Sometimes the real world is just better than one’s own dream.

When I woke up, I found myself lying comfortably between my favorite two people. On my right was Sekh who was peacefully snoozing on her own section of the bed while Minerva and I were still locked in each other’s embrace. 

Glancing at Minerva’s serene sleeping face, I couldn’t help but recall what happened the night before. Before getting out of bed, I planted a kiss on her cheek and whispered to her. 

“I love you.”

Although I was supposed to spend my time recovering this week, I could at least start training again. I walked over to Zeph’s room to check if she had woken up, knocking on the door and waiting outside instead of blindly entering. 

To my slight surprise, Zeph actually responded. 

“Who is it? Is it you, Azel?”

“Yeah,” I answered. “We’re going to train today, right?” 

“Sure, just wait for me to get dressed,” she told me. 

I’m a bit curious about what would have happened if I just barged in on her instead. Probably nothing good, but it might have been funny. Might.

A short while after, Zeph came out of her room in her training equipment: a gambeson and riding trousers. However, the moment she went through the door she suddenly gave me a short hug. 

“I’m glad you’re alright now.”

“Looks like everyone is so much nicer to me now,” I laughed lightly, provoking a conflicted look from Zeph. 

“I didn’t know how bad you had it before,” she said while averting her gaze. “Even if you are annoying at times, I really admire how strong you seem after what you’ve gone through.”

“It is what it is,” I sighed. “Besides, it’s not like I wasn’t responsible for my own misfortunes, at least to some extent.”

For a little while, Zeph stayed awkwardly silent, occasionally throwing glances at me to check for any change in emotion. 

“By the way, are you feeling any residual effects from your possession?”

“I just had a nightmare last night,” I answered with a thoughtful look. “Though I can’t say for certain if it’s a residual effect from Aentaerope or just my mind struggling to deal with my experience.”

“I see…” Zeph murmured. 

“Well thanks for worrying about me,” I said while flashing her a smile. 

“It’s the others that I’m really worried about,” Zeph replied. “I don’t know if they told you, but they barely kept it together while you were under possession.”

My smile quickly turned into a grimace as I looked back in the direction of my room, my face filled with worry. 

“They did tell me about it, but I could tell that they were making things seem less bad than it really was. And thanks for stopping Sekh from drinking so much, I really appreciate it.”

“Well I am her friend so it was the least I could do,” Zeph said solemnly. “But the real problem for us was Minerva. I remember when we told her about what happened and she just froze up like a statue. After that, she said she’d do her best to keep things running while you were gone. So she’d just push herself everyday and put on a brave face.”

“That sounds like her,” I remarked sadly. “Even though she told me that you two helped her a lot, I’m assuming that she actually pushed you away.”

Nodding, Zeph gave me a tired look. 

“Exactly. Every night for the first week she would lock herself in her room and cry herself to sleep. But everytime Sekh and I asked her about it, she would say that she just needed some rest.”

I couldn’t help but feel incredibly guilty, even though I knew that it wasn’t really my fault.

“I’m really glad I’m back then,” I sighed as we walked out of the Bureau together. “Anyways, has practice been going well for you?”

Zeph’s face lightened up almost immediately, clearly glad that we decided to change to a less gloomy topic.

“It’s been going great recently. I feel like I’ve improved a lot. In fact, I wanted to show you how good I’ve gotten with the lance today.”

A sly grin suddenly surfaced on my face. 

“Now hold your horses. It’s only been a little more than two weeks so don’t feel like you have to put on a spectacle.”

“Did you really have to make that joke?” Zeph quipped with an annoyed look. 

“You gave me the opportunity,” I argued, a cheeky grin wide on my face. 

“You didn’t have to take it,” Zeph sighed in exasperation. 

Some time later, the two of us arrived at the citadel to resume our regular morning training. While some of the soldiers present were still throwing concerned gazes at me, they seemed to mainly worried about my wellbeing. 

For a while, we followed our previous routine. However, when I was finished sparring with Gregorius, I decided to spice things up. 

“Zeph, you want to joust with me?”

Taken aback, Zeph blinked for a bit before snapping back to attention. 

“Are you sure? I know I said I got better, but I didn't mean that I'm even close to your level.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you,” I assured her. “Besides, you were already a decent rider before so you should be fine.”

“Can I borrow Ferra then?” Zeph asked while gesturing at my horse.

“Sure, sure,” I told her. “You really are attached to her.”

“Yeah, but she seems to like you more,” Zeph remarked, looking a bit disappointed. 

“Well you took care of her while I was out so I think she likes you more now,” I replied. 

The two of us donned heavy protective gear before mounting our horses with lance in hand. Of course we were using practice lances in order to further lower the risk of accident. 

“Zeph, your shield arm is too stiff,” I chided her when we barely got on our horses.

“Oh, thanks for pointing it out,” Zeph said while readjusting her arm. “Better?”

“It’s good,” I remarked. “Just make sure to keep it up.”

Readying our lances, the two of us then charged at one another. This continued on five times until Zeph was almost knocked off her horse, barely clinging on at that point. Of course I wasn’t going hard on her since my intention was just to act as a practice partner so she could gauge her own progress. 

“Well done,” I complimented her. “I think you’ve actually got most of the basics down already, which I’m actually really impressed with.”

“See, I did tell you that I improved,” she declared confidently. 

“How about a race in that case,” I suggested. “Around the walls of the city, just the two of us.”

“Are we betting anything?” she asked.

Smiling slightly, I pounded my chest. 

“Our pride.”

“You’re on then,” Zeph laughed. “But I get to ride Ferra.”

“I don’t mind,” I said with a shrug. “You’ll need all the help you can get.”

In response, Zeph playfully punched me on the shoulder while chuckling. Guess she’s really warmed up to me now. How sweet. 

Without delay, the two of us ventured out of the city, though a small group of soldiers also came along in case anything happened. 

The moment we exited the gates, both Zeph and I hopped right on our steeds, eager to race. And even though I was borrowing a horse from the garrison, I at least chose one that would be sufficiently fast. 

When we started the race, I quickly rode in front of Zeph in an attempt to goad her into wasting her energy. However, my effort was in vain as Zeph actually kept cool and maintained a steady pace. 

But regardless of her improved decision making, she was still not close to me in terms of skill as a rider. While she could easily maneuver around most of the obstacles on the route, it was only most. In contrast, I managed to slip past everything without difficulty which allowed me to pull off a clean win in the end. Still, Zeph wasn’t far behind, a testament to her own capability. 

“Unfortunate,” she said when she arrived back at the northern gate we came from. 

“Funny way of saying that I’m just better,” I teased her. 

“Ok, but you trained your whole life for this,” she pointed out. “I only trained for about half of my life.”

“True and you would win if you used magic,” I told her. “Though the last part is going to be put into question soon.”

“Very true,” Zeph laughed. “Oh, and to compensate you for your two wins today, I’ll be offering to teach you magic. It’s a deal you can’t refuse.”

“Yeah, because you’ll cry to Sekh about it if I say no,” I snarked. 

“I wouldn’t,” she protested. “Besides, what's Sekh going to do?”

“That’s the problem, I don’t know what she’d do,” I said while laughing. “Anyways, I’m free during the afternoon if you have time.”

“What are you doing for the rest of the day?” she asked in response.

“Pampering Sekh and Minerva,” I answered. “With all this free time, is there really any better way to spend it?”

“I’m glad then,” Zeph said approvingly. “They really deserve it after all.”

After leading the borrowed horse back to the citadel, I promptly came home and began to cook breakfast with due haste since I had around an hour before it started. The main task was to chop plenty of vegetables and meat to make omelettes. I also bought some breakfast pastries on my way to the Bureau to serve as a luxury substitute for bread. 

By the time that I was finished cooking, Minerva and Sekh had already made their way down stairs, Sekh happily sniffing the aroma coming from the kitchen. 

“Before we have breakfast, let’s go take a bath together,” I said while putting the food in a place where they wouldn’t lose heat. 

While Sekh bobbed her head cheerfully, Minerva looked at me with a confused expression. 

“Yes, you too,” I said to Minerva, causing her to blink profusely. “Well you don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

"I-I’ll come,” Minerva mumbled embarrassingly.

Suddenly, Sekh pounced on the taller elf, almost knocking her over from the unexpected embrace. 

“That’s the spirit. After all, you need to be bolder if you don’t want me stealing all the time with him.”

“I don’t know about that,” I argued. “There’s something really cute about Minerva being all shy.”

“Fair enough,” Sekh giggled before pulling both Minerva and I towards the baths. 

Once we entered, Sekh closed the door while I went to check if the water was sufficiently heated, which it was.

Right when I deemed that the water was hot enough, I pulled Sekh over and began to gingerly remove her clothes causing her to purr happily. 

“Minerva, this is your chance to undress him,” Sekh advised the other girl. “I recommend starting from the top and going down. Oh and don’t put your head near his crotch when you take off his pants, I got slapped on the face once from that.”

“Nice phrasing for the last part," I chuckled before squeezing Sekh's butt. 

Looking at me with wide puppy eyes, Sekh gave an innocent smile.

“I was just giving her useful information.”

Right at that moment, I felt a pair of hands from behind gently pull my shirt upwards. Since I noticed her somewhat clumsy movements, I slid my arms up and relaxed my body to make it easier for Minerva. 

Like I had expected, the now completely naked Sekh decided to just lay on the side of the bath seductively instead of helping Minerva undress me. 

And once Minera took off my shirt, she got to the real hurdle. 

“Um...Azel, you’re fine with this right?”

“I don’t mind, but don’t push yourself,” I replied. “All that matters is that you’re comfortable.”

That was all it took for Minerva to immediately start pulling my pants down. Well, my pants were also easy to take off so there was that to consider. And just like that, I found myself nude with Minerva staring at my crotch.

“If you stare so much, I’ll get embarrassed, you know?”

Blushing, Minerva averted her gaze. 

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

“Relax, I’m just teasing you,” I said while reaching down to pat her head. “Now let’s get you undressed so we can all have a bath.”

Turning her around, I started to undress Minerva, each movement revealing more of her beautiful dark skin. Once I was finished, she was left bare with only her long silver hair covering up her breast while she put her hands down on her own crotch. 

“You look beautiful,” I told Minerva with a gentle smile.

“I do?” she replied excitedly, accidentally lifting up her hands which caused her to freeze and turn red. 

“Just get in the bath,” Sekh advised her. “The longer you stay out there, the more stupid things are going to happen.”

Covering herself with her hands once again, Minerva went right into the bath and submerged herself in the deepest area, the water now reaching the bottom of her nose. 

“There’s no need to be so worried,” I sighed. “We were going to see each other naked at some point. Besides, we’ve already seen glimpses of each other when we bathed in rivers while traveling.”

“That’s true…” Minerva mumbled once she pulled her head out of the water. “I do think you look really good too.”

“Of course I do,” I chuckled. “Now let’s actually get started with what we came here for. I’ll wash Sekh first so you have more time to get comfortable.”

Hearing this, Sekh went right over to me with a grin and presented her back to me for washing. Taking out the scrubber, I immediately began to rub the grime off Sekh’s body causing her to purr happily. 

“Can we make this a daily occurrence?” Sekh requested with a very satisfied look on her face.

“Maybe, but only if we don’t fuck around too much,” I answered. “We do have work in around an hour.”

To my surprise, Sekh was surprisingly tame, letting me clean her whole body without pulling anything funny. All the while, Minerva just observed us quietly. 

“Right you’re next,” I told Minerva once Sekh was all clean. 

“Um...Azel, I can clean myself down there,” Minerva told me. “You can take care of everything else though.”

“Your wish is my command,” I said gently before proceeding. 

Oddly enough, she was fine with me massaging her breast, even though my regular massages only concern her back. Well, I say fine even though she was blushing like usual.

“I have an idea,” Sekh said from the sidelines. “How about we both wash Azel and I’ll also wash Minerva’s hair?”

Looking at each other for confirmation, Minerva and I nodded soon after. 

So shortly after, Sekh went behind Minerva to clean the elf’s hair. It was also better that Sekh did it since she has far more experience in such matters, particularly when it comes to longer hair. 

But once Sekh was done, I found myself being stared down by the two girls.

“Alright, I get the bottom half and you get the top,” Sekh told Minerva. “Unless you want to swap.”

“No need,” Minerva waved off while looking at me shyly. “Azel, I apologize in advance if I’m bad at this. I really don’t have that much experience since I’m always on the receiving end.”

“It’s fine,” I consoled her. “It’s not like I even have much experience with this. I just wanted to do it since I really love spending time with you two.”

Puffing her chest out, Sekh smiled smugly. 

“I happen to be the expert here in that case.”

While Minerva was taking her time to do her best, Sekh fluidly scrubbed any filth off my lower body with ease. 

“Hey Azel, how about I use a different scrubber now?” Sekh suggested while licking her lips seductively. 

“Stop, no horny,” I asserted while affectionately bop her on the head, causing Sekh to giggle. 

When the three of us were finally done, we all came out of the bathroom to see a surprised waiting Zeph. 

“What’s the matter?” Sekh asked the other girl before poking her on the cheek. “Cat got your tongue.”

“Just a little surprised,” Zeph mouthed. “But only a little.”

“I don’t even know why you’re surprised,” Sekh laughed. “This was bound to happen soon.”

“Good point,” Zeph concluded before casually walking into the baths. “Well, I’ll see you guys at breakfast.”

At this point, Zeph had become near fully habituated. Still, it’s not like what we’re doing is even close to the depravity that some people reach, not by a long shot. So it really shows how pure and innocent Zeph must have been. 

After eating breakfast, I decided to help Sekh with her regular cleaning duties. And with me by her side, Sekh was practically glowing the whole morning. 

For lunch, I made sure to have fish for Sekh and a few sweets for Minerva. Since the two of them were working when I finished, I decided to deliver the food personally. 

Minerva was in her office on the fourth floor filling out some papers when I came with her food. 

“Oh, thanks so much Azel,” she said happily when I got into her room. “Wait, why did you close the door?”

“I want to feed you,” I replied teasingly. “But I know that you don’t like doing it in public so that’s why the door has to be closed.”

“Oh, ok,” Minerva said shyly. “In that case, we can do it.”

Smiling happily, I set the plate of food down on Minerva’s desk and pulled a chair next to her. Although I didn’t make a sandwich like our last experience, I did have fish soup and rice to spoon feed her. 

Despite being shy at first, Minerva quickly conceded and began to eagerly devour the food everytime I raised the spoon towards her. And seeing how cute she was, I couldn’t help but grin as I kept feeding her. 

“Let’s do this again, but on our off day,” Minerva told me. “I don’t know if I can handle it if someone walked in on us right now.”

“That’s fine,” I replied before kissing her on the cheek. “Anyways, I’m going to do the same thing with Sekh now.”