Surprisingly, I wake up in the same position I remember going to sleep at. Sirgia still adorably naps in my arms as my little spoon, breathing softly while hugging her cheek to my palm.

As for the other women, I can spot Astrea and Cornelia behind me, nestled into each other. Elea lays on the bed behind my gentle Dwarf wife and stares at me with a warm gaze, already woken up before me.

One more glance around reveals that three people aren’t present on the bed. Teffith, Neira and Ailish disappeared somewhere. I bet the thirsty Succubus is taking her rest inside my soul after everything we have done recently. No surprise there. It might be the most comfortable place for her.

As for the other two, I find them a little further into the room, standing by the easel which we ruined with Neira yesterday. It’s now fixed, the canvas has been replaced, and a fully finished artwork decorates the white sheet, depicting my person embraced by all of them as we peacefully sleep together. All naked, of course.

The only complaint I have about it is that I seem even harder than when awake, with a certain element of the picture praising the heavens, which captures the viewer’s attention quite heavily with how it’s right in the very middle of everyone.

She just can’t stop drawing me in those situations, can’t she?

Teffith and Neira seem to be chatting casually while the latter makes some small changes or fixes bits of her masterpiece. They both still lack any clothing, displaying their alluring figures for everyone here to see. My artist wife’s dark skin is stained with colourful paint here and there.

With Elea’s help, I somehow wiggle myself out of my current predicament without rousing from sleep any of the other three ladies still catching some z’s around me and we step off the bed together. She smiles at me softly as my eyes land on her impressive bust, which is just impossible not to take a peek at. Her magnificent, dark-skinned breasts are truly out of this world.

With a quiet chuckle, I pull her into a brief kiss, squishing those heavenly peaks into my chest in the process. She doesn’t help much by rubbing them into me even more with a tiny smirk as we exchange loving pecks. This woman knows well where her strengths lie.

The conversing duo notices us and we join them, finally getting a better view of the picture Neira had drawn most likely shortly after waking up first. Elea steps aside and playfully smacks me on the butt, clearly announcing what she wants me to do.

Shaking my head with a smile, I approach the two dazzling beauties and exchange a few kisses with them.

“Morning, Teff, Neira. I hope you had a decent rest before draining yourself with this piece.”

“Don’t worry, Alastair. I’m full of energy. I’m pretty sure we all know who to thank for that,” my Dark Elf painter replies with a pleasant chuckle.

Teffith gives the awake beast a few dainty rubs with a tiny smirk as we glance at each other. Looks like everyone is on the same page when it comes to the energising benefits some of my stuff provides. I tenderly knead her slim tail in response.

“I hope this one doesn’t end up above the main entrance this time.” I sneak a glance at the creator of this art.

“Oh, there’s no way.” Neira smiles sweetly.

I comically wipe my forehead, making all of them chuckle.

“This isn’t worthy of displaying across the main lobby where my magnum opus is located. If I had known that you wanted something to match it, I would have put much more effort into sculpting your magnificent body. A few parts aren’t on par with the standards,” she continues after.

Sighing heavily, I shake my head. Because, of course. I can already tell how much effort was put into that part and she still calls it subpar. Neira’s ambition is truly enormous. Not that she lacks the talent to back it up. I’m afraid of the end result if she really pushes herself to her limits to achieve another magnum opus.

“For now, I will store it in my studio, with the other pieces that depict you, unless someone here would like to hang it in their personal room.” Neira roams her eyes over us and I notice that a few new faces have popped up behind me while we have been talking.

Cornelia carries Sirgia in a princess carry as my lovely Dwarf artificer slowly wakes up a little groggily. Astrea stands by their side with her usual, calm expression. I immediately brush through her grey hair and stroke her cute ears, making her thin tail sway in joy as she releases quiet purrs.

“Since everyone is up, should we jump into a bath? At least a few of us could use a good wash,” I ask, taking a peek at Neira, who still has the words ‘Resupply Here’ painted above her privates.

Everyone chuckles as our Dark Elf friend’s cheeks grow even darker. What seemed like a great idea in the heat of the moment, might not be so amazing the next morning after all. I give Neira a loving peck to reassure her that I loved her little pun.

“I agree. I’m still drowning in sweat. Let’s just grab something to cover ourselves and be on the way,” Cornelia replies to my question, starting to look around.

I raise a brow at her. “Did someone forget about a certain quite crucial detail?”

She glances at me with slight confusion while holding a towel in her hand until the realisation dawns on her. Another wave of chuckling echoes through the chamber as Cornelia’s eyes go wide and she pales a little.

A quiet groan escapes her lips while her cheeks gain some rosiness. “I really thought it was just a bad dream…”

Sirgia giggles cutely in her arms. “It’s just six more days.”

She instantly glares down at her. “Shut it. It’s all your fault. I’m going to get back at you, you’ll see.”

The mischievous Dwarf giggles some more and I approach them, taking the naughty petite girl off Cornelia’s arms while sharing a good morning kiss with my precious magician too. Sirgia isn’t left behind for long and we rub our cheeks together with warm smiles, pecking each other’s lips a few times.

Ailish materialises herself by my side and joins the greetings with Astrea as the last to receive a tame kiss, completely not minding the order. And, just like that, a sizable group of completely naked and quite messed up people walks through the corridors of the mansion to reach the baths. Cornelia tries to hide herself between everyone else while the other women pay no attention to the onlookers and have a pleasant chat as we travel to get cleaned.

They drag me into the women’s section and we join a few residents in their morning routine. A few girls give me various types of smiles while taking notice of our state and I wave at them a tad awkwardly. A certain colourful trio keeps biting on their lower lips in one of the corners, making me a bit worried about how long we might remain in this bath if a few of the onlookers decide to jump in for some fun.

Fortunately, time passes in a quite civilised atmosphere and I help my dear wives get all squeaky and clean, sneaking a few little sensual rubs or squeezes for those who enjoy a moment of closeness during the process. 

Accidentally, I catch a certain catgirl washing her precious place a bit more fervently than she should be supposed to, I think, while taking the sight of me taking care of my girls. That cursed pervert just can’t control herself, can she? This will be a tough week.

Without any accidents, we wrap things up decently quick and move out, leaving the other charming women to their personal beauty duties. I’m pretty sure most of them appreciate not having to relax in an awkward atmosphere where half of the room is almost in heat with me present.

Everyone except for me and Cornelia dresses up, reminding my tsun magician of her terrible life choices, and we walk together to the dining area. To not torture her too much, I accompany the blushing lady by her side with my arm around her waist, rubbing it reassuringly. We are both in it so maybe my own suffering will ease up hers.

A bunch of cooking enthusiasts have already prepared some neat dishes for everyone so we join the people taking their breakfast and sit around one long table, which is actually two of them banded together. Cornelia takes my right, Sirgia my left, and the others spread around. This time, it might be a little awkward sitting on my lap with something pointy sticking from between my legs so the spot remains free.

Shortly after we start eating, a certain sharkgirl walks into the hall while dressed in quite fitting shorts and a t-shirt. The women sitting by our table notice that I glance at Meru and follow my gaze, finding the fierce Nershark themselves. Before I get a chance, Elea starts waving at her to come and join us.

Meru looks around as if to check if the Dark Elf lady is gesturing at someone else but there’s no one around her. After our eyes meet again, I nod at her with a soft smile. She slowly reaches our place and slips between Teffith and Neira, just next to my side after Cornelia.

“You don’t need to feel awkward around us, Meru. If I’m not mistaken, you are now one of Alastair’s mates, aren’t you? You are always welcome to join us whenever you want,” Elea brushes her hand over the table.

Sirgia nods adorably as I feed her a tiny tomato. She quickly finishes nomming the tasty orb before speaking.

“Elea is right. I think all of us felt Master becoming one with you. If you have any questions, we can help and explain. You don’t always have to ask Master.”

“I think Astrea has already mentioned quite a lot of things during their little chats,” Neira chimes in.

“Speaking of which, where’s she?” Cornelia looks around after noticing the lack of our silent catgirl.

Sirgia giggles quietly and raises the table cloth while poking the naked beauty in the side. My charming magician glances down and her eyes meet Astrea’s, who is currently leisurely tracing her tongue over my member, slowly earning herself a different kind of meal.

Cornelia snorts and looks away while growing a bit redder on her cheeks. “You guys can’t catch a break even during breakfast, can you?”

“You wish you had that idea first, don’t you?” Sirgia giggles again and everyone chuckles as my beautiful researcher huffs at them, emphasising her enticing breasts by crossing her arms under them.

“Thank you,” Meru finally responds to their earlier reassurance with her soft but fierce voice after the laughter dies down. “I’m really happy to meet such understanding sister-mates. Please, take good care of me.”

She lowers her head a little and Cornelia quickly brings her back up.

“There’s no need for any of that. We are also happy that you get to join us. Let’s all work together to keep this dummy happy too. He can be a handful at times but he’s a good man. I’m fairly sure it’s almost impossible to find another like him.” She smiles at the sharkgirl warmly.

“Thank you. Alastair is all that I could need and want. I can’t have another now that our bodies have been tuned to each other anyway.”

“Oh. That’s…”

“So romantic,” Neira finishes Cornelia’s sentence with a wide smile. “Love so strong it causes the lovers’ bodies to tolerate only each other forever. This gives me so many amazing ideas.”

I smile wryly as our artist friend summons a notepad from her collar and starts scribbling some notes. Everyone else chuckles at her and turns back to Meru, who is watching the Dark Elf curiously. I reach out past Cornelia and gently ruffle through her hair.

“I’m really blessed to earn the respect and affection of such an amazing and fierce girl. I promise to never disappoint you so that you never get any second thoughts about your life-long decision. As everyone said, welcome to the family, Meru.”

She shows a very faint smile on her cute lips and a bit more dark blue shade surfaces on her light cheeks. The girls join me and band their hands over Meru’s, showing that we are all in one team, supporting her fully.

Such a wholesome bunch. I love them all.

At the same moment, I sigh a little heavier as a certain absent catgirl finishes her breakfast with a very nutritious milkshake and soon pops up from under the table between Meru’s legs, showing up right in front of her face, with their slim bodies almost touching each other.

“I told you Alastair would surely accept you as his mate just as he accepted me back then. Now, you are one of us. Let’s be great mates for him together to repay his kindness.”

“I will. I promise. Thank you, Astrea.”

I chuckle lightly and switch the affectionate pats between the two. “You don’t need to be so serious about repaying anything. I’m glad to have you. As long as everyone here is happy, I am happy too. Well, and one or a few more people that aren’t currently here.”

Cornelia snickers a little. “Only she is missing before this place turns into the peak of absurdity.”

“Only who?” A feminine voice arrives from behind me.

We turn around and find a pretty little lady with white hair standing there with a gentle smile.

“Lianne?!” My charming magician pales instantly and shouts in shock. “What in the Goddess’ name are you doing here?!”

The dainty Queen giggles sweetly and hugs me from behind, throwing her arms over my shoulders and placing a faint peck on my neck.

“Why, visiting my future husband, of course. A wife can’t neglect her man for too long, can she?” Lianne lets out another cute, ladylike giggle. “Oh. Looks like you are as lively down there as you should be in the morning. What a healthy and dutiful husband I found.”

Cornelia keeps staring at her with her jaw resting almost on the ground and we are also a little taken aback by the sudden and completely unexpected appearance of the Queen in a quite casual but beautiful azure dress. It’s thin enough to let me feel all of her petite bust pressing into my back, though.

Finally regathering her wits, my proud magician stands up from her seat in a flash and raises her arms into the air.

“Are you freaking insane?! There are so many people here and you don’t even have a mask! What if someone rats you out?!”

Lianne halts the embrace for a moment and stands straight with her palms still resting on my shoulders.

“I don’t know, will they?” She shows a confident little smirk and glances around.

Every person present in the dining hall that she moves her gaze over gives her a polite nod or a warm smile. I’m fairly confident in believing that none of our residents would willingly leak anything regarding me and everyone here out, including even Elise, whose mouth is hanging open just like Cornelia’s was not that long ago. Ria stands by her side with a smug expression, winking at me in the fashion implying that she will take care of her younger coworker.

I have a very weird feeling that the MILFS are in cahoots with each other.

“What if someone sees you on your way here?!” Cornelia still keeps going.

“I’m using the trolley in the tunnel, of course. My trusted allies make sure that there’s no way I bump into anyone on my way to the secret entrance. Are you that unhappy seeing me? Worried that I will steal your man? Perhaps someone wasn’t putting enough effort into loving him.” Lianne chuckles again.

My dumbfounded magician takes a deep breath and calms herself down a bit. She realises that she’s been flashing her lady bits to everyone and quickly sits back down with rosy cheeks. With an angry pout which looks cuter than deadly, she squints her eyes at the Queen.

“In your dreams, if you think that you can steal Alastair from me after he fucked your insatiable pussy once. Our history together dates far longer than yours. I fell for him first and he responded to my feelings even with how awkward I was.”

Getting increasingly redder, Cornelia gently takes my arm and hugs it to her chest, staring straight at Lianne. The Queen hides her impish grin behind her petite hand and giggles quietly.

~She’s so easy to manipulate,~ Lianne’s slightly seductive voice resounds in my head.

I chuckle inwardly. ~Are you the devil?~

~Someone needs to help you in getting through that stubbornness of hers. Some competition will be beneficial.~

I shake my head at that reasoning. ~Just don’t bully her too much.~

~I know.~ She giggles through our bond again.

Returning my focus to Cornelia, I meet her eyes and use my free hand to brush her cheek, placing a chaste kiss on the lips of my lovely magician.

“Don’t worry. She has a lot of catching up to even begin following in your footsteps.”

As she responds to my kiss with her own little peck, I catch her sneak a peek at Lianne with a proud smirk curving her lips when they are joined with mine.

These two will be a lot of fun to handle.

After the initial surprise, everyone moves a bit as much as they can and make some space for the Queen to join us. Right now, only Shino and Ghilerie are lacking and we would have everyone here. Well, I guess we could count Elyari too.

What a crazy morning.

We proceed to have a nice meal while the two new additions to our ever-growing family introduce themselves. Lianne withdraws her mischievous side and returns to her calmer and softer manner of speaking and being. No one has any doubts that she really is the Queen with how nobly she handles herself.

Well, maybe except for the part where she tries to smuggle her hand under the table cloth to grab a certain stick and give it a few strokes while casually talking and laughing with everyone. Cornelia keeps her guard up, though, and slaps Lianne’s petite fingers away, protecting my chastity from the lascivious Queen.

But, just as she has said, she has only dropped by for a moment and quickly escapes back to the castle after we finish breakfast. Cornelia escorts her royal friend to the tunnel while I and the girls tidy up after everyone, giving a hand to those washing the dishes.

Then, we all spread out. Today is another working night and there are a lot of things to take care of. Every person has some responsibilities or other stuff to focus on. A few of the girls walk around the mansion with me before splitting off to somewhere one by one.

Honestly, there’s so much to do that I’m not sure what to start with. I should check if the underground chamber which I offered to Nyfile as the temporary tailoring workshop is in a good state. I should respond to the letter from that so-called association. There’s also Velen, who should be arriving today, so I should make sure that her room and the lab are all perfect.

But, the sound of the doorbell interrupts my train of thoughts, courtesy of our master artificer. I quickly jog to the entrance to see who the guest is. Perhaps it’s the person in question.

Grabbing the knob and opening the door, I immediately realise one thing.

I’m buck naked, as per the bet, with Alastair Junior proudly saluting the skies.

Unfortunately, it’s too late and I find myself in front of a pretty woman with curled brown hair and amber eyes, holding onto two hefty suitcases with two more resting on the ground. Her slightly freckled face tilts down a bit and her gaze locks onto the obvious object, which causes the soft brows hiding behind her round glasses to rise.

“Uhhh… Hi.” I let out an awkward chuckle and make a friendly wave at our new resident alchemist.

Velen glances up and around before moving her attention back to me.

“I’m really sorry for this… display. Yes, this is the correct address, hahaha. It’s a quite complex situation and I hope I didn’t offend you. Let me just quickly cover—”

“No can do, Master.” Elea’s voice reaches my ears from behind.

My lovely Dark Elf wife comes to my side, dressed in her maid uniform now.

“Are you going to break your word?” She glances at me with a raised brow before turning to Velen. “Please, pardon Master. His attire, or rather the lack of it, is the result of a very important bet. I hope you can understand his situation. It would be dishonourable for him to back out after losing, wouldn’t it?”

Our new guest clears her throat, sneaking one more glance at my dangling bits, and nods.

“I see. That’s true. I was just a bit surprised to see his… splendid specimen… right at the door. I can assure you that it won’t impede my work. As I have mentioned earlier, I don’t really lose focus that… easily.”

Elea smiles at her. “Thank you very much for your understanding. Now, let’s come inside. Master is a very open person but he can get embarrassed by being seen too.”

“Oh. Of course. Let me just—”

“I’ll take care of that.” I grab her suitcases one by one and pile them in my arms. “Please, follow my Dark Elf friend here, whose name is Elea, by the way, and I’ll carry your things to your new room for you. Trying my best to stay out of your sight, at the same time.”

The dependable maid chuckles softly at my quiet remark and gestures at Velen, inviting her inside. I can barely see over the tower of four suitcases in front of me but the few glances that our new resident takes over her shoulder as we walk don’t escape my attention.

Seriously. What a life.

We reach the room the girls have prepared for her and I put the cargo down by the bed.

“Will this chamber be satisfactory? I’m not sure about the standards Lord Jericho provided to his prized alchemists,” I ask, placing my hands on my hips, which I quickly take back after noticing how silly that looks with a spear pointing to the ceiling.

Velen examines the room briefly and nods a few times in the process.

“It will be more than satisfactory. Our lodgings are much, much simpler than this. It kind of feels like one of the royal chambers in the main castle.”

I chuckle softly. “Well, this was a high-class hotel back in the day, and we made sure to add some more style ourselves too, so I’m happy to hear that it’s working well. Do you think there’s enough furniture for your things? Those that won’t go into the lab or storage, of course.”

“More than enough, for sure. I don’t have many belongings. It’s mostly lab stuff in these suitcases. I… own barely any additional clothes other than what I have on myself. It’s not like I was leaving the lab that much,” she admits, pausing for a second in the middle, perhaps getting a bit conscious and awkward about it. “Of course, not because I was forced to. I just tend to lose myself in my work quite a lot.”

“I think you will fit in here perfectly. There’s at least one person with the same condition. We are used to it so don’t worry about it.” I smile at her.

“And Master is very good at taking care of overworked people,” Elea adds.

“Don’t give her the wrong ideas. That sounds bad,” I quickly admonish the frivolous maid.

Velen shows a faint trace of a smile and arrives in front of us, involuntarily sneaking one more peek at my junk. Trust me, I know how hard it is not to stare, hahaha.

“May I see the laboratory next?”

“Sure.” I nod. “After that, Elea can take you on a brief tour of the mansion. I’m sure you will appreciate her company more than some random dude with an erection in the open.”

I catch my dear wife opening her mouth to say something but I hastily squint my eyes at her, effectively shutting the Dark Elf beauty down. We take a stroll to the stairs leading underground while I explain a few things about the places we pass by.

Quite some sounds of heavy labour escape Sirgia’s forge so we don’t interrupt the other often overworked person in the pursuit of her craft and I only mention our resident artificer. Neira greets us as we walk by her studio and lets Velen take a peek inside. She seems to be sketching a new project.

We finally find the lab and guide its new inhabitant inside. To our surprise, Dhosk, Meiya, Neiya, and Tyriana are waiting for us there, wearing quite fitting attire. I haven’t yet seen them in the clothes Jericho provided for our alchemists and I must say they look great.

The Lizardfolk steps forward and respectfully lowers her head. “Welcome, Lady Velen. It’s our pleasure to meet you.”

“Just Velen, please. I’m not a noble or anything. Am I right to assume that your group was working on the elixir with Lord Jericho?”

“Yes, albeit this is not everyone. We don’t really have a dedicated team and many people chimed in during the research. We are amateurs, to be honest, and I just began my journey on the path of alchemy after being a herbalist.”

“That’s okay. Everyone starts somewhere. Lord Jericho mentioned that I am to share my knowledge and experience with someone here so I do not mind in the slightest. A fresh mind is very appreciated in alchemy. I’m sure that we will be able to help each other out during our time working together,” Velen calmly shares her thoughts.

“Thank you very much.” My girls make a polite bow together.

Velen turns around to face me. “I can see that Lord Jericho wasn’t lying. This place is even better equipped than our best laboratories. You can expect great things after I settle myself in and learn a bit about the past and current projects that have been researched here.”

“I appreciate that. We don’t really have any pressing matters to take care of so people here have pretty much free reins in what they work on. I do drop an idea or two for them as they pop up in my mind but it’s usually just small things that Dhosk and the other women had no issues creating. I hope the fact that many of those products are brothel-related doesn't turn you off.”

She shakes her head. “Of course not. True alchemists don’t care about the purpose or origins of the substance but about the thrill of discovery, research, experimentation, and where all the work can lead them. And, you have already proved that you can provide us with all those aspects through the analysis of the elixir. I still can’t believe I will be allowed to learn its secrets.”

I chuckle wryly and Elea comes closer to my side.

“Should we reveal the two most valuable resources in its creation?”

She instantly earns all of Velen’s attention and smiles cryptically at the Human woman. The thirst for knowledge is visible in her eyes as they follow Elea’s fingers moving down my chest, stomach, navel, and finally nether regions. The dark-skinned beauty wraps her digits around my shaft and gives my member a few unhurried pumps.

Velen takes in the new information while blinking repeatedly a few times, trying to process everything properly. Meanwhile, Elea leans more onto me from the side and joins our lips together. Still stroking my shaft, she pursues my tongue with quite the passion.

After a brief moment of those pleasant caresses, she withdraws herself, tracing her fingers over my length from the base to the very tip. A faint trail of saliva connects our parting mouths and she scoops a tiny bit of precum escaping my glans. She ostentatiously licks her finger and lips next.

I can literally see the gears in Velen’s head turning until they click in place. She raises her brows again and blinks a few more times before speaking.

“Those are…”

“Master’s seed and saliva, correct,” Elea answers before she can finish. “As you have said yourself, he’s quite a splendid specimen. Without these two ingredients, the elixir might not be as miraculous.”

I can only smile at them because what the fuck else am I supposed to do? She isn’t lying and that’s just how it is, but it’s still awkward as hell when presented in front of someone normal, without earlier knowledge of me. I can only hope it’s not too much for our new friend.

“That’s so fascinating.” Velen stares straight at my cock with slight amazement in her amber eyes.

Okay. I take that back. All researchers are freaks. Case closed.

“And he really can produce enough to provide for so much of the elixir?”

“Would you like to see for yourself?” Elea grins at her, reaching down towards the obvious thing again.

I gently grab her wrist. “Alright, girls, let’s not go too far. You are not going to jack me off in front of our new colleague. Let me save whatever of my face I have left, for a bit at least.”

Elea chuckles impishly and backs away. The Satyr sisters giggle quietly and even Dhosk smirks a little. They are having way too much fun teasing the newcomers.

“Well, I look forward to working with you then, Velen. Whenever they become a bit too much, just let me know. This place has a quite… peculiar atmosphere. Many women share a kind of casual relationship with me and might sometimes talk about such things. Fortunately, you seem to be surrounded by ones that don’t seem to be affected by my person.”

“Yet,” Elea adds, earning herself a brief glare from me.

Velen moves her eyes up from my penis and shows a faint smile. “I look forward to working here too, Sir Alastair, or should I say, Master Alastair?”

“Just Alastair or Al is fine. Don’t let them tell you otherwise.” I chuckle.

She nods and the two of us leave before things escalate even further. Velen joins the other women present in the lab to introduce herself in more detail to them and chat with a few of her new friends and coworkers.

I shake my head at my chocolate beauty after we move away from the entrance far enough.

“Can you girls not tempt every new resident with my dick? What kind of a wife tries to literally seduce other women with her husband?”

“The best one.” She chuckles sweetly and pecks my cheek.

“Seriously…” I let out a faint sigh. “So, while we have a moment for ourselves, what’s that you mentioned earlier? About the thing you have in mind that you would like to receive from me? I’m so much obliged to listen to your wish after everything you have done for me.”

“Whenever you get some free time, Master, I would like to travel with you somewhere. There’s no hurry. It’s not anything critical like Meru’s case. It can happen at any time and I’m fine waiting for years.”

“I would be the worst husband to make my wife wait years for something.” I wrap my arm around her curvaceous waist. “Where do you want to go?”

“My old settlement. The first one.”

“Oh.”

“Shocking, right?” She smiles softly. “It’s an old chapter of my life but it’s not yet completely closed. I would like to finish it with my own two hands before fully moving on with my new life. I’m already plenty satisfied with where I am but this is just a small, selfish wish of mine. And I think of my ex-subordinates too.”

“I see. Honestly, I would love to see this jerk who caused all of your pain myself. There are a few things we could explain to each other.”

Elea chuckles again and pulls me into a loving kiss.

“As much as I would be thrilled to watch that, I want to be the one to explain a few things to him. I would just like my dear husband to accompany me on this journey. I know that I might appear dependable in your eyes but I still worry about a thing or two. Your support… gives me strength, Alastair.”

I rub her back dearly, without any hint of any mischievous thoughts. We embrace each other with pure feelings and emotions.

“Just as I am your strength, you are mine, both metaphorically and technically,” I whisper to her long ear decorated with dark silver rings. “I will give you as much support as you need. We will make that asshole suffer. He has no idea what’s coming for him.”

We stand in the dim light of the underground passages while tenderly hugging each other. After a minute or two, Elea draws her face back and I brush her cheek with my thumb to wipe off a single tear travelling over her skin. I can feel that those are happy tears.

Exchanging a few more gentle kisses, we entwine our fingers together and walk back to the surface. I accompany Elea for some more time, giving her a hand in her daily responsibilities. I just feel like spending some more time with my dependable Elf wife. She always escapes so quickly, working in the shadows while letting others be in the spotlight. I bet it comes from her time as a Princess back in the past. She must have done so much for her people.

After I help her with a bunch of things, having a pleasant talk in the process, she finally manages to shove me aside, getting playfully angry that I’m doting on her so much while there are so many things waiting for my attention. She’s just so… herself.

Glancing around the hallway that I have been left in, I put my hands on my hips and look towards a certain spot near the ceiling.

“You are there, aren’t you?” I raise my brow at seemingly nothing.

Then, a certain spidergirl literally materialises where I’m looking and uses her onyx legs to descend to the ground. I plop my hand on Hecate’s hair, in a much, much better state already. And she’s obediently wearing the panties Sirgia made for her and a loose tank-top. We can’t inconvenience her too much.

“How come you can always hide away from everyone so perfectly? You were literally in front of me.”

She tilts her head adorably and then splits the closed gap in her underwear. I watch how she uses her Human hands and two spider legs to weave her thread a little. In just a few seconds, she creates a complex but seemingly chaotic formation of lines at completely random angles, glancing up at me.

“I… see?” I stare at her in slight confusion.

Hecate bends her fingers a little and… her chest disappears.

Like, it’s gone. A huge nothing between her shoulders and stomach.

My eyes instantly go wide. Before I can ask about it though, she makes another small motion and her lost body comes back. Noticing the slight glint in the myriad of super-thin threads, I finally get it.

“Holy fuck! You can refract light with those?!”

She tilts her head once again.

“I mean, you can set your webs in the position allowing them to change how the light shines so that it goes around your body?”

After a brief moment of pondering, she nods, revealing that while I wasn’t paying attention, the rest of her legs made a similar array of thin wires behind her.

“Shit! That’s so damn OP!”

Laughing to myself, I ruffle through her hair some more.

“I guess I’ll let you know whenever I need to assassinate someone, hahaha. You are truly the perfect person for the job. Martial arts, poison, and camouflage. God damn, you are so badass.”