Time flies – well, actually, it crawls by for once. There were so many times in the past year where everything seemed to just fly by without any rest. Ever since Fenrir first started playing Fantasy Tales Online, it has felt as if there has never been a dull moment. If there was a dull moment, it was short-lived and quickly replaced by more exciting times.

Now, for the first time in what feels like forever to the entire group, everything is slow.

Most days are spent chopping away at trees or taking trips to the mountain to mine for stone and ores.

However, their boring efforts are not in vain.

There are two teams.

Fenrir, Corwin, Serra, Cassiel, and Azalabulia are the gatherers. Tabitha, Rao, Oleander, and Nell are the builders. While the gathering team is out gathering more materials, the building team is making use of what materials have already been brought in by constructing a proper dock for The Shoebill and getting to work on a bridge over the river.

As for why neither Rao nor Tabitha believes that they need to accompany the gathering team to make sure that they’re gathering the proper materials, they have Corwin for that.

Corwin may not be a fighter nor a great sailor, but he has proven himself more than capable of organizing and overseeing labor. Anything that Tabitha and Rao tell him is perfectly stored within his memory. Whatever he is told is never forgotten.

This also might be responsible for why he has been a great challenger at game nights up in the village with King Cat and others. Despite how innocent and timid Corwin might seem to most, he has proven to be a fearsome opponent when cards are in his hands.

As for Rock and Shogun – well, they do whatever they feel like doing on any particular day.

Today, for example, they are accompanying the gathering team into the mountains.

“I never would have thought Corwin had it in him,” Fenrir whispers to Serra.

Serra shrugs as she swings her pickaxe down into the mountain’s rocky surface, breaking off a large chunk of rock.

“I never would have thought you had it in you, either,” Fenrir says, impressed at the sight of his smallest girlfriend and the second smallest member of their group being able to so easily mine. Then again, she always did love loading the cannons and taking care of them. She’s actually done quite a bit of heavy lifting in this game now that he thinks about it. If anything, her arms should be several times the size that they are! Instead, her arms remain petite and without any muscle definition.

“Hey,” Fenrir says, “try… try picking me up.”

“Why?” Serra asks with a tilted head.

“I’m just curious.”

Serra shrugs, puts down her pickaxe, and wraps her arms around Fenrir’s waist.

She lifts him up with ease.

Fenrir feels both emasculated and impressed, unsure which of those feelings should have priority at the moment.

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“You’re seriously strong now, aren’t you?” he asks.

“I’ve got sick gains,” Serra says.

“Yeah, you really do. So… feel free to let me down now.”

Serra spins in a circle while holding Fenrir up.

Then the degenerate within her gets an idea.

By lifting him up just a bit more, she’s able to position him so that his crotch is right in front of her face.

“What are you two doing?” Cassiel asks, the sudden question actually surprising Serra and causing her to drop Fenrir before turning to look at the questioner with a pout.

“Thanks for the save, Cass,” Fenrir says. “My masculinity was at serious risk there.”

“Was she spinning you around in her arms like a princess? I thought Nell is supposed to be the princess of our group?”

“I’m – I’m not a princess.”

“Princess Fenny,” Serra says. “We’ll let Nell dress you up and do your hair.”

“How about not,” Fenrir says. “But seriously, Cass, Serra is strong.”

“You’re only just now realizing that?” Cassiel asks.

“Well, kind of.”

“That’s what happens when Tabs trains her how to swing that giant hammer around.”

“Wait, what?” Fenrir asks, looking down at Serra just in time to see her trying to shush Cassiel.

Serra lowers her finger away from her lips and puts on her most innocent face.

“Has – has she been training you in secret or something?” Fenrir asks.

Serra sighs and says, “Supposed to be a secret.”

“Oh… sorry,” Cassiel apologizes. “I didn’t know it was a secret.”

“What’s she training you for?” Fenrir asks Serra.

“Because I want to try fighting,” Serra answers. “It’s a game and everybody else always does the fighting. I want to fight, too. She even said she’d make me a super cool hammer.”

“I don’t know how I feel about you being in danger. I mean, I know it’s just a game, but don’t you like firing cannons from a distance instead of being up close?”

“That’s taken care of.”

“What – what do you mean by that?”

“You’ll see.”

“I’m wor—”

“Fen?” Cassiel asks after noticing her boyfriend’s sudden pause. Serra is looking up at him and tugging on his arm, too.

He looks distracted by something.

When both of the girls look in the direction that he’s staring, they see it.

There are a few sheep-like creatures with extremely fluffy, white wool all over their bodies. One might confuse them for sheep at a quick glance, but their wool is exceptionally fluffy and pure white in color. Not only that, but they have four eyes rather than two, and none of them have horns.

“Fluff,” Fenrir says. “They’re so… they’re so… fluffy.”

“Fen, don’t,” Cassiel says, stepping in front of Fenrir to block him from walking any closer toward the sheep creatures.

“Fluff addict,” Serra says.

“It’s not safe to run up to random animals and play with them no matter how fluffy they might be! What if they’re dangerous? Besides, you’re part wolf, so you’ll probably scare them if you get too close,” Cassiel scolds him.

“Yeah… you’re right,” Fenrir says with a sigh. “I’ll just have to settle for admiring the fluff from a distance.”

“Good,” Cassiel says, getting out of his way.

Then she realizes her mistake.

When she turns back around to look at where Fenrir was, all she sees is Serra pointing at where Fenrir just ran off to.

Cassiel looks over to where the creatures were and sees Fenrir running straight at them.

The sheep, looking terrified from the man with canid features charging straight at them with a ravenous desire in his eyes, run away.

“I promise I’m friendly! Just let me hug you!” Fenrir shouts at them much like how a man dressed in a pedobear costume would at children running away from him.

“I have a feeling this isn’t going to end well,” Cassiel says, rubbing her forehead as Serra tries not to laugh.

“Wh-what’s happening?” Azalabulia asks, having come over to the others after hearing the shouting.

“Fenny is being Fenny,” Serra explains.

“Yeah,” Cassiel answers, “he—”

Growling interrupts her.

The three girls look down at where the growling is coming from and see Rock staring at her owner chasing down other animals. They didn’t know that a dog made out of rock could look so… jealous.

Shogun places one of his paws on Rock’s back, but that’s not enough to calm her. She takes off running after Fenrir.

The three girls look at Shogun now.

He tilts his head, sits down, scratches one of his ears, lets out a loud yawn, and lies down.

“Corwin, we have an addicted boyfriend to go after,” Cassiel shouts over to Corwin.

Corwin smiles and shouts back, “Good luck!”