As we finish our tea Anton suddenly turns serious, "Wait… Hana, are you trying to become a noble to save your father?"

Osaria and Laertes frown, suddenly very interested in Anton's words.

Hana glances at me and smiles shyly, "Yes… it's at least part of the reason."

"'Save'…? Is your father in jail?" Osaria asks.

"He is. Our family fell to a conspiracy so we were all arrested." These words make Osaria's expression melt. A motherly air comes from her as she looks at Hana with sympathy. "My parents should still be in jail while my siblings are likely working as Blood Slaves somewhere."

"And you are a slave too?" Osaria's tone is very kind.

Her hand lands again on my head, "My master and husband-to-be, Wolf."

I strain a smile as every eye falls on me.

Osaria looks away, realizing something. Her mouth slowly curves into a very wide white smile, then it twitches as she tries to search for the right words but no sound comes out. Eventually, she covers her mouth with her hand and chuckles.

She quickly controls herself and clears her throat, "Sorry, no disrespect towards you, Hana, it's just that I realized what you have been doing to Rande all this time."

She looks at me and we grin at each other. We are kindred spirits.

"So…" Laertes interrupts our bonding, "You are his Blood Slave and his wife?"

"Fiance. We will end the contract once we become nobles," I answer.

He turns to Hana, "I don't really understand how such a relationship works. Don't your vows conflict with the duty of a Blood Slave?"

"Vows are different for each person. They are made to fit the relationship, not the other way around," Ciel says and Osaria nods repeatedly.

"My vows aren't that much different from what a Blood Slave already does. It's just that it's mutual," Hana says with a shrug.

"All of our vows are like that. In truth, we may be more like a group marriage instead of us all only marrying Wolf," Ciel adds.

Krista raises her eyebrows, "So you, uh, all share?"

Ciel suddenly finds herself with her face on fire so she stays quiet while she deals with it. Alissa answers in her stead. "Everything," she says, almost purring.

Anton, Krista, and Laertes all look at Klein questioningly, who has a smile creeping up on her face. Osaria's eyes dart between me and Roxanne, who plays with her tail nervously.

Anton turns to Hana and shows some concern as he speaks, "What about your harem? You were crazy about the boys back then."

Boys?

Hana's expression stiffens. "When I got sold as a Blood Slave I resolved to myself that I would never search for them. I am neither a Yokubo nor a Tranfkoever anymore, I am simply Hana, Blood Slave of my master."

"You hardly look like a slave, Hana. Both of them were crazy about you."

She grits her teeth and sends a forced smile to Anton, "What are you suggesting that I do, big man?"

He cringes and looks away, "Sorry, didn't mean to disrespect."

"Wolf is a sword and he parries all others."

I contain a chuckle as the others give me awkward glances. Osaria's seems a little disappointed, though.

"So, who were those boys?" Roxanne asks, tapping the table in slight annoyance.

Hana lifts her hands in surrender and smiles, "Two guards that my Dad hired. They were kept close to me to keep my emotions flaring, it helped me be more ferocious. Once I was married they would likely join me and become part of my harem."

"Do you want to meet them?" I ask.

"Better not…" She smiles awkwardly.

"You actually do have your own harem now so it's not like you are worse off," Alissa comments with a mischievous smile on her face.

Hana sends a fearsome glance to Klein, who nervously rubs her legs together. "Oh yes, I am having all the fun I can."

"Right…" Laertes interrupts while rubbing his eyes. "So, Krista is our cook. What kind of dishes are you planning on serving us?" He tries to change the topic.

Talking about Hana certainly isn't helpful for his plans.

Krista has [Cooking] at level 10 so she has quite a lot of information to share with us. Small details and personalized methods to cook just about any sort of food we will ever come across. Add that to her small talent in [Space Magic] and she's basically a portable chef.

"If anything, Krista is responsible for keeping our 'Sanity' intact," Osaria praises the weremonkey who turns a little shy and almost mirrors Klein's behavior.

The conversation dies down and turns into gossip and banal exchanges, allowing me to concentrate on [Massage]ing Alissa's ears. Her expression of pleasure attracts the attention of Klein, who sends me the occasional glance, and Osaria, who starts to play with her own long, flexible ears.

Osaria has lots of knowledge about elven history so she and Lina get in an argument about the interpretation of the passage of time before the Age of the Sun. Without a periodic cycle of day and night, some timelines become ambiguous as it isn't possible to truly know how long things took.

Osaria's argument is that the elven accounts are more accurate due to their orderly nature and strict schedules. She cites that the God of Law being elven is a fact that backs her argument. Lina calls bullshit, though in a respectful way, and cites how even the dwarves who live underground and in perpetual darkness have the necessity of using clocks to accurately keep time.

I would like to support Lina's argument with my own knowledge of biology, but Alissa and I are far too engrossed in trying to make Klein envious that I don't feel like participating.

Once evening comes around, we go our separate ways. Our bath is another - party.

-

We spend the evening in our room again.

"You feel that? The mana coursing through your body?" Roxanne asks the golems.

"Yes," they answer in unison.

"Kweh!"

"Do you also feel prickly or tickly?" She continues.

"Prickly?"

"Tickly?"

"Kweh!"

"Uh…"

I reach over and scratch Suzy's body softly, just enough intensity that would make me feel tickly too. "Feel that?" I ask.

"Yes."

"Did it feel different than normal?"

"Yes, but, it was, just, softer."

"Hm… Try to remember how I reacted when I was tickled in the past."

"You, laughed," Ted says.

"Where? Where was he tickled?" Alissa demands an answer with sadism in her eyes.

"Wait, n-…"

"Armpits."

She immediately pounces on me. Her dexterous hands reach below my shirt and softly rub my armpits.

"Oh-oh," I moan weakly as a jolt of stimulation invades me. "N-no!"

Suddenly my arms are grabbed and I'm pulled backwards. I see Hana's evil smile staring down at me while Alissa ravages my flanks.

"N-nooo, aha… NO! AHAH, ah… AH! AHAHAHAH, N-NOO! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

My laughter is interrupted for a few seconds as Alissa's lips cover mine. Then she keeps her face a few centimeters from mine, her sadistic eyes locked into mine.

"NOOo~~….!" I protest one last time before succumbing to the torture and laughing out loud.

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

With a trembling body I recollect myself and curl into a fetal position near the corner of the bed. Alissa grabs my head and lays it on her lap, her vicious fingers now calm and tender.

Today is the 8th.

-

Roxanne sneaks over -. Her smile then becomes a little creepy, "Wolfy, when are you going to give me a goblin to experiment on?"

"Oh, yeah. We can do it on the way to the High Forest. With Anton helping protect the caravan we can easily find a secluded spot for you to experiment on one."

"Bi~ind!" Aoi cries happily.

"Yes, yes, we will test [Bind] on the goblins, too."

"Then I will look for a shop where I can buy some more ingredients!" Roxanne happily exclaims and plants a kiss on my mouth.

"Hana and Ciel should go along with you, I will also give you two Shads and a Holly."

She nods happily -. "Hm-hmm… four delicious slabs of meat as my personal bodyguards!"

"Is that all I am to you?" Ciel asks with disdain in her voice.

"No, you are also the perfect punching bag for my banter because you don't fight back."

Hana hugs Roxanne from behind and gives her a bite on the neck, "We better establish a hierarchy. You two are my bitches while I'm the top bitch."

Roxanne's tail rubs on Hana -, catching her by surprise. "Only because I let you," she says, seductively.

Hana growls and pulls Roxanne off Ciel. They immediately start to wrestle.

"Are we going now or after lunch? Klein likely wants to meet up with us in the afternoon or evening," Ciel says and they immediately stop.

Hana clicks her tongue and pulls Roxanne's tail out of her -.

We have a calm breakfast. The bread today was very nutty and sweet, almost cake-like. We also got shredded beef cooked inside the leaves of some fruit, likely the not-olives that accompanied it.

We didn't see Rande, Osaria or Klein, so we retreated back to our room while the three others, plus Aoi, went to the market nearby.

I focus on my [Soul Manipulation]. I'm making some progress, managing to keep my soul where I want while I have my eyes open. Though, once I lose concentration it slowly returns to me.

At least I can now use the "soul touch" to stimulate them anytime I want.

Wait, I can even use it discreetly, just a small touch would be enough to arouse someone. Is it harassment if I use it on Klein to seduce her?

I can see that Roxanne found a nice cozy shop. The four girls enter the shop and disappear from Holly's sight.

I drop down on the bed and relax for a while as I gather my energy back.

I see that Lina is completely immersed in her training. She's training [Weaken]. By focusing her will and hate solely on one person she can make the target tire easily and be more vulnerable to physical damage. It is mentally draining to have to use your hate as part of the spell but she says she can handle it.

I reach over to Lina and push a little of my soul out of my body.

"A~ah!" She moans weakly and stares at me wide-eyed. "W-Wolfy, what did you do?"

"My version of [Soul Touch], a literal one," I say with an evil grin.

"Mean, you are mean," she pouts and turns away.

"Only because I love you."

She squirms from my attack.

The four girls leave the shop while chatting happily. Down the alley I see six hooded men dashing forward.

I feel my heart sink. The alley is completely empty aside from the girls, the target of the men is obvious.

I turn the Emergency Ring red repeatedly. Ciel looks at it and stops, she starts to talk to the girls.

Look behind you! BEHIND YOU!

I notice something odd, I can't hear any footsteps, the six large men aren't making a damn sound!

They all draw wooden clubs from below their cloaks. When they are on top of the girls, Hana notices them and draws her sword.

"AAA-…" The scream of the two men in front is muffled as the Shads attack their heads at the same time as they cover their mouths.

Everyone stands still for a moment, taking in everything. Hana acts first and slashes the throat of one of the incapacitated men.

Ciel draws her sword, then her, Roxanne, and Aoi fling spells at the survivors.

"Alissa, open the window! NOW!"

She jumps up from her meditation and obeys without question. I grab Lina and jump through the window, then I use [Telekinesis] to fall softly in the back alley. Alissa lands beside me in her fox form.

I pull out the reinforced dinghy and we all hop in.

"Alissa, fly to them, full speed."

I supply the mana while she controls the dinghy.

"They got attacked by six hooded men, there's only one left alive."

We get there in a few minutes. The girls moved to a narrow alley, it's more secluded than the one they were in. Ciel [Clean]ed up the blood, Roxanne stored the bodies in her [Item Box] and Hana is holding the survivor in place. The man is a typical imperial, he has olive skin and black hair. He looks dirty, his body is full of scars, and his jaw is crooked. His head is bloody, Hana hit him in the face with an [Earth Bullet] and he was passed out until Ciel [Heal]ed him.

I put 30 points in [Godly Language] and remove the gag from his mouth.

"Who sent you?" I speak lowly so the other girls aren't affected by it.

"Handsome imperial. Very strong 'n muscular, walked like he 'ad a big cock. Didn't give a name but 'is voice was very low 'n manly. Couldn't see 'is face but he 'ad a beautiful beard peekin' out from behind his hood. He did smell really good, of sweat, blood 'n metal," the man blabbers a description immediately.

"What…?"

He blinks repeatedly and then gasps, "What did you do to me!? Get out of my h-…"

Hana gags him again. "He's using slang, he's just a thug."

"Describe him again with as much detail as you can."

Hana removes the gag and he immediately starts to speak, his eyes wide open in disbelief, "Black cloak like the pissers, they don' like ta show their faces 'n you don' ask questions. Sword at his waist, looked average, no pisser comes with enchanted swords to the slums. Pants 'n boots look' tough, not a pisser himself but a piss-drinker. Beard was perfect, shaved square to make him look manlier, not that he needed. He walk' like he 'ad a rocks on his pants, bet 'is cock smelled of flowers 'n his cum taste' sweet."

"How did you track us."

He grimaces but his mouth moves without his permission, "Got a runner to stalk ye cunts. Piss-drinker knew where you slept, so the runner waited until the three cunts left then brought us here."

"Who's the runner?"

"Cy, small wereowl, girl loves ta suck dick even tho' she say she don't. Brown hair, brown feather, yellow eyes, small mouth, white skin, cute face for an orphan. Frail like ta ones starving 'cause she drinking too much of the poppy."

"Gag him."

Hana obeys and the man starts to struggle. I cast [Shocking Touch] and he immediately goes limp.

"What's a 'pisser?" I ask Hana.

"Noble or wealthy man. Someone who likes to order other people and 'piss on their heads' when someone doesn't obey them. 'Piss-drinker' are their servants."

"Poppy?"

"Drug, makes people go numb. Don't recommend it, very addictive."

"I've seen many orphans who get addicted to poppy to numb their pain," Ciel comments, her eyes are low with sadness, "When they get too old for the orphanage there's some who don't have the courage to join the guard, or sell themselves as slaves, so they turn to it instead."

I take the gag off and the man looks at me warily.

"Where's Cy?"

"Fuck if I kno', bitch musta be on the other side of town by now."

"Did she see us fight?"

"Hngh…" He tries to resist, "With a foxy lass like her nearby… she would be stupid if she did, too many trackers 'n sniffers in town." He motions to Alissa with his chin.

"If you try to resist I will make you feel more pain," I warn him.

He grits his teeth and looks at me in defiance that slowly crumbles to fear.

Can't stop the interrogation or he will get confident and try to resist.

"What were you paid to do?"

"Beat… t-them up bloody, then leave them… naked… as a message," he struggles to talk so I gag him and cast another [Shocking Touch].

"Who do you think hired you?"

This time he doesn't resist and keeps his eyes down while he speaks, "Not the pissing Lord, he hates imperials. Try to boot'em off anytime a soldier fucks up."

"More details."

"Fuck if I know! Trying to guess who piss I'm drinkin' don' matter, they all taste like piss!"

"Seriously disgusting, his obsession with urine," Roxanne comments, her nose wrinkled in disgust.

I look at the girls, "Any questions?"

"What does Cy smell like?" Alissa asks.

"Cum, sweat, poppy, dirt. We don' get yer fancy perfumes out 'ere…" He answers without looking at her. "If she smart, she is taking a bath right now."

"What did they tell you about us?" Hana asks.

"Nothing. Jus'ta not fight all of you at once and to catch ye by surprise, not that it fuckin' did anything! Fuckin' trap," his voice quickly turns into a mutter and he curls into a fetal position. "Fuckin' end this already."

I look at the girls again and they nod. I cast [Shocking Touch] on his head and he passes out, then Hana shoves her sword into the back of his skull.

"He's dead," Alissa says a few seconds later.

I store his body in my "Items."

"Give me the others, if our [Item Box]es are inspected then things could turn out badly," I say.

Their bodies are all in different states of butchery, none of the girls went easy.

We silently fly back to the inn.

"It's not Darean, he wouldn't hire thugs to beat us up after all we have done," Ciel says.

"Ankara knows our power, he also wouldn't do such a thing," I say.

"Then it's Katasko."

"But why? What kind of message do they want to send?" Alissa questioned.

Roxanne shrugs, "'Join us or else…' But they want us to join them… beca~use…?"

"Someone knows we are powerful but underestimated just how much," Lina answers.

"Could it be that our relationship with Vanea leaked?" I ask.

Ciel shrugs, "Could just be a greedy and powerful person who wants us because of our record."

"Five women, a little dragon that can speak and a nature spirit? Yeah, some people would love to have us," Hana comments with disgust on her face.

Roxanne's face distorts in anger, "Could even coerce us to abandon Wolfy…" she hisses.

"Katasko bragged too much about having the support of nobility, it's them," Alissa says.

Ciel's expression turns dark, "It's been a few generations since the last purge. A lot of filth must be getting stuck on the emperor's boot."

We go silent and share angry looks.

"We will deal with this as it comes," Ciel gives a pained smile. "We can't let them destroy our lives with hate."

"They underestimate us again and again. We just have to keep growing faster than they can throw shit at us," I add, then I smile with confidence, "Mark my words, one day I will destroy Katasko."

"We," Alissa corrects me.

"I won't let… I won't let anyone hurt us," Lina says, through gritted teeth, her words filled with anger.

"Don't… don't let anger taint you," Ciel says weakly. She looks anxiously at us, "I won't… I won't run, but I won't let myself succumb to anger."

As the leader, I also shouldn't.

"Some of us shouldn't, but some of us should," Hana affirms with certainty.

"Anger is what motivated me to create [Explosion]," Roxanne says, bitterly. "I don't want to go back to those times, always angry at something."

"I will be angry for the both of us," Hana says and pulls her into a hug.

Roxanne smiles weakly, "Thanks, but… I need to fight, regardless. It just feels like we stumbled onto something big. Katasko won't let us go with just that, more is coming."

"Nothing is impossible if we take it one day at a time," I say.

The screeching woman in my head feels like a far away cry right now.

Roxanne massages her horns and looks at Ciel, who nods with bitterness but resolve. She chuckles once and breathes in. Her chest puffed up, her chin raised high, her horn looking sharp, she says, "I won't ever back down on my vows, Wolfy. I entrust you with my life."

"And I entrust you with mine." I nod towards her with courage.

Aoi claws tickle my leg as she tries to grab my attention, "I vow, to kill, for you. To never, abandon you. To stay, by you, forever."

I chuckle and hold back the pain quickly rising from my throat, "I vow to kill for you. To never abandon you. To stay by your side, forever."

Aoi crawls up my chest and her dexterous tongue invades my mouth. It lasts for a short time and I catch myself wanting more.

Then I see Lina has her mouth hanging open and her expression is frozen in shock.

I push Aoi out of my lap and crawl over the bed towards Lina. I grab her face and make her stare into my eyes, "I will protect you, I will keep you safe, I will always support you and encourage you to grow. I will always love you, I will entrust you with my life."

Her pupils dilate, her breath quickens rapidly, her mouth hangs open and she mutters unintelligible sounds.

"Lina, I love you, you love me, that's all we need. Now please, repeat my words," I plead.

"Ah… y-yes…" Her voice barely leaves her throat.

"I will protect you, I will keep you safe, I will always support you and encourage you to grow."

"I w-will protect you, I will k-keep you safe, I will a-always support you and enc-c-courage you to grow."

"I will always love you, I will entrust you with my life."

"I will a-always l-l-lo-v-ve you, I will entrust you with my l-l-life."

I seal her small lips with mine and invade her mouth with my tongue. She immediately responds. She seeks me and tries to pull my tongue towards her.

The girls clap and Lina soon breaks away from me in embarrassment.

I feel something change within me. My "Sanity" increased by 1 (now 10+4).

Through adversity, unity.