"What?" I ask Alissa as she just stares at me, a lazy smile on her cute red lips.

"I just love watching you talk about work. You look so passionate it's mesmerizing," she happily answers with a foxy smile.

"I also like to watch Garanae practice magic. His serious look is so handsome," Hatara chimes in, and her shameless flirting makes her chaste husband fidget in happy embarrassment.

And Alissa's gaze becomes sly as she continues, "But it's the 'passionate' part, specifically, that I love. When Wolfy talks with Lyle, his face looks similar to when he's with me, so I can't help but imagine the two doing it. With Wolfy on top, of course."

"Oh my," Hatara hums and smirks suggestively.

Garanae decidedly doesn't enjoy the topic as even though he had a crush on Alissa, he still has (or maybe, now, had) a lot of respect for her. The young man definitely dips on both sides because while he tries to be virtuous, I'm sure Hatara isn't.

But I'm just focusing on him to ignore Lyle's reaction, which is like that of a shy young maiden being teased, an expression that I've seen many times before, and a sight that I'd rather not register in my memory.

"Gify says that this event will be impossible to forget as we've already recorded it in our memories," Ted solemnly reports through [Bind].

Why, you-…!

Why do the girls love to torture me with gay shit so much?

"Because you're always so manly and domineering. It's like teasing Lina with Ciel's cow pair," Yunia answers matter-of-factly.

"Please don't tease me like that," the little flat girl pleads.

Okay, I get it, but it's still torture.

"You torture me with your painful 'memes,'" Alissa dryly replies.

"Ha! Can't handle some bantz?" Roxanne promptly follows with a tease.

I want to say "no," but the prideful dragon takes over and keeps my mouth shut.

"What an interesting reaction, Wolf," Hatara slowly remarks, staring at me with impish eyes reminiscent of a certain spicy demon woman I know.

Tactical retreat!

I stand up and smoothly announce, "I've given Lyle enough guidance for now. If you'll excuse me, I have other business to attend to."

"Uh…? Ah, o-okay…" Lyle mumbles bashfully, and I refuse to look him in the eye.

I need eye bleach!

"Until next time, Your Highness," Hatara politely replies. This girl has matured into someone scary. My condolences to Garanae because I don't think it's easy for such a sweet boy like him to handle this budding femme fatale.

Yunia volunteers to be my eye bleach, so she accompanies me as we take a stroll through the inner and outer circles of mansions around the castle. When we reach the Shell, we take an open carriage pulled by Gatuns and have some thirsty Companions accompany us.

We could simply take a [Gate], but we feel like taking an enjoyable ride, though I soon begin to feel a bit awkward.

"Their Highnesses…!" hushed gasps follow in our wake. The commoners almost all recognize us from the huge portraits of our faces on all four cardinal directions of the Shell, and even those who don't know who we are only need to look up to have their answer.

While Yunia revels in this kind of attention, it's still a bit much for me. I revel in desire, not open worship, so I don't get much satisfaction out of it unless it's a blushing woman.

The Companions are all wearing armor and walking alongside the carriage, except for one who's a mage and is standing solemnly at a salience behind our seats. She's a pretty silver elf with the budding mature air of a woman in her twenties, but when our eyes meet, she blushes like a young maiden. Her hair is tied up inside the hood of her robe, but even with a partially shrouded face, it's obvious she's just as beautiful as any other elf.

Curiously, she should be wearing standard scale armor, but her thin robe seems to hug her slender body in just the right spots. She'll get a reprimand for not wearing armor, but she's also just the right size and weight to fit on my lap, so I feel tempted. She isn't as perfect as my lap loli but is just enough to satisfy me.

I stare at her, making her tense up adorably. Then I huskily order, "You, Mara, sit on my lap."

"Y-you know my name?" she quietly squeaks in surprise.

And I merely nod but don't elaborate.

She hesitates for a moment and glances at her comrades, who flash her envious and annoyed looks. Then she guiltily vaults over the seats and obediently sits on my bulge.

"I've already been with you once, haven't I?" I inquire with a smirk.

"Y-you have, Your Highness," she quietly answers with a shy nod.

Then I grab her small chin and reminisce about a certain sight. "And your mouth has already tasted it, hasn't it?"

She nods again, and the memory of her deepthroating me becomes clear in my mind. "It has, Your Highness."

"Good," I whisper seductively and sneak a hand through the back opening of her robe. Then I slither a tentacle and start. "Hold your voice, or I'll stop."

She nods repeatedly and holds a hand over her mouth to prevent her whimpers from leaking out. Even though she's trying to remain composed, the way her body subtly shudders in pleasure is delightful to see.

I lay back and just leisurely play with her body, but I also sling my free arm around Yunia's shoulder and cup a feel of a juicy pillow. My Queen is also attracted to Mara's beauty, so we both happily observe her as the Companion slowly goes mad with pleasure.

Escanso is as beautiful as always. A colorful town full of tree-houses and houses merged with trees, with beautiful crowns of leaves serving as roofs and bark shaped in mesmerizing elven patterns. All neatly arranged in blocks of houses and divided by many concentric rings of roads, leading to possibly the most well-organized town in the entire world.

And as we make our way along these beautiful roads, Mara rests in my arms, exhausted to the point she's almost falling asleep. But she's still on duty, so I offer her a cup of hot tonique tea, which she prefers over coffee since she isn't used to its bitter taste. Though she definitely has a taste for my bitterness.

We leave Yunia at the Lord's Hall in the Nobles' Quarter to meet with the Mayor and get a personal update on the state of our territory. Then the carriage continues to the Institute, and by the time we get there, Mara has recovered enough to walk on her own.

At this moment, Ciel finishes reporting what Kyros told us to Teresina.

And my favorite gilf sighs tiredly in response. "Unfortunately, nobles researching immortality is a recurring problem, though narrowing it down to the extended royal family will help a lot with future investigations," she calmly states.

Stolen story; please report.

Ciel nods and sweetly thanks our stern ally, "Thank you for always being so helpful. You and your daughter have done a lot for our family."

Teresina hesitates for just a split second, but that's enough evidence that her heart has been struck. "Hm, of course," she proudly replies. "My daughter does it with gusto as she's never had the chance to kill so many heretics before." -Ciel's expression stiffens in discomfort, but she keeps her smile on her face- "Though, as for me, I'd rather you gave me less work. It's hard to keep up with you young Lords."

And Ciel chuckles softly. "Apologies for giving you trouble. I think Wolfy himself is responsible for a good part of it."

Hey!

"I'm inclined to agree," Teresina hums, and they share cordial chuckles. Such a gentle expression actually fits well with the gilf's stern beauty, but it only lasts for a short moment as she then becomes curious about something. "This 'Kyros' noble. You said his granddaughter is a weredog?"

"Yes, why?"

"Katasko is notorious for being human supremacists. Why would a man married to a weredog join them?"

Ciel's happiness deflates as even she starts to smell a scheme of some sort. "Kyros said his son was greedy."

Teresina's expression becomes severe. "And Kyros is an instructor of [Godly Language]?"

"Indeed."

She averts her eyes and plays with her teacup as she deliberates, "So he's not a noble of low standing, yet his son and his bond-daughter were murdered, and then he was forced to hide in Rabanara." Then she turns her eyes to Ciel again. "He's not telling you everything he knows."

Lina's Trivia: bond-daughter is a less silly way of saying not-blood-daughter, the equivalent of daughter-in-law for earthlings.

Ciel sighs in acceptance and dispiritedly adds, "He also said that all the evidence he had died with his son."

Teresina frowns. "What was this 'evidence'?"

"A sample of 'immortal' flesh and reports suggesting that it could be used for immortality."

"I'd be skeptical that this 'sample' was lost."

Could he or Thelma be immortal?

But this topic is making Ciel very uncomfortable. Her first instinct is to defend Kyros and the innocent Thelma, and none of the girls try to stop her. "But we didn't notice anything wrong with Thelma. Not only that, but Kyros is a friend of ours and a close ally of one of our allies. I'm uncomfortable with questioning him."

And the former Punisher's first instinct is to be unyielding, but there seems to be at least a bit of respect for us in her as she decides to deflect toward me, "Does your husband have the same opinion as you?"

I… don't know what to think.

"He's likely more neutral," Ciel answers hesitantly, and a silence falls between them.

"You have time to think this through," Teresina advises, her tone reassuring but still firm.

"Is everything alright, Your Highness?" Mara quietly asks me, looking worried.

"Yes, I just have a lot on my mind," I answer absentmindedly.

And we continue on through the Institute while I try to put this matter with Kyros aside. The idea that he's hiding something from me feels like a betrayal, though I'd understand if he's been keeping something secret since it most likely concerns Thelma. I'd do the same.

Anyway, the Institute is still full of Chimeras doing Chimera things, which is a nice, distracting sight. I even notice that some of them belong to the research teams, and they notice that I've noticed them, so they scurry away to not look like they're slacking, but I don't really mind since I want to leave this sort of thing for the team leaders to deal with.

I'm eager to ask about the research on the Raki and tell them to hire more people and expand the research teams, but I'm itching for a juicy white rabbit.

Nono's and Petra's summoning research lab has been moved underground, so there's now just an [Eternal Gate] in their old lab, which the Companions and I promptly take. The lab is far underground, a simple room of dark stone with two tables full of books and notes. There's an open door that leads to a stairway up, and on the other side, there's a heavy emellanat door left ajar, through which female voices can be heard.

I pull it open, noticing how it seems to be enchanted, just like that secret room under the Alkimeonids' estate, but then my target falls within my sights, and I lose all reason.

"Y-Your Highness…!" I hear two squeaks, but I don't even register them.

Nono reflexively takes a step back but hits the metal wall and remains still like a cornered animal. I stop before her and lean forward, touching our foreheads together as I hit the wall with my forearm and pin her against it in a perfect kabedon.

"I'm back, my little bunny," I whisper seductively and stare intensely into her turquoise pair of jewels.

Nono's whiskers twitch as she stares back, her jaw hanging loose, her hairs standing on end, and her breath quickening. Her instincts have decided to have her freeze in place instead of fly or fight as she's already in the claws of her favorite predator.

"I'll leave you two alone," Petra dryly announces and quickly walks out of the room.

I turn to the Companions and state with a grin, "You may stay and watch, if you want." And I'm sure they do.

Then I turn back to Nono and steal her lips as I sneak a hand under her skirt. It doesn't take her long to become ready for me, and then I Ravage her until her legs give out.

"Ah… it's over…" one of the Companions whispers quietly in disappointment.

"She lasted longer than we do…" Mara frustratedly adds, and I can just imagine her biting her lip under her hood.

I slide out, and a long stream leaks out onto the metal floor, then drips down through the slits between the plates and gets absorbed by the emellanat under it. I'm glad they had the foresight of covering the emellanat room with metal because it's unpleasant for a person with [Mana Body], such as myself, to touch the magic-absorbing metal.

"Mara, come clean her up," I order as I pull out a reclining chair, then lay Nono's almost unconscious body on it.

"Yes, Your Highness," the little slut happily replies.

I take note of the names of the other Companions, intending to reward them with a good plowing later since I've been favoring Mara so much this time.

And Nono's weak voice echoes for a little while longer in the wide, mostly empty room.

"Good girl," I praise Mara and pull down her hood so that I can kiss the top of her head. The obedient slut beams with a smile, then returns to her position, and I begin the aftercare for Nono.

The juicy white rabbit's body is gently cleaned of sweat as I apply [Regeneration] to her spine, allowing her to move her legs again. Then I give her muscles a bit of a [Massage] along with a [Refresh] to hasten their recovery. My little rabbit goes from catatonic, to wobbly, to tender, to tired, to mostly recovered in just ten minutes.

Then I finally dress her up and join her in the reclining chair.

"How have you been, Nono?" I gently ask her as she makes herself comfortable on my chest.

"I've been doing well. I just got worried when I heard that you were going to participate in that 'Purification' thing…" she timidly replies, her ears becoming increasingly floppy with each word.

"There was no risk of me dying, though," I attempt to soothe her as I play with her ears.

She reacts just like every wereanimal that has their weak spot attacked and loses herself to my touch for a moment before she regains enough composure to continue, "Silf talked about how the heretics hate you, and then the Punishers suddenly started a purge…" she trails off, unsure how to continue.

"I'm sorry for worrying you," I whisper in her ear and kiss her forehead.

Her fluffy little tail wags for a moment in response, but then she gently shakes her head as her ears regain their vigor. "It's not your fault. I just… I just can't help but get worried."

"I understand."

Then she suddenly pushes her body up and stares at me intensely. "Let's not talk about this anymore. I want to show you our progress!" she excitedly exclaims with a wide smile gracing her juicy red lips.

And I smile back in kind. "Then let's recall Petra."

"Oh, right…" she mumbles embarrassedly, and her whiskers twitch awkwardly.

One of the Companions calls her back, and soon the chaste young noblewoman stiffly walks back into the room. She looks as pretty as ever with her bountiful, curly black hair, but her Victorian-like dress hides much of her figure, leaving me only with my imagination.

I'd like to have a full Sommerlande like herself in my harem since the darkest person in it so far is Romy, but she's Asian, so I lack a true ebony beauty. Maybe I'll have more of a chance with Mizushina, Hana's sister, because even though she seems to be a rather cold person, at least Hana would fully support me seducing her, and the same can't be said for Petra's father.

The young [Alchemicism] practitioner warily glances at the spot where I Ravaged Nono, but there's no sign of it left, so she quickly averts her eyes and walks towards the only feature in this room of metal plates: a small, transparent, glass water basin on top of a metal pedestal. I notice that the upper part of the basin is glowing faintly with what seems to be Moonlight Moss, and through the basin, I can see that it holds a small amount of faintly silvery liquid reminiscent of mercury, but more watery.

Nono cheerfully gets off the chair, and her legs wobble a bit, but she remains on her feet. Then she walks towards the basin with a bit more control as she calls, "You've got to see this, Wolfy. This is what we've created."

I get up, store the reclining chair, and happily follow after her juicy ass and wagging fluffy rabbit tail. But when I get to the basin, my "spiciness" is replaced by scholarly curiosity as my [Sense Mana] tingles with a very exquisitely-flavored mana.

"What is this?" I blurt out.

"We don't know," Petra calmly answers.

I raise an eyebrow questioningly at her, and Nono chuckles softly.

"Petra is very cautious, but this is supposedly otherworldly-power-infused mana from the moon," the cute bunny girl happily explains.

"What does 'otherworldly-power-infused' mana do?" I hum back confusedly.

Petra narrows her eyes at her cheerful lab partner and corrects, "We don't know, and we also don't know if it's 'otherworldly-power-infused' mana."

Nono shrugs. "It's our best guess."

"[Alchemicism] doesn't deal with certainties," the noblewoman states matter-of-factly.

"How prudent," I gently praise her.

And she flashes a polite smile. "Thank you."

"Now, how are you going to test what it does?" I continue.

Petra carefully grabs the basin and rocks it a little bit to stir the silvery liquid within. "That's the question. This is all that we've managed to create over a whole day-cycle, so we want to be very careful about how we use it."

It is indeed very little, barely 100ml, I'd say.

And Nono soberly continues, "I want to have my elemental drink it, but its magical body might interfere with the results."

Then Petra raises her eyes back up to me. "Since Your Highness has a higher level in summoning magic as well as physical summonable monsters, you might be a more proper candidate for this."

"Ooh~… alright, when can we start?" I excitedly ask.