When we arrived back at Felicia's, we were greeted by the sight of Victoria's bouncing breasts as she ran towards our direction. Glancing at Orluk, however, his cool expression remained unchanged. Well, would you look at that? He's not a pervert like me. Another reason why Fia should be with him. He won't do something sneaky like grooming her to be his lover once she's older. If it was me, with a dark elf loli that cute, I don't know if I can resist to be honest.

Panting, holding her knees with both hands, she asked about the current situation.

“Don’t worry.” I smiled. “They’re not our enemies. I’ll explain once we’re with Felicia.”

Entering the tent, I was asked the same question by the alchemist. It took a while, but I got her and Victoria up to speed. Unfortunately, Fia had yet to regain her consciousness.

“Hmm… you actually told them about that Sherry girl,” Felicia spoke. “And her as well.” She glanced towards Victoria.

“Don’t worry!” The knightness pat her chest. “I know how to keep a secret!”

“I really quite doubt that.” The alchemist sighed, after throwing Victoria another glare. “But, I’m glad that they weren’t an enemy. Six S-rank monsters all at once, even for you, Milord, it’s too much.”

Heh, she got a point. I did defeat one dragon pretty handily, but it was already wounded. Six of it at once — I don’t know if I can do it to be honest.

...But, even so, I still would have a plan. Mainly, enter their mouth and ravage their insides.

And, if worst comes to worst, Felicia can escape with Orluk and Fia, while I become a bait to distract them.

Self-sacrifice. If I’m going to be the brave man I want to be, I should start learning that. To suffer and put your lives on the line for the goodness of others. It’s like the heroes in those fantasy novels. Not that I fancy myself being a hero or anything. No hero can have a personality as bad as I have.

“Also, I would propose telling those slaves outside to blame them for the slaughter.” Felicia continued. “With their permission, of course.”

“Don’t worry.” Orluk chuckled. “My big sister would love to have the glory.”

“Good!” The alchemist clapped her hands. “We don’t really need the spotlight on us.”

“...Oh, right. Almost forgot to ask.” The ogre continued. “How long would it take to make the cure? I’m not sure if she could stay for long.”

"With any luck, I could finish in the morning. I would start the blood analysis now and if I could find the necessary materials from those wagons, I could brew a cure right away. My current hypothesis is that she got poisoned by some animal. Perhaps a scorpion of some sort. Do you recall anything like that happening?"

The ogre paused, scratching his chin for a bit. 

And then, his eyes lit up.

"...Oh for the love of—How could I forget?! I remember now! It was two weeks ago. I saw her right leg having a large bump on it. I asked her about it and she said a scorpion sting her there. She said it didn't hurt though and the next morning, the bump was completely gone, so I didn't think much about it. Please, forgive me for this idiocy!" 

He bowed as deeply as he could. Felicia ignored his attempt at apology, however, as she bit her thumb, frowning, seemingly deep in thought.

"...Two weeks… not painful… swelling gone overnight…" 

Her eyes bolted wide open. "I solved it! I know exactly the species that stung her! But, just in case, I should still test the blood first."

She stood up and rushed outside, going straight to her makeshift lab.

Orluk beamed, looking as if this was the happiest day in his life. "You have a wonderful mate, Master Hugo."

"Yeah, she's amazing, isn't she?"

Without realizing it, I was beaming as well.

--------

As Felicia worked, Orluk returned to his sister to tell her about our arrangement. Unfortunately, just as I feared, he returned with not just her, but the entire ogre "bandits" as well. There were about thirty to forty in number.

"Yo!" The ogress raised her left arm with a grin. "Hope you don't mind we start a party here! We'll stay till morning or however long you want but me and my men — we'll drink all the booze you have!"

"And the meat as well!" One of her subordinates yelled.

"Yeah! Let's have a party!"

Before I could say anything, the ogres had dispersed, going through every single wagon that they could get their grubby hands on.

"Apologies, Master Hugo... my big sister—there's no stopping her once she makes up her mind." Orluk came to me with a look of shame. "But she promised that they would leave the medicine wagons alone. And they would have their party away from here, so they wouldn't disturb you or Mistress Felicia."

"Well, as long as Fia can rest well, I guess I don't mind." I sighed. "I don't really care for the rest of the wagons. Do whatever you want." I smiled.

"Thank you, Master Hugo. We truly don't deserve your generosity." He bowed as deeply as he could.

-------

Morning came without a hitch. With the sound of cheers and roars from the distance, Felicia worked through the entire night for Fia's cure. Her guess was right. The girl was indeed poisoned by that scorpion. Camouflage Scorpion was its name. It was a A-rank monster that would sting prey larger than itself by blending into the environment. The rank came from that ability alone since you could easily defeat it otherwise, what with it being a normal-sized scorpion. Fia was fortunate she was a dark elf whose physiology resisted poison. A human would die overnight from it while her symptoms only worsened significantly after two weeks. Her body couldn't cure the poison on its own, but it could keep it at bay. At least, until she was overcome with exhaustion from the wagon pulling she had to do.

So was Felicia's explanation. And I knew better than to argue with the expert.

As for me, I only got a few hours of sleep, having to watch over Fia. Victoria told me that she would watch over her in my stead, but she quickly fell asleep herself. Only when Orluk gave his offer that I could rest.

Oh, and Karla offered me to join in on her little drunken party, which I refused, of course. Luckily for them, there were barrels upon barrels of wine to pillage, as well as a wagon worth of jewelry and gems. No meat though. They had to hunt that on their own.

The potion worked like a charm. Fia, who had woken up in the morning, promptly drank it before she had her breakfast. The effect manifested immediately. She stood up, walked outside the tent, and even did a little twirl with her dress.

This is it. This is what pure cuteness looks like.

And so, it was time for us to depart.

--------

We were now outside the encampment, with the ogres standing in front of us. After a short talk with Orluk, Karla had agreed to take the credit for this whole mess. And she made sure to tell that to the freed slaves as well. Some actually decided to join them even, after partaking in their booze and meat last night.

"Here ya' go! Your share of the loot!" With her all-too-familiar shark-teeth grin, Karla handed me a large pouch filled to the brim with jewels and gems. "Won't be fair if we keep everything to ourselves, would it?"

Technically, I did all the work so I should get all the loot, but whatever. This is enough to get us a stay at the most expensive inn for months.

"Be careful out there, alright?" I smiled at Orluk, who stood beside her. "And you too, Fia." The dark elf was also there. I bent down and ruffled her hair.

"Thank you so much, Big Brother Hugo! And you too, Big Sister Felicia!"

"It's no problem at all." The redhead mage smiled back. She was standing right to my left. "In fact, curing you this morning, you make me realize something important. Something I should've known a long time ago." Noticing her questioning look, she knelt down and put her hands on her tiny shoulders. "But I'll tell you when you're older, alright?"

"...Okay! That's a promise!" The dark elf giggled.

Her cheerful demeanor didn't last long however.

"...Will I see you again? You're an adventurer, right? You're going to go to faraway places I can never visit…" She looked down, tears pooling in her eyes.

"Don't worry." I crouched down and lifted her chin up. "If fate allows it, we'll see each other again."

"Fate?" She tilted her head.

"Yes, fate. We got to meet you because of fate. And I'm sure fate will make us meet once more in the future. Just live your life to the fullest, no matter how tough it gets." Giving her my brightest smile, I patted her on the head.

I stood up, my sight traveling towards Orluk. Our eyes met.

Protect her. That's my order to you.

Of course, Master Hugo. I'll protect her with my life.

We didn't need to say a word.

--------

The ogres soon left with their worms. Unfortunately, they couldn't give us a ride to Arborea since it would attract too much attention. They would go straight to the far south, back into the territory of the Wisdom Demon Lord. The freed slaves also went with them, hoping they could start a new, free life there.

As for the wagons, all the valuable stuff had been cleared out, leaving only things that the ogres didn't find value in or things that were too cumbersome to carry back, like the wagons themselves.

Felicia cleared the wagons of their medicinal herbs. As for me, I grabbed a bunch of books, storing them inside my Dimensional Storage. Of course, I still had my Bag of Holding, but I figured that now I could cast the spell, I might as well use it.

As for Victoria, well, the girl hadn't been saying much lately, come to think of it. Instead, she kept following me around like a lost puppy, looking as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.

With a sigh, I turned around to face her. "Alright. What is it? You want to say something, don't you? Come on, cough it up. I won't bite." I gave a relaxed smile.

She let out a small gasp. Clearly, she didn't expect me being this forward all of a sudden.

"Well, it's just…" She averted her gaze, before sighing as well. "I've been thinking… about a lot of things…" She put her hands together on the front of her skirt. "I realized… I'm no knight of justice after all…"

Oh? This is interesting.

"What makes you think that?" I approached her.

"You… you are the real knight of justice, Sir Hugo. You helped those two out of your own kindness, while I could only watch from the sidelines. I couldn't even bear to watch you doing it. To think—to think there would be so much blood in the process…"

Shaking, she looked down, clenching her fists. With a gentle smile, I took said fists and held them together.

"Then why don't you quit?"

"Quit?"

"Quit being an ally of justice. I'm certainly not that. I'm doing this for my own satisfaction, nothing more, nothing less. I'm no hero. I'm nothing like your beloved Lady Ashleen. I'm just a perverted adventurer with an above average aptitude in magic."

She fell silent.

"And besides," I gripped her hands tighter. "I want to know the real you, Victoria."

"... There's nothing to know." She withdrew her hands. "Victoria is a weak, useless girl whose existence is a bane on the House of Relfatia. She's nothing like her older sister. Not in the slightest."

She bit her lip, looking as if she could cry at any moment.

"Milord! Are you finished?"

Unfortunately, our conversation was cut short by the arrival of Felicia.

"I'm ready to go now if you are. Hmm?" She looked at Victoria. "Did I interrupt something?"

"Yeah, you kinda did actually," I smiled grimly.

"N-nothing! You interrupt nothing!" Victoria corrected.

"Hmph, if you think on flirting with Milord, think again." She stared coldly. "He's mine. And I'm not sharing him with a whelp like you."

Well, there goes the mood. Thanks, Felicia.

I guess for now, I'll just have to let her sort out her feelings for herself.

----------

Our next three weeks were spent on the road. Drinking water we conjured by magic, eating monster meat, either fresh or dried, walking across the barren wasteland that looked exactly the same, fighting off monsters—it really was not the most pleasant journey one could have. Compared to all those months traversing the Holy Continent, the whole environment was far less exciting. No mountains, no lakes, no nothing. Just more cracked, barren earth, everywhere the eyes could see.

To my surprise, the only complaint I heard from Victoria was how she wanted a bath. She never got tired from hauling all those heavy armor on her. I didn't know if she was just putting a front, but I certainly didn't see any signs of exhaustion coming from her.

I did notice a change on her though. She's now… quieter, for a lack of a better word. She no longer proclaimed herself to be Ashleen or Ela or whatever other character she had in her mind. Even so, she never brought up the conversation we had back at the merchant camp. I wasn't complaining, of course, since this also came with the positive effect of her not overestimating her own ability. She wouldn't just run forward, thrusting her rapier on every monster she saw.

As for Felicia, she had changed as well. She seemed to be a lot more cheerful. That confident smile of hers now adorned her lips a lot more often.

It wasn't hard to imagine why. Curing Fia must have increased her confidence by tenfold.

What I didn't expect however was what she did the night after.

As usual, we shared a tent together, with Victoria sleeping outside instead. It was her turn to take watch, but, as I was just beginning to drift off into slumberland, she came into the tent and woke me up.

"Huh?" I sat up groggily. "What's going on? A monster attack?"

"No, Milord, I… just want to talk to you for a bit." 

She was sitting beside me, hugging her legs, refusing to look at me. Yawning, I scratched the back of my head. What's gotten into her?

"Remember your promise? Back then on the ship? I… I think I want to take you up on that now."

My promise?

...Oh… ooohhhhh…

"I did good, didn't I? Saving that dark elf?" She gave a glance and an awkward smile. "So, I think… I deserve a reward, don't you think? You said it yourself. You want me healing others with my alchemy more."

"...Of course. Thought you'd never ask."

Smiling, I moved to position myself right behind her. I gently pulled her onto my lap, earning a gasp from the ex-necromancer.

Sorry Sherry, but she really has earned it. I'd be an awful liar if I refuse her now.

"So… Do you want a rough one or a gentle one?"

"A-ah, a gentle one, please!"

"Got it. One breast massage coming up!"

With great swiftness, I launched my hands at those soft, fatty mounds, giving her no time to ready herself.

"A-ahn!"

*Squeezee*

"I-I said gentle, Milord, you can't just—"

"This is gentle." I grinned. "You won't feel it if I hold back too much, you know."

To be honest, I don't really know how to properly grope a woman's breast. All my knowledge comes from all those porn I used to furiously watch and read and I am pretty sure what they displayed wouldn't hold up that well in the real world. I imagine Alan could've taught me if I were older, but that's no longer an option, is it? Thus, for now, I'll just let my male instinct take the lead.

The size of her breasts were just perfect. They were just slightly bigger than the palm of my hands, allowing me to squeeze those juicy fat as much as I wanted.

Fuck! I missed this so much! The last time I got to squeeze a woman's boobs was Renee's when I was still a baby!

...Heh, the little guy down there is getting hard. Since her butt is right on top of my crotch, she should feel it poking right now. I'm sure she wouldn't mind though.

"Wow, these sure are big. I can't believe you go every day without a bra with breasts these big. Don't you realize how much it bothers me seeing them bounce with every move you make?" I whispered to her ears.

"Y-you don't like it, Milord?" She whispered back between her gasps.

"Oh no, I like it a lot. Combined with your criminally high skirt slit, you really know how to attract a man, don't you?"

"T-that's— aaahnn! I-I'm glad you like it, Milord. Please, feel free to—ahhnn!—to ogle as much as you like."

Being this close, I could smell her scent all too clearly. It was obvious she had put on some perfume to mask the scent of her sweat. Heh, as if I wouldn't like smelling the sweat of a pretty woman like her, being the degenerate that I was.

Well, time for stage 2.

My thumbs switched to wandering mode, looking for the holy grail that was her nipples. With the current position, I couldn't really see where they were, but it really wasn't that hard to find the center of her buxom mounds.

"Aahhnnnnhh!"

When my thumbs found the jackpot, she moaned even louder. And judging by her shivering, she really wasn't faking it.

So far so good. I'm not boring her with my amateurish moves.

"Well, look at this! They're this hard already! You really like this, don't you?" I smirked. Gotta keep that dirty talk going. I heard girls like that in bed.

"O-of course they're hard! You're groping me just as hard as you did back on the ship!"

"Well, I'll go even harder. Prepare yourself."

Combining my thumbs with my index fingers, I pinched her nipples.

"Aaahhnnnnnn!"

I hugged her tighter, not letting her trembling body go. Not stopping my assault, I now circled my thumbs around her areola. This is just me following those doujins I used to read, hoping Felicia would react just like those heroines.

"Haa… haa… haa… S-stop…"

"Hmm?" My grin widened. "I can't hear you. Speak up."

"S-stop… Haa… I'm going to—Aahn!"

"Going to what?"

"Going to… going to… aahnnn!"

Wow, is making a girl cum really this easy? I thought she's supposed to be experienced at this sort of thing. She's acting like a complete virgin who never got groped before.

I continued squeezing and groping, now shifting into lifting her breasts upwards. I also heard girls liked this kind of movement. Putting my palms underneath the two sweaty lumps of fat, I pushed upwards, making sure not to lose my grip in the process.

"Hyaaann!"

Heh, I'm betting her panties are already wet right now. Too bad my hands can't go down there. The promise is just a breast massage after all.

At this point, my boner had grown to its full, uncomfortable size, stretching my shorts to their very limit. It had been two years since Fiora bought them for me, and with my growth spurt, they had grown a bit too small for my liking.

I really should find a new one in Arborea. Though I think I'm too old for shorts now. Gonna get a pair of trousers instead.

But then again, unlike my old body, I don't think I'm growing any hair on my legs. Maybe I can still get by with shorts for a while longer?

...Nah. It just looks awkward with how tall I'm getting.

I continued ravaging her chest, enjoying all the cute groans and moans she was making. "Come on now. Just let it all out. I don't mind." I whispered.

She didn't respond. Instead, in a bold move that surprised me, she began grinding her butt into my holy sword.

"Hmm? What's this? You really are horny, aren't you? How naughty. To desire the innocent flesh of a boy barely out of his puberty…" Sorry, Felicia, but I just can't help teasing you like this with how cute you've been.

"T-that's not fair!" she replied. "You're a big pervert yourself, Milord! You can't blame me for— aahnnn!"

My nostrils flared as my brain flooded itself with pleasure. I'm glad she's not looking at my face right now as I probably now have the most disgusting, perverted look on my face. I can't help it. A girl's soft behind is rubbing my manhood. Even Fiora never got this far!

Ooh, I can feel it. I'm reaching my limit. Going to fire my cannon anytime now.

Urgh, pathetic. Just a little stimulation and you're already losing control. You really are a virgin, Hugo.

I should end this now. I refuse to finish before her!

In an instant, I moved my mouth forward and bit on Felicia's right earlobe.

"♥KYAAAAHHHH♥"

With a thunderous yell, she exploded. A few seconds later, I could feel the wetness spreading on her buttocks, seeping into my shorts.

Enough for me to lose control as well.

"Haah…"

I let out a long sigh of relief as I soaked my pants with my sticky mess.

I can't help it. I was on the brink and her reaction pushed me over the edge.

Releasing Felicia, I scooted backwards, assessing the state of my shorts. Yep. That's wet alright. I'll need to clean up after this for sure.

Red-faced, Felicia turned around to face me. Looking at the front of her white underdress, and the red panties underneath, there was no doubt she just came.

"I-I'm sorry." She averted her gaze. "I can't—"

"Can't what? Not grind your butt into my crotch?" I grinned. "Sure, it wasn't part of a deal but I'll give you that for free. I did bite your earlobe after all." I stood up, not hiding the large wet patch in the front of my pants in the slightest. "Here." I offered my hand. "Let me help you get up."

Felicia smiled ever so bashfully as she took my hand, lifting herself up in the process. Sure enough, her dress was just as wet as my shorts, the fabric clinging tightly at the panties underneath, showing their color to the world.

"So, did you like my massage?" I smirked.

"V-very much so, Milord." She blushed, averting her gaze. "It really is different, when the one doing it is the man you love."

"Yeah, I can see that." I chuckled, staring at her soaked garments. "Well, time to clean up. No rivers nearby so we'll just have to use our water magic."

"O-out in the open?"

"Don't worry. Victoria's sleeping. And there aren't anyone else around. As for me, I won't peek. I just came myself so my little guy is resting right now." I grinned.

At my statement, I noticed her eyes traveling downwards towards my crotch, before her face reddened yet again. Yep, this is what you did alright.

"Y-you know, I'm fine with you taking a peek…"

"Sir Hugo, Miss Felicia, is something wrong? I heard weird noises coming from your tent.”

Felicia’s face turned pale. Fuck! Victoria’s awake?

“Can I come in”

“W-wait, hold on a sec!”

I rapidly grabbed my wand I had put on the corner and drew the liquid off my shorts. It didn’t work nearly as well as with water, for obvious reasons, but it should be enough so I didn’t look like I had wet my pants.

“Stay here!” I whispered to Felicia, who responded with a nod.

Exiting the tent, I was greeted by the confused look of the elven knightess.

“Did something happen?”

“N-no! Nothing happens! Felicia was just having a nightmare, that’s all!” She must be referring to all those loud moans she was making.

“Really?! That’s terrible!” She clasped her hands together. “Is she better now?”

“She’s fine. You don’t have to worry about a thing. Now, why don’t you go back to sleep? I’ll handle the watch.”

Being the gullible girl that she was, Victoria readily bought my story. She walked back to the tree and took a seat there, leaning into it. Before long, she let out a yawn before closing her eyes, drifting back into dreamland once more.

I let out a sigh of relief. Whew, that was close. Thank God she didn’t enter when we were doing it.

...Wait, why are we hiding it anyway? She already knows we’re a couple. There’s nothing wrong about a couple doing couple stuff.

But, judging by her reaction, she doesn’t seem to know what sex is. And I really don’t want to be the one giving The Talk to her.

Returning back to the tent, I told Felicia that it was okay for her to clean up now. She nodded without a word. For her privacy, I erected three simple stone slabs with my Earth Magic. With the mood being ruined, it was obvious she no longer wanted to do any perverted things with me for the rest of the night, so I took the gentlemanly option and decided not to peek.

After she finished, it was my turn. As usual, I stored my dirty clothes in my Dimensional Storage for later washing before cleaning myself down there with a jet of water from my wand. Changing into a different set of clothing, it seemed like nothing naughty ever happened between me and her.

At least, until we entered the tent once again. The air inside was filled with the smell of sex. Not a bad smell by any means, but it was a constant reminder that we just came together inside the place minutes ago.

Felicia, still beet-faced, offered to take the watch from me, which I accepted. Heh, seems like she will need some time alone to calm down.

Before long, I fell asleep with a smile on my face.