Evereena:

Feeling slightly giddy, Evereena, still being hugged by Cassy, managed to catch her breath and become at least somewhat rational.

"Are you back forever?"

A sad expression from Cassy as she gently put Evereena back on the ground.

"Sorry, but, you know, us heroes are still destined not to last very long."

"But you have just come back!"

"I know, I know, I would like to stay here also. But, don't cry, here, have a little gift."

Gift?

Ding! Apart from your [Intimidation] skill, which is already way over the limit, all your other skills have been maxed out, courtesy of the Misfits.

Huh?

"And also, you haven't realised it yet, your collar has been removed. So you will always have that to remind you of me."

"My collar?"

Evereena attempted to feel her collar: "Argh! My collar is gone!"

She was agitated all over again.

Eleanor:

After a certain amount of confusion, Eleanor got herself back together.

Does [Battle Field Management] have anything to say about this...

Oh, it does.

"Hey, Jane, we need to get everyone back to Manifestoria, so if you can start doing logistics?"

"Ah, err, right," said Jane.

Before she could continue, Bronsen chipped in with some suggestions.

"If, perhaps, you could split off the ex-slaves who are sailors or who want to be involved with boats and give them quarters here in the port buildings? Also, I'd like to point out that we bought a lot of food back from Marmalade Island. Mostly marmalade, in case you didn't guess."

Hello, the Misfits are thinking things through and planning ahead.

I'm impressed.

Also, I can detect a single unused slave collar in the boat. Weird that there's only one. I'll ask them later; I mustn't let it go astray.

It was done. After only an hour of disorder, three-quarters of the ex-slaves, plus all of the people who came down with Eleanor, set out to return to Manifestoria. Eleanor sent off Alexa with various messages, some for the treasurer and some to be sent, fully encrypted, to all of the closest countries.

The Treasurer:

Thank the Voice that wasn't an invasion. There is no way I could have gotten away fast enough to avoid it.

But, this vow of the Misfits, do they want to attract the slaver Emperor's attention?

And how am I supposed to provide accommodation and food for 143 extra slaves?

No, that's right, the Misfits can somehow remove collars, so they are now - freed slaves?

Wait, a quarter stayed behind on the port. And what's more, they all have at least 50% status values.

That's - actually - not bad. I think I can work with this. Assuming these freed slaves are willing, getting most of them up to speed and contributing to our little society should be possible.

And, as for accommodation, the place that the Misfits were initially assigned to is plenty big enough, so with two per room...

It's doable.

He set to work, allocating the assets available to him.

Eleanor:

It was now late afternoon. Eleanor had gathered those she considered her core people for a planning meeting. Lena and the two children, Aragon and Esther, Evereena, Jane, and the Misfits, were present.

"This is an initial meeting; we will be having a lot of more detailed meetings shortly. The treasurer says he has accommodation and food supply for the freed slaves under control. The Misfits may as well return to their previous castle rooms. So, would Bronsen like to suggest anything that we should start with?"

They seem to have become more serious compared to before.

It's probably a result of getting killed and reincarnated.

Bronsen nodded his head.

"Yeah, I do. Firstly, I'd again like to apologise for dumping this onto you, but it's how it is."

They are acting a lot more responsibly than before.

"Secondly, that vow we made. We asked the Voice of the World about it, and the System Administrator suggested that the Voice wanted it, so that's why we went and kicked the Emperor in the behind. I suppose the Voice must think that acting sooner rather than later is better."

"System Administrator? What is that?" said Eleanor.

Bronsen gave a not entirely comprehensible explanation; after all, the Ringworld didn't have computers and thus no need for administrators.

"Oh, you mean The Ghost behind the Voice?" said Eleanor.

"I suppose so?" said Bronsen.

And every other native Felixian had question marks above their heads.

"Ah, that's something I got in my education due to being the daughter of a King," said Eleanor, "Normally, it is restricted information, but considering the circumstances, who cares."

"So the Voice, or this Ghost, wants us to taunt the Emperor?" said Jane.

She put her palm onto her face and mumbled a bit more.

"Ah, sorry!" said Cassy.

"Anyway!" said Bronsen, "Back to our suggestions - we have lots of status points to give out. But what Eleanor needs to decide is who to give them to and how much."

He explained the situation in detail, and Eleanor and Jane agreed that they would work out their policy in the following day or two.

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"Oh, also, we have a slave collar left over. We arbitrarily decided to save just one. It's still hidden in the boat." said Alice.

So that explains the single collar.

"Then we'll better store it in a secure location." said Jane, "Also, did anyone notice that one of the female freed slaves looks a lot like Eleanor? Except maybe a somewhat starved version."

"That's Frannie." said Alice, "Yes, with a bit of good eating, she will be very similar to Eleanor."

After this, Eleanor dismissed the meeting, and they moved straight onto a meal before everyone retired for the night.

The Misfits:

Eventually, the Misfits ended up in their meeting room.

"OK, the main question for this meeting is who do us girls pick tonight!" said Cassy.

A big grin from Alice.

"How about we toss a coin for a change?" she said.

A snort from Cassy.

"In other words, the boys are to be a prize for us females to win?"

"That's exactly it! I'm sure the prizes, the boys, don't object?"

"Oh, no, not at all!" / "Definitely not!"

Cassy and Alice shared a glance and smiled friendly at each other.

"Say, did you notice the advancements in various relationships?" said Alice.

"Yes, I'm sure that Aragon and Esther have made some big improvements in theirs," said Cassy.

The boys nodded their heads.

"I hadn't taken much notice before, but our high perception ability is very useful in working out what people are thinking," said Drayden.

"Yeah, for example, Esther momentarily touched her hand with Aragon's while passing the salt to Evereena," said Bronsen.

"And Aragon kept admiring her figure but tried to hide it from the others. Especially Evereena," said Alice.

"Poor Evereena. She's surrounded by these adults who are busily sexing each other, but she can't see the point of it all," said Cassy.

"Maybe she will eventually find someone," said Alice.

"And, of course, there is Lena and Eleanor!" said Cassy.

"What?" said Drayden.

"You didn't notice?" said Alice, "It's been obvious since almost the very beginning!"

"Yeah, it has," said Cassy.

It turned out that neither of the boys had noticed.

"Right, from now on, I'm going to use my enhanced perception to work out people's relationships with each other. It looks like it could be a fun activity!" said Drayden.

"Me too!" said Bronsen.

"You mean it will be a fun activity to work out if two girls are into each other," said Cassy.

"You bet!" said Bronsen.

"So, Cassy, I suppose you still don't want to, at least, give a hug to Alice?" said Drayden. Very hopefully.

Cassy raised her eyebrows.

"Especially naked!" said Bronsen.

The two girls looked at each other.

"They're obsessed with that idea, aren't they?" said Alice.

At this point, Cassy had a really, really, evil idea.

"I know; what if the two boys gave each other a big, totally nude hug? And then us girls will give each other a hug of exactly the same kind? Alice, does that fly with you?"

Alice deliberated about this for some time.

"Hmm, I'm not attracted in that way to Cassy, but... The idea of getting to see some genuine Boys Love, even if it is entirely without any arousal, does sound nice indeed."

"We are not into Boys Love!" said Bronsen.

"No, but we aren't into Girls Love either. But... A bit of fake Boys Love is still nice. And, wouldn't you say that a bit of fake Girls Love sounds like it could be interesting?"

That got the boys thinking hard. Very hard indeed. Eventually -

"I suppose I could do something," said Bronsen.

Somewhat more reluctantly, Drayden agreed.

Amazingly, at this stage, they were still fully clothed. So they rapidly fixed that.

Bronsen, naked, stood in front of Drayden. Drayden, also naked, kept standing there. Two naked girls stood slightly back, fangirling like crazy.

After a while, however:

"Hey, boys! You have to do something," said Alice.

"Oh, right," said Bronsen.

"This could be a little - embarrassing," said Drayden.

"Come on!" said Cassy, "You're supposed to flex your manly muscles and show off your -"

Here, she started giggling.

"Your velvet steel rods!"

At this, Alice burst out laughing.

"Really? Is that what your BL manga says?"

"Yep, Sure does."

Drayden looked down: "Hmm, I don't see any signs of 'velvet steel rods'. I don't think I have ever seen such a thing. At least on my body."

"Just imagine it! It's all purple melodrama anyway." said Cassy, "You're supposed to be overcome with lust and plunge into each other's embrace and run your hands over each other's bums and, and, ah."

At this point, Cassy was so overcome with laughter that she started to run out of breath.

"Oooh, this sounds hot!" said Alice.

The two boys were not quite so - aroused. They looked at each other.

"This could be a whole lot - embarrassing," said Drayden.

"I agree. I might - kind of - admire Drayden's body, but I don't want to go that far," said Bronsen.

Cassy calmed herself down. "Well, remember, if you want to see us girls do anything, you must do it first."

Drayden shifted around on his feet, alternating his gaze between the two naked girls and the naked boy in front of him.

"I suppose if I try to imagine Bronsen as a female, then..."

"Nonetheless, I'm not. And, really, you aren't a very good model of a female either," said Bronsen.

"But, you admire his body!" said Alice.

"I'm never going to live that down, am I?" said Bronsen, "But admiring his body does not translate to wanting to hug him."

"Shame," said Cassy.

The boys took a breath.

"Let's just do this straight, shall we?" said Drayden, "This is purely an act to get the girls to do the same."

Bronsen nodded his head.

So Drayden stepped forward. He put his hands out on Bronsen's hips. Bronsen extended his hands to Drayden's back. And, very tentatively, they pressed their bodies together.

The girls went silent in entranced appreciation.

Drayden must have made an effort of willpower; he extended one hand and patted Bronsen's bum. Once.

Then, both boys sprung apart so energetically they hit the opposite walls.

There was a big cheer from both girls.

"Yay! Boy's Love! Even if it was fake," said Cassy.

A big, big, cheesy grin from Alice: "Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

"No," said Drayden, "Although I could have never done this back on Earth. Amongst other things, I would be absolutely terrified of getting an erection, even if I don't have any Boy's Love in me."

"Ooh yeah." said Cassy, "Actually, I think I can understand that."

The two boys drifted together, and both looked expectantly at the girls.

"OK, Alice, we can do this," said Cassy.

"Sure."

So, without much ado, Alice walked up to Cassy, and they hugged each other. Alice's almost-black skin contrasted nicely with Cassy's almost-white skin. Cassy's red hair swept past her shoulder and overlapped with Alice's black hair. Then Cassy gave Alice's bum a single pat.

The two girls stepped apart.

"There you are, that's how you do it!" said Cassy.

"Yep, no fuss whatsoever," said Alice.

The two boys were still so enthralled they didn't say anything for some time.

"And now, we toss a coin," said Alice.

Actually, they didn't have any coins available. Fortunately, Cassy found a small, flattish rock in the corner of the room.

"This place hasn't been cleaned for a long time," she said.

Alice inspected it. "OK, this side is the Drayden side."

Cassy tossed the coin, and Alice inspected it again.

"And it Drayden's side up. So he goes with Cassy!"

Drayden didn't appear to object to that. But Bronsen decided to add something.

"If I may be so bold to propose something - purely if the girls approve, of course..."

"Yes?" said Cassy.

"How about we swap over after half an hour or so?"

"Oh, I see. You want to jump from one girl's bed to another, and this time, you want to make it just half an hour for each?" said Cassy.

"Yes!" said both Drayden and Bronsen.

"And then, I want us to all meet back here," said Bronsen.

Alice drew a deep breath, then communicated with Cassy using only their eyes.

"OK, OK, let's do that," she said.

After an hour, they were all back in their meeting room. They looked slightly damp, but not too much, as they had wiped down themselves with towels.

They sat down, cross-legged, in their accustomed order.

Completely naked, of course.

The girls patiently waited while the boys admired their bodies until, eventually, Cassy spoke out.

"Amazing, isn't it, dear Alice? Despite them having just banged us silly, they still want to oggle our bodies."

Alice wiggled around slightly while stroking her hair, thus attracting the boy's attention even more.

"Yes! It is sure nice to be appreciated so much."

"At least, for our bodies," said Cassy.

"Oh, but we also tremendously appreciate your personalities," said Drayden.

"Sure, sure," said Cassy.

"And we tremendously appreciate your little Girls Love show beforehand, even if it was all fake," said Bronsen.

Drayden nodded vigorously.

"In that case, I will say that I personally was inspired by the Boys Love show beforehand," said Cassy.

"Yes! Yes!" said Alice.

"Remember, it's all fake!" said Bronsen.

There was a contemplative silence for a while.

"I hope everybody recognises the fact that this is the most - blatant - we have been about our four-way sexual relationship?" said Bronsen.

Everyone nodded. Then, three of them looked at Alice.

She rolled her eyes.

"Why must you always look at me regarding this topic?"

"You know perfectly well that you are the one most subject to the evil feelings of jealousy," said Bronsen.

"Yeah, yeah. OK, well, you know, I still feel extremely jealous on occasion. But it is mostly drowned out by the sheer, err, pleasure of having sex with two boys with fantastic bodies, so, I don't know, I guess you could say I have adapted. And, I'm sure I'll, actually all of us, become more and more used to it. Until we die in the not-too-distant future, that is."

There didn't seem to be anything more to say to this.

Cassy picked up Drayden by one arm, letting him dangle in mid-air.

"Right, since I won the coin toss, I'm still claiming Drayden. Considering how much has happened today, I can guarantee that we will be going to sleep very soon. See you in the morning."

They separated and went to their separate rooms.

Narrator:

Despite being nearly exhausted, the boys still found it within themselves to stand up for the occasion, and the girls were receptive.

But, having become very responsible citizens of Manifestoria, they managed to present themselves on time for breakfast the following morning.

They may have felt a little tired.