me too, really, this was one long day."

Well, she can't really argue against that. The alraune was right, it was one really, really long day.

"You should rest now." Kasumi Ai put a finger on Mei Wu's lips before she could even object, slowly moving until both of them were inside Kasumi Ai's so-called sleeping room, surrounded by the alraune's giant petals. "No arguments, Wu-chan. You're exhausted, so you need to rest. That's all there is to it."

"... I don't know why I'm not objecting against this..." Mei Wu whispered softly.

"If Jiko Ai was here- or if I was totally honest, you really love it when you experience something sweet that you gave me. Like when you comforted me when I was a mess."

Oh... When her Ai'er was telling her about her instincts and the nature of the alraunes, huh.

"Maybe you're right." Mei Wu admitted as the petals started closing in.

"Of course I am." Ah, there was that cheek.

Sighing contently, Mei Wu closed her eyes.

Her lover was really sweet.