“Joram!”

Joram turned to see Celys running over, closely followed by Gwen, the owner of the east-side clinic in Kirkwall.

“What’s up?” he asked, getting an exasperated look from the Chief.

“Really?” she asked, sounding curiously cross and worried at the same time. “I hear that you’ve just bought a slaver’s business. Care to explain?”

“Oh, that,” he said, nodding as he motioned for Myra and Asami to take over directing the pack-up. “Yeah, I think I’ve got a few ideas for what I want to do with it. It’ll probably take a while to get things restructured, though. Anyways, if you could help getting everyone organized, I’d appreciate it. Once we’re all done, we can have a long talk about what I’m thinking,” he said with a smile that she didn’t return at first.

Gwen, however, did return his smile before stepping away to start helping organize everything.

There was a lot compared to last time. This time, there were a few more wagons, tents, fencing… and employees. He also noticed that Matun hadn’t brought any male slaves this time, making him wonder if he’d been betting on selling everyone to him at his last stop.

Anyways, it also occurred to him that he’d need to do something about his new employees, not to mention those back in the capitol where the headquarters of Myriad Wonders was located. Which then led him to quickly enchant a black Moss Stone “coin” with [Anchored Navigation], instructing Matun to place it in the office of his building when he got back, and had to explain things to his once-upon-a-time employees.

Taking stock, as it were, he found that there had been 52 Slaves. There were: 3 Dragonkin, 4 Goatkin, 5 Harpies, 2 Lamia, 3 Oni, 1 Yuki-onna, 4 Merkin, 3 Sea Elves, and 3 Halflings. And 24 more humans.

Once more, they were all… exemplary members of their various races. They were also somewhat more… traumatized than the others had been.

After recusing himself of the situation, for they weren’t terribly comfortable with him for having bought them, he met with Celys, Asami, Avi, Myra, the three gals, and surprisingly Erys, to discuss things.

“So, there’ve been more ‘bandit’ raids, then?” he asked, summing up what they’d told him.

“That’s what the younglings say, yes,” Avi said, nodding.

“More slavers, huh?” he mused as the others nodded at him. “I very much want to curb this. But how?” he asked, open to suggestions.

“I could do a few fly-overs and just burn any bandits that I find,” Erys said with a shrug, getting her a few worried looks.

“Well, you could try roaming the countryside, but that won’t be very efficient,” Asami said, not looking as though she had a better idea.

“Couldn’t you just, I don’t know, [Summon] a whole bunch of beings to search for the bandits out there?” Qyress asked, looking bit nervous as everyone turned to look at her.

“That wouldn’t be very efficient,” Fyrellia said as she shook her head a bit.

Avi seemed to perk up a bit, something seemingly coming to mind as her eyes lit up.

“Well, we could get some eyes in the sky,” she said as she gave him a significant look.

“Oh,” he said, thinking about satellites and all of that.

‘[Summon: All] could very well cover all of the equipment we’d need to get that all set up,’ Avi silently sent, making him grin.

“Yeah, that can work,” he said, then got back to the younglings. “So, for the new girls. It’ll take me until morning to get enough rooms made for everyone. That said, I’m glad that the other ladies were happy to get back to cooking again,” he said, grateful for those women and their desire to help.

“Will you also be giving them rings like ours?” Celys asked, giving him an unreadable look.

“It would be good, I think,” he said, thinking about it again as he decided to change the rings to Tetra-III instead of palladium to help avoid undue attention.

“Out of electrum?” Celys pressed, though he understood where she was coming from.

“Something less eye-catching this time,” he said. “I’ll still need to speak with them later, though. I’ll also need to examine each of them so that I can tune each ring to them individually… much like I did with your group,” he said the last part to the three gals, who nodded at him in understanding.

Or at least that’s what he took it for, anyways.

“I’ll also need to make a trip to the capitol to get things set up there,” he said, not looking forward to that part.

“Then you should take Zerava with you,” Celys said seriously. “She’s been there a lot in the past and knows her way around things.”

Joram nodded as a couple of heads turned to look at him seriously.

“I’m coming too,” Asami said as though it was a foregone conclusion.

“As am I,” Erys said, nodding.

“What?” he asked, looking at the Elder Dragon.

“I’m familiar with the major cities of the continent, so I’m sure that I’ll be of help,” she said confidently.

“OK, then I’ll need to leave some people here,” he said as Myra and Avi looked as though they’d also speak up. “I can’t afford to bring everyone with me and it’s better for everyone to get to know the new girls, as well as to help them settle in.

“Besides,” he said with a sardonic grin. “I’m sure it’ll feel like I haven’t left,” he said, alluding to Joram 1 because he hadn’t quite gotten around to letting Celys know that he could basically clone himself.

“Well, I’m sure it’ll be fine then,” Myra said with a sniff.

“We’ll see what we can do with the new ‘demons’ in the group,” Arise said, earning a nod of appreciation from him.

“Thanks. So, on to what I’m planning for the properties I bought,” he said, then went on to explain his thoughts and ideas on the matter.

Both Avi and Asami didn’t seem surprised, probably because they could read his mind- earning him a nod from them both. The gals, Myra, and Celys were nodding in approval by the end, leaving Erys the only one who didn’t seem very concerned about it all. In fact, she looked more distracted than anything else, making him wonder what was going on with her.

“So, we’ll head off as soon as that guy drops off the anchor I gave him. In the meantime, is there an organization of some sort that can act on my behalf to take control of my new assets?” he asked as he looked around at everyone.

His study was silent for a few moments as they all processed what he’d said, then Celys spoke.

“I’m sure there is. I’ll ask Zerava and see what she knows, then arrange things with her so that she can accompany you. But Joram? Be sure to… keep being you,” she said with a motherly smile that threw him off balance before she quickly left the room.

“Well, sounds like we’ll have our hands full,” Fyrellia said with a bright smile. “But if things go how I think they might, you’ll need to work on that [Fission] [Skill] of yours,” she finished with a twinkle in her eyes.

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“What?” he asked, deadpanned.

“You didn’t know?” Fyrellia asked, giving him a searching look.

“Know what?” he asked warily as both Asami and Avi turned to stare at the bookshelves, a hand over their mouths.

Fyrellia looked at Arise then Qyress, both of whom also coincidentally found the strong urge to study the contents of his study. With a sigh, she spoke.

“Well, it’s a bit of a cultural thing with us ‘Demons’,” she said, seemingly having a bit of trouble looking him in the eye. “Heck, anyone who has a strong connection to Mana is also the same way,” she said, giving Erys a pointed look that the dragon just blinked at, causing Fyrellia to sigh again.

“Here’s the thing,” she said, then cleared her throat. “We- demons- find anyone with a large mana pool… incredibly attractive,” she said, then looked away quickly.

“Does my current… self, qualify for that too?” he asked carefully as he thought of how his resource pools had been evenly split between his bodies, which was why he only had just over a thousand mana to play with at the moment.

“… yes…” Qyress said, saving her friend at the expense of her own embarrassment.

“I see…” he said, then looked over to Asami Miki who continued to studiously stare at the bookshelf. “Is there a way to mask… that? Like, something to hide that… whatever you’d call that. Mana-sense? Aura?” he asked, at a loss for what to call it.

“Aura works,” Arise said, nodding. “I’ve got a similar [Skill], though it more erases my presence than anything else.”

“Would that freak out too many people if I used something like that?”

“Yes.”

Joram sighed, then looked over at Erys as she sat up, looking like she had something to say.

“Yes?”

“Well, Elder Dragons have to learn how to suppress our own auras before we can walk amongst the mortals,” she said, looking proud of herself. “I could teach you how to do that, if you’d like,” she said with a wide smile.

“I’d appreciate that,” he said, thinking about his [Legacy of Creation] Class Ability and how it would help him to make a Skill Book out of her Skill.

Erys smiled brightly at that, getting calculating looks from Avi and Asami in return. The others just seemed happy that something had been decided upon.

“Well, I’ll go and do the check-up now,” he said as he got up, ending the meeting.

He left first, not really caring about social etiquette or such things. He wanted to get things ready for his trip, not wanting to bother J1 with all that stuff even though they shared their memories and thoughts exactly the same way that [Schism]s did.

That said, he could also set the internal communications between their bodies to a lower priority level, thus lowering how much he distracted himself. It was especially crucial when either of them was practicing and experimenting with their Skills, magic, and item creation. Not to mention when he went to see Lory.

He’d already gone to speak with her again, though. He stopped and shook his head, then. He fully understood what Lory was saying. He also understood how… limiting it was to compartmentalize that part of his life, sequestering it away until he could “properly” deal with it. But in all honesty, he knew that he wasn’t anywhere near ready to take that next step yet.

Years of abuse and trauma didn’t fade as easily as that. Even with his decision to have Avi help him with [Psychic Chirurgery], removing the pain and hesitation that came after all of that damage, the PTSD and general anxiety…. Well. It was likely going to take a long time for him to step into the world of actual romance again.

Was he grateful for the affection and attention that those women showed him? Certainly. Could he properly reciprocate their feelings? No. They were certainly important people to him, even the three gals. He wasn’t too sure what was up with Erys yet, nor what he’d do with her going forward. She seemed nice enough… when she wasn’t trying to kill you, that is.

Letting them all cuddle with him had probably been a big mistake, if not a massive one. That he’d been able to hold back with the help of [Clear Mind] and [Barred Mind] while they were pressed up against him was not a minor miracle. If he’d still been human, without Skills or Powers to help him keep himself in check, well. Things would have gone much differently than they’d been going.

Which also proved to him that he wasn’t ready to take on a relationship. Or many, in his case. Sure, polygamy was a thing here and all that. Sure, it was almost expected that powerful people would have many spouses, consorts, and concubines, or whatever.

He had never been one to like going along with the expectations others had for him. He’d always done his own thing, for it was his life after all. He did, however, recognize the care and concern behind the expectations others had for him. He even respected them. He just didn’t blindly follow those expectations if they weren’t something that he’d already wanted, or planned, to do.

So, with his current circumstances, it would be hard to tell Celys and Nalun that he wasn’t going to marry Myra. Well, “yet”…. Or maybe “never”. He didn’t know. She was certainly a fine young woman, even with her stubborn streak and borderline tsundere attitude for everyone outside of people she considered family. Or potential family, in his case.

Asami, though, was still more than a mystery for him. She’d told him why she “liked” him and all that. But he was reasonably sure that she hadn’t said everything, nor could he blame her. Everyone had their secrets, after all.

He turned and made his way to the training dungeon, thinking about how best to deal with the mess he’d gotten himself into. At least he could go and get some crafting materials from the 6th Floor, as well as more Cores. Heck, maybe he’d try to level up over the next week or two that it would take Matun to return to Myrmeze.

That led to the question of what he’d do with his Path, specifically his Class.

Should he continue with [Creationist], or should he look at another Class? [Creationist] was certainly incredibly powerful with what it gave in terms of Attributes, as well as its Class Features. But would that be enough to eventually get home?

Did he even want to return to Earth?

Sure, he had his parents, siblings, nieces and nephews, as well as many uncles, aunts, and cousins. He even had a couple of friends he’d managed to keep in contact with after he’d been consumed… with what had happened.

But, was that enough?

He’d always been a borderline recluse with how introverted he was. Then everything else dropping on him had made it worse.

So. Did he want to return to Earth? Wasn’t he building a new life here? He certainly had people that he’d consider friends. Heck, there were many that would gladly become his family if he gave them a chance to.

Looking around a bit as he walked, Joram admired the ridiculous redwood-like trees and the scent of nature. If he could manage to clear up the messes that he’d made, it would be nice to just relax in the woods like this for a few decades.

But life wasn’t as convenient as all that.

So, he began planning. Planning for the future, planning for the future of those under his aegis. Planning for what he hoped to accomplish for the many people constantly beset by evil people wanting more slaves, be they the bandits, slavers, or the rich. He would do something about them.

And planning for his own happiness.

* * *

“So, why haven’t you approached him yet?” she asked, poking Erys in the side and making the dragon-woman jump.

“Don’t do that!” Erys said, giving her a mighty glare that affected her about as much as a sneeze would. “For as… nice as mrrandii is, he’s surprisingly… hard to approach,” she said, now looking astonishingly shy.

“Just talk to him,” she said, shaking her head. “He’s fine. You’re fine. I’m sure that what you’re after will align with what he’d want to do anyway.”

Erys gave her an amazingly sharp look given how startled she also appeared to be. Which was exactly as startled as she felt.

“Yes, you’re not immune to [Spirit Communication] either,” she said, shaking her head slightly. “On another note. Don’t push him too hard with that mrrandii nonsense; it won’t end well. Just take your time,” she said, then got up and stretched.

“It’s not nonsense, Asami Miki,” Erys huffed as she also stood up, though more to avoid having to look up to her. “I am quite serious about that.”

“I know. But it’s nonsense if the other party doesn’t accept it. And if you push too hard, you’ll be quite handily evicted from his life. So, take it easy,” she said with a sigh, and another one when she felt what Erys was thinking.

“If Joram’s happy, I’m happy. I don’t really care if he winds up with many women attached to him. But if anyone gets in the way of his happiness, I won’t hesitate to act,” she said casually, though she knew that Erys took her words as seriously as they were meant to be taken given the sudden burst of [Aura] from the woman.

“Do you think that you can, little fox?” Erys asked, threat heavy in her voice.

“I’m not the only consideration in what I said,” she replied casually. “Nor am I the only one who can read people. Joram can easily read a person’s deepest thoughts, more thoroughly than even I can. But he doesn’t out of respect for people. But if he loses that respect, then the limits he’s placed on himself will vanish, along with anything else that he perceives as a threat,” she finished by locking eyes with Erys, hoping that the Elder Dragon would realize just how serious she was.

For her part, Erys kept eye contact for several more minutes before looking away with a sigh and a tsk.

“It seems that my choice of mrrandii was a good one,” she said, nodding to herself. “Thank you for taking the time to educate me,” she said, turned, then bowed to her, shocking Asami quite a bit.

“I will ask mrrandii for his assistance, then. I’m sure that it will also benefit everyone here.”

Asami watched Erys straighten out then leave Joram’s study, leaving her alone to think.

She knew that Joram would help Erys with her problems. Well, if she was right, everyone’s problems. She remembered the two last major [Summon: Hero] events, and for as well as they’d gone, she was sure that anyone experimenting with that highly restricted and controlled magic wasn’t up to anything good. Especially since said experimentation was being done in secret.

Asami looked down at her hand before clenching it into a fist.

I need to get stronger, she thought grimly. Joram was already almost as strong as I was before he took his Path. Now? Now, I need to see what I can do to catch up. If I can get some of his Dust Crystals, that would be optimal. If not, then I’ll need to convince him to expand the Dungeon some more so that I can get a steady supply of Cores along with how much experience I’ll need to continue levelling….

And I’ll need to drag that silly Myra along for the ride, she thought as she grinned, knowing full-well that Myra would be burning with the desire to narrow the gap between her and Joram’s strength.

But to do that, they’d need to work on their Skills first, for she’d learned the way of being offered better Paths from the Great Protector from Joram’s thoughts.