Lina is anxious. She's hiding it, but she secretly wants to meet with her parents as soon as possible. We were all understandably tired, so she didn't say anything yet, but now that she's rested, she can't stop thinking about them.
She frowns and shrinks in my lap, but I grab her waist and lift her body up.
"We'll go tomorrow, alright?" I gently whisper in her ear, then I nibble on it.
"Ahn~… okay…" She breathes weakly as her little hands grip my thighs and her legs shiver.
"Should we give them forewarning or surprise them?" Yunia gently questions. Out of all of us, she treats Lina the kindest.
I stop to give my little girl some breathing room to think, but then I wiggle my thin tentacle. "Wolfy~…" She quietly complains.
"Huh? I didn't hear you. Surprise or forewarning?" I ask sternly.
Just as she opens her mouth to answer, I wiggle my tentacle again. "Surprise…" She manages to grumble in a show of "Willpower."
"Can we… do the ceremony before we go?" Ciel shyly asks.
"Right… we aren't actually officially married yet," I answer with a wry smile.
Yunia coolly nods in agreement and comments, "If it's just us, then I don't mind it being quick."
"Same," Hana and Roxanne respond in unison, while Lina silently agrees, her voice stolen by me. Aoi is barely paying attention as she doesn't really understand the need for celebration.
We turn to Alissa, the one of us who has the strongest feelings about this, and she nods excitedly.
After helping Lina's anxiety subside, I give Roxanne and Yunia a nice treat. Today we have a more carnivorous audience, and the maids seemingly take quite a lot of enjoyment from seeing the faces their Lords make.
Once I'm done with them, Hukarere gets a round, too.
Alissa hears one of the maids breathing heavily, her legs twitching as she struggles to stay upright. The young golden elven woman is too proud to openly satisfy her desire in front of us.
And I think she deserves more than just her own fingers.
I walk menacingly towards her, grinning suggestively as I stare her in the eye.
She locks up, visibly fearful of me, but then she glances at Poosh, whose gentle nod and encouraging gaze seems to calm her down.
This is the young and pretty elf girl who once boldly grabbed my Weapon in front of all of my wives as she helped me change my clothes. Her high cheekbones, thin lips, and braided hair make her look very girlish, which is just the type I'm looking for right now after enjoying a main course of Lina's adorableness.
I lift her chin with a claw to force her to face me. She's short for an elf, making us about the same height.
"You seem to be in distress. Is there anything I can do to help?" I ask with a sultry tone.
"Your Highness… I…" She catches herself and stops, but her breath quickens, and I feel its heat and freshness on my face. She smells of flowers and herbs, a simple and common perfume among elves, but very pleasant nonetheless.
"There's no shame in admitting your true desires," I whisper huskily.
Her resistance crumbles, and she immediately admits, "I desire you, my King."
That triggers my instincts, and I immediately steal her lips without another word, giving her tongue a good and strong spirit-touch to get her in the mood. This seems to be the most effective way to make unfamiliar women aroused. Instead of going straight for their private parts, a mind-numbing kiss more easily disarms them.
Her legs quiver, and I catch her before she collapses. I hug her waist and hold the back of her head so that we can still look at each other, and I find her stunned look absolutely adorable.
"What's your name, my young miss?" I kindly ask her.
"Iliada," she breathes softly.
"Feel honored that you have the privilege of enjoying this experience," I announce out loud, then I begin.
I kind of agree with Hana that tasting a new woman is a refreshing experience, but I have a feeling that I should make it clear to myself that the nostalgic comfort of my women will always be better.
Yeah, a totally spontaneous thought.
I gently lay Iliada on a clean bed and let the maids wash her body, then the girls decide to play with her a bit.
Hana's strong hands; Roxanne's teasing fingers; Alissa's dexterous tongue; Yunia's domineering presence; Osaria's endless thirst. The other girls don't participate since there's no physical room left for them and their desire isn't strong enough for them to intrude, so I keep them company while Iliada goes through round two.
She's left completely passed out, but smiling quite happily. Her entire body was thoroughly massaged, oiled, and covered in all sorts of fluids, including our expensive elven creams, and that definitely makes all the maids envious.
Once the Ryder Family Treatment is complete, we finally spend some time in the hot bath to wind down.
Today's dinner is steamed spring rolls, a werefox specialty. They use old Tonique leaves, which have a much milder flavor, to wrap around assorted grains and raisins. It's a nice dish, though it tastes a bit odd to me, so it'll take some time for me to get used to it.
"Well, you don't have to get used to it," Alissa shyly states.
"I just want to enjoy the food of your homelands together," I softly reply with a smile.
"Awn~…" Ciel moans, and Alissa becomes speechless, her heart aching with happiness.
My smile becomes stiff and apologetic as I turn to Roxanne and confess, "But I have to admit that your racial food will be hard to get used to."
Roxanne snickers evilly as she imagines me eating roasted orc "member" and fried orc "meatballs." Like the cherry on top, both of these dishes are garnished with cream.
"I feel like I should say no to those things just because of the fact that you want me to suffer," I add flatly.
"Ah, darn!" She exclaims and closes off her thoughts, but the cat's out of the bag. "It's not like we only eat 'those things,'" she mumbles with a pout.
"You also 'these things,'" Osaria teases.
"Wait… you actually eat female parts?" Alissa asks, frowning concernedly.
Roxanne adjusts her glasses and grins as she explains, "A female orc 'parts' are very 'elastic' while Harpy's are rather 'soft.' There are also a few other monsters with tasty 'parts,' though it's more of a snack since they have little actual volume. The round pair sacks of fat and ovaries, though…"
The girls shudder and suddenly empathize with me.
For the evening, we don our social clothes and go out to the theater since the elven Cirque du Soleil is making a performance tonight.
Alissa's first set of Misty Fox clothes are done, thanks to the fact that they're the easiest to make. Her clan has a thing against stitching, so all of their clothes are like origami or only held together by sashes.
She's wearing white thigh-highs made from Snow Weave and sporting large, black platform clogs like the Japanese Geta. Her skirt is quite short, revealing an Absolute Territory that's worthy of a Chef's kiss, and the hem of her sleeves are quite wide, allowing her to hide her hands inside them. The cloth itself is covered with cute foxes and flowers, which are stitched in all over it, making her look absolutely adorable.
All of the girls, and even I, also receive a not-kimono, but only Lina wears hers this time because cute is her thing.
She only takes five steps forward before the entire thing unravels itself, which reveals her whole body as she isn't wearing anything underneath it, then she steps on the sash and trips, face-planting on the waxed, wooden floor.
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Alissa holds her stomach in a fit of laughter while I gently pull Lina up and massage her forehead. She didn't pass out, but she still plays dead out of shame.
While still chuckling, Alissa pulls out a dozen clamps and shows them to us, then teases Lina a little bit, "These are used for children when they aren't able to keep their clothes from coming undone."
Lina suddenly revives and pouts angrily while glaring at Alissa. "H-how am I supposed to walk in this thing without the clamps?!" She exclaims in annoyance.
Alissa grins mischievously and replies in a slow, deliberate tone, "With grace, something that the dwarves sorely lack."
She offers us the clamps, then Lina grumbles and snatches them from her hand.
We go by Gatun carriage with Lordsguard Gatun riders flanking us and opening the way. Sandoro's security measures are so cautious that the moment the carriage gets stopped, we'll be whisked away by [Gate]s. Even though we're surrounded by Lordsguard, they might not be enough to protect us from a [Meteor] ambush, so I find this measure acceptable.
We look out the window and watch as each and every commoner that we pass stops to kneel and lowers their head to us. The Intervention has made the entire town become completely docile to us, and the odd foreigner stands out when they hesitate to kneel.
"This will be hard to get used to…" Klein comments absentmindedly.
"Only for you," Hana retorts with a snort.
"No, I'm also feeling the same thing," my human side agrees with Klein.
Hana raises an eyebrow. "And the dragon?"
"Indifferent. The human's awkwardness is just too strong."
"I was just a slave not that long ago…" Lina mumbles and sighs.
"One day, you'll get used to it. This isn't that much different from how it was with my father," Yunia kindly comforts her.
"Until then, fake it until you make it," I jokingly advise.
Osaria and Klein frown slightly, but the rest of the girls caught my meaning.
"It rhymes in my native language," I explain with a wry smile, and the duo nods in understanding.
We reach the theater, and a carpet of silvery grass is extended to us, cutting right through the middle of the crowd of commoners who are waiting to be let in.
I ignore the stares and focus on the architecture. The theater itself is a cylindrical, multi-story building made of bright red and yellow wood, which are, ironically, imperial colors. The patterns carved into the walls are so intricate that they rival our castle's, which makes the dragon within me slightly annoyed.
While the imperial design for theaters is usually a half-circle, which is the best shape for watching plays, the elven design is a full circular stage, allowing one to watch their performances from all angles. This theater even has an outer ring stage for the background dancers.
The theater is open to the air, though the roof can be shut in case of rain, or if the acoustics require it. Tonight, the psychedelic moons are in full display, making this a perfect time for an open-air performance.
We walk past the commoners, Lina praying that no gust of wind exposes her, and we enter the theater proper. The interior is colorful, full of beautiful, delicate drapes in the elven style, some of them hiding naked dancers, showing us only their outlines, while a few waiters and waitresses walk around, dressed like they're attending a Brazilian Carnival.
Roxanne and Yunia take a drink from one of them at the same time, then Hana and Osaria also get themselves one when they recover from gawking at everything.
"Is this your first time here, Osaria?" I curiously ask her.
Her excitement dims a bit as I carelessly make her remember something unpleasant. "Actually, yes. Rico never liked the theater…" She replies with a low tone.
"I believe he was actually forbidden from coming here," Yunia explains through [Bind].
"We'll invite Rande and his harem once he gets back," I deflect with a gentle smile.
"And the twins?" Ciel asks tentatively.
Yunia shrugs and casually answers, "They never cared that much about this sort of thing."
"We should invite your parents, too," Hana and nudges Klein on the shoulder.
But her mind is somewhere else. "Maybe I should take this as a knight assignment…" She mumbles.
"Don't you dare," I try my best to nip it in the bud, but she awkwardly scratches her round monkey ear, still skeptical, so I add, "Your knight training isn't complete yet."
Her back straightens, and her brown skin turns a shade darker. "Ah, yes. I understand," She finally accepts.
"You are eager to serve," Hukarere teasingly comments with a heavy accent.
"I guess…" Klein shyly replies, her long monkey tail stiff with awkwardness.
"You are young. You can grow. You have time," Hukarere sagely advises, something unexpected from her.
"Well, thanks." Klein gushes softly, then something occurs to her. "How long have you been serving in the Chimeric army?"
Hukarere stops, her brain hanging up on her as she tries to sort through her memories. "I believe I am older than everyone," she finally mumbles.
"Not me," Osaria retorts with a smirk.
Same here, maybe?
The pale wolf shrugs. "I served for most of my life."
"You used to be an escort mercenary, correct?" Yunia asks Klein, who nods earnestly, her heart likely racing from receiving the attention of my Queen. "Knighthood really isn't that different from escort jobs most of the time. If you want to learn different skills, Azador or Hukarere have the most varied skillsets I've seen."
Klein's eyes widen, and her head jerks back to face my pale wolf. "May I request that you accompany my team when we go monster hunting?" She politely asks with more composure than I'm used to seeing from her.
Hukarere takes a moment to translate her words inside her mind, then she nods and shows a toothy grin. "Team, yes."
Well, I guess Klein's made a new friend.
We climb some stairs and enter a trapezoid-shaped, raised balcony, which is reserved exclusively for us. On the other side of the auditorium, there's another balcony that's reserved for the nobles while the commoners and merchants use the lower seats.
This balcony has a banquet of snacks and alcohol, curtains to give us privacy, and even a platform that would allow us to walk right up to the stage and smell the dancers if we so desired.
The main seats are already filled, and now the commoners are being allowed access to the stands along the wall.
The two private balconies are enchanted with defenses, so there's no danger of assassination, and Sandoro has made sure that only food and maids directly from the castle are allowed up here.
We sit down and only have to wait for a short while before a soft ringing warns us that the play is about to commence, then the lights dim, and the spotlight turns on, revealing a single, androgynous golden elf standing in the middle of the stage.
"Gentlemen and gentlewomen. Good evening to all of you and to our Lords, the Royal Ryder family!" The announcer begins, their magically enhanced voice silencing the theater completely.
The spotlight shines on us, and we're forced to go through this formality, no matter how much Lina wants to hide. Yunia and I stand up, then we all wave and smile.
Then the elven Cirque du Soleil finally begins their performance.
Long before skills or levels, in the early days of the Dawn of Civilization, when humanoids were like children, eagerly learning about magic and the world which they now inhabited, a group of young elven tribal warriors traversed the crowns of the High Trees, jumping between them with such ease that it was like they were as light as feathers, the drums following their rhythm.
One of them, a man who wears the bones of monsters on his neck as a magical charm, detects something up ahead, so he whistles softly, and all of the elves instantly disappear among the leaves, bringing absolute silence to the forest.
Then the wind howls through the flutes, and the leaves of their tree rustle and sway, revealing glimpses of the stalking elves.
Alissa is the first to notice a whispering in our ears, which gradually becomes louder until everyone else also notices it. Then something starts shining out from behind the leaves.
We glimpse at a lustrous coat of pearly white feathers with a rainbow sheen, and the whispering grows louder.
We get a glimpse of long, sharp crystal talons, and the whispering grows into murmuring.
We are stunned by the sight of a long white beak and mesmerizing eyes with a twister of color within them, constantly swirling and swaying hypnotically.
Then the murmuring grows into drumming, and the elves reappear.
The first of them lunges with her spear, but the distance between her and the majestic bird only continues to increase until she completely disappears from view.
The second elf pounces with his club, but the bird simply grows in size until his weapon is nothing but a stick before an adult Gatun.
The third youth never sees the bird, losing his way instead, and then he forgets what he was doing a mere moment ago.
The fourth is hit by a gust and loses her footing, then she falls towards the darkness of the forest's floor.
The fifth is the bone warrior, and he doesn't even fight the bird, truly dazed by its beauty, but his bloodlust isn't gone.
The bird lifts a wing, and a gust of wind rushes towards the bone warrior, but his honed sense of danger wakes him from his stupor, and he dodges the attack masterfully.
The bird's eyes narrow in annoyance, then it unleashes a series of magical attacks.
The warrior is extremely nimble, but even he can't dodge them all. Small wounds open in his fair skin, and droplets of his blood spread everywhere. The plants start to pulsate with light as they absorb the blood, then they emit flavorful, gentle mana, begging to be fed some more.
"We should drink some Eia, now," Yunia suggests, and I gladly pull out my bottle of Cinco Flores, then I serve everyone a finger of the wonder juice.
The bird's gaze softens, and so does the edge of its spells, but the attack continues.
The movements of the warrior become more flourished and elaborate, and he starts to circle around the bird instead of just trying to fight for his life. The bird is deliberately making him dance.
The spearwoman returns and tries to attack again, but the bird effortlessly holds her back, then her blood paints the leaves, and she joins the bone warrior in their dance.
The club man joins in, and the same happens with him, then the last warrior also reappears, and the four of them dance together.
Their dripping, bright red blood forms intricate patterns on the dark green leaves, then their dancing gradually synchronizes. At the same time, a foreign feeling starts to seep into my heart as I begin to sense the mana from [Weaverism] in the air, and it influences us to move, to express our emotions through dance, but it's weak enough that we can all easily resist it.
The attacks of the bird gradually decrease in number until it's only attacking the bone warrior, yet all of the other warriors continue to dance along with him.
A Gatun appears, drawn in by the smell of blood, and one of the elves swings her arm towards it, sprinkling the beast's face with their blood. Instead of attacking, the beast simply sits down and watches the performance with curious, intelligent eyes.
The dance slows and their moves become more fluid, as if they were being pulled along with the wind. They lose all flair of someone dodging attacks, instead shifting into a full-blown artistic dance.
My third eye starts to open, and I sense the Life flowing through the entire stage and even the audience. It's like a slow-motion tornado that allows me to observe and appreciate every little detail, every connection between each living being present here.
A variety of birds and even nature spirits appear among the leaves, and then the outer ring stage lights up, revealing dozens of spinning dancers who sprinkle their blood everywhere.
The air becomes thick with Nature mana, the heavy smell of iron, the sweet perfume of the flowers, the thick essence of the forest, and the musky scent of beasts.
The commoners in the stands don't resist the call any longer and dance along with the tribal symphony while the audience down in the seats hold hands and share their feelings with one another.
Hukarere has the most intense reaction to this performance, and she now seems to be completely tripping balls, delving deep within her own mind.
The girls and I also hold hands, and everyone experiences [Bind]-lite as our minds align.
Our senses are overwhelmed, and we enter a trance as we lose all sense of time.
The music stops, and I sigh tiredly, regretting that the pleasant dream has finally ended, and then my mind truly wakes up.
The bird flies away, and the bone warrior immediately pleads, "Come back! Teach us more!"
"I've given you enough," the ethereal voice of the majestic bird echoes through the theater.
Then the lights dim, and the performance ends.