Today is the 20th, Tann, day of Darkness. The more superstitious would say this is the worst day to come home on, but I say screw them because I miss my dark milf, my fluffy sheep, and my bare cat too much to delay my return any further.

No [Golemancy] increase, but I can feel that it's near another level up. It's such a complex and deep skill that stopping at level 10 isn't practical as each level would be too dense with knowledge, so I think it'd be better if it went up to 100, like weapon and magic skills.

It's like climbing a stair. The steps can't be too big, as that would make it too hard to climb, and they also can't be too small, as they'd be wasting skill points. But if they're just the right size, the climb is as smooth as can be.

I don't eat much for breakfast because I'm too eager to go back home to focus on eating.

"What a mustch breakfast," Urmeie remarks as she stares at all the cute fruit dishes being served to us.

And I glare at her for using the slur and ruining my peace. I don't like it because it's offensive to elves, and I'm definitely a big elf "lover." Sa'Haa is also here, so it isn't like this was a perfect morning, but still.

The Verners and Alissa do look a bit wistful, though, already anticipating the coming goodbyes, and I definitely would never say they ruined anything.

After we eat, there's one last event we have to get through before we leave. We're going to inspect our newest airship.

Parked in one of the spots for nobility, our battle airship awaits us. It's a big metallic beast that's been polished until it shines. It uses the wooden hull of a standard water Carrack ship as the base, giving it an oval underbelly, but the sails have been removed, and the upper deck is covered with a metal dome where the steering wheel would be, so the upper part is also oval but smaller, leaving only a small stretch of a flat deck in front of the dome that protects the bridge.

It has a lot more space than the Floater due to its bigger underbelly, but the Floater's main laser cannon would cook this metal egg without the airship being able to even respond. The imperial airships' main fighting power comes from using groups of mages that unite their mana pools through [Ritualism] and launch siege-level spells, but it's extremely clunky to fight like that against a high-mobility ship like the Floater.

Our Field Guns would provide far better firepower for this ship, making it basically a huge flying tank. Or maybe like naval artillery at the level of World War 2.

"It's a good ship. It's a shame that its previous Captain threw it away by following Reinhold in his fit of insanity," Sa'Haa quietly remarks as we admire the ship.

"What happened to his cronies?" I reflexively ask.

But she gently shakes her head. "I don't know, but I assume their careers ended after such a humiliating loss."

"Reinhold has also disappeared, so they should be put under observation," Ciel adds.

And Sa'Haa dodges that topic. "That's something the Punishers would be concerned with, not me."

Then our welcoming party arrives. A short and stiff Picard at the center, a very tall and youthful Riker on the left, and an alluring and voluptuous Troi on the right, all with the olive skin of imperials and wearing the black velvet uniform of the Imperial Army. Deanna's face is serious, so I hold myself back from immediately flirting with her.

"Your Highnesses, we're your new officers," Riker cheerfully greets with a handsome smile.

"Captain Cyril, at your service," Picard solemnly introduces himself.

"Executive Officer Damian," Riker follows, still smiling.

"Lead Mage Supervisor Helena," Troi finishes, still impassive.

"Pleasure to meet you all," Yunia politely replies.

Then Damian surprises us by showing a bit of boldness. "And we're grateful to you for defeating our predecessor and giving us this opportunity," he smoothly declares.

"It was the Imperial Army itself that chose you to serve us, so you should be grateful to them," I sensibly reply.

And Riker gives me Riker smirk. "It was you who relieved the incompetents of their positions."

Yunia and I snort amusedly, but Cyril is a bit uncomfortable with his XO's boldness, though I like how Sa'Haa's unamused stare doesn't even faze him, so I let him off the hook for this behavior. If this was a calculated move, he seems to know us well.

They give us a tour of the interior, which is spacious and well-ventilated but packed with supplies for an army of mages. There are some big enchanted ballistae that are kept hidden in the lower hull until necessary, and an even bigger one is kept in the upper dome.

The ship doesn't have defensive enchantments, and since using the mages to create a ship-wide barrier is inefficient, they have to protect their valuable weapons with armor alone. If we put a Chimera [Wind Shield] gem in this ship, we'd have to refurbish it entirely and rip out the armor as it'd be unnecessary weight, so it might be more efficient to just build a new ship instead of overhauling this one.

But there's no point in thinking about this too hard since it won't be relevant for a long time.

Will the Elder Council even allow us to keep the Titles to begin with…?

The second cool thing is that there's a "television" enchantment all over the bridge, and it's very similar to the one used in the Throne of Ascension. It allows us to see out of the ship in all directions, which is excellent since there are quite a few centimetris of metal and also metris of rooms between it and the outside.

This enchantment is the only thing they have on the Chimeras, whose ships need the bridge to be on the front of the ship and made of a glass dome so that they can actually see where they're going. If we can copy this enchantment, we might have to come up with a whole new class of airship since neither Chimera nor Imperial designs would take full advantage of what we could do.

Anyway, Riker doesn't try any more jokes, Troi is too professional to flirt, and Picard is as stiff as they come, so the inspection is quite boring. Allura shows a lot of childish wonder at seeing the interior of the ship, and Lina is excited about the TV enchantment, so their reactions are the only entertaining things that come out of this inspection.

After ensuring that they have a way to communicate with Sandoro, we promptly leave them because I'm getting impatient about going home.

When we arrive at the [Eternal Gate] Network, we see Caterina waiting for us at the entrance alongside Kyora's harem.

"Glad to see that you've accepted our invitation, Captain Caterina," I smoothly greet her.

The stern milf nods politely and smiles, "Thank you for this favor, Your Highness. Templars rarely have the chance to use the Network as it's always considered a luxury."

And the Wandering Knight quartet all nod repeatedly in agreement.

Then Hana immediately pounces on the chance to flirt. "After you abandoned us for so long due to work, we thought it'd be too bothersome if we had to wait for you to make the journey before we could see you again," she eagerly confesses.

Caterina seems like she wants to argue that she didn't "abandon" us, but Hana's smirk makes her too wary to fall into a trap and leave herself vulnerable to flirting, so she bites her tongue and hardens her expression as she nods.

"We'll be paying for this use of the Network, so you shouldn't worry about the cost," Sa'Haa states matter-of-factly.

"Oh?" Yunia hums and turns to the owl.

And the owl's feathers rise up in pride as she haughtily declares, "We're Princesses, so we can use the Network at no cost, but don't worry, we won't consider this a favor."

Yunia takes it in stride and politely replies, "Well, we appreciate your kindness. Even for Crown Lords, the Network is too expensive to use too often." And the five Templars nod at the Princess in appreciation.

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"Don't mention it," she hums back.

Okay, the female dog can be agreeable, but only sometimes.

And then we start the goodbyes.

We start with Mako and Omari, who get simple and quick handshakes. Then we move on to Vanea, who pulls me into a hug, and one of her hands falls onto my ass, so I mirror her and get a handful of a tight cheek.

"I'll be waiting for you to dominate those Realm Travelers," she whispers sultrily in my ears, but I notice that her intensity is a bit more subdued than usual.

Should I really put my dick in crazy…?

"You play with fire, teasing me like this," I growl back.

And her tone becomes even more steamy. "I'm confident I can handle your rage."

I might be a bit crazy myself.

Then we disentangle, and I give Kyros a strong handshake.

"Once again, I'll be forever grateful to you," the salt and peppered imperial sincerely repeats.

"Just taking out the trash," I ferociously reply, and we both chuckle.

I give little Thelma a headpat, and she almost melts from my skilled touch.

"Goodbye, Thelma," I whisper warmly.

"Bye!" she exclaims cutely and waves.

Then the Verners are next.

"I'll miss you," Allura whispers wistfully to her sister as they hug.

"Oh, we know you will," Alissa replies suggestively.

"You'll all miss us dearly," I cheekily add and smirk at Léonne.

The foxy milf simply nods and agrees, "Of course. We look forward to having many orgies with you in the future."

"My dear… watch your phrasing," Jacques quietly complains, his posture stiff with unease.

"I phrased it precisely how I wanted to," she replies soberly, then flashes a smirk.

So I decide to join in by patting the big red beast on the arm as I declare, "I'm looking forward to releasing loads with you, Jacques. Get yourself some bed skills so you can keep up, eh?"

And he narrows his eyes at me, considering whether or not it's worth it to give in to my taunt. "I only keep up enough to satisfy my wives. Increasing my stamina would just make me unnecessarily lust for more," he judiciously answers and crosses his arms, pleased with his own verbal evasion.

Ofilia suddenly blushes and smiles uncontrollably, and Alissa guesses that it's because he referred to her as a "wife" and not just a maid.

But I have a secret card to play that he can't escape from, so I turn to Léonne and calmly state, "Then you should increase your stamina and encourage him to get more wives. Orgies become more fun with more people."

"Not sure about the second part, but sure, I will," she calmly responds.

I smile warmly and state, now completely earnest, "We'll look forward to our next meeting then."

And she mirrors my expression. "Likewise."

Then I shake Jacques' massive hand, give Léonne a quick but tight hug to feel her pair and take in her intoxicating perfume, share a nod with Ofilia, and play with Allura's mouth for a couple of minutes, leaving her out of breath. The shameless young fox tries to get my friend out, but I don't let her, and then I get a bit hot just from thinking about how thirsty she is for me.

But before she can say anything, Alissa surprises her with a Frenchie and then leaves her hanging just as she begins to really get into it. Again, Alissa isn't gay. She just loves doing things that give me boners, like being gay with her sister.

"Screw you guys for making me excited," the younger fox whines as she realizes that there won't be any release for her.

I ignore her and soothingly state, "We'll truly miss you." Then I give her sensitive ears a quick [Massage].

"We'll have a lot of fun next time we meet, and I don't mean spicy stuff," Alissa kindly adds.

I release Allura's ears, and her shoulders start to sag in sadness. "Screw you for making me emotional," she mumbles and dries the corners of her eyes.

So Alissa and I give her a tight hug. We really like this thirsty and energetic fox.

She takes a minute to get a hold of her emotions, then we give her a peck and move on to the next set of goodbyes.

"I'd like to present you three with this…" I begin and motion for the Companions, who pull out three of our standard-issue enchanted bows, which are considerably more powerful than the average adventurer's bow, exactly the kind that the Rafeslia trio uses.

"I-I don't know what to say," Khepri mumbles, completely stunned.

"A 'thank you,' to start," Edjo composedly replies with a smirk.

"Thank you!" her two companions immediately exclaim.

And I soothe them, "This isn't anything special. We just want you three to stay safe."

"And maybe come visit us, hm?" Hana adds and raises her eyebrows suggestively.

The three of them had a lot of "fun" with the wives, so we're sure they'll be tempted to visit and spend some time with us again.

"Escanso has opened itself up quite a lot to adventurers ever since we became its Lords," Alissa piles on, and light appears in Edjo's cat eyes, but then she frowns pensively.

"Rafeslia doesn't operate in the High Forest…" the catgirl hesitatingly states.

Her bubbly companion is a lot more optimistic. "But I don't think it'll be that hard to convince a guild of women to come adventure at a town ruled by Lord Wolf," Khepri cheekily retorts.

That seems to be enough to convince Edjo, who drops the frown for a subtle smirk as she jokes, "Then we'll definitely come and ask you to take responsibility."

To avoid falling into her trap, I don't say anything and just grin instead.

"We're all former adventurers, so we'll always treat the adventurers right," Hana states reassuringly.

"There will always be some elves that are arrogant and hostile to outsiders, but you'll have the Lords supporting you," Yunia soberly adds, and the trio nod in understanding.

"But you have to visit, even if it's just to have fun," Roxanne affably continues.

And Edjo states confidently, "We will. One way or another, we'll visit one day."

Then the hugging and kissing starts.

Intermission – Urmeie

"Am I the only one who thinks this is weird?" I ask out loud as the Ryders have an orgy of kisses.

"How so?" Chieftess Léonne coolly inquires. This woman makes me wary because she seems twice as shrewd as Sa'Haa.

"The number of relationships the Ryders have. Not even my Dad is like that," I hum in confusion.

The stern fox nods and answers as if it's obvious, "My daughter is Blessed by the Goddess of Love."

"You'll just have to accept that that's the way they are," her alluring husband adds.

And even her daughter comes to their defense, "He's talking from experience. There's no explanation; the Ryders are just incredible like that."

"Incredible" indeed…

"Everything is fine as long as they're all happy, no?" Dame Vanea sweetly asks.

Even I know that Vanea agreeing with someone isn't actually a good thing.

So I turn to my sister, who seems completely uninterested in the conversation. Which is odd since she's giving up on the opportunity to bicker with Vanea.

"Really? You have no thoughts about this?" I can't help but taunt her.

She gives me a tired glare and begins her spiel, "I've already given my opinion once. If the Ryders want to mingle with their 'lessers,' then it's their reputation that takes a hit. I don't want to be seen-…"

But she almost makes me fall asleep with just a few words, so I interrupt her, "Okay, okay, I've remembered that I already know what you think, and I'd rather not listen to you rant. I'm just surprised that so many women like to get into casual relationships with them."

"Magical sword," Chieftess Léonne states.

"Magical seed," her shameless daughter follows up.

I never knew that the Misty Foxes were such "fun" people…

"They're also very friendly with everyone, and their high 'Charisma' helps," her big-dicked, more-bear-than-fox husband actually gives me the answer I was looking for.

"I guess I'm too high level for that shit to work on me," I hum with a shrug.

"Likewise," Sa'Haa agrees.

"Your loss," the shameless daughter replies with a grin.

And now Sa'Haa has one more name to add to her long, long list of "I don't like you" people.

I mean, I'm also on that list, so I guess this Allura is a fun person.

Then I turn to the curious mature elf watching the kiss orgy impassively. "And what about you, Punisher? Lord Hanafuria is very flirty with you," I immediately ask, and she seems surprised that I'm actually talking to her.

"She doesn't have as many relationships as Lord Wolf…" the Punisher answers evasively.

"Hmm…?" I grunt inquisitively, but she simply ignores me.

Well… I think I like this one.

Intermission end.

Edjo's kiss is bittersweet. She seems to really like me, though it feels like it's more respect than love, similar to the rest of the Companions. Khepri's kiss is hungry and steamy, but she's enjoyed Hana's company more than mine. She just loves my sword. And Laguly's is wistful. The tomboy siren has enjoyed staying with us, though she doesn't know how to put it into words.

The Companions then say their goodbyes to the Rafeslia trio. Though they had some "fun" together, they also trained together, and Lordsguard training is specifically made to strengthen bonds, so their camaraderie is stronger than their lust. There's a chance they'd pull a Nikolas or Lolo if we stayed longer, but I'm too homesick to bet on that, and the fact that they belong to Rafeslia greatly diminishes the chances that they'd come with us.

And the last one is Andrea. She might have had a bit of fun with everyone, but she's a sword-hungry, obedient, submissive, and breedable female dog through and through.

"Don't pull it out here, please," Sa'Haa tiredly requests as I slip one inside the dog.

I smirk at the female dog-y owl, then use all of my tools to give Andrea a quick apex, and the Doberman woman leans against me, breathing heavily and holding herself back from voicing it out loud. I can deal with not getting my sword wet this time, but I need to imprint upon Andrea's mind that she belongs to me.

"I'll be eagerly waiting for our next meeting," I whisper into her pointy ear.

"Say 'Yes, Master,'" Alissa whispers into the other.

"Yes… M-Master-…!" the female dog answers with a trembling voice as she reaches the apex from my hand.

"Good…" I whisper huskily, then assume a more normal tone. "And sorry about keeping you from your job for so long."

"It's fine… they'll understand," she weakly reassures me.

I take my hand out and lick up the small drop of white cream she left on my fingers, then I [Clean] her to not leave her smelling of female "excitement."

And with that, we're off.

We cross through the white veil of the huge [Eternal Gate], and the warm and mildly salty air of Mac Gantus is replaced with the more humid and mossy air of Escanso. The colorful tiles become glossy wood full of intricate patterns; the bright illumination becomes more moody and gentle; and the stern imperial guards become the respectful and welcoming elves.

Home, sweet home.

And at the exit of the Network is our welcoming party. Osaria, Poosh, Kaatohe, Klein (who looks tired from the trip as the Floater kept flying overnight), the maids, and a small group of Companions, all eagerly waiting for us.

I make a beeline for Poosh and Osaria's pairs, then pull in Kaatohe with my tail and force her to also suffocate in pillows.

"Nyah!" my bare bronze cat exclaims in surprise.

"I missed you all~…!" I whine, my voice muffled by the big mounds full of the hopes and dreams of men and lesbians alike.

"We also missed you, Your Highness," Poosh kindly coos back and hugs my horns.

"Things are rather boring around here without Your Highnesses," Osaria states, a noticeable hunger in her tone.

I noticed that my milf's libido steadily dropped with each day we were away, to the relief of the maids, but I guess it'd be pretty depressing for Osaria to not be bred every day like she's been getting accustomed to.

Kaatohe remains silent, still a tsundere, but she also seems to be enjoying the pillows.

"Group hug!" Roxanne suddenly exclaims.

And even the maids join in.

"I agree that they're a bit weird…" Sa'Haa quietly remarks, and Urmeie snorts loudly.

Of course, I haven't forgotten about Osaria taking Thea's first time, and her punishment will be meted out tonight.