A wide variety of emotions bleeds through Ciel's [Bind], but the most powerful among them is her anxiety. Her heart doesn't want to meet with them, but a sort of morbid curiosity prevents her from just walking away.

Teresina is a bit off-put by her reaction. She likely doesn't know about their rocky history and had no ulterior motives in giving her the news.

"Where are they?" Ciel hesitantly asks without looking Teresina in the eye.

'Nai' Teresina's eyebrows knit in concern, the stern ex-Punisher giving way to her motherly side for now. "They didn't want to participate in the parade and went directly to the party with the lower nobility, but I don't know where they are, exactly."

Ciel nods gloomily and starts twiddling her thumbs in indecision.

"Let's go meet them," Lina bravely suggests. She knows that Ciel would do the same for her.

Trying to prevent her fear from showing, Ciel strains herself to put on a smile and nods. "Yes, let's go," she meekly agrees.

Lina gets out of her seat and the two of them interlace their fingers like mother and child, then Lina pulls Ciel's hand closer towards her chest to make them look a little closer to wife and wife.

They get a [Gate] down to the party and start searching for Kyora. It'll be relatively easy for them to spot her, they just need to search for a blue-Hana on steroids.

I wanted to go with them, but my presence would make a big commotion, and we really don't want to have to deal with that right now. The two girls are already drawing plenty of attention since one only needs to look up to see their gigantic portrait, so I don't want to get in their way. Thankfully, we can all still support Ciel through [Bind].

Teresina watches them leave, her expression impassive, but her interest is apparent, then she turns back to me and continues with our conversation like nothing happened, "My Lord, about your race. Isn't it rather inconvenient to have these claws?"

Is this something that everyone is going to ask me?

I run a claw along the table, leaving a groove without even applying any pressure. "A bit," I agree with a wry smile. "But I already have ways to make it easier, like through the illusion that hid my characteristics and with this." Then I show her [Mana Body], changing my claws into big, warped fingers.

She doesn't seem to be the least bit impressed with it. "Is this something your children will be able to reproduce?"

My smile is wiped away, and I give Alissa a worried look as I mumble, "Oh, right…"

My foxy lady is more concerned with our child's claws potentially ripping through her uterus, but then she realizes that they'll never be able to finger a woman and becomes concerned about that, too.

While we rack our brains imagining what our children will be like, Teresina clarifies the reasoning behind her question, "I don't know what concepts were used to create your race, but you should think about what skills they should inherit to improve their lives, then pray for the Goddesses of Fertility and Growth to make it a racial skill for all weredragons. Same for Lord's Aoi humanoid transformation. It's very important that the new races smoothly integrate with the already existing ones."

"Perhaps something like Hana's [Draconic Body] could work?" Alissa happily suggests.

Teresina hums in confusion, "Hm? What skill?"

It's good to know that the Lordsguard didn't leak that skill yet.

"Something she created herself. It works kind of like [Mana Body], but makes her more 'draconic'" I happily explain.

"I think it uses her 'Willpower' and 'Endurance' to power it instead of just mana," Alissa adds.

"Impressive," Teresina coos softly.

Alissa nods diligently. "Each of us has earned our right to stand beside somebody watched by the Gods," she states with a mysterious tone, but Teresina doesn't even bat an eye, keeping her face impassive as always.

This is why Templars are so feared. The depth of her composure is truly unfathomable. If even a Divine Intervention can't phase her, can my dragonator ever break her mind…?

Of course, it can.

"I can see that. The Gods aren't just watching Lord Wolf," Teresina calmly responds with a gentle nod of understanding.

I smirk, then pull Alissa's chair closer to mine with my thick tail. "I'd never have gotten this far without my wives," I happily confess.

Alissa rests her head on my shoulder, her pointy, furred ears tickling my cheek, and remarks with a happy, husky tone, "We're a very closely-knit team."

Teresina glances at Roxanne and Yunia dancing together, their bodies glued to one another like lovers, and Roxanne's thigh rubbing against Yunia's.

"Yes, I can see that, too," she whispers, then her face softens a smidgen. "You're still yet to actually marry, correct?"

"Yes," Alissa and I answer in unison.

Teresina snorts softly. "Well, I believe the ceremony will be beautiful. Hardly do we ever see Lords as 'connected' as you are, so I wish you all a happy marriage."

Alissa beams with happiness, grinning from ear to ear, so I gracefully respond for her, "Thank you," while I give a genuine smile.

Teresina hums and nods in approval, trying her best to keep her expression from softening further. "Now, please excuse me, my Lords, but I wish to take my leave."

"Until next time, Head Priestess," Alissa happily coos.

"Until then." She gets up and walks away.

Now I'm finally alone with Alissa, but we don't have time to relax since Ciel finally finds who she's looking for, and she freezes on the spot.

I see a blue-haired amazon who has taken to the elven fashion without a single issue, though she's so big that she actually looks like a female barbarian in her criminally small dousnadeia.

Godsdamn, those thighs could squash my head like a watermelon while I eat her out, her arms could split me in half while we kiss passionately, and her abs could make me reach the apex just from licking them. I bet she could even clamp her lips so hard that it'd bite my dragonator off. She's a prime specimen of a dragonkin and a solid choice for snu snu.

"She doesn't do casual love, so you'd have to enter her harem before you'd even be allowed to touch her," Ciel comments wryly through [Bind], amused by my unending thirst for women. Though, my internal monologue does get her to relax, so all's fine.

Hana suddenly unleashes an outburst, "She looks tough, but I'll never lose a love battle against her! Even if I have to use [Draconic Body], I won't let her get on top of me!" She fumes through [Bind], her competitive instincts triggered by my thirst.

Osaria looks at her confusedly since she's suddenly stopped dancing and started scowling towards the railing instead.

I sigh softly and poke her soul as I chastise her, "Don't scare my milf, Hana. Ciel already said that she's off-limits, so calm yer bits."

"Goblin jizz…" She angrily mutters, then apologizes to the confused Osaria.

"Awn… now she totally wants to do a dragonkin," Roxanne teases cheekily through [Bind].

Yunia hums and concurs, "Yes, you've awakened the dragon inside her. Though I admit it would've been an impressive love fight, for sure."

Honestly, Hana's aggressiveness is a bit worrying. I fear that she might go overboard and do something bad to her partner, so I'm wary of having a threesome with two dragonkin. She might even traumatize the poor girl.

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"I'd do her so hard that she'd get addicted to my taste!" Hana shouts inside my mind space, then starts focusing solely on Osaria again to calm her down.

Lina pulls Ciel forward, and the duo approaches Kyora. The Lords suddenly taking a stroll among the nobles causes a small commotion, which attracts the attention of Kyora and her group, who then notice Ciel approaching them.

"Ciel?!" Kyora's voice booms through the plaza, and now everyone turns to watch them.

"You loaf of bread! You're making a scene and embarrassing a Lord!" A small halfling man shouts angrily, shaking his child-like fist at the giant Kyora. He's a cute little boy with auburn hair and the robes of a mage.

"You're also making a scene yourself by shouting," a black and white werecat man tiredly retorts. His coloration is that of a Maine Coon, and his demeanor is that of a warrior, though I can see a bit of a cat-like grace in how he holds himself.

"I don't know either of you. We were never married," a cute dwarven girl grumbles and takes a step away from them. She's a cute, black-haired young girl that would make a good older sister for Lina.

Kyora advances forward, parting the small crowd without any effort since her hulking frame easily stands out from the spindly elves. Her eyes are set on Ciel like a tiger stalking a deer. If we had any Lordsguard nearby, they'd jump on Kyora due to her threatening stance.

The halfling man chases after her, grumbling halfling swear words, then he grabs Kyora's large hand, pulling it closer to his chest in a way that's pretty similar to Lina, and tries to make her stop.

Kyora suddenly groans in annoyance and slows down. "Alright, I get it, Alonso," She grunts, then lets her predatory stance fade away.

The two duos approach each other, then stop and stare. Alonso, the halfling, seems to be more annoyed than glad at the reunion, while Kyora seems to be straining against herself not to scowl. Ciel is impassive, trying to make herself appear strong, and Lina has a deadpan expression on her face, her gloomy eyes the same as always.

Surprisingly, it's the dragonkin woman who turns her eyes away first, and she looks up at the huge portrait of us on the Shell. They're a bit too close to the Shell to see it properly, but she might still be able to make out Ciel's face from this angle.

Kyora turns back to Ciel and clenches her jaw in anger. "So, you're really a Lord?" She asks through gritted teeth.

"Unless I have an evil twin, then yes, I'm a Lord," Ciel jokingly responds and laughs girlishly.

"You're rubbing off on her," Alissa mumbles with a pout.

Kyora lets her mouth hang open for a moment, completely disarmed by Ciel's silliness. "Evil… what?"

Ciel shakes her head and adjusts her hair in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, it's just a silly joke."

"So you're still the same old silly Ciel," the dwarf girl comments with an amused smile as she catches up.

"But if you're a Lord, then at least you've stopped being a coward," Kyora asserts, the angry dragon coming back.

"No, I haven't," Ciel proudly denies with a cheeky smile.

"What the hell," Kyora swears, disarmed once again.

"Kyora, please," the werecat pleads and grips her other arm strongly, then he chastises her with a whisper-shout, "Did you forget about the Divine Intervention?!"

She rolls her eyes like a spoiled child. "Yes, I know, but what the hell are the Gods thinking?"

Ciel removes all levity from her tone and becomes steadfast. "I have some people who I need to protect at all costs, so I'll be as cowardly as I need to be to fulfill my duty, but in the end, I'd gladly give my life for them," she confesses without a hint of hesitation.

The werecat blinks in surprise and blurts out, "That's not really much of a coward."

Ciel shrugs. "I didn't change; I just accepted what I am."

Kyora stays quiet, pondering on Ciel's words and measuring her resolve. Everyone stares at the huge dragonkin, waiting for her response with bated breath.

Yunia knows the least about Ciel's past, so my angel takes this moment of silence to give us all some expositional dialogue through [Bind], "I abandoned Macht when I believed that his judgment would get us killed, then Kyora cast me out because I wasn't fit to be a Templar, which I agree was the right thing to do. I'm not a Templar; I can't sacrifice myself for the common people because our purpose here is greater than them. The only people I can give my life for are the sister-wives and you, Wolfy. Today has only given me further confirmation of that."

"Awn…" I moan in pain as my heart is struck by her confession. "You'll never have to make any sacrifices, I assure you of that," I respond through [Bind].

Ciel smiles internally, and I feel embraced by her, smothered by her massive pilows. "It still doesn't change my purpose… What I did to Macht was cowardly, but it was a necessary lesson for me, so I don't regret it."

I envelop her presence in my mind with my own. "Don't call yourself a coward. You aren't one, not anymore."

She nods internally and surrenders herself to me, "Okay, I won't."

Kyora's impassive face gradually warps into a frown, then she lets out a low growl and grumbles, "I still hate you for deserting Macht."

Timas squeezes her arm to get her to control herself.

"Yeah, she's definitely a berserker," Hana comments through [Bind]. Only now, I've noticed how the translation of "berserker" sounds like a contraction of "dragon wrestler."

Ciel nods slowly and accepts it, "I know. My penance for that will last for my whole life."

Kyora stops for a split second. "Don't…" She starts, but the words don't come out, so she grumbles incoherent words in frustration, then she sighs and lets the anger cool. "Don't let it make you miserable. I don't want that," she finally confesses.

Ciel smiles angelically, then glances at Lina and gives her hand a gentle squeeze. "For me, it's inspiring. My penance guides me towards a greater path, where I know that I belong."

"Damn masochist," Kyora, murmurs and looks up towards the portrait again with an annoyed pout.

"Look who's talking," the dwarf girl quips back with a teasing smirk.

Kyora shrugs, her arm lifting Alonso up off the floor as if he weighed nothing. "I didn't mean it as an insult."

The girl purses her lip, full of sass. "Uh-huh."

The werecat takes a step forward and lowers his head respectfully for a second. "Well, it's good to see you again, Ciel. It doesn't matter what anyone thinks, you still grew a lot," he kindly compliments her.

Ciel returns a respectful nod and a smile. "Thank you, Timas. I know it's a bit late, but this is Lina, one of my sister-wives."

The dwarf girl gives a quick look upwards to the Shell. "Oh, yes, I think I can see it. I'm Poppy, the archer," she gently greets and gives a curtsy like a Lady.

"Kyora, the harem master," the dragonkin proudly announces.

"I'm Timas, the main defender," the werecat elegantly introduces himself with a bow.

"I'm Alonso, the squad's mage," the halfling quietly greets with a quick wave and releases Kyora's hand.

"Why don't we go take a seat?" Ciel suggests and points to an empty table nearby.

"Hm, sure," Kyora hums, and they sit.

A maid immediately comes and serves them some drinks, but Kyora abstains. Someone like her getting drunk is definitely dangerous.

Once everyone has taken a sip and the tension has eased, Ciel awkwardly adjusts her hair and asks the question that's been burning in her heart, "What I really want to know is: 'why did you come here?' Teresina said that you had asked for me."

"Well, we heard rumors," Kyora tersely responds and crosses her arms.

"And not good ones," Alonso eloquently explains with a worried frown.

Timas sighs tiredly at the high "Charisma" of his companions and actually clarifies what they mean, "It sounded like the nobility were playing games, trying to steer us here and possibly find out who's being naughty."

Lina immediately picks up on the real reason, "They likely tried to get the Templars to investigate us." And Yunia silently agrees.

"Yes. We aren't popular among the Lords here," Ciel admits with a forced smile.

"So we've heard," Kyora whispers, not amused.

Poppy delicately rests her head on her palm and comments confusedly, "They could've had more success by using the Punishers."

"The Head Priestess is an ex-Punisher," Ciel immediately retorts, and they all release "aahs" of understanding.

"They were trying anything they could since they're too impotent to actually rebel," Lina expands on Ciel's reasoning.

She deliberately used a double entendre.

Poppy's gentle face instantly warps into an evil grin. "Alright. Maybe we should stick around and investigate them, instead?" She suggests.

Ciel chuckles softly and comments with a wry smile, "Only if you want to Mark every single Lord of the Western High Forest."

"Alright. Screw that…" Kyora grumbles and facepalms. "We aren't doing the job of Punishers."

Ciel looks away and chuckles some more "Well, it's not as bad as it looks. They're just petty."

Kyora frowns and looks around at the nobles staring at them. They immediately look away, intimidated by her gaze, and Kyora speaks out loud with a veiled threat, "They have too much free time on their hands. Maybe they should spend it on purging the surroundings of their towns instead."

Lina nods in agreement and sternly adds, "After today, I'm sure that they will. We made sure that they know who's in charge."

Poppy smiles and raises her eyebrows in surprise as she asks, "You're a fierce one, young Lord. Where are you from?"

"Didn't you hear her introduction?" Timas chastises her with a frown and shakes his head, then takes another sip.

Poppy suddenly tenses up awkwardly and stutters, "N-no… we were talking about Ciel at the time." Then she turns to Lina and bows. "I'm sorry, my Lord."

Lina kindly forgives her with a wave of her hand, "It's not a problem. I'm from Bersidon."

"Oh… Hm…" Poppy straightens up, but remains tense, then glances at Alonso. "I don't know where that is."

"Why are you looking at me? Why would I know where that is?" The halfling angrily questions, then snorts and chokes on his own drink like a fool.

"Is it a surface village?" Poppy asks tentatively with a guilty smile.

"Yes, it's south-west of Hombombein, along the Kanom Road," Lina answers with a nod.

"Aren't you from Hombombein?" Alonso questions with a cheeky teasing smile, but Poppy still doesn't seem to have any idea where Bersidon is.

Lina does her best to keep her sadistic smile from showing. She's enjoying torturing the other dwarf a bit, but she isn't as sadistic towards strangers as a certain person can be. "It's fine. Bersidon was just a small outpost when I left over four years ago," she eases off of Poppy's shame.

Lina's Trivia: surface villages are basically looked down upon by other dwarves as backwater places. They're all dry and barren, so there really isn't much to them besides being a rest stop for the rare caravan. It's to be expected that someone from Hombombein, the capital, wouldn't know a thing about the surface villages.

Timas smiles warmly at the now completely embarrassed dwarf girl, then he saves her by recollecting, "We've never traveled too deep along the Kanom Road, but I'm sure that Bersidon has grown into a nice inn town by now. Last time we went to Hombombein, there were uncountable numbers of caravans traversing the Kanom Road all the time."

Lina doesn't think the same of it, though. "That'll only last while Aremut is deserted. Once it's reclaimed and the Crystal Road is safe, the Canyon Road will be abandoned again," she assures.

His cat ears flick, and he brightens up as he suggests, "Ah, but you never know. The growth that the Canyon Road is going through now might be enough to keep it attractive for caravans even after that."

Lina looks down at her own cup and frowns, deep in thought. "Hm… I see…" Then Timas smiles kindly, and Ciel pats her head.

Though Kyora and Alonso are still a bit grumpy, they all start to share their stories of adventures.