*clang*

“Oomph.”

*zhing*

*ptuh*

“Are you alright, magus?”

Great, another mouthful of blood.

Hi!  I’m not just the president of the Idiot Club for Men.  I’m also a member.

“[Touch of Menerva]”

*ving* *thunk*

Ow…

“It's okay Huga.  I need this.”

Do I?  Really?

We’re in the ravine dividing the easten and western sides of the ridge on the southside of Pearlden.  The sun is up, but still low enough to fill the ravine with shadow.  Clear sky but the temp is still brisk.

A tall powerfully built woman armored in plate, carrying a heavy shield and training mace, faces off against a dark armored man wielding two training swords.

An honest man.  A loyal man.  Responsible, fair, brave, generous, kind, handsome, oh, and humble.  Like super humble.

Let’s just put it this way.

That’s me- Shit!

*gong*

And that me?  Is getting his ass kicked.

Ugh…

*ptuh*

“Huga.  Again.”

Lunge.  Sweep.  Stab.

Yeah, I’m sparring with Huga right now.  Been two weeks since Isekai ER and she is back to a hundred percent.  Pretty fucking amazing considering the injuries she had.

Isekai ER night was followed up by regular checkups from me and the doctors.  Really just touch ups and light patches to make sure the wounds were healing properly.

Again, while my [Recovery Magic] cheat is fucking amazing compared to the healing magic of this world?  Still doesn’t make the trauma, the strain, the body and mind are put through magically (hehe) disappear.

That takes time.  Can speed it up with regular checkups and more healing magic later but, still gotta give it time.

Well for Huga, my first Isekai ER patient and Nigs sister, that time is up.  This Mithral-ranked fighter is back to full strength and I wanted to see what that means.

*geng*

*blech*

Christ on a cross that hurt.

“Are you really okay, husband?!”

Some of the harem is worried.

“Red.  It's okay.  I need this.”

Didn’t take long for me to get, mostly, used to fighting the Gold-ranked dwarf chick, the Demolisher.  But she can still get major hits in.  Hell, can fight multiple Silver-ranks and below at once without much trouble.

At least in war machine mode.

[Mana Manipulation] is a sort of built in cheat for us hero types I guess.  And when I use it to flood my blood with my ocean of mana?  Like injecting magic nitro into my veins.  I become faster, stronger, tougher.  Heal scarily damn fast and think even quicker.

Throw in my [Super Senses] cheat and, yeah, one man army level shit.

But?  Its not enough.  Fighting that devil in the dungeon showed me that.  He took us all on.  Even with war machine mode he managed to knock me down.  Roughed up Frazur too.  Got to have some serious mojo to beat up a dragon by yourself.

If I didn’t have those super swords?  If I wasn’t a necromancer and swordmage?

Might really have lost.

So, gotta get tougher.  Gotta get stronger.  Fight harderer and smarterer.  Are those even words?

Deflect.  Counter.

*pow*

Ow...

No pain no gain.  Right?

*smooch* *peck*

Eh?

The loli dynamic duo, Princess Isebaue and Viscountess Ymanie, have snuck up and each taken a cheek to kiss.  They look super cute in Stormgarde student uniforms.

Not hard for them to reach my face right now since I’m down on one knee.  Breathing heavy and drenched in sweat.  Mostly my own for a change.  Oh, and blood too.  Also mostly my own.

At least Huga is hurting too.  Though she is still standing just fine and clearly not as beaten up as me.  Scratches compared to my gouges.  Just a flesh wound my ass.

Quick flirty curtsies from the heinie-nesses.

“We are going to first period, my lion.  Don’t think we’ll let you escape for lunch either.”

“We will miss you, my lord.”

Blowing kisses is a thing on this world too and both send plenty my way as they head for the stairs leading up to the footbridge that connects Lions Keep and Stormgarde.

Followed by their nannies and White Rose knights.  Including knight chick, captain tin can’s princess-play ex-girlfriend, Matylda Jouveral.  Frankie says she’s still “negotiating” for a slot in the harem.

Hey, I love pussy as much as the next guy but I’m not a horndog.  And I still have absolutely no fucking clue how I’m going to explain this when if I get back.  So maybe not tossing up every skirt in sight will work in my favor?  Show that I was practicing some restraint.  Sort of?

Yes waiter, one order of deluding myself please.  Extra karma on the side.  Make the order to go too.  Thank you.

“Jon-kun.  I-I’ll be going too.”

Unlike the dynamic duo, Hitomi is keeping a shy respectful distance.  The whole demure oriental lady thing really revs my engine.

Japanese version of lady in the streets but freak in the sheets.

Huh.  Never thought about this before.  What happens to Hitomi and me if we get back?  She’ll still be a senior high schooler but I’ll be, well, old again.  Shit, that’s a can to kick down the road.  Way down the road.

“Uh, Hitomi?  Why aren’t you in disguise?”

My japanese high school girlfriend still looks japanese.  In public she’s been disguising herself to not look, well, japanese.

The aquecian heroes looking oriental, instead of european, is widely known.  Previously she’s been disguising herself to look aquecian.  A sort of mediterranean look.

There are plenty of aquecians in Stormgarde and they might recognise her as the “Shadow Mistress.”  That could be bad.

“I…”  Nervous?  “Y-you are m-my boyfriend, r-right?”  Nod.  “You.  Are what I want.”  Awe, sweet.  “This school.  Is what I want.”

“Hitomi, are you sure about this?”

She nods.

“I.  I want your love.  And trust.”  Eh?  “So.  I need to give you mine t-mmph.”

“[Embrace of Hygieia]”

The rest of her words are lost as my lips take hers.  My tongue follows the surprise attack and she quickly repays my passion with her own.

The spell was to, mostly, clean the blood and sweat off me.  Don’t want to get shinobi girl’s school uniform too dirty, for now.

When I finally release her, she looks up at me with the biggest smile.

“See you in third period?”

Nod my head.

“Bye...  Jon.”

The aquecian thief hero gets up on her tippy toes, gives me a quick peck on the cheek, then about skips her way to the stairs.  Escorted by a Black Hart knight and battle maid.  Yeah, she may be a hero but the assassination attempt was only a couple weeks ago.

Stormgarde and I are not taking any chances.

We have not heard back from Aquecia since the attack.  And we should have by now.  Its worrying Hitomi.  A lot.  She’s afraid.  Still cares about them.  Especially her boy-, uh, well, I guess now, ex?  Lots of kisses and cuddles, with occasional orgasming until she faints the fuck out, is this doctor’s prescription.

A prescription which I like to personally take care of.

My cheek gets another kiss.  Oh, it's Blue.

“Darling!”

Big hug.

“Thank you my wonderful man.  You gave me a new life.  I will make you proud.”

Blue’s always been energetic since I cured her.  Lately though she’s been getting kind of, I don’t know, reverent?  Reverential?  Hmm…

Got a Black Hart knight escort too but just one of my maids instead of a battle maid.  Been through Stormgarde once already so doesn’t have to worry about course requirements.  Has filled her schedule with magic classes.

Red frowns after the knight passes by.  Since accepting Blue’s feelings, they are a couple.  And, well, Blue’s escort is a ho.  Yep, a ho.  Red knows her from when she was in the east.

As soon as we pulled into Lions Keep from our dungeon vacation?  A couple dozen plus Black Hart knights were waiting for us.  Along with a dozen plus healers.  Reinforcements, from my adopted father.  The Marquis Huguet, the Lion, Lianlaf.

I call him Grizzly because he doesn’t shave his face often enough and is built like a bear.

The knights are to protect me and the healers are to support me.

Plus every single god damn one of them is a chick.  Some older.  Some younger.  But all hot.

Real subtle, “dad.”  Real subtle.

Guess they haven’t entirely given up on the “drown him in pussy” isekai hero control strategy yet.

Ex-patchy, the formerly one-eyed local Black Hart knight captain, isn’t too impressed though.  They may be qualified but he’s not an idiot.  He knows they are here for me.  Would much rather have a unit setup for combat than orgies.

So I’ve put them to work as escorts for my women.  While its downright suspicious how quickly the locals are adjusting to the sight of my undead?  They are still scary.  Better to use the increased ranks of my House’s knights to fill the escort roll.

Now that’s not to say I don’t have extra protection lurking.  They just don’t have to be visibly present this way.

*cleng*

“Ah!”

*vhing*

“Magus?”

*huff*

“I’m fine Huga.  Really?”

My sparring partner took her queue and started wailing on me again.  Seriously, what the fuck?  A couple swings and I’m already on the backfoot.

Now I’ve continued training Red’s martial art, “Silver Reaver.”  Picked up a few others too.  My favorite has to be “Storms of Steel.”

Turns out?  These martial arts styles?  Have a lot in common.  Many seem to be little more than rebrands with slightly different special moves.

Storms of Steel is a dual wielding sword style.  So it works well with me using two super swords.

Even then though?

*kang*

I’ve got another mouthful of blood.

*ptuh*

Trying to keep up with a Mithral-ranked at the top of her game?  Yeah, I’ve got a long way to go.  Though If I’m going to get stronger this is the path I have to take.

*clang* *gong* *chang*

Riposte.

*ptuh* 

*slich* *crack* *kang*

…

Shit…

*huff* *huff*

“[Touch of Menerva]”

Man, how long has this bee-

“My Lord?”  !!!  Dammit not-sebastian!  “I apologize for interrupting but you will need to bathe now in order to reach your next class in time.”

At least Huga looks wore out now too.  Saves a bit of my male pride at least.  She is smiling an awful damn lot though.

“Thank you magus.”  She’s like, sort of, glowing.  “That was a refreshing workout.”

Workout?  Refreshing?  Bitch.  Felt like I was dying.

Fuck.

Oh, yeah, she calls me magus because its some high ranking mage title.  Which she’s decided I am.

Look at the peanut gallery discussing business while eating breakfast and watching me train.  This is where my harem holds court every morning so various folks show up.

Including Nigs who gives his sister a big hug when she comes over to join him.

“That was amazing, sister!”  He looks like a proud papa.  “So happy to see you healed up.”

Nigs, a rep for the local thieves guild and adventurers guild, is still suspicious about how his Huga got hurt that bad.  So he’s been trying to keep her here.  At least until he has answers he’s satisfied with.

Means Huga is going to be one of my trainers for a while.

Dispel [Umbrarmatus] then Frankie, Red, and Lili, undress me.  Was wearing training clothes.  A thick padded body suit.  Changed into it when I got here so my uniform wouldn’t get torn up.

An outdoor bath, the same size as the Grand Suite’s, has been installed in the gorge, next to the seating area.  Its wide open to the sky and since whatever shyness I may have had is long gone?  Soon just have my birthday suit on.

Can see myself through the shadows and I’m impressed.  Been two months since my Conan the Barbarian body got mostly burned away by the church.  This rebuild is more average looking but I’ve still got a big dick and I’m finally really buff again.

Can’t ask for much more in life than that.

This is my first day using the bath, and getting naked in the gorge.

Eh?

Are those screams from the wall up on the Stormgarde side?

“It is fine, Master.  Just echoes from Pearlden.”

True, that’s probably it.  Thanks Frankie.  Trick of the wind.

Why am I suddenly thinking of the Beatles?

Convinced the school to give me the first period as an elective so I can spend it training.  Second period for me is “Adventum I.”  Basics of adventuring.  Learned a lot, fast, on the road but want to fill in any gaps I might have.

Step down into the tub while the maids help Frankie, Red, and Lili, strip.  Everyone else quickly leaves.  Except for the guards.  Of course they all sneak glances at the beautiful bodies of my women.  Would have to be dead not too.

They don’t let their eyes linger though.  I'm “protective,” of what's mine so anyone crossing the line is liable to die.  If they’re lucky.

All three start scrubbing me with perfumed soap, ointment, cloth, and their bodies.

Its good to be the ki-

Eh?

More echoes, I guess, from Pearlden.  These screams seem kind of angry though.

“Only more echoes, Master.”  Are you sure Frankie?  They do sound closer.  “Let us soothe and anoint you.  Calm the fire in your head and feet.  Close your eyes and relax.”

Hehe.  Who are you, my own Mary Magdalene?

Damn…  That feels good though.

Three pairs of hands, and boobs, certainly can do wonders.

Bathing rocks.