Hana stays in the dining room to flirt and drink with Caterina while everyone else retreats to their own corners for the evening. The two move to the balcony to have a nice romantic moment under the moonlight while they sip on a bit of low-strength Eia.

And the fiery dragonkin comes on hard, "We already have our own personal Wandering Knights, but I guess there's room for our own personal Punisher."

Caterina's usual straightforwardness starts to disappear, replaced by the usual elven snobbishness, though her tone remains casual. "Oh? How presumptuous of you to say that."

"You'll catch more heretics if you stay close by, you know?" Hana suggestively retorts.

And the other scoffs. "I'm not just a tool you can hang around."

Hana slyly springs her trap, "Well… are we more than just a honey trap for the bears to you?"

The mature elf goes silent and stares at her intensely, but Hana's grin only grows wider.

"You could say that," Caterina hesitantly admits.

Hana takes a small step forward, and her tone becomes even more suggestive, "Are you going to define what this 'more' means?"

"No," the older woman promptly replies.

And the younger (and thirsty) one inches closer, getting into Caterina's personal space, but she doesn't even flinch. Then my dragonkin sets up another trap, "If you won't tell me the truth, then I'll just make my own assumptions and see where they take me."

Caterina remains so still that it's almost unnatural, and her voice gains a dangerous edge, "So, will you try to conquer me?"

Hana feels sorely tempted to say yes, but something tells her that isn't the answer Caterina is looking for. She's a decorated and experienced Templar milf, not a doe-eyed young girl looking for excitement. She might even be old enough to be Hana's mother, so what is a mature woman looking for in a partner?

"How about we start as friends?" Hana warmly asks, her grin going back to a friendly smile.

And Caterina blinks in subtle confusion. "Oh? Are we not friends already?"

"Okay, if you say so. Then let's move on to the next step," the bold dragonkin activates the trap and grins wider again.

"You cheeky-…"

Hana slowly leans forward, her face coming closer to Caterina's with a very obvious intention. The mature elf simply freezes, and this time, her tension is more obvious, but Hana suddenly stops, and her red lips break into a shit-eating grin.

"Is it a Ryder tradition to be insufferable teases?" Caterina asks, faintly disconcerted.

And Hana springs the last trap, "If you wanted a kiss, you could just ask."

Caterina breathes in to calm herself as her blood pressure rises, and now Hana takes the brief opening to give her an actual kiss on the lips. It lasts for only a second as Hana has already pushed her luck far enough, and Caterina starts to assume her Templar persona to defend herself.

"I think you've had enough to drink," the serious elf responds.

She wants us to believe that an experienced Punisher warrior didn't see it coming with [Battlefield Perception]?

Hana nods and retreats. "You too, if you were really that open."

And the elf narrows her eyes dangerously. "Hm… yes, it's time for me to leave."

She grins again. "See you later, 'more than a friend.'"

Roxanne feels a bit lonely drinking without Hana, so Lina challenges her to a board game.

Hopefully, Caterina won't be too prudish if she ever joins us. We'd love it if she were willing to socialize with everyone so that nobody would feel excluded. We'd all be very excited if she joined in on the fun too, especially me. She said I'm "dangerous" to her girl love orientation, but if she enjoys herself, is it really "bad"?

Straight men have turned gay when the thirst got bad enough, and if we look at Alissa's case, there's already a precedent for straight women around me who can happily dip in the other side.

I pull on Yunia's hair and force her spine to arch, making an evil grin as I imagine how I'll turn the proud Punisher straight. Let's see if I can bring out the submissive elven genes within her that her race so desperately tries to hide.

Yunia grabs my hand, trying to give herself a little breathing room as tears start to form in the corners of her eyes, but I just throw her head onto the bed and then press it against the sheets, smothering her in their fluffiness.

I turn my eyes to Lolo and Klein as they drink together and observe us, then I unleash my domineering aura upon them, and I see their hairs stand up on end. I feel that this is enough "reinforcement training" for them, so I turn my eyes to the defiled elven beauty before me.

The fire within me dies down, allowing me to engage "aftercare mode." I crawl up beside her, then I give her a hug and start caressing her head while Aoi shoves her long tongue to begin cleaning.

She writhes and whisper softly, but she pushes her back against me so that I properly spoon her, and I bury my face into her (now messy) glorious drills to smell her rich perfume. But Aoi soon finishes her cleaning, and then we're left to soak in bliss together.

I don't pry too much into my wives' thoughts, but I have a feeling that I should do it right now, so I take a look at what Yunia is thinking. She squeaks in surprise, then reflexively blocks me off for just a second, but I don't probe any further.

"What's wrong…?" I softly ask.

"I was… thinking something embarrassing," she tiredly answers.

Roxanne immediately jerks her head towards us, her eyes glowing with excitement at the opportunity to tease someone, but then she realizes it might be something serious, so she backs off.

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"Don't get too haughty, or I'll break your horns," the Queen snaps back, which is kind of her way of saying that "everything is okay."

And the succubus flashes a challenging glare, but now's not the time to indulge in verbal masochism, so they both let it go.

I give her some time to gather her thoughts, and Alissa joins us on the bed, hugging Yunia from the front. My foxy helper grabs her hand and interlocks their fingers together, wordlessly telling her that she'll be supportive of whatever our favorite snobbish elf has to say.

Yunia finally regains her composure and confesses, "I just felt that I didn't like this turn we're taking now with the Purification and killing Cleinias. It's… less than ideal for our future in the High Forest."

"It's fine that you think so. We can't lie to ourselves about what we're doing," I soothe her.

"It's unfair to Aoi."

The little blue dragon raises her scaly head in surprise. "Oh…? But I also didn't want things to become like this," she innocently responds.

Yunia nods slowly. "That's why it's unfair."

"I don't get it?" Aoi hums while adorably tilting her head.

And my snobbish elf sighs before she explains, "Even I understand that wanting to protect your kind shouldn't be taken as a negative, but I can't see it in any other way than it not having a positive effect on our political future."

Now Ciel gets a bit miffed. "What do you mean 'no positive effect'?! We're building solid relationships with the temple and the Templars while changing the Empire as a whole!" She exclaims indignantly.

I immediately interject, "It was just a thought. She didn't want to say it, so don't blame her."

"Hm…" Ciel hums awkwardly and pouts.

And Yunia continues, "But in the end, nothing we're doing here is changing the reception we'll have at home. Our Subordinate Lords still aren't loyal to us."

Ciel wants to tell her to look at the big picture, that we're building a better future for everyone, but even she sees that those things are too abstract to quantify, and the loyalty of the Subordinate Lords is more directly important to our rule. It's like putting the cart before the horses; we need more stability before we can safely take on these types of endeavors. It's just that I really couldn't help myself but kill Cleinias.

"It's also not fair to take all the blame…" Yunia quietly adds with a frown.

"You're the one of us with the most analytical mind for politics, so it's better for all of us if you continue being like this," Alissa kindly encourages her, and the two girls squeeze their hands together affectionately.

"Be the heartless b-tch that you really are," Roxanne teasingly adds.

"I'll seriously consider breaking your horns now that you've made it an option," The Queen briefly comes back, and I feel how, within her heart, she appreciates Roxanne's "encouragement."

"You two need to lay together," Hana states as she comes in. "Or maybe I should just do both of you myself."

"My bits haven't been given the love they deserve," Yunia pompously states out loud.

"She ain't gonna give it love, honey," Roxanne warns her, making the elf bite her loose tongue as she realizes what she just did.

Hana comes onto the bed and crawls up to us, so Alissa and I back off, leaving Yunia to fend for herself. She spreads her legs apart, believing it to be useless to try to escape a hungry dragonkin.

The frightened elf grabs my scaled hand, looking for support as Hana begins, and Alissa grabs her other hand to soothe her in this arduous moment.

But Yunia is already sloppy seconds, so she doesn't last long against The Flower Eater, and she's definitely too tired to return the favor.

"Let me give you a hand, my wife," Roxanne smugly states and pulls her fiery lover back.

"Hell yeah," Hana happily hums.

Of course, seeing women lezzing out always puts me in the mood, so I let Alissa work on me while we watch.

Yunia grabs my hand and starts to kiss my scales, the touch of her soft lips leaving small marks on their pristine surface. But then she suddenly stops and turns around, snuggling up to my chest as she seeks the comfort of my embrace.

"I fear we've made a mortal enemy, Wolfy," she gloomily confesses and presses her forehead against me. "The Seekers cleared Alkibiades, so we can't kill him now, and if he's smart, he'll run away to build up allies once again."

I raise one eyebrow questioningly. "You're afraid of Little Alki-Alki?"

She flashes a frown. "Please. He's the son of a Decien, and by all rights, he is a Decien, giving him the resources to become a thorn in our side."

"Unless we take his Titles in the Purification," I confidently retort.

"His resources are more than just Titles…"

And I become silent. She's right; we need to find a way to get rid of Alki-Alki permanently.

"Someone wants to kill you guys?" Lolo suddenly interjects, and Klein gives her a disbelieving look, making the bunny girl suddenly duck in embarrassment. "Sorry, it was rude to eavesdrop."

"Who doesn't want to kill us?" I wryly reply.

The cute rabbit girl frowns worriedly. "That sounded more like someone with a grudge."

"Yes. A noble with a grudge, the son of the guy whose head we put on a pike," Yunia calmly states.

Lolo winces. "Can't you guys… kill him in secret?"

"For once, we can't."

And I frown at Yunia. "It's not like we've been killing everyone who slighted us."

So she corrects herself, "We could, but with this one, we can't."

"Why not?" Lolo innocently asks.

"Because we already spent all our goodwill to kill his father," I explain.

"They can only break the laws as long as the people in charge are willing to look the other way," Klein wisely adds.

Hana wants to tease the monkey girl, but she's too busy to form words.

"Well put," Yunia praises her, and my monkey girl immediately shuts down, stunned by the surprisingly kind words of her Queen.

But the rabbit girl doesn't even notice as she looks at her cup and makes a thoughtful expression. The world of nobility is complex, and its rules are very "malleable," so I understand how hard it can be for Lolo to get a clear idea of our situation.

Alissa finishes me once, and now Aoi wants her share.

Hana eventually wins her battle with Roxanne, and now there's a hungry hunter on the prowl. Ciel and Lina are having a wholesome moment, so she turns her eyes to the wereanimal duo, but they're at a low level of spiciness, and her predatory gaze then falls upon me.

Aoi offers my Weapon to Hana, but the dragonkin has other plans. She slowly lowers herself, easily squatting with her powerful and muscular thighs.

"Hmmm…" Aoi hums annoyedly now that her lollipop is buried.

"I want us to do Caterina together," she whispers, her voice heavy with lust. "Show her the intensity of the love that we Ryders can give."

My intentions aren't so noble as hers, but I agree that Caterina deserves the whole Ryder package. If she's up for a strap, I could provide one to Hana, which I'll be able to control, allowing me to perform our family's specialty on her.

And the draconic domineering instincts inside Hana start to rise to the surface as she fantasizes about us conquering Caterina together. She even summons her wings and lets brief gusts of flame escape from her mouth.

Damn, I love this woman.

I release her hands and hug her lovingly, then I start aftercare for the second time this evening. I love how after all the excitement, anger, tension, and scheming from today, and even changing the damn world, the girls and I can just shrug it off and continue plowing as usual.

Even with Yunia's worries, we're still going strong.

Today is the 9th, Nev, day of Spirit. My Hollys standing guard around the embassy can't see spirits, but they can certainly spot the signs that there might be one nearby, and in a city as densely populated as Mac Gantus, where so many adventurers die every day inside the Great Labyrinth, there are a lot of signs of spirits everywhere today.

I'm surprised that I didn't level up [Chaos Breath]. It's so goddamn hard to use it, and if it's going to be this slow to level up, then it won't be viable in combat anytime soon.

Roxanne, on the other hand, leveled up her [Fire Magic] and [Space Magic] by 1 (now 6+34 and 14) just from observing it, which is an odd combo to level up, but eh, a level up is a level up.

Lina increased her [Axe Use] by 1 (now 3+17). And aside from Roxanne, she's the only one who gained anything significant from yesterday's training, though that's probably because she has a very large positive soul potential.

Aoi increased her "Piety" by 1 (now 9), which is really nice since she's now approaching the average for a humanoid, and it's also pretty telling of her integration with our culture.

Our morning starts with the usual mana circulation training, now boosted by the orbs, but we're soon interrupted as my Hollys notice a man riding a muscular Ronti, a rat-headed imperial horse, coming down Bicker's Street at full speed, its trot leaving a loud crackling of lightning behind it as the Ronti uses magic to keep up its insane pace.

Shortly after coming into view, they stop before our embassy, and the rider pulls down the hood of their cloak, making my blood boil as I see Little Alki-Alki's ugly face.

"I CHALLENGE YOU, RYDERS, TO A BATTLE UNDER THE RULES OF THE PURIFICATION!" He roars confidently.

But this definitely isn't good news. Katasko is crumbling as the whole Empire turns on them, and an animal is at its most dangerous when cornered.